Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people

living with disability or health conditions

How to use this guide

This guide is aimed at people with

lived experience of disability or health

conditions and at those advising or

working with us. A question and answer

approach enables different people with

different interests and objectives to dip

into this guide in different ways. Doing

Sport Differently will show you how far

access to sport, exercise and fitness has

improved and how to enjoy it.

Doing Sport Differently

Where should I start?

If you’re not sure you can do sport or

take exercise for whatever reason, go

to section one.

If you want to do sport or take more

exercise but don’t know what you

want to do, go to section two.

If you want to get involved in

refereeing, coaching or activities off

the pitch on either a paid or voluntary

basis, go to section three.

If you want to find out more about

watching sport, go to section four.

If you’re looking for websites and

organisations to help with any of the

above, go to section five.

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living

with disability or health conditions

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Contents

Foreword – Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE 6

Foreword – Peter Ayliffe, President and CEO, Visa Europe 7

1: Why do sport? 8

The benefits of exercise 8

I can’t get fit and healthy, I’m disabled 8

Do there have to be winners and losers in sport? 12

What are the benefits of keeping your body as fit and healthy as you can? 12

How much exercise do I need to take? 14

That’s far too strenuous for me 15

But I haven’t exercised for years 15

But I hate sport 16

What are the types of fitness? 16

I’m a parent. What can I do? 17

2: Taking Part 18

I don’t know what to do 18

Walking 20

Cycling 21

Running 22

Exercise – at the gym or at home 22

How do I choose a gym? 24

Swimming 27

Adapted sports 28

Paralympic sport 28

Other Sports 32

What do I need? 35

Can I really access sports facilities on the same basis as everyone else? 35

Can a sports club turn me down for membership? 38

I’m newly disabled. How do I stay in sport? 39

Where do I find out more? 40

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Contents

3: On the touchline 43

Could I have a career in sport? 43

What about volunteering? 44

What can I do? 45

How do I get involved? 48

4: Watching 51

How do I know if my team’s ground is accessible? 52

How can I help my club do better on access? 53

Can I be turned away? 56

Could a club with a non-accessible ground be taken to court? 56

5: Who can help? 58

General starting points 58

Other useful general websites 59

Organisations for particular sports 60

Organisations for people with particular impairments 61

Spectating 62

Doing Sport Differently is for everyone with lived experience of disability

or health conditions. In the everyday language of Disability Rights UK, we

don’t make big distinctions between different types of conditions. However,

Paralympic sport does categorise and classify athletes according to their

impairment and its impact so the language some organisations use may not

be the same as ours, for example ’intellectual disability’, which we would

normally call a learning difficulty or learning disability. If you’re not sure whether

something we talk about here is for you, just ask the organisation concerned.

›› A note on terminology

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

You may find this hard to believe but I know exactly what

it’s like to find exercise daunting – to not know what to do or

how best to do it.

I love sport. Paralympics, world championships, and

world records were my life for many years. But after my

retirement in 2007 I didn’t do anything for a year or so and

when I wanted to get active again, I wasn’t quite sure how

to go about it.

I was no longer a professional athlete and needed a

different sort of exercise regime that fitted in with my

new life, interests and levels of fitness. The ideas and

suggestions in this guide and the stories of others’

experiences helped me to think about what I wanted. Just

as you will, I found the right way for me.

Sport and sports facilities are far more accessible to all

than they were when I started racing in the 1980s. Doing

Sport Differently is the first-ever guide to sport written by

disabled people for disabled people designed to enable us

to take full advantage of this.

There is no reason why we shouldn’t get as much out of

sport and exercise as non-disabled people. I am living proof

of that. Whether you’re a beginner or want to compete

internationally, whether you’re a parent of a sports player

or whether you just want to watch sport, Doing Sport

Differently will help you to do it.

Give it a read – especially if you don’t think exercise is for

you. It may change your life.

Tanni won 16 Paralympic

medals (including 11 golds),

16 world championships

medals (five gold), held over

30 world records and won

the London Marathon six

times. She now sits in the

House of Lords as Baroness

Grey-Thompson DBE.

Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Foreword

When London won the right to host the 2012 Olympic and

Paralympic Games, the bid team promised to create a

sustainable legacy for the UK. In particular, it explained

that the UK population at large would be inspired by sport,

would be motivated to take part in sport – and would have

new opportunities to engage in sport.

As a worldwide sponsor of the Olympic and Paralympic

Games, Visa is helping to bring this legacy to life. It is

important to us that it is extended as far as possible – and,

given our close, long term association with the Paralympic

movement, we want to be certain that disabled people are

part of this.

It was therefore entirely logical and very important for

us to support Doing Sport Differently. We would like to

congratulate Disability Rights UK and Tanni Grey-Thompson

for spearheading the initiative and bringing it to life. This

guide should act as an invaluable source of reference,

encouragement and advice – helping many more disabled

people to seek out sporting opportunities and motivating

them to participate.

The principles of inclusivity and equality matter deeply to

Visa. This is the reason why we became the first global

sponsor of the Paralympic Games back in 2002; it is why

we have supported many other disability rights initiatives

in the meantime; and it is why we work closely with many

Paralympic athletes in our various community support and

outreach activities.

In summary, London 2012 is about much more than a few

weeks of exhilarating competition. It is about the longer

term impact of the Games. I am proud that Visa is able to be

a part of this legacy – through our financial contribution, our

technical expertise, the scale and reach of our marketing

support, and our commitment to the communities in which

we operate.

Visa Europe is a payment

technology company that

makes money flow more

easily, quickly and securely

between consumers,

retailers, businesses and

governments. There are

115 million Visa debit, credit

and commercial cards in

the UK. £1 in every £3 spent

in the UK is now spent on a

Visa card. Across Europe,

there are 445 million Visa

cards and 14% of consumer

spending at point of sale in

Europe is with a Visa card,

and almost 80% of that

is on Visa debit cards. A

not-for-profit membership

association, Visa Europe

is owned and operated by

more than 3,700 European

members. Visa has been

a global Olympic partner

since 1986 and a global

Paralympic partner since

2002.

Peter Ayliffe,

President and CEO, Visa Europe

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

1: Why do sport?

The benefits of exercise

Doing Sport Differently is not just for

the next Tanni Grey-Thompson. It’s not

even for the few who have ever played

competitive sport at any level. It’s for

everyone. When we talk about sport,

exercise and physical activity, we’re

talking about things that everyone can

do – disabled and non-disabled alike. It

needn’t be competitive, it needn’t be

hard work, it just needs to be fun.

If you want to be more physically active

but don’t know how, this is the guide

for you. (It’s also for you if all you want

to do is watch sport – see chapter 4.)

Even if you think you hate sport and

don’t believe that taking more exercise is

beneficial or even possible for you, read

on – you may be surprised.

With London hosting the 2012 Olympic

and Paralympic Games, the idea of

sport for all has never been higher on

the agenda. For people who want to

get active, there have never been more

opportunities than now. You don’t even

need to leave the house.

I can’t get fit and healthy,

I’m disabled

Have a read of some of the personal

stories in this book and you may feel

differently. But meanwhile we need to

define some terms.

I have cerebral palsy and use a

wheelchair. In 2010, I was diagnosed

with the muscle-weakening disease

myopathy. My consultant advised me

not to do any physical activity and

to wait for the inevitable. That didn’t

sound like good advice to me.

I turned to Andrew, a personal trainer

used to working with disabled people.

Thanks to his hard work – and mine – I

can now get up off the floor myself if

I fall out of my chair and don’t have

to wait for help. In fact, I’m now more

mobile than before I had myopathy and

can now walk miles using a walking

frame.

I didn’t have great coordination and

I’d lost all mobility in my legs. I needed

to strengthen them. We started with a

couple of sessions a week of an hour

and a half and now have three of three

hours. I also work-out on my own.

Progress was painful at times and, to

be honest, I thought Andrew was crazy

when he first suggested I walk. But

now I’m planning to walk the London

Marathon with my frame. That shows

you how much I’ve progressed in less

than a year.

SPORT TALK

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

1: Why do sport?

I had a serious bout of depression in

my early 40s and decided to get some

therapy. It helped but it wasn’t enough.

I needed to get out of myself.

I was overweight so I didn’t think I

could just go out jogging. As a child I’d

been a decent swimmer so I decided

to try that. I enjoyed the simple

repetition. Quarter of a mile. Half a

kilometre. Every couple of lengths

there’s a landmark. I mixed the strokes

up too. The counting kept me focused

and diverted me from my (real and

imagined) problems.

Perhaps racking up the lengths

sounds dull to you but it made all the

difference in the world to me. That’s

the great thing about sport – there’s

something for everyone. I’m not saying

it cured my depression. It didn’t.

But a change is as good as rest and

swimming became my time-out from

myself. I like to think that whilst I was

doing it my mind was also processing

what I got from therapy but I don’t

know.

My one piece of advice is whatever

sport you choose, make yourself

do it. Often you just won’t want to

– especially at first. But compare

the days when you make the effort

with the days when you don’t and

then you’ll see the difference. It’s

amazing that something that is so

beneficial can be so difficult to do.

I’ve no idea why – if I had the answer

to that one, I’d be a millionaire sports

psychologist, I suppose.

SPORT TALK

Disability is created by the

environment not by you, your

impairment or health condition. If

you’re a wheelchair-user stuck outside

a building without a ramp, what is the

barrier? The injury that makes it easier

for you to use a chair or the lack of a

ramp? Add a ramp and not only can you

access the building more easily but so

can older people, people with prams,

people with heavy luggage, children –

pretty much everyone in fact. It’s the

absence of the ramp that is disabling.

The same applies to sport. Again, to

take a wheelchair-user as an example,

there’s nothing stopping you rolling

your wheelchair onto the nearest tennis

court and having a go except the rules

of the club or the width of the gate onto

the court or the attitudes of the other

players. Nothing that can’t be changed.

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

But wheelchairs are just an example.

This applies in different ways to all of

us experiencing disability or a health

condition. The barriers to someone with

a mental health condition or a learning

difficulty doing sport may be less

obvious than a flight of stairs but they’re

there all the same in the attitudes,

organisation and environment around

exercise. This guide is about removing

those barriers too.

Of course, your impairment or health

condition may effect what you can do.

But whatever your impairment or health

condition, you are you and taking some

exercise will make you a fitter, healthier

you.

Health and fitness, of course, are not the

same thing either.

Fitness is largely physical. It’s about

your capacity to deal with the

environment around you so a fitter

wheelchair-user may be able to wheel

him or herself further and faster.

Health is about more than this. It

includes physical, mental and social

well-being. This involves self-acceptance.

The well-known serenity prayer puts its

finger on it very well and you don’t need

to be religious to get it. It wishes for

us the serenity to accept the things we

cannot change, the courage to change

the things we can, and the wisdom to

know the difference. This is something

we all need to understand to be healthy,

especially if we’re doing sport or

exercise.

And that brings us right back to disability

because one of the things that we can

change is the disabling environment of

barriers and attitudes.

The law is there to help us do this.

Under the Equality Act 2010 (which is

based on the disability discrimination

legislation that went before it), it is

unlawful for service providers to treat

disabled people less favourably because

they are disabled. Service providers

must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to

the way they provide their services to

remove the barriers preventing disabled

people from accessing them. This applies

to the local gym or football stadium

as much as it does to banks, pubs or

cinemas.

‘Reasonable’ refers to the resources

available for adjustments so a service

provider can only avoid making them

if he or she can show that it would be

genuinely too impractical, too disruptive

or too expensive to do so.

So what does all this mean in practice?

It means simply this: anyone can get

fitter and healthier regardless of their

impairment or health condition –

mental health condition, learning

difficulty, physical impairment, whatever.

This guide will show you how.

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Alexandra Rickham, Paralympic sailor

(two-person keelboat, SKUD-18)

I was very sporty and competitive as

a child. I loved swimming, tennis and

horseback riding. But I had a shallow-

diving accident when I was 13 and

broke my neck.

I first tried sailing while in rehab

in Miami but for about ten years I

prioritised my education. It wasn’t

that I couldn’t do sport but I wanted

something more. Plus, access to

sport for disabled people was not so

easy then. When I was at university I

wanted to be on the sailing team but

they weren’t very interested in me.

I sailed with Sailability but I really

got into the sport through Back-Up.

Michael Cogswell contacted them

looking for a sailing partner and they

put him in touch with me. Eventually

I was put together with Niki Birrell by

the Royal Yachting Association.

It’s been a lot of hard work,

particularly as I’ve been fast-tracked,

gradually expanding my role over

time. Helming a SKUD-18 is not a

cardio sport but you need strength

and endurance to take part in three

one-hour races a day, out there in all

the elements.

We’ve been world champions four

times. I’m lucky to be able to be a

full-time athlete. Sport has boosted

my confidence and opened up a

whole new world. You meet really

interesting people in elite sport. I love

being part of a team and the fact that

unlike in some jobs, you can see the

results of your efforts right away.

There’s far more out there for

disabled people than we realise.

Schools, organisations and rehab

institutions do need to do more to

raise awareness that sports facilities

and gyms are much better than they

were. Look around.

SPORT TALK

1: Why do sport?

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Do there have to be winners

and losers in sport?

In some sports, this is true but it is

irrelevant. What we’re talking about

here is equality of access not equality of

outcome. You have the right to take part

in sport or exercise not the right to win

every time you play. You have the right

to access your local tennis court not to

beat Rafael Nadal. (Making Rafa play

with a stick of celery, by the way, would

not be a ‘reasonable adjustment’.)

Anyway, in many fitness activities, as

you’ll see in this guide, there aren’t

winners and losers – just the benefits to

everyone of taking part.

What are the benefits of

keeping your body as fit and

healthy as you can?

Doctors will often say that if exercise

were a pill, it would be one of the best

drugs ever invented. And they’re right.

According to the NHS, people who do

regular physical activity have:

up to a 35% lower risk of coronary

heart disease and stroke

up to a 50% lower risk of type 2

diabetes

up to a 50% lower risk of colon

cancer

up to a 20% lower risk of breast

cancer

a 30% lower risk of early death

up to an 83% lower risk of

osteoarthritis

up to a 68% lower risk of hip fracture

a 30% lower risk of falls (among older

adults)

up to a 30% lower risk of depression

up to a 30% lower risk of dementia

But frankly the health benefits are often

only the tip of the iceberg. There are

the social benefits – sport and exercise

help you get out, meet people and

make friends. There are also enormous

personal benefits – you’ll feel better

about yourself after exercise (honest!)

which boosts self-confidence in all areas

of life. Achieving a goal, however small,

brings satisfaction.

Exercise boosts mood and energy levels

and improves sleep. It is believed to

help memory and brain function and to

reduce stress. It’s also a great time to do

some thinking and problem-solving.

Last but not least, it will become fun

(even if it isn’t at first).

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I wanted to do outdoor pursuits the

same as my non-disabled twin sister

from an early age but the support

network wasn’t there and having

cerebral palsy, I use far more energy to

move. Keeping up with anyone walking

was a challenge in itself.

The moment came when my dad

gave me the opportunity to climb Ben

Lomond, near Trossachs, Glasgow

when I was ten. I did everything

possible: walked, crawled and moved

on my bottom. It was tough for me but

fun and I made it. That’s when my buzz

of outdoors began and ever since, I

have tried to escape to the countryside

whenever I can.

Walking outdoors is probably the most

enjoyable and cost-effective way of

keeping fit. I now use a walking stick

to help with balance on uneven terrain.

Walking helps loosen other parts

of my body and makes the muscles

stronger. It reduces the risk of falls,

improves muscle mass and bone

density, reduces the risk of associated

conditions, reduces blood pressure

and improves the quality of my life and

my perception of myself.

More importantly, I have challenged

my impairment and broken the

barriers. This has made me physically

and mentally stronger and will help me

to overcome more barriers.

I’ve taken up cycling again. I swim,

go to the gym and am developing my

taste in extreme sports and wilderness

recreation. When I was young I

participated in dinghy sailing and

have gained a Grade 1 Royal Yachting

Association certificate. Through this

involvement, I was introduced to

voyages on the Tall Ships, which cater

for disabled and non-disabled sailors.

I am currently patron of RaceRunning

Scotland. RaceRunning is an

international disability sport in which

children and adults compete with

running bikes on an athletics track.

SPORT TALK

1: Why do sport?

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

How much exercise

do I need to take?

As much as you want. Every little helps.

When health professionals and fitness

experts talk about ‘regular physical

activity’, they’re usually talking about

taking about 20 minutes a day of

exercise that is hard enough to raise

your heart rate and cause a sweat. That’s

about 2 hours and 30 minutes a week,

the level of exercise on which the sort

of health-related data mentioned above

is usually based. It’s called ‘moderate-

intensity aerobic activity’. But don’t

worry if you can’t do this, it’s not a

problem.

Exactly what constitutes moderate-

intensity aerobic activity varies for each

of us depending on how fit we are to

start off with. But good examples of

moderate-intensity aerobic activities are:

walking fast

riding a bike on level ground

or with few hills

pushing a lawn mower

How do you know if something is,

for you, a moderate-intensity aerobic

activity? A good rule of thumb is that

you’re too breathless to sing a song but

not to talk – good news for you (you’re

exercising efficiently and safely) and, if

you’ve got a lousy singing voice, your

exercise partner too.

Don’t let yourself be put off. Develop

an attitude. I now outperform the vast

majority of non-disabled riders when

I cycle over my favourite terrain, the

Brecon Beacons, and that’s with one

false leg and two brain tumours.

Cycling is a big part of my life. It gives

me various bonuses: firstly, the health

element; secondly, I have developed a

competitive edge. I enjoy the company

of other riders, friends and family.

But there are also times when riding

on your own especially in beautiful

countryside allows you to escape the

modern world and to enjoy the solitude

to think clearly.

Cycling is easy now, but in the

beginning it was a long and hard road,

to learn to walk after the amputation

of my left leg, then to cycle with

confidence too.

I started cycling because I had lost my

driving licence following brain surgery

and wanted my freedom back one

way or another. But I never expected

to become a competitive rider. It has

given me focus, given me life. This is a

freedom I didn’t have before.

SPORT TALK

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

That’s far too

strenuous for me

Don’t worry. There are still enormous

benefits to exercise. Even if you can’t do

anything vigorous, many of the ideas in

this guide will still work for you.

If you can work up to ‘moderate-

intensity aerobic activity’ so much the

better but even if you can’t, you’ll still

benefit.

You’ll get some of the health benefits

mentioned above plus you’ll simply feel

better. This is partly physical. Exercise

gets the endorphins going. (These are

chemicals in the brain that improve your

sense of well-being.) It also helps you

sleep better and there’s not a person on

the planet who wouldn’t benefit from

a decent night’s sleep. It’s psychological

too – just the small sense of pride in

having done it will make you feel good.

Don’t underestimate the benefits of just

a little exercise.

Even very unfit people can improve their

health enormously simply by becoming

slightly less unfit. To put it into figures,

imagine the population divided into

five groups: the fittest to the least-fit.

The people in the least-fit fifth of the

population can DOUBLE their chances

of surviving the next decade simply by

getting into the second least-fit group –

in other words, if you go from being very

unfit to just plain old unfit, you’re twice

as likely to still be alive in ten years time.

Sound like a good enough reason to take

a little more exercise?

But I haven’t

exercised for years

No problem – you’re never too unfit to

get fit. But to be on the safe side, you

might want to talk to your healthcare

professionals before starting to exercise

to check what activities might or might

not be suitable.

Whatever your medical history, start

slowly. If you experience chest pain,

dizziness or feel faint at any time while

you’re exercising, stop immediately and

see a doctor. During exercise you should

feel no more than a burning sensation

in your muscles, not a sharp pain. If

something hurts, stop doing it.

I have a mental health condition and I

find sport really boosts my mood and

my energy levels. One symptom of

depression is lethargy and tiredness

and this is one of the best ways I’ve

found to overcome these.

SPORT TALK

1: Why do sport?

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

But I hate sport

Do you really hate sport or do you just

hate competitive sport? Or perhaps you

just hated Physical Education (PE) at

school.

What we’re talking about here need

not be competitive – unless you want

it to be – and will be nothing like PE at

school. We’re talking about choosing

something that you like doing and that

gets the heart going a little and doing

a little more of it. It certainly needn’t

be cross country running or anything

that we traditionally think of as sport. It

could be yoga or walking, gardening or

dancing, horse-riding or orienteering.

(Sex fits the bill too.)

What are the types of fitness?

Some aspects of fitness are directly

related to health, some not.

Heart (or cardio-vascular) fitness

Strength

Muscular endurance

Flexibility – particularly important as

we get older

Agility – the ability to change the

direction of the body quickly

Speed

Reaction time

Balance

Power (strength multiplied by speed)

Co-ordination

Most of us could benefit from most of

these. Different sports, exercises and

fitness activities develop these different

aspects of fitness to different degrees.

You’re not obliged to work on all of

them. For disabled and non-disabled

people alike, it depends what you’re

interested in and what you want to do.

Marathon runners are more interested in

endurance, footballers in coordination,

most of us are just happy with a

healthier heart and improved flexibility.

I have four children and all of them

have been keen participants in

a number of different sports. As

a wheelchair-using Dad, I have

sometimes been forced to miss seeing

them do their thing because the

organisers simply didn’t think about the

needs of disabled spectators!

It isn’t always easy to ensure that

venues have good access but there is

no excuse for a lack of communication

regarding what is available. Perhaps

sports organisers could refuse to

hire or use venues that don’t provide

access to disabled parents or

spectators.

SPORT TALK

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I have three kids and like me, they all

love sport. The two sighted ones are

into football, cycling and skateboarding

while the blind one is into football,

goalball (a team sport using a ball with

bells inside), sound tennis, cricket,

trampolining and judo.

My job is simple. I take them along

to any sport that they want to try but

never push them. My encouragement

is always positive. Liam, my blind son,

finds new sports hard at first but once

he’s played them for a few weeks, it’s a

different story.

And the hard work – both mine and

his – pays off. Recently, he was asked

to go for a weekend’s training with the

England B1 football team.

I firmly believe that if you put in the

effort for your child that in the long

run it can only benefit them (and you

in terms of your relationship with

them). Sport is out there for every

disabled child, young adult and adult.

Non-disabled parents can help their

children find the right sport for them.

SPORT TALK

I’m a parent. What can I do?

Whether you’re a disabled parent or

have a disabled child (or both), this

guide is for you too. Read it through.

Perhaps there is an activity you can share

with your child. What about taking them

to see a sport (see chapter 4) or getting

involved yourself behind the scenes (see

chapter 3)?

The key thing is to encourage your child

to get involved. Find out what they most

want to do rather than what you most

want to do or what you most wanted

to do when you were their age. What

are the barriers to your child getting

involved? What can you do to help your

child overcome these? There are many

ways you can help – encouragement

and enthusiasm are probably the most

important but money and lifts or other

help with transport are always welcome

too.

1: Why do sport?

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

When it comes to exercise, disabled

people have pretty much the same

options as non-disabled ones –

everything from simply getting out a bit

more to playing for your country. Once

you start looking, you’ll be surprised

how much is out there.

There isn’t space in this guide to discuss

the issues around every impairment or

every sport or every one of the many,

many possibilities. We all have different

barriers to overcome so not everything

here will be relevant to you. But read the

chapter and think about how it might

apply to you. The main limitation may

turn out to be your imagination.

I don’t know what to do

Have a think about what you hope to

get out of exercise, what you’re able to

do and when you’re able to do it.

If you want to meet people as well as

get fit, a team sport or joining a club

might be best. If you’re stuck for time,

something that you can fit more easily

into the day like walking or exercising at

home or the gym near work might be

better.

Think about what you like doing.

Different sports have different

requirements – speed for sprinting,

strength for rugby, hand-eye

coordination for badminton, ball skills

for football. Even if you didn’t much like

Physical Education (PE) as a child there

were probably some things you enjoyed

more than others.

If you don’t like getting wet, give

swimming a miss. Cross country running

may have been hell on a wet Wednesday

in leaking plimsolls but jogging where

you want, when you want with a decent

pair of trainers and your own soundtrack

is a different matter.

Or take up something you’ve never tried

before – horse-riding, abseiling, skiing

or one of the sports specially devised for

disabled people. Think broadly. It’s not

just the traditional sports that will get

you fit. What about yoga, gardening or

dancing?

Think of ways of doing what you want

to do differently. Put stabilisers on your

bike or swim with a rubber ring or

armbands. Fancy roller–blading but not

sure about your balance? Use Nordic

walking sticks as an aid. Worried your

2: Taking part

Millions of players, thousands of

activities, endless possibilities

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

dancing is dodgy? Dance at home or

go to a darker night club (or better still

try a No Lights, No Lycra session where

everyone dances – and exercises – in the

dark).

You don’t have to go to a gym or sports

centre. Or indeed anywhere. There are

many exercises you can do at home with

no or cheap equipment. There is a lot

of satisfaction in simply doing one more

repetition of a morning exercise than

you did the day before.

Also think about how fit you are right

now. Some activities are more physically

demanding than others. Don’t start off

with tennis or squash if you’re very unfit.

All that twisting and turning could result

in an injury. Get fitter and more flexible

first with a lower impact activity.

This section looks at some of the

activities you might want to think about.

We include some basic, general advice

but, depending on your impairment, you

might also want to get some personal

advice from your health professional,

local disabled person’s organisation,

organisation for people with your

impairment or a fitness coach.

Exercise and the rush you get from it

can be addictive. If you’re ever worried

about it becoming an obsession, take a

week off. If you can’t do this, get some

help.

Fred Bridges, international cricketer

I didn’t even know you could play

cricket with hemiplegia but then

someone told me about the work the

ECB were doing so I got in touch with

my local club. They made it really easy

to get involved. I come from Sussex but

there are opportunities at grass roots

level for disabled people to access

the sport all over the country. There

are pathways up to international level

for blind, deaf, physical disability and

intellectual disability. I never thought

that when I started playing that I would

end up in Dubai, spin bowling for

England against Pakistan in the first

ever international series between two

national sides of physically disabled

players. You could say I’ve been

bowled over.

SPORT TALK

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Walking

If you can walk, there’s no easier and

more effective exercise.

If you can manage longer distances at

faster paces so much the better but

even if you can’t, there’s an enormous

amount to be gained. A review by

Harvard Health Watch suggested that

just 5.5 miles per week and at a pace

as casual as about 2 miles per hour was

good for the heart.

Some people are sceptical about the

benefits of walking because it’s not

aerobic. True, we rarely get sweaty

and breathless doing it. But exercise is

about duration and frequency not just

intensity. In fact, although you obviously

burn fewer calories walking than

running, a greater proportion of the

calories burned are fat. So while you may

have to walk for longer than you’d need

to jog you’ll still benefit.

But this doesn’t necessarily mean

walking takes longer than jogging. After

all, with walking, you don’t need to

warm up, change into special clothing or

shower afterwards.

Two other great advantages of walking

are that you can incorporate it into your

existing day by, for example, leaving the

car at home or getting off the train a

stop earlier.

You can also meet other people by

joining a walking or rambling group.

I like simply walking – I walk the dog

for 40 minutes a day. I like the fresh air,

sunshine and exercise.

Dogs are great for people with mental

health conditions – they love you and

are always there for you. The dog is my

companion but he’s also my incentive

to go out when I don’t feel like it. Dogs

are great for social contact – everyone

wants to pat them or talk about them,

especially as my dog has three legs.

You can get a support dog if you have

a mental health condition. Contact

Assistance Dogs.

SPORT TALK

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Cycling

Cycling is popular because like walking

it is an effective mode of transport

that gets you fitter at the same time.

Admittedly UK roads are not exactly

bike-friendly but there are more and

more cycling lanes and opportunities to

ride off-road.

There are tricycles, quadcycles,

recumbants and other alternatives for

those unable to ride a regular bicycle

including hand-powered bikes called

handcycles.

I had a stroke when I was 31. Four

years later, I was fat, unhappy and not

taking any exercise.

I didn’t have the balance to ride a

bicycle but I chanced across a small-

wheeled tricycle in a local shop. I rode

it for five minutes and realised that,

once I’d attached the plastic ‘rat-trap’

on the pedal to my foot, I could ride it.

Getting on to my tricycle is about the

most obviously disabled thing that I do

because my foot muscle is gone but

it’s a great example of doing things

differently because, once I’m on, I’m

suddenly free and can cycle as far or

as fast as anyone else.

I cycle ten miles everyday to and from

work and I’m as fit as a fiddle. But

the greatest benefit is mental. I used

to be exhausted by 6pm but now I’m

energised by using a different part of

my brain to cycle.

I’ve cycled round London, Newcastle,

Leeds, Birmingham and Bournemouth.

I’ve even taken the ferry to Hook of

Holland and gone to Amsterdam. And

the great thing is it’s something that I

do totally for myself without anyone

else’s involvement.

As a barrister specialising in

discrimination law, it chimes perfectly

with my work which is often about

challenging presumptions of what

disabled people can and can’t do. In

fact, my tricycle is actually better than

a bike for me as it can carry more

luggage – ideal for my legal books.

SPORT TALK

There are also power-assisted bicycles

and static exercise bikes for using at

home. Side-by-sides or tandems allow

two to ride at once.

Running bikes are half-way between

running and walking. They are three-

wheeled tricycles with no pedals

which support you as you walk or run.

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Running bikes are particularly good for

people with impairments that affect

their mobility and balance. But they

enable pretty much anybody to propel

themselves considerably faster than they

could unassisted making them a fun way

to improve strength, fitness and well-

being for people of all ages and fitness

levels.

There are contacts for all types of cycling

and running bikes in chapter 5.

Running

If you want something a little more

vigorous than walking, try jogging.

There is plenty of advice available for

new runners but it all boils down to one

thing: don’t get injured. (Actually that’s

pretty good advice for any new sport or

exercise regime.)

A common pattern is that new joggers

start off slowly, go a little faster and a

little further each time and then, after a

handful of runs, get injured. The reason

is that your heart and lungs often rise

to the challenge more quickly than your

muscles and skeleton. The maxim is:

don’t do more today than you will be

able to do tomorrow. Warm-up with

some walking and stretching. Take it very

easy. Don’t run every day at first. And

make sure you’ve got proper running

shoes suited to your feet – buy them at

a decent sports store.

What you’re trying to do is to get your

pulse into a zone that is between 60%

and 85% of your maximum heart rate.

(Your maximum heart rate is 220 minus

your age.) A heart rate monitor can

keep you in this zone. Run while you’re

below and in the zone. Once you go

above your maximum, walk until you’re

comfortably back in the zone again. At

first you may find that you really can’t

run far at all before you’re out of the

zone. Listen to your body. It will keep

you safe (and uninjured). There’s no

problem exercising below the zone so

any amount of walking will still help but

exercising continually above the zone is

dangerous.

Exercise –

at the gym or at home

Just 5-10 minutes a day exercise will

help. Talk to your health professional

or ask an organisation for people with

your impairment about what the best

exercises are for you to do. You can also

get personalised advice at a good gym

but if you want to work out at home,

that’s fine too.

There are some excellent exercises

you can do at home which require no

equipment at all including the press-up,

the sit-up, the burpee and the plank.

A Wii or other TV or PC-linked games

console can help.

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

The old maxim ‘use it or lose it’ applies

to most muscles but that doesn’t

mean you need to do weight-lifting.

Stretching a joint through its range

of movement is most useful. But get

advice first, especially if you have a

physical impairment – exercises that are

not suited to your impairment may be

dangerous.

I enjoy running and taking long walks.

I think there is a physical reason,

the release of endorphins in the

brain. But as well as that, I feel a

sense of achievement while doing

them (especially running) and I almost

always feel much more mentally

relaxed after the run than before it.

I feel better about myself if I’ve

managed to do some exercise. It

makes me feel that I’m not such a

bad person after all (at least for a

time). Also, I do most of my runs and

walks in scenic places such as parks

or rivers so I enjoy looking at the

scenery too.

I always feel physically tired after

running, but that’s much better than

the mental tiredness I feel many other

times.

I mainly run by myself but normally

walk with others. I quite enjoy the

company on those occasions although

sometimes, I walk by myself which I

find quite calming.

It can be difficult to find the time but I

usually do a run or walk at weekends,

sometimes both. It is frustrating

that I can’t find more time to run. It’s

easier when the evenings are lighter.

Depression can make me very

lethargic, and it can be quite difficult

to force myself out of the house to do

exercise, especially when it’s cold and

dark. But for anyone with a mental

health condition, I would certainly

recommend making the effort.

SPORT TALK

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

How do I choose a gym?

The best bet is to look for one of the

nearly 400 IFI (the Inclusive Fitness

Initiative) accredited gyms.

IFI is a programme managed by the

English Federation of Disability Sport

(EFDS) that supports the UK fitness

industry to become more inclusive.

It provides accreditation for gym and

other facilities that meet the standards

in four areas:

accessible facilities

fitness equipment that is appropriate

for the vast majority of disabled

people

staff training

inclusive marketing

You can find your nearest IFI facility by

going to the EFDS website

(www.efds.co.uk) searching on ‘Inclusive

Fitness Initiative’ and using the Facility

Search.

Visit any gym you’re interested in at

peak time (usually 6:00-8:30pm) and

ask yourself a few simple questions.

Is it overcrowded? Is there enough

equipment? Does it look clean and

well-maintained? Is there somewhere

to warm-up and warm-down? What are

the changing rooms and showers like?

By doing fitness and strength training,

the balance and stability of my body

improves. Together with chiropractic

treatments, this helps to keep my

spine healthy and straight. I enjoy the

strength training the most because I

can use my whole body.

For my short arm I use a special arm

prosthesis with vacuum-fitting. I use

straps to attach the prosthesis to, for

instance, a pull down machine. The

prosthesis must fit well. Using my short

arm during training really feels special

– during rowing, for instance.

I exercise twice a week. Half an hour

there and half an hour back home by

bicycle. I do strength training for about

1 hour. Then another 15 minutes some

kind of cardio exercise and stretching

and I am ready.

SPORT TALK

Ask about the instructors. Are there

enough around? What are their

qualifications? Have they had disability

awareness or other training in working

with disabled people? Are they

registered with any professional body?

(Check that professional body out – visit

their website.)

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

We use a Kinect console provided

by lifelites.org in our hospice and it’s

great for kids of all ages. It’s a sociable

thing for sometimes isolated children.

They can exercise at any time – no

need even to go out. And these sorts of

consoles are also fun and easy to use.

We want to empower the children and

young people, and by choosing their

own games and exercise, they are

given control over their leisure time.

We had a six year old who has

problems with her coordination on

it non-stop during her last visit. It

was wonderful as it really brought

her out of herself and increased

her confidence, movement and

concentration.

SPORT TALK

Don’t be over impressed by fancy

video screens. Air-conditioning, lighting

and drinking water facilities are more

important. If you do want to watch TV

while exercising, check out what’s on.

Some people prefer to listen to music or,

on some machines, even read.

Ask about the programme of classes

and see if anything suits you.

Check fees carefully. Is there a joining

charge? Any additional costs for classes

or other facilities? How do you cancel

or suspend membership? Any discounts

for disabled people or for paying for a

longer period upfront.

You don’t have to join a private gym.

Many local authority gyms are excellent

and may have higher levels of disability-

awareness among the staff.

Try it out. Before joining, get a daily or

weekly pass and see what the place is

really like. Some gyms offer free trials or

free trial lessons.

Good gyms will give new members a

questionnaire to help assess their fitness.

If you haven’t exercised for a while or

need specific advice because of your

impairment, ask for a fuller assessment

by an instructor. Before letting you on

the equipment, the gym should explain

how it all works and suggest the best

programme for you to begin with. If they

don’t, consider another gym.

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I hadn’t taken any exercise for years

and years. I just assumed it would be

too difficult.

I was approaching 40. Maybe you’d

call it a mid-life crisis but I was about

to change jobs and wanted to do

things differently this time. I’d been

working all the hours and not eating

properly. I was putting on weight.

I went to the local gym and it was the

world of the body beautiful. I just didn’t

like the way I was treated. I was seen

as an oddity. They showed me around

but very half-heartedly. I didn’t join.

So I went online and looked for local

personal trainers. I made a few phone

calls. A couple of them were very wary

and that made me wary. Then I got

this guy Darryl who was 100% up for

it within minutes. He understood a bit

about arthritis. He’d done a module on

disability in his training. And he was

keen to learn more.

He was the first to ask me what I’d

consider standard questions to find out

what I could and couldn’t do. I told him

about my mobility and the operations

I’d had. I said ‘I can’t run, can’t grip and

can’t get down on the floor’. He said

‘fine!’

The first meeting was still hell. This

young whipper-snapper turned up in

all his fab fitness gear. But he was very

nice. He said: ‘put some music on and

let’s dance’. I said ‘you’ve got to be

joking’. But I did and it was hysterical.

Within 15 minutes we were both

laughing.

We did some range of movement

exercises. He had read around

the subject and knew about the

replacements I’d had and what

you could do without driving the

rheumatologists up the wall.

Ten years later, it’s still fun. We never

do the same session. It’s always fresh

and different. Darryl has got to know

me and what makes me tick. He knows

when to push and when not. I’ve had

lower back and shoulder pain at times

and he knows how to focus on these

areas.

With Darryl I went back to that gym

and this time I joined. I don’t think their

attitude had changed but I had. I was

more confident. Now I see Darryl or go

to the gym at least once a week.

SPORT TALK

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Check your local gym for individual

advice on fitness classes or individual

programs, many at affordable prices.

Swimming

Swimming is a great sport and among

the safest ways to exercise as your body

is supported up to 90% by the water.

Also because water is about 12 times

as thick as the air, the water resistance

maximises the benefit you get from your

movements.

This means that swimming is a little

like jogging and lifting weights at the

same time. Plus, of course, your body is

submerged making it a less public form

of exercise than some others.

There are many instructors who are used

to teaching disabled people to swim and

many clubs and county swimming set-

ups have a disability liaison officer.

Contact your local pool to see what is

available in your area. The Big Splash

section of the British swimming website

– www.swimming.org/bigsplash – may

help.

You can’t put a price on feeling good

about how you look and feel. Apart

from the obvious physical benefits,

it helps me wind down after heavy

work periods. When I’m exercising

I eat more sensibly and am better

about carving out time for myself

rather than just working and working.

Keeping the muscles around the

replacement joints as strong as

possible also keeps my arthritis

stable.

A personal trainer isn’t cheap – mine

is £60 an hour – but if you find the

right person it is worth it. Darryl’s firm

specialises in working with women

so that helped too. It’s like finding

a counsellor. It’s a very personal

relationship. You need to shop

around to find someone you’re totally

comfortable with.

Without Darryl I’d be far less

ambulant and probably overweight.

In return I sort out his girlfriend

problems so it’s a fair exchange

really.

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Adapted sports

Many sports can be played by disabled

people on the same basis as non-

disabled people. But some have also

been adapted to make them more

disability-friendly. Some adaptations

are very slight; others more significant.

Football for people with learning

disabilities is played by the same rules.

So is deaf football – except referees use

flags rather than whistles. Blind football

is five-a-side with sighted goalkeepers,

a ball filled with ball-bearings and no

offside rule. There is more on

www.disabilityfootball.co.uk

Similar adaptations appear in other

sports such as cricket (www.ecb.co.uk/

development/disability-cricket) – the

England and Wales Cricket Board has

opportunities for blind, deaf, physically

and intellectually disabled players – and

tennis (www.tennisfoundation.org.uk/

disabilitytennis).

There are several sports specially

adapted for wheelchair-users, five are

internationally organised and played

at Paralympic level (see box opposite).

You don’t need to be a permanent

wheelchair-user to take part. You

can find out more about them from

Parasport (see page 59).

There are more examples of adapted

sports in the section on Paralympic

Sports which follows.

Paralympic sport

If you want to play in an organised

way with other disabled people or to

compete at a higher level, you might

want to look at the disability sports that

come together under the Paralympics

umbrella. There are currently about

20 summer Paralympic sports and five

winter ones but the list is growing.

Paratriathlon, for example, combining

running, swimming and cycling is taking

I can swim completely independently

once I’m in the water. Some say my

stroke is all wrong and that I swim

like a frog but so what? I can swim

40 lengths of my local pool without

stopping so ungraceful as my stroke

may be, it works OK.

The experienced swimmer, when in

the water, may be classed among the

happiest of mortals in the happiest

of moods, and in the most complete

enjoyment of the happiest of exercises.

The Swimming Instructor – William

Wilson (1883)

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Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Wheelchair tennis is much like the

‘running game’ except the ball can

bounce twice. The Tennis Foundation

(www.tennisfoundation.org.uk) can tell

you more about a game that is played

by over 6,000 people in more than 70

countries.

Wheelchair basketball is also much

like the familiar ‘running game’.

Organised under the auspices of the

Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball

Association, it’s very popular in this

country with its own league of around

65 teams.

Wheelchair rugby is a full-on contact

sport that is played indoors on a

basketball-style court.

›› Wheelchair Sports

Originally called murderball when it

was developed in Canada in the 1970s,

it actually shares little with regular

rugby beyond its name. The Great

Britain Wheelchair Rugby Limited is

the national governing body for the

game in England, Scotland and Wales.

There is also wheelchair curling and

wheelchair fencing.

If you have a go, you’ll want to buy

or borrow a specialist wheelchair

designed for your sport. Ask the people

you’re going to be playing with or your

local organisation of disabled people

for advice.

off among disabled fitness enthusiasts

and will be included in the Paralympics

in 2016 in Rio.

In order to ensure fair competition,

athletes are classified according to their

impairment and its severity. There are

six official Paralympic categories, based

on type of impairment:

people with a partial or total

amputation of at least one limb

people with a non-progressive

neurological disorder resulting from

cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury

or stroke, or similar disabilities

people with an intellectual disability

(usually called a learning difficulty or

learning disability in the UK)

people with visual impairments

wheelchair-users

Les autres (people with an

impairment not easily placed in one

of the other five categories including

people with dwarfism, multiple

sclerosis or other disabilities)

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Bulbul Hussain, British Paralympic

Wheelchair Rugby team

I had a road traffic accident on holiday

in Bangladesh and broke my neck.

When I came back to England I was

in Stoke Mandeville (SM). That was

the first time I saw wheelchair rugby

– there was a training session – but I

didn’t think it was for me. Before my

accident, I played football with my

friends for fun but I wasn’t really a

sportsman.

But when I came home from SM I was

bored and isolated. At SM there had

been lots of other wheelchair-users

but there weren’t any at home. I didn’t

want to hang out with my old friends

either. I just sat around smoking.

The local occupational therapist

came round and saw I was bored so

she suggested painting. But I didn’t

like that. It was too messy. Then she

mentioned wheelchair rugby and this

time when I actually tried the sport I

really liked it. After the first session I

ached all over, my muscles, my joints,

and when I got home I had a massive

blister on my hand. I told the captain

that I didn’t think I could come to

training the next week and he told me

that I could be a really good player.

This was the encouragement I needed

because I’m a real competitor. When

I was in hospital I was competing

with the bloke in the bed opposite to

get better quicker than him. Players

are categorised by their level of

impairment. I’m a one pointer which is

the second highest level of impairment

and I want to be the best one-pointer

on the squad. Sometimes people tell

me I’m maybe the fastest one point

player in world and that really makes

me feel good.

I stopped playing for two years when

I got married and had a son. But

I noticed I was losing fitness and

missing the social side too. Playing

again made me happier as well as

fitter. It took me about four years to get

back to British team standard. There

were one-pointers ahead of me in the

team.

For 2012 I’m the oldest man in the

squad and we really want to win it

in our own back yard. Wheelchair

rugby sold out quicker than any other

paralympic sport so we have a good

chance with a big home crowd behind

us. But it’s a team game and we all

need to play our best to win gold.

SPORT TALK

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Looking at the full Paralympic

programme will give you a good idea

of the range of sports developed or

adapted particularly for disabled people.

It includes archery, alpine and Nordic

skiing, athletics, adaptive rowing,

cycling, equestrian sports, football, judo,

powerlifting, sailing, shooting, swimming

and table tennis. There is also sitting

volleyball (literally volleyball played

sitting on the floor over a lower tennis-

style net), ice sledge hockey (again, as

the name suggests, a form of ice hockey

played sitting in small sledges) goalball

(a sort of handball for people with visual

impairments) and boccia (a game like

bowls or petanque for athletes with a

severe degree of physical impairment).

Of course, people with a learning

difficulty can get involved in most sports

without the need for adaptations. But

there are currently three Paralympic

sports open to athletes with a learning

difficulty: athletics, swimming and

table tennis. There are also a whole

host of other sports in the Inas Global

Games. Inas is the International

Federation for sport for para-athletes

with an intellectual disability. You can

find out about these from the UK Sports

Association for People with Learning

Disability.

Wheelchair rugby has taken me all

over the world – the USA, Canada,

Australia, New Zealand – and I’d be a

completely different person without it.

I don’t think it’s good to sit at home in

front of the telly. You need to burn off

all those calories and for me the best

and most enjoyable way is through

training.

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Visit Parasport (www.parasport.org.uk),

the website of the British Paralympic

Association (BPA) for more information.

You can even see what Paralympic

sports you could compete in using the

self-assessment wizard. There are other

useful contacts in chapter 5.

Other Sports

As far as exercise options go, all of the

above add up to nothing more than

the tip of the iceberg. There are many

disabled people playing many other

sports and involved in many other

activities.

Angling remains the most popular

participant sport in the UK – four

million people fish each year, of which

tens of thousands are disabled. The

British Disabled Angling Association is

working to improve access further.

Badminton is increasingly popular as it is

a sport that disabled and non-disabled

players can play together. Although it

is not yet a Paralympic sport, there is

an organised Parabadminton network

including competition for wheelchair-

users, ambulant players, dwarf players

and players with learning disabilities.

Bowls and golf are two other popular

sports disabled and non-disabled people

can play together.

I had ridden all my life and had had a

horse of my own, but at the age of 42

I had a brain tumour. I found myself

partially sighted, deaf on one side, no

balance (and unable to stay upright),

partial paraplegia on my entire left

side, including my face.

While in rehab, I dreamed of riding

again. The Riding for the Disabled

Association (RDA) rode to my rescue.

Although I had lost a lot of weight and

strength, I managed, with the help

of the RDA staff and volunteers, to

progress. I was thrilled to find that the

awful balance issues were completely

removed when riding. This was a

revelation that was the beginning

of so much. I simply cannot express

this enough. I gradually regained

confidence and a renewed feeling

about what I could achieve physically.

These days, I have improved so much

that I compete in Paralympic dressage.

SPORT TALK

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I’m totally deaf and blind and have

problems with balance – it’s like being

permanently drunk (but not as much

fun). I do everything through the sense

of touch.

My chosen favourite sports are

quadbiking, jetskiing and tandem

cycling. With the first two I normally

sit on the front with a sighted pillion

rider who uses a simple but effective

system of touch signals to indicate

the direction to steer and when

to slow down. (I don’t need any

encouragement to go faster!)

SPORT TALK

And these are just the sports that the

disabled people we have spoken to have

told us about. There are umpteen more.

The Recreation and Sports section of

Ableize (www.ableize.com), the UK’s

virtual directory of resources run by

disabled people, includes more than

30 activities including bowling, cricket,

martial arts, water-sports and flying.

There are many variations. Take the

example of our national sport football.

There are just two football events played

at Paralympic level (seven-a-side for

athletes with cerebral palsy and five-

a-side for blind people) but there are

many other forms of the game.

I used to motorcycle but when my

balance started to go in the mid 90s, I

bought my first quadbike which was

fantastic fun. I was offered the use of a

100 acre field and the chance to get up

some serious speed on the straights. It

takes skill to do it safely without sight

and a lot of practice to build up the

speed and slow down on grass without

skidding – you really have to trust your

pillion rider and vice versa. It was

exhilarating to reach speeds of up to

80mph in a matter of seconds riding a

race-tuned 700cc quad.

Other people’s attitudes can get in the

way of disabled people doing sports.

Chief among them is that it would be

too dangerous. But where are the

stats to back that up? Isn’t it true that

thousands of sighted people crash

their cars every year and yet still

carry on driving afterwards? Shouldn’t

disabled people be allowed to have

accidents too without being made to

feel somehow that it will be seen as a

reason to stop their sport?

In 2004 with a serving police officer

as pillion rider I smashed my previous

quad world speed record reaching a

top speed of 136mph and an average

speed of 133mph.

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

The Football Association (FA) alone runs

teams for partially-sighted people, for

deaf and hearing-impaired people, for

people with learning disabilities and for

amputees. There are umpteen other

football teams out there including those

for people with mental health conditions

as well as physical ones. And all this

I do sport quite regularly. I go to the

gym. I do weights. I prefer these to

running on treadmills and I play tennis

– it’s aerobic but not boring. Although I

work full-time, I play three or four times

a week.

Compared to a treadmill, tennis isn’t

a chore and the exercise is a by-

product of my enjoying myself. Doing

something that’s fun and getting some

exercise is a double boost to your

mood. I played tennis before I began

to experience depression so I knew I

enjoyed it.

Tennis is a great game for people with

mental health conditions but we don’t

realise it. We often get cut off from

the world and find contact with others

threatening. I think carers and health

professionals need to emphasise the

benefits of exercise and the contact it

brings more.

The problem with tennis is that you

can lose and that can be a knock back

– especially if you’re very competitive.

But it doesn’t have to be competitive,

especially when you’re a beginner.

Just knocking up is fun and sometimes

better exercise than a game.

If you don’t want any competition there

are lots of fun gym classes including

yoga and tai chi. Gentle exercise

like this calms the mind. Thinking of

the position you’re holding and the

breathing distract you from what’s

on your mind. You can also do it even

when you’re genuinely tired.

SPORT TALK

is to say nothing of the many, many

disabled players playing for ostensibly

non-disabled teams or kicking a ball

around with their mates in the park. So

look around. Whatever exercise or sport

interests you, someone somewhere will

be doing it.

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

What do I need?

The kit bag is key to any exercise but

exactly what you pack depends on what

you’re doing. You’ll need to make your

own list – unfortunately, it tends to get

longer as you get older – but these are

the sorts of things to think about:

water (and/or orange squash, a

cheap, easy energy drink)

towels (large for showering and small

for wiping off sweat during exercise)

toiletries

medication

something to keep sweat out of your

eyes? (sweatband, bandana etc)

healthy post-exercise snack to

deter you from going to the pub or

cafeteria

MP3 or other music player?

keys (including Radar key)

your kit including underwear, shoes

and socks suitable for the activity

you’re undertaking

Can I really access sports

facilities on the same basis as

everyone else?

Yes. And it’s not just because of the

equality law. It’s also because it’s good

business for those who run sports

facilities, gyms, sports clubs and stadia.

These establishments have been hit

by the recession as much as anyone

else and they’re keen to get customers

through the door.

There are over eleven million disabled

people in the UK but only 16% belong

to sports clubs (compared to 26% of

non-disabled people). Indeed, only

about 6.5% of disabled people currently

participate in at least 30 minutes of

exercise at moderate intensity at least

three times a week. So we represent an

enormous potential market.

Research by the English Federation of

Disability Sport (EFDS) identified some

of the main barriers to participation.

These included lack of privacy in

changing rooms and lockers, uneven

surfaces, poor signage, lack of

appropriate equipment, poor quality

of the welcome from staff, absence of

single sex sessions and cost.

Some of these may be barriers for you.

However, more and more providers

of sports facilities, especially local

authorities and national sporting bodies,

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

are trying to break down these barriers.

Sport England and other bodies now

provide guidance on accessible sports

facilities built around an inclusive design

process.

But it’s also a question of attitudes –

ours and theirs.

Some people involved in exercise and

fitness just don’t get it. They don’t

understand how people with mental

health conditions, learning difficulties

or physical impairments can do sport.

There are fewer and fewer of these

people around but if you encounter one,

why not lend them your copy of Doing

Sport Differently or download a free

copy from www.disabilityrightsuk.org

We tackle all the common

misconceptions about sport and

disability in section one.

Some trainers and coaches may be

under the same misconceptions. Refer

them to their professional body, most

of them will have a policy on equal

access and will offer equality training.

At www.interactive.uk.net there’s

even a free online disability equality

training course called ‘Be Inclusive and

Active’ accredited by the National Skills

Academy and offered in partnership

with Sport England, the English

Federation of Disability Sport and

disability organisations such as Disability

Rights UK.

We need to think about our own

attitudes too. We can be our own

biggest barrier. But it comes down to

this: it doesn’t matter what you or

anyone else thinks. It’s not a question

of whether you’re good or bad. It’s not

a question of how you look. It’s just a

question of whether you want to do it or

not. If you want to, you have a right to.

Leisure centres, swimming pools, tennis

clubs and tennis courts, golf clubs, rugby,

cricket and football clubs, ice rinks,

riding schools and equestrian centres,

gyms, health and fitness clubs, rowing

and sailing clubs, adventure centres,

sporting venues – they’re all covered

by the Equality Act and must all make

‘reasonable adjustments’ to make their

facilities inclusive. This applies to paid-

for and free services (including free

trials) and includes changing facilities

(you should be able to change in the

same privacy and comfort as a non-

disabled person).

There are some exemptions to this.

More about them later (see Can a sports

club turn me down for membership? on

page 38).

Health and safety is no excuse. Under

the law, disabled people are entitled

to make the same choices and to take

the same risks within the same limits as

anyone else so any decision taken on

the basis of health or safety must be

proportionate to the real risk.

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I extol the virtues of croquet to anyone

who will listen. It’s one of the few

international sports in which we, the

Brits, excel. It’s totally amateur and

men and women, old and young, fit or

not at one’s best, compete enjoyably

with one another.

The possibility of a handy pint

nearby in the middle of a match are

extra ammunition in the process of

persuasion.

I began playing in the garden with my

Dad. When I took a PGCE in Cambridge

I discovered that there was a bit more

to it than just pottering around the

lawn.

Croquet is played to the highest levels

on an amateur basis. Personally, I’m

quite competitive and it’s great to find

a sport where an average sort of bloke

like me with various bits missing can

play one of the top players in the world

and still have a good time. There’s no

separate arrangement for disabled

players because there are no barriers.

One of the all-time greats, Monty

Spencer-Ell, played to a very high

standard despite losing both arms in

World War I.

The reputation of croquet as being an

elitist game played by toffs on rectory

lawns persists but it’s quite wrong.

Yes – you’ll probably always be playing

in a pleasant setting but the game is

accessible to all ages and pockets. All

you need to start playing at your local

club is a pair of flat shoes. The club

will supply the rest of the gear.

My club is in Norfolk in the beautiful

grounds of Stow Hall, just outside

Downham Market in Norfolk. It’s a

haven of peace and calm, like a lot

of croquet clubs, and each season

roughly 100 disabled people come

along and have a go. Log on to the

Croquet Association website. I’m sure

the welcome will be just as warm at

your local club.

SPORT TALK

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Can a sports club turn me

down for membership?

In theory, in very particular

circumstances, yes.

This is one of the exceptions to the

general principle of equal access

enshrined in the Equality Act 2010.

Some membership organisations

– known as associations – which

have more than 25 members and

are genuinely private with specific

requirements for membership do have

the right to discriminate.

That is to say that they can select their

members on criteria of their own

choosing (for example, the requirement

to be nominated by an existing

member). You can think of obvious

examples where this makes sense such

as organisations of disabled people

(which may not be open to non-disabled

people) or parents’ associations (which

may not be open to non-parents). But

it also includes some sports clubs and

special interest clubs.

However, whether or not an

organisation is an association and

therefore entitled to discriminate in the

selection of its members is a question

of law, not something the organisation

can decide on the spot just to refuse

someone access to their facilities.

So the advice is: if you want to use any

facilities, ask. If they’re not accessible to

you, there may well be some ‘reasonable

adjustments’ that can be made. Perhaps

they’ve not come across someone with

your impairment or health condition

before. If you can see a ‘reasonable

adjustment’ that is not offered, suggest

it. After all, you’re the person best

placed to know. If you do encounter real

resistance, take advice from the Equality

and Human Rights Commission or a

disability organisation: you have a right

to take part.

There are also some specific

programmes designed to remove

barriers such as the Inclusive Fitness

Initiative (IFI), outlined on page 24.

In England, there are 49 County Sports

Partnerships (CSPs) which bring

together local authorities, national

governing bodies, clubs, schools and

school sport partnerships, health

professionals and other local agencies

with the explicit goal to increase

participation in sport and physical

activity. Contact yours to find out what

they’re doing to improve access. In

Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland,

contact the bodies listed in chapter 5.

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

If an organisation such as a gym or

sports club provides a public service

allowing anyone to use their facilities

provided that they pay then they are a

service-provider not an association and

so do not have the right to discriminate.

It doesn’t matter what they call

themselves or if they call their charge a

‘membership fee’.

Some organisations may be both

associations and service-providers. A golf

club, for example, might have members

but also be open to the public. The club

may have the right to discriminate when

it comes to selecting its members but

not if you wish to play golf as a member

of the public.

Of course, in reality, most sports clubs

want all the members they can get so

will probably welcome you and your

subscription fee with glee. If they don’t

and you still want to join, you may find

contacting your local Disabled Persons

Organisation (DPO) or Citizens Advice

Bureau (CAB) helps you get what you

want.

Even though I have a mental health

condition, I was able to join my club

as a disabled member. If you’re on

disability living allowance, it shouldn’t

be a problem. If you’re on direct

payments these can also be used for

gym membership.

SPORT TALK

I’m newly disabled.

How do I stay in sport?

If exercise has been a big part of your

life before your accident or illness,

you won’t want to lose it but you may

need to rethink how you do it. That’s

what this guide is all about: doing

sport differently. But it’s also part of

something wider: doing life differently.

Because every player loses or falls short

sooner or later, sport teaches us a lot

about dealing with setbacks. These

lessons can help you deal with life’s

wider challenges including ageing, injury

or ill-health. The best example here

is surely former heavyweight boxing

champion Muhammed Ali, the BBC’s

sports personality of the 20th century.

He now has Parkinson’s disease and is

better known today for his centre for

the disease and other philanthropic

work.

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Where do I find out more?

Your local library or local council’s leisure

or social services department should

have details about facilities, sports clubs

and other initiatives in your area. They

may also be able to tell you if you are

entitled to a leisure pass or any other

discounts.

In England, you could also try your

county sports partnership (there are 49

of them across the country).

For the governing body of a particular

sport, you can search for them on the

internet or contact Sport England, Sport

Northern Ireland, Sport Scotland or

Sport Wales (the overseeing bodies for

the home nations).

There are also the many organisations

mentioned throughout this guide and in

chapter 5 as well as your local disabled

person’s organisation.

If you’re looking for other players in

your area, web searches and online social

networks such as Facebook and Twitter

could also be useful.

Acquiring an impairment requires a

period of grieving for what has gone.

Finding a new way to exercise might help

this process – especially if it involves

meeting people who are living with a

similar impairment.

If you can carry on doing what you were

doing – albeit at a different level or to

a different degree of intensity – why

not? Sport is only ostensibly about the

result. If you’ve played at any level at

all you’ll know this. Is it so bad to be a

lesser player than you were? Look at

footballers like Clive Walker or Steve

Claridge who played at the very top and

finished rich and varied careers in non-

league football. Look at international

cricketer Devon Malcolm. In 1994, he

bowled the best test spell ever by an

England fast bowler (9-57 against South

Africa). A decade later, he was playing

minor counties and club cricket. Now

in his late 40s, he still turns his arm over

while training to be an umpire.

Of course, you don’t have to carry on

doing the same thing. You can try an

adapted version of your sport or take

up something completely different.

Perhaps think about what you can do

off the field (read the story of Norman

Whiteside on page 43). See it as a

new challenge. But whatever you do,

don’t let an impairment also impair

the pleasure you take from sport and

exercise.

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I developed rheumatoid arthritis as a

teenager and not being able to play

football was a real blow.

After a period of feeling sorry for

myself I tried golf as an alternative. It

can be expensive, but it is easy enough

to get some cheap clubs and play nine

holes on public courses.

After getting to a reasonable standard,

I started to get bad inflammation in my

hands. I stopped playing for a while.

After the inflammation settled down

my grip was considerably weaker and

I couldn’t hit a ball without the club

twisting in my hands.

I experimented with various things –

padding out the grips was a failure but

then I discovered weightlifting gloves

in a sports shop. These are gloves with

padding in the palm and are open at

the end of the fingers. The addition of

this padding gave me just enough grip

to resume swinging a golf club without

endangering passers-by.

I don’t play regularly, but I can play

passably well to enjoy a game with my

non-disabled friend. He may hit the ball

a lot further than me, but I play steady

and reasonably straight and feel very

smug when I catch up with him looking

for his ball in the trees.

Some tips I’d pass on to anyone

thinking of trying golf:

Technique makes a major

difference, pay for three or four

lessons to get started with the right

habits

Only use four or five clubs and

putter, you have much less weight

to carry and you will get used to the

clubs you have

If you find you get on better with

irons than woods, don’t use woods

at all. And also this can work vice

versa as you can get woods that go

all the way up to No 9 (you might

not understand what I’m on about

here yet but you soon will once you

start playing)

There’s that famous quote often

attributed to Mark Twain about golf

being a good walk spoiled. But I’ve

never been one for walking so one of

the best things about playing golf for

me is hiring a cart.

SPORT TALK

2: Taking part

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I began sailing in 2002 when I had

already turned 50.

I’d been a wheelchair-user since the

mid 90s and after the initial difficulties

coming to terms with it, I was looking

around for something to do. I’d always

been very active.

I was in the habit of going to the annual

Mobility Roadshow and I decided one

year to visit the RYA Sailability stand.

They were very welcoming and helpful

and assured me that even though I

could not climb in and out, I could

access a boat with the aid of a hoist.

I started going to the Sailability centre

at Rutland Water and at the end of

my third full day I was sailing solo.

Now I’m a qualified Royal Yachting

Association assistant instructor

showing other disabled sailors how to

use the sails and the wind and how to

steer.

We use specially-designed

access dinghies, which cannot

capsize. Nationally, Sailability clubs

have enabled over 20,000 disabled

people to experience sailing.

Sailing is freedom. That’s the word that

covers everything. It’s exhilarating. It’s

exciting. To see young people sailing

for the first time is such a thrill. Coming

aboard via the hoist some are nervous

at first but within minutes they have a

smile on their face. The camaraderie

across all ages is tremendous. We

have a member in his 90s who still

sails and several in their 80s.

My advice is just try it. I’ve never met

anyone who has tried it and not liked

it. It’s not expensive (Rutland Sailability

charge £5 for the first visit with adult

membership less than £50 a year

and £15 for under 17s.) And it’s totally

safe. We have buoyancy aids just like

non-disabled sailors, but to tell you the

truth the only people I’ve ever seen fall

overboard have not been disabled.

SPORT TALK

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

We can’t all score in the FA Cup Final.

But Norman Whiteside did.

When he found the net for Manchester

United in the 1983 final, the 18 year-old

became the youngest player ever to do

so. A year earlier he had become the

youngest player to appear in the World

Cup finals, beating a record set by the

great Pele. He could have been one of

the very best but a series of injuries forced

him out of the game in what should have

been his prime. He was just 26.

Whiteside turned his tough times into

something that could help those still

playing. He’d spent so much time with

the United physiotherapist that he

thought about retraining as one but in

the end qualified as a chiropodist and

podiatrist. He then went to work for

the Professional Footballers Association

checking out younger professionals

for lower limb problems – a job that

brought him into contact with nearly

every club in the league.

There are an incredible number of jobs

like this behind the scenes in sports – on

and off the pitch. Some require specific

skills, most just require your enthusiasm

and commitment.

3: On the touchline

From washing the kit to training the

team to balancing the books

Without the two million adult

volunteers who contribute at least one

hour a week to volunteering in sport,

community sport would grind to a halt.

Sport England

SPORT TALK

Could I have a

career in sport?

Yes. Sport and fitness has become a

major industry, offering a wide variety

of careers to a wide variety of people

with a wide variety of aptitudes and

interests. Some require certain academic

qualifications, others certain practical

skills.

Yes, there are barriers to disabled people

working in the industry, especially other

people’s attitudes but the equalities

legislation is there to support you and

the fact is that many disabled people

already work in sport and fitness.

There are careers with national or

regional sporting bodies and in local

sports facilities or with local clubs.

3: On the touchline

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

You always get setbacks – in sport

and in life. It really helps if you have

someone who believes in you.

I’d always loved sport. I was a

wheelchair-racer in my teens and had

done some coaching. I wanted to do

GCSE PE but the exam board wouldn’t

allow disabled people to do it. So my

teachers changed board, changed the

criteria and I became the first disabled

person in the borough to take GCSE PE.

It meant I was able to go to university

to study Sport Development and

Coaching but it didn’t work out. I was

bullied and the staff were unable or

unwilling to make the ‘reasonable

adjustments’ to accommodate me.

I hit rock-bottom. I was clinically

depressed. But Michelle, one of my

old athletics coaches, got in touch

and told me I shouldn’t waste what I’d

done. She got me into voluntary work

with my local borough which led me

to completing my coaching licences.

Eventually I went back to university, a

different one, and graduated with a 2:1.

Now I’m working as an Athletics

Activator in Tower Hamlets on RUN!,

an England Athletics Olympic legacy

initiative.

SPORT TALK

There are managerial and administrative

posts as well as practical ones

involving training, coaching, health

and rehabilitation. Many of the jobs

mentioned under ‘What can I do?’

on page 45 can be paid or unpaid

depending on who you’re doing them

for.

If you’re interested, discuss it with a

careers professional. Check out the

careers sections of the websites of the

organisations you’re interested in. The

Sports Leaders UK website –

www.sportsleaders.org – will also be

useful.

What about volunteering?

About one person in four volunteers

at least once a month in the UK and

interest is growing. But according

to Sport England, research carried

out by Scope and Leonard Cheshire

suggests that only 6% of disabled

people regularly volunteer within the

community. They point out that if more

disabled people volunteered within

sport then more disabled people would

participate and clubs would be ‘more

equitable, inclusive and representative of

our community’. It’s up to us to take up

the challenge.

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I’m deaf, blind and self employed,

running my own cycle repair

and servicing business (www.

cyclesurgery-peterborough.com).

Yes, it is possible for blind people to

do electrical wiring, true buckled bike

wheels and use power tools. I’ve still

got all my fingers and no one has been

electrocuted. I fitted out my workshop

myself – the workbenches, lighting

circuits, powerpoints and tool racks.

I first trained and qualified as a cycle

engineer in 1981. Always having

been a bit of a perfectionist I work to

very high standards. Bikes are road

vehicles and should be safe. It isn’t

just about making a living – it gives me

great satisfaction to be contributing to

the community and doing something

that others value and benefit from.

SPORT TALK

What can I do?

Here are some of the ways you could

help:

Coaching/managing – if you

understand a sport or activity well,

why not bring on the next generation

through coaching? You don’t have to

be able to do it well (though it helps),

you just need to know what’s what.

There are disabled coaches of both

disabled and non-disabled athletes.

If you’re also a good motivator and

tactician you could think about being

a manager. These roles can be very

competitive. After all, there may be

two dozen players in the squad but

there’s only one manager.

Refereeing/umpiring – most sports

are desperate for decent referees

and umpires so if you’re drawn in this

direction, know your stuff and can

cope with the physical and mental

strain of the job, you may well be able

to find an opportunity.

Clubs and committees – sports

administration is complicated and

many find the committee work and

the discussion it involves tedious so if

committees are your thing you could

make yourself popular.

3: On the touchline

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Volunteering – in addition to the

more formal roles, there are a whole

host of jobs behind the scenes in

sports clubs including making the tea,

driving the mini-bus, washing the kit,

running the league ladders, organising

the socials, fundraising, doing the

accounts, tending the pitch, taking

the photos, building the website. The

list is endless. If you have a skill, your

local sports clubs may well be able to

make use of it.

I have cerebral palsy and use a

wheelchair constantly. I do support a

league team – Middlesbrough – but

I prefer the non-league game. I’m

nearer the action and I find that the

clubs I take an interest in, take an

interest in me as a supporter.

When I was a child Tonbridge Angels

FC started using the school’s facilities

for training and I took the opportunity

to chat to some of the players. I

realised these were just ordinary

blokes who played the game for the

love of it more than for what they could

gain (financially) from it.

I’m now an ardent fan of Steeton AFC

of the West Riding County Amateur

League.

A club at this level needs all the help it

can get and it wasn’t long before the

editor of the club programme roped

me in to write articles and to help

with fund raising. I would now go so

far as to say that many of the staff

and players are among my closest

friends and I was thrilled when a few

years ago I was asked if I would like

to become the club’s Honorary Vice

President, a position I’m proud to hold.

I would advise the disabled fan

wanting to be involved in the game

rather than merely turning up to watch

it, to look to the lower leagues where

your attendance is noted – and ask not

what the club can do for you but what

you can do for the club.

SPORT TALK

These jobs require different levels of

skills and time commitment. Managing,

coaching and officiating require a lot of

both. Some other voluntary roles less so.

There are many jobs that can be done

by anyone in whatever time they have to

give.

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I remember one night in hospital when

I was around six years old. I was

struggling to cope with not being able

to see very far.

My doctor pointed out of the window

and asked, ‘What can you see there?‘

I looked at the white light I saw in the

distance and replied: ‘The moon’.

The doctor responded: ‘That’s around

250,000 miles away. How far do you

want to see?‘

It was from this point on that I strove to

focus on what I could do, rather than

what I could not do.

I loved sport from a very young age

and come from a sporty family. I found

participating difficult but still wanted to

be involved in other ways. I guess that

I took a rather strange route. I took a

BSc in Social Psychology and an MSc

in Applied Psychology.

I moved into sport when I studied

for my PhD back at Loughborough

University in 2005. This focused

on understanding the nature and

importance of the coach-athlete

relationship and identifying ways in

which it could be maintained.

I’m now a Lecturer in Sport

Psychology at Brunel University. I also

research athlete welfare in sport. For

example, I work with the NSPCC’s

Child Protection in Sport Unit to help

safeguard vulnerable children within

sport. I am also involved in other

projects to promote athlete welfare in

the USA and Japan.

For anyone who has an impairment

and wants to work in sport, I say ‘go

for it!’ Find out what you can do, think

about what you want to do and work

out how you can make it happen. In

fact, due to the technology that is now

available, I would not view myself

as being disabled. I can lecture 300

undergraduates with a PowerPoint

presentation as well as a sighted

person.

SPORT TALK

3: On the touchline

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

How do I get involved?

Think about what you want from

volunteering – new skills, fun, a chance

to contribute – and about what you

have to offer – skills, time and so on.

Get in touch with the sports club or

organisation you want to volunteer for.

They’ll be delighted by your enthusiasm.

Talk to them. Make sure there’s a mutual

understanding of what you want and

what they want and a reasonably close

fit between the two. Don’t be shy about

asking questions.

Although interest in volunteering is

growing, it is often on a short-term

basis, often instead of paid work, so

if you’re in a position to make a long-

term commitment you’ll be particularly

welcome.

If you’re not sure exactly where or

what you want to do, contact your

local volunteer centre or a national

organisation such as:

Volunteering UK

(www.ukvolunteering.org)

Volunteer Scotland

(www.volunteerscotland.org.uk)

Volunteering Wales

(www.volunteering-wales.net)

Volunteer Now in Northern Ireland

(www.volunteernow.co.uk).

I am a wheelchair-user who loves

sport of any kind and will give anything

a go. I throw the javelin and swim

regularly.

I volunteer for Ican2 which helps

disabled children do various sports and

activities including sit skiing, tandem

riding, learning to ride a bicycle or

a tricycle, adapted handbikes, and

go-karts. I love seeing the children

smile doing something new. I have

just qualified as a swimming coach to

disabled people and volunteer at my

local swimming club.

In my area, there are many activities

out there for young disabled people but

not much for those over 18. It would

be nice to be able to do something to

change this state of affairs so that they

don’t feel lost with nowhere to go at 18.

SPORT TALK

In England, the Do-It: volunteering

made easy website – www.do-it.org.uk

– enables you to search by your interest

type (including sport and outdoor

activities) and postcode. The Vinspired

site – www.vinspired.com – offers much

the same facility for 14-25 year olds. You

could also talk to your County Sports

Partnership or the national body of the

sports you’re interested in.

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Disability sports organisations are

particularly interested in making it easier

for disabled sports fans to volunteer.

For example, the English Federation of

Disability Sport (EFDS) project Inspire to

Lead was run in partnership with Sports

Leaders UK, Youth Sport Trust and

Sport England to increase the number

of disabled people in sports leadership

and volunteering and to identify how

best to support this. The resources they

produced, full of good ideas and good

practice, show what is possible and are

useful reading both for clubs who want

more disabled people involved and for

would-be disabled volunteers.

To encourage younger disabled people

to get involved in officiating, refereeing

and umpiring, the EFDS also ran a Young

Officials scheme.

If you want to train in officiating or

coaching, contact the professional body

for the sport or activity that you’re

interested in. They’ll be able to tell you

what training you’ll need and whether

they have any particular schemes for

disabled people.

3: On the touchline

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I went to Tottenham Hotspur FC to

watch a junior match for people who

are partially sighted. My impressions

and expectations of partially-sighted

football were completely wrong.

Spurs introduced me to a volunteering

coaching project set up with Haringey

Mencap called The Spurs Project:

Sport for People Under Represented in

Society.

I was blown away by the positivity in

and around the project and instantly

became a volunteer. Along with being

a coach I was also able to learn more

about being a support worker within

Haringey Mencap. I went on to work

full time within the day centre as a

support worker and eventually to

become a service manager.

I really enjoyed my time working on the

project because it was able to teach

me more about working with disabled

people on a daily basis but also it

taught me that I had certain skills that

I was not aware of and that I was

looking to develop.

Through this work I really found myself

and also regained my confidence

as a person and a sportsman. I got

the opportunity to gain a number of

qualification, in football, community

leadership and working with disabled

people.

Now as Senior Inclusion Projects

Officer I’m a full time member of

staff in the Disability and Inclusion

Department at the Tottenham Hotspur

Foundation.

To other disabled people who want to

work in sport, I would say be open to

volunteering because it can always

lead to a positive. It can allow you to

find out if you have an interest in a

certain area of work and can provide

valuable experiences.

Being visually impaired hasn’t made

me a better coach but it has made

me more aware of people’s needs

and I make sure that I am even

more prepared and organised when

delivering a sports session.

Sport is a fantastic motivator and is

a vehicle to provide opportunities

for people to develop. It can provide

opportunities for individuals to learn,

exercise, access qualifications,

socialise and build on existing skills.

The skills that I have developed

through sport are completely

transferable into everyday life and any

working environment.

SPORT TALK

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

4: Watching

Your guide to accessible spectating

Spectating is one of the easiest ways to

get involved in sport. Enjoy it – and who

knows, watching may inspire you to have

a go yourself.

The Olympic ideal – swifter, higher,

stronger – is easy to understand but

living up to it is harder. The same is

true off the field. The Olympic ideal for

access – 1% of capacity for wheelchair-

users, 1% for ambulant disabled people

– is easy to understand but outside of

purpose-built Olympic venues, achieving

it remains a challenge.

Having said that, the UK’s sports

grounds are becoming more accessible.

Not as quickly as we might like but it

is happening. Some older stadia are

difficult to adapt but things are changing

in the newer grounds and the sporting

authorities are beginning to understand

the issues around access. Generally six

groups are targeted:

wheelchair users

people with limited mobility

people with visual impairments

people with hearing impairments

people with learning difficulties

people with a psychological condition

or mental health conditions

To take the national sport of football

as an example, European football’s

governing body UEFA estimate that half

a million disabled football fans attend

matches in Europe. UEFA’s guide ‘Access

For All’ embraces the social model of

disability and covers everything from

access to the ground to access to the

hot dogs. It recommends access audits,

consultation, disability officers and clear

mission statements.

The guide points out that this is not

an issue that concerns only disabled

people since ‘research has shown that

the actual percentage of people who

require accessible infrastructure exceeds

20% at any given time’. This includes

people with injuries (supporters, staff

and players), pregnant women, children,

older volunteers and supporters,

shorter people, people not familiar

with the local language and first-aiders

and emergency services. That’s a lot of

potential users.

If you do encounter the increasingly rare

club that thinks disability access is not

worth the effort, it might be a good idea

to show them this list.

4: Watching

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Generally, the newer the stadium the

better the access. So, of the top football

clubs, access at Arsenal and Manchester

City or the new Wembley, for example,

is better than at Manchester United or

Chelsea. But don’t take anything for

granted, even with new stadia.

How do I know if my team’s

ground is accessible?

If you’re a disabled spectator you’ll

want to find out about Level-Playing

Field (www.levelplayingfield.org.

uk), the national charity representing

disabled fans of all sports in England

and Wales formerly known as the

National Association of Disabled

Supporters. They began as a football

supporters organisation but now cover

all sports. Their website includes access

information on many grounds including

most football clubs.

In the UK, there are several laws relating

to sports grounds and access and at

the time of writing there was a further

sports grounds safety bill going through

parliament.

The current legislation is brought

together in ‘Accessible Stadia: A

good practice guide to the design of

facilities to meet the needs of disabled

spectators and other users’. (Although

this guide was put together by the

football industry, it is referred to as

the guidance document for all sports

facilities in Approved Document M, the

government’s building regulations on

access to and use of buildings.)

It includes guidance on, for example,

the number of wheelchair spaces. The

current minimum is six for a stadium

under 10,000 capacity going up to 210

plus 2 per 1,000 for a capacity above

40,000 (so, the new Wembley stadium,

for example, has 310 wheelchair places

and associated carer seats for a capacity

of 90,000). But, of course, it not just

about wheelchairs. Gary Deards of

Level-Playing Field says: ‘there should

be as much ambulant disabled access

as wheelchair access. Ideally, you should

be able to sit where you want without

too many stairs and/or with a personal

assistant or guide dog or whatever you

need with you.’

If you don’t think your particular needs

are being met at the sports grounds you

visit, it’s worth having a look at the guide

and seeing what the relevant targets are.

However, the key point as far as this

guide is concerned is that under the

equality legislation, sports grounds

and stadia need to be as accessible

as possible and to make ‘reasonable

adjustments’ to ensure this.

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Currently, there is room for

improvement. In February 2011, Level-

Playing Field (then called the National

Association of Disabled Supporters)

told the Culture, Media and Sport

Committee of the House of Commons

inquiry into football governance that of

the 92 professional football clubs in the

top four divisions:

13 provided the minimum

recommended numbers of

wheelchair user spaces and amenity

seats

37 enabled disabled away fans to sit

with their own supporters

21 provided a full audio described

commentary service for visually-

impaired fans

poor sightlines in disabled seating

areas were commonplace with views

often completely blocked

few offered shelter from the rain in

the designated areas

accessible parking and amenities were

often poor or nonexistent

Most sports grounds are trying to

improve. The vast majority of football,

rugby and cricket grounds are not filled

to capacity every week and clubs want

as many supporters as they can get.

According to Level-Playing Field, rugby

league and horse racing are two sports

that have a particularly open attitude on

access and are keen to improve. Cricket,

like an express fast bowler, is also making

great strides.

But what is available and to whom varies

enormously. Do your homework before

setting out. Contact the club in advance

and find out exactly what they offer. Ask

about ticket prices for you and, if you

need one, for a personal assistant to

accompany you. Speak to the disability

liaison officer if they have one. Also

contact the supporters club and/or

disabled supporters club if there is one.

If you’re travelling to an unfamiliar part

of the country, the local organisation of

disabled people might be able to help too.

How can I help my club do

better on access?

Do your own access audit and report

back.

Then encourage them to have a

professional access audit. An access

auditor can tell them what they need to

do to make their ground more accessible

and how to do it most cost-effectively.

Make sure the auditor is registered

with the National Register of Access

Consultants (NRAC), an independent

and Access Consultants who meet

professional standards and criteria

established by a peer review system.

This is not expensive. Level Playing Field

amongst others can arrange effective

NRAC audits within the budget of all but

the tiniest club.

4: Watching

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I’m a person who is totally blind, I

follow Watford and Manchester City.

I didn’t renew my Watford season

ticket this year as they’ve effectively

quadrupled the price for blind fans.

True, it was low before but now it’s

the same price as for fully sighted

fans. Money’s tight and you need to

prioritise.

The club is better than some and

worse than others. Like about 25

other clubs, they provide an audio

commentary via the Soccer Sight

project. Although it’s now finished, this

project helped establish a dedicated

commentary with headsets that can

be used anywhere in the ground. I can

also get BBC so sometimes I have one

ear listening to one and one listening

to the other.

Some commentators are really good;

others waffle on about all sorts.

Sometimes the pitch-side effects mike

is too loud – you don’t need that if

you’re actually in the ground.

The best club I’ve been to in the last 15

years or so as a blind fan is Norwich.

They give you everything when you

arrive at the turnstile, so you don’t

have to go back and forth for headsets

and audio programmes and so on.

Ipswich is good too because they

have a disabled liaison officer who is

disabled himself so understands the

problems we encounter. That makes a

real difference. Arsenal was good as

well.

I can’t pretend there aren’t problems

sometimes with very few clubs using

alternative formats for providing info

etc for their blind fans. Chelsea was

terrible considering the amount of

money that has been pumped into the

club. The stewards didn’t even know

what a white stick was.

But the atmosphere and friendship is

still great, even at the smaller clubs

where they have more time for you.

My advice to blind people hesitating

about going to football is go. There’s

no real danger. The other team’s fans

may give you some banter over the

team you are supporting, but they will

normally look after you if you need

help. I’ve never had a remark about my

impairment, just the colour of my shirt.

The more of us who go to games,

the better the clubs will become at

understanding what we need.

SPORT TALK

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Kick it Out, the campaign against

discrimination in football which began

with racism, now has an Equality

Standard that encompasses six areas

of diversity: race, religion, age, gender,

disability and sexual orientation.

There are three levels of compliance –

preliminary, intermediate and advanced

– and to meet even the preliminary

level, clubs must commission an

external disability access audit using the

Accessible Stadia document mentioned

on page 52.

But that’s only the first stage. To

meet the Advanced level – and only

Arsenal have so far done this – clubs

need to implement the auditor’s

recommendations.

Encourage your club to share access

information: a page on the website

is easy to do and can make a big

difference, a leaflet or booklet for

people booking tickets, information for

away fans. Often away teams sell tickets

with no idea of the access arrangements

at the home team’s ground.

Encourage your club to do the little

things that can make a big difference

such as being flexible about where

people sit or using their existing

audio-visual facilities as much as

possible. Announcing substitutions/

replacements, goals/tries/wickets,

bookings/expulsions and other

information both on the PA and on

the screens in the ground doesn’t just

help spectators with visual or hearing

impairments but also those who have

popped out to the toilet, are temporarily

unsighted or don’t recognise your

team’s exciting new Brazilian signing.

Record the match programme and make

it available on CD (from the programme

sellers) or as an mp3 on the club

website. Doing this professionally will

only cost a couple of hundred pounds

but you can probably find a fan who will

do it for next to nothing.

Ask the manager and players to give up

five minutes to read their contributions.

No studios are needed. Modern

technology means they can record

themselves on their mobile phones.

Again it’s not only partially-sighted fans

who benefit. All those people driving

home in their cars after the match can

listen to the match programme.

Time and again disabled spectators told

us that the single thing that would make

the biggest difference was better staff

training. Understanding the issues makes

it far easier for stewards and other

staff to respond appropriately. Clubs

with well-trained disability-aware staff

don’t need to think of every possible

eventuality in relation to every possible

impairment in advance because they can

be confident that their staff can respond

intelligently to any situation in the

interests of both club and supporter.

4: Watching

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Can I be turned away?

As far as spectators are concerned,

most sports clubs are not associations.

If the general public is able to enter a

sports ground to spectate then a service

is being provided and it should be

accessible to everybody with ‘reasonable

adjustments’ made if necessary. It

doesn’t matter if entry is paid or free.

Use your common sense. If you’re

going to a ground that you’re not

familiar with, consider contacting them

in advance if you will need specific

adjustments. This makes ‘reasonable

adjustments’ possible. The organisers

are far less likely to be able to help if

you turn up unannounced five minutes

before the start, especially if you have a

particular need they’re not used to.

Take into consideration the resources

of the club you’re dealing with. It’s

perfectly reasonable to expect to be

able to get into flagship stadia like the

Olympic stadia, Wimbledon, Lords or

Twickenham but smaller clubs, especially

non-professional ones, often have to

make do with what little they’ve got and

that includes the supporters. You might

have ideas for how they can improve

even with limited resources.

Could a club with a

non-accessible ground be

taken to court?

In theory, yes. The Equality Act is clear

and it would be difficult for some of our

bigger sports clubs to argue that they

couldn’t afford to make the adjustments.

As Gary Deards of Level-Playing Field

puts it: ‘everybody has issued guidance

and every club knows what to do, it’s

now a question of doing it.’ (You can

find much of that guidance at:

www.levelplayingfield.org.uk/Football-

Authorities-Guidance.aspx).

However, fans are reluctant to take

their teams to court. Confidentiality

agreements have been used in out-of-

court settlements. But, if a club were

taken to court, it could set a precedent

that could revolutionise access to sports

grounds. Watch this space.

I’ve been going to sports grounds,

football, cricket and rugby, for a long

time and I remember how following the

recommendation of the Taylor Report,

set up after the Hillsborough Disaster

in 1989, many grounds became

all-seater or mainly seated almost

overnight. Why can’t they do the same

on disability access?

SPORT TALK

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

I hold a season ticket at Arsenal

because for a disabled fan – I’m a

wheelchair user – Arsenal is the best

ground by far. Lifts galore. Loads

of different viewing spaces for

wheelchair and visual and ambulant

disabled people. Commentary for blind

people. One of my carers is a Arsenal

fan so it combines football, best mate

and sometimes beers!

At Arsenal I have no barriers. But

were I not a season ticket holder there

are only a limited amount of disabled

wheelchair spaces for each game. I

would go into some form of ballot if

applying for a game. This happens for

away matches. Football clubs have

limited wheelchair spaces, especially

older grounds and at some grounds

there are only a handful of spaces

for away wheelchair users. When

applying, the tickets go to those fans

with most credits.

I am also an England Fan member

and whilst getting tickets for home

internationals is easy, travelling away

to remote countries requires masses

of planning and luck.

A major problem for disabled England

fans is the need to make a phone call

to book tickets. Non-disabled fans can

use the internet. Why? Better use of

the internet, especially for ticketing

would really improve things for

disabled fans.

Overcome barriers by learning the

system. If I want credits for tickets for

cup games I have to go to 3-4 away

games per season for three seasons

running. So I strategically pick grounds

that are nearby. I also utilise my

carers and direct payments to fund

my independence at matches. Often

a carer will work for free on the basis

of their match day ticket being paid/

subsidised.

More disabled parking would make

a big difference. But my advice to

would-be fans is just get on with it –

you won’t know whether you like it

until you try it. Ring clubs. Ask how

to go about it – they are very helpful

usually.

SPORT TALK

4: Watching

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

5: Who can help?

Information, advice and further support

A good place to start locally is your

library or council leisure or social

services department. You’ll also find

the national sporting bodies will help if

they can. However, there are so many

possibilities, we can list only a fraction of

them here. If you can’t find what you’re

looking for, have a good look online.

You’ll be surprised how much is out

there.

General starting points

Sport England

Address: 3rd Floor Victoria House,

Bloomsbury Square,

London WC1B 4SE

Tel: 08458 508508

Web: www.sportengland.org

www.activeplaces.com

Sport England directory including

information on over 50,000 facilities.

Sport Scotland

Address: Doges, Templeton on

the Green, 62 Templeton

Street Glasgow G40 1DA

Tel: 0141 534 6500

Web: www.sportscotland.org.uk

Sport Wales

Address: Sophia Gardens,

Cardiff CF11 9SW

Tel: 0845 045 0904

Web: www.sportwales.org.uk

Sport Northern Ireland

Address: House of Sport,

2a Upper Malone Road,

Belfast BT9 5LA

Tel: 028 9038 1222

Web: www.sportni.net

English Federation of

Disability Sport (EFDS)

Address: SportPark, Loughborough

University, 3 Oakwood

Drive, Loughborough,

Leicestershire LE11 3QF

Tel: 01509 227750

Web: www.efds.co.uk

Website includes link to Inclusive Fitness

Initiative database of accessible gyms

and facilities (or call 0114 2572060 –

add prefix 18001 for Typetalk).

EFDS also host Disability Sport Events –

www.disabilitysport.org.uk

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Disability Sports Wales

Address: Sport Wales National

Centre, Sophia Gardens,

Cardiff CF11 9SW

Tel: 0845 846 0021

Web: www.fdsw.org.uk

Scottish Disability Sport

Address: Caledonia House, South

Gyle, Edinburgh EH12

9DQ

Tel: 0131 317 1130

Web: www.scottishdisabilitysport.com

Disability Sports NI

Address: Adelaide House, Falcon Rd

Belfast BT12 6SJ

Tel: 028 9038 7062

Textphone: 028 9038 7064

Web: www.dsni.co.uk

Other useful general websites

England’s County Sports

Partnerships

Web: www.cspnetwork.org

Parasport

Web: www.parasport.org.uk

If you want to get into paralympic

sports, this is the place to start.

(Also Ability v Ability – for schools)

Web: www.abilityvability.co.uk

Federation of Disability Sports

Organisations in Yorkshire and Humber

Web: www.fdso.co.uk

Interactive

Web: www.interactive.uk.net

Lead strategic development agency for

sport and physical activity for disabled

people in London.

Get Active London

Web: www.getactivelondon.co.uk

Search site for all Londoners which

provides details on the inclusivity of the

activities it lists.

Ableize

Web: www.ableize.com/

recreation-sports

Sports section of disability resources site

run by disabled people.

Direct Enquiries

Web: www.directenquiries.com

Online access guide including sports

facilities.

Disabled Go

Web: www.disabledgo.com

Online access guide including sports

facilities.

Youth Sport Trust

Web: www.youthsporttrust.org

Run many programmes promoting sport

and volunteering.

5: Who can help

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Organisations for

particular sports

We can’t list every sport here so we’ve

tried to include those mentioned in the

guide and/or particularly popular with

disabled people.

Angling

www.bdaa.co.uk

Archery

www.archerygb.org

www.british-wheelchair-archery.org.uk

Athletics

www.uka.org.uk/

Badminton

www.badmintonengland.co.uk

Boccia

www.gb-boccia.org

Cricket

www.ecb.co.uk/development/

disability-cricket

www.cfpd.org.uk (Cricket Federation

for People with Disabilities)

www.cricketdeafengland.co.uk

Croquet

www.croquet.org.uk

Cycling

www.britishcycling.org.uk/disability

www.handcyclinguk.org.uk

www.ctc.org.uk

www.companioncycling.org.uk

Equestrian

www.rda.org.uk

www.britishdressage.co.uk/para_

equestrian

Football

www.thefa.com/TheFA/

WhatWeDo/Equality/

DisabilityFootball

Goalball

www.goalballuk.com/

Golf

www.disabledgolfsociety.com/

Netball

www.englandnetball.co.uk/

Rowing

www.britishrowing.org/taking-part/

adaptive

Running bikes

www.racerunning.org

www.acerr.org

www.rrscotland.org

Sailing

www.rya.org.uk/sailability

www.jst.org.uk

Shooting

www.dtsgb.org.uk (Disability Target

Shooting Great Britain)

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Sledge hockey

www.sledgehockey.co.uk

Snow sports

www.disabilitysnowsport.org.uk/

Swimming

www.swimming.org/

britishswimming/disability-swimming

www.swimming.org/bigsplash

Table tennis

www.etta.co.uk/our-sport-modules/

table-tennis-for-people-with-

disabilities/

Tennis

www.tennisfoundation.org.uk/

disabilitytennis/

Volleyball

www.volleyballengland.org/

getintovolleyball

Walking

www.disabledramblers.co.uk

www.getwalking.org – section for

‘people with disabilities’

Wheelchair basketball

www.gbwba.org.uk/gbwba

www.iwbf.org

Wheelchair curling

myweb.tiscali.co.uk/bwcca/

Wheelchair rugby

www.gbwr.org.uk

Organisations for people

with particular impairments

Back Up

www.backuptrust.org.uk

For people with spinal cord injury.

British Amputee & Les Autres

Sports Association

sites.google.com/a/balasa.org.uk/

main

British Blind Sport

www.britishblindsport.org.uk/

Cerebral Palsy Sport

www.cpsport.org/

Dwarf Sports Association

www.dsauk.org

Extremity Games

www.extremitygames.com/

Adaptive sports competition, similar

to the X Games, for athletes with

amputations and limb differences.

Mencap Sport

www.mencap.org.uk/sport

Metro

metroblindsport.org

London based club for blind and partially

sighted people.

Special Olympics

www.specialolympicsgb.org.uk

5: Who can help

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Transplant Sport UK

www.transplantsport.org.uk

UK Deaf Sport

www.ukdeafsport.org.uk

UK Sports Association for People

with Learning Disability

www.uksportsassociation.org

Inas

www.inas.org

The International Federation for sport

for para-athletes with an intellectual

disability.

Wheelpower

www.wheelpower.org.uk

National charity for wheelchair sport.

Spectating

Level Playing Field

www.levelplayingfield.org.uk

Formerly the National Association of

Disabled Supporters.

Centre for Access to Football in

Europe

www.cafefootball.eu

UEFA

uefa.com

(download Access For All V1.0 here:

tinyurl.com/uefaaccess)

Experts advise that you should

see your GP before starting a new

exercise programme if you:

Have not done any exercise for

10 years or more

Are over 40

Have a heart problem

Have high or low blood pressure

Have joint problems

Take painkillers or any other

drugs regularly

Have back problems

Are very overweight or very

underweight

Are prone to headaches,

fainting or dizziness

Have a resting heart rate that

exceeds 100 beats a minute

Have any other medical

condition which could interfere

with your taking part in an

exercise programme

›› Health warning

Doing Sport Differently

A guide to exercise and fitness for people living with disability or health conditions

Disability Rights UK has arrived – the merger of The Royal

Association for Disability Rights (Radar), the National Centre

for Independent Living (NCIL) and Disability Alliance (DA)

took place on 1st January. This will enable us to offer all the

services and campaigns we did before – and more. Our vision

is a society where all disabled people can participate equally as

full citizens.

Doing Sport Differently – a guide to exercise and fitness for

people living with disability or health conditions.

Written by Jim Pollard at notonlywor[email protected]

Illustration by Craig Shuttlewood at www.shuttlewood.me

Project Managed by Nathan Jelf-Mannion at

[email protected]g

Project Board

Chaired by Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE

Sue Baker, Time to Change

Alun Francis, Arsenal Football Club

Phil Friend, Disability Rights UK

Nick Heyworth, Parasport

Chris Holmes, LOCOG

Nathan Jelf-Mannion, Disability Rights UK

Ben Kersey, Disability Rights UK

Stewart Lucas, Interactive

Tracey McCillen, UK Sports Association

Tracey Proudlock, Equality 2025

Liz Sayce, Disability Rights UK

Rebecca Whittle, Visa Europe

Thanks to all the people with lived experience of disability

or health conditions and Disability Rights UK members who

helped write this guide. With special thanks to our sole sponsor

Visa, and the project board.

Doing Sport Differently – a guide to

exercise and fitness written by and for

people living with disability or health

conditions. Some positive messages

within:

‘I like simply walking – the fresh air,

sunshine and exercise…’

‘Once I’m on my cycle, I can go as far or

as fast anyone else.’

‘Doing sport challenges pre-

conceptions about what disabled

people can and can’t do better than

almost any activity I can think of.’

‘Sport has boosted my confidence and

opened up a whole new world.’

‘Once you start you can’t stop. I never

knew I could do all these things. I never

knew they could make me feel so good.’

This product is

100% recyclable.

Charity number: 1138585

Disability Rights UK would like to thank

Visa, sole sponsor of Doing Sport Differently

12 City Forum,

250 City Road,

London EC1V 8AF

Web: www.disabilityrightsuk.org

Tel: 020 7250 3222

Fax: 020 7250 0212

Textphone: 18001 020 7250 4119

Email: feedbac[email protected]g