Ten years on from the launch of the first community programme for disability sport in Wales, most onlookers would say that recent achievements are burning brighter than the celebration candles on the anniversary cake.

After such success at the Beijing Paralympics it might be a shock to hear those ‘in the know’ say that we’re just scratching the surface of our potential.

A decade ago, dedicated disability sport offi cers were placed in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales. Their task was to create a structure for disability sport at grassroots level and provide opportunities on a scale that had never been available before.

Back then, there were only around 1,000 dedicated opportunities annually in disability sport. Now, that fi gure is almost a staggering 700,000.

“The decision by Sport Wales (the former Sports Council for Wales) to put the community programme in place was a landmark decision in the evolution of disability sport in Wales,” says Jon Morgan, Executive Director of the Federation of Disability Sport Wales (FDSW).

“It gave us the opportunity to have a national programme that could be delivered locally in the same way as mainstream sport has always been.

“It also gave local authorities the ability to fi nd local solutions to the challenges they faced in providing opportunities for disabled people. Things like geography or facilities can be big challenges.

“Now we have a huge active club membership and sustainable opportunities to participate on a regular basis.”

And success so far hasn’t gone unnoticed. A recent independent review of the community programme highlighted praise from sporting colleagues in Australia, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“People tell me we’re ahead of the game but we can’t stand still, we need to keep our cutting edge,” added Jon.

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“In reality we’ve used a similar development model as mainstream sport. Having so many opportunities, competitions and a clear pathway to higher and elite levels has proved to be the right way for us.

“It’s been a real team effort.”

That emphasis on team work is backed up by Michelle Daltry, National Development Manager for Disability Sport Wales, who said:

“The local authorities have been fantastic. Disability sport has become another important aspect of the service they provide for their residents.

“We’ve now got well over 2,000 volunteers who support and help out – they are the backbone of everything we do.

“The excellent clubs we work with daily –be they diasbility sport clubs or mainstram clubs offering integrated opportunities – are key if we are going to continue this development.”

According to Jon, support from the Assembly, politicians and Sport Wales has been a vital part of the drive to raise the bar and the profi le of disability sport.

The returning Paralympic medallists from Beijing lining up at the offi cial homecoming event in front of thousands of fans gave evidence of the regard in which our elite disabled athletes are held.

So, what about the future?

Jon is keen to stress that there’s a long way to go, but everyone is focused on what needs to be done next:

“There’s going to be a massive inclusion agenda – we’ve called it the INSport project - with education and training

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“Having sponsors for disabled athletes and our events is something that was uheard of in the past. Now we’ve got big companies like Mon Motors and Ace Feet in Motion who are keen to associate themselves with us because they know the positive effect it will have on their brand.”

being the key. Whatever the club or organisation, we want disability sport to integrate into their culture and systems.

“Disability provision should be the norm and not an added extra thought.That way we’ll have even more opportunities and access to coaches and competition for everyone.

“In a way we’re trying to do ourselves out of a job, but it’s a huge challenge.

“On the elite side, fi fty percent of our athletes in the last Paralympics were fi rst- time Paralympians, which augurs well for London 2012 and beyond.

“In the early days of our community programme it was often luck if someone was spotted and made their way to the Paralympics.

“In Sydney we had 17 Welsh competitors in the GB team, 24 in Athens and 31 in Beijing. Those are huge increases and we hope we can improve them further.

“The community programme is providing more opportunities for disabled people to participate in sport, from grassroots to elite level, but I don’t think we’ve reached full potential yet.

“Marketing is another aspect we’ve placed alot of importance on. We’ve focused hard on how we present disability sport and have really tried to promote opportunities for people to participate in sport. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52