First step from Playground to Poduim - Jul 10 - Press Releases - LIVING SPORT

First step from Playground to Poduim - Jul 10

The search is on for the next generation of Paralympic athletes. Playground to Podium, led by Sport England in partnership with English Federation of Disability Sport, Youth Sport Trust and Paralympics GB, will help create a clear and professional disability sport pathway from school sport, through club participation and on to elite performance.

As part of the Playground to Podium Pathway LIVING SPORT are organising the County Athlete Assessment Days (CAAD) for the first time ever. The first of the CAAD’s will involve swimming and Boccia at Impington Village College on Tuesday 6th July.

The day will involve talent spotters from the ASA and England Boccia assessing the young people on their sports skills. All the young people from across the county have been identified as talented by their schools and invited to take part in multi skills clubs to hone their talents before the CAAD.

If the young people are deemed to have prospects in the sport the National Governing Body will then signpost the young people to local training opportunities a lucky few might get the chance to be fast tracked on to specific talent programmes and may get selected for the Paralympic Games as soon as London 2012!

The day will be made extra special by the presence of Fran Williamson, Paralympic swimming medalist from Beijing 2008, who is based in Cambridge will be talking to the young people.

Along with Swimming and Boccia, other sports involved in the Playground to Podium programme are Athletics, Football, Table tennis and Wheelchair Basketball. The CAAD for Athletic and Football will  take place on Thursday 15th July at One Leisure St. Ives Outdoor Centre and Wheelchair Basketball and Table Tennis the following day at Chesterton Sports Centre, Cambridge.

Rebecca Gilbertson, CAAD Manager for LIVING SPORT said “This is a very exciting programme to be involved with and I am hopeful that we will discover some highly talented young people, who can go on to be the sporting stars of the future”

For more information, and interviews, please contact Rebecca Gilbertson, Events Coordinator, on 01487 849929 and Rebecca.Gilbertson@livingsport.co.uk  or Amanda Callard, Development Manager, on 01487 849925 or amanda.callard@livingsport.co.uk.

Notes to Editors:

Playground to Podium is a series of targeted interventions aimed at helping young disabled people progress from PE and community sport to high-level performance and competition.

The ultimate goal is to produce our next Paralympians and elite disabled athletes, by focusing on the identification, development and support of young disabled people. However, it’s essential that all young disabled people get the chance to take part in high-quality sports provision, so the framework also supports the Governments strategy of getting more young disabled people taking part in at least five hours a week of PE and sport through contributing to the development of a world-class community delivery system of sport for disabled people. Those who have been identified as having sporting potential will be referred to County Athlete Assessment Days (CAADs), which will be held in each County Sport Partnership (CSP) area. The aim of the CAAD programme is to give the participating National Governing Bodies (NGBs) a chance to assess whether the young people have the potential to further progress within that sport and along its Paralympic or impairment appropriate pathway, and to signpost appropriate opportunities.

LIVING SPORT is the County Sports Partnership for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It is one of 49 in the country, promoting and encouraging sports and physical activity at all levels across all age groups. We want more people to take part in sport and physical activity and LIVING SPORT’s vision is “active and healthy communities where everyone can play, achieve and enjoy”. Our aim is to work with a wide range of individuals and organisations involved in sport, bringing them together to form one powerful voice for sport in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

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