Disability Sports Fest

Paralympic stars were out in force this week as Surrey played host to the inaugural ParalympicsGB Sports Fest.

Sports Fest aims to showcase opportunities for people with disabilities to get involved in Paralympic events at all levels and also to build on the momentum from London 2012.  The buzz surrounding the summer of sport resulted in over 800 people registering for the two-day event, with some travelling from as far afield as Scotland.

Give it a Go

All of the 22 Paralympic summer sports and most of the winter Paralympic sports were on show, giving participants the chance to try out rowing, judo, sitting volleyball, boccia and sledge hockey. Those interested in equestrian events got the chance to try out their skills on a mechanical horse.

Paralmypic gold medallist Jonnie Peacock attended the Sports Fest, commenting: “I originally didn’t want to try sport.  I was worried I wouldn’t be very good but it’s good to try new things and that’s what people are doing here today.”

“I’d always encourage people to do sport, it’s changed my life,” added Jonnie.

For Paralympic sport coaches the event provided a vital opportunity to seek out new talent.

Speaking to BBC Sport, ParalympicsGB Chief Executive, Tim Hollingsworth, commented: “We want to ensure our sports can find the next stars for Sochi, Rio and beyond but this is also a great opportunity to help people get into sport at all levels.”

“After Beijing we had some talent identification days which typically had around 40 to 50 people attending.  Having 800 disabled people getting involved this year shows the growth that London 2012 has inspired.”

A host of Paralympic stars attended the event including equestrian gold medalist Sophie Christiansen, cycling gold medalist Mark Colbourne and table tennis bronze medal winner Ross Wilson.  It is hoped similar events will be held at a number of other venues across the UK in 2013.