BBC North West Power of Sport Award - winner's profile: Children's Able and Disabled Sport (CADS)
The Children’s Able and Disabled Sport project has won the
2009 BBC Power of Sport Award, supported by Sport England, for
the North West.
The programme, run by the Seashell Trust in
Cheshire, provides sport and physical activity sessions for both
able and disabled children in an environment designed to include
everyone equally. Last year, 1,300 youngsters from Manchester and
Cheshire took part in the sessions.
CADS provides young people, especially those
with severe, complex and multiple disabilities, with the same
opportunities to enjoy sport as other children their age. The
organisers work tirelessly to break down barriers to sports
participation by creating a better understanding of disability
issues amongst non-disabled participants. CADS has 35 different
sports on offer including swimming, squash, football, cycling,
cricket, rugby and gymnastics.
Michelle Flannery from Stockport has two
children. Her daughter, aged six, is able bodied and her son, age
nine, has Cerebral Palsy and a development delay. As a family, they
have attended a number of CADS events in the area, together.
“I have supported my son at every CADS event
that he has attended,” said Michelle.
“I have seen first hand how successful and
beneficial they can be, not only for my own children but other
children who attend. The CADS events allow my family to attend and
experience the activities together. They have both had the chance
to try so many different sports through the years and it has given
my son a lot of confidence to try different things and to meet new
friends.”
CADS has proven to be a success in the area,
and has inspired a number of similar projects across the rest of
the North West. Other projects are now being set up and run in
Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria as well as other parts of
Cheshire and Manchester. All of the events will focus on retaining
young people and adults in sport by ensuring a high-quality and
enjoyable experience designed with participants in mind.
The CADS project team is also writing and
developing an accredited training programme (in conjunction with
Edge Hill University) which aims to give successful attendees the
tools and education needed to deliver fully-inclusive sports
coaching sessions.
In order to spread the news about their
inspirational work, the project is now planning to host a national
inclusive sport conference at the City of Manchester Stadium.
To find out more about this project, please
visit their
website
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