First Paralympic CAAD a big success - News - LIVING SPORT

First Paralympic CAAD a big success

The search for the next generation of Paralympic athletes began in earnest last week with the first County Athlete Assessment Day (CAAD) held at Impington Village College on Tuesday 6th July.

The event focused on swimming and boccia with youngsters from across the county taking part in the sports while talent spotters from the ASA and England Boccia assessed their performances.

The event was organised by LIVING SPORT as part of the Playground to Paralympic Podium (P2P) scheme, which is led by Sport England in partnership with the English Federation of Disability Sport, Youth Sport Trust and Paralympics GB.

Cottenham Paralympic swimmer Fran Williamson, who won silver and bronze medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, also attended the event to offer her support and encouragement to those taking part.

Players identified as having potential for the future will be given opportunities for more training and could even be fast-tracked in the hope some may even be selected for the 2012 Paralympic Games, providing a clear route for disabled athletes from school sport to club participation and on to elite performance.

Other sports involved in the P2P scheme include athletics, football, table tennis and wheelchair basketball, with the county assessment day for athletics and football taking place on Thursday at One Leisure St Ives, with the other two sports due to take place the following day at Chesterton Sports Centre.

Rebecca Gilbertson, CAAD Manager for LIVING SPORT, said, ‘This is a very exciting programme and I’m hopeful we’ll discover some talented young people who can go on to be the sporting stars of the future. The day went really well, with most of the young people being identified to join a club to progress their sport further.’

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