Chairman's Cash Call for Learning-disabled Sports
£200,000 earmarked for Special Olympics national games in Leicester this summer
The new chairman of Sport England has called for a big increase in investment and profile for learning-disabled sport, amid fears it will miss out on the increased focus provided by London 2012.
Richard Lewis, the former executive chairman of the Rugby Football League who took over at Sport England in February, has earmarked £200,000 for investment in the Special Olympics national games in Leicester this summer.
"Progress is being made in opening up sporting opportunities, but there is a long way to go – particularly in driving participation among people with learning disabilities," said Lewis.
The sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, has also written to the governing bodies of every sport to ask them to consider ways in which they might encourage participation by those with learning disabilities.
The Special Olympics GB National Summer Games will involve more than 2,700 athletes competing in 21 events in Leicester in July. The national event takes place every four years, as does the international Special Olympics on a different cycle.
The last international games took place in Shanghai in 2007. It grew out of the movement started in the US by Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1968. Ted Cassidy, the chair of Special Olympics Leicester, said one of the challenges in the UK was to match the profile that learning-disabled sport has in the US.
"Learning disability has always been the Cinderella of the sport's world. But sport changes lives, it gives people confidence and changes perceptions about what they can achieve," said Cassidy.
Richard Lewis, the former executive chairman of the Rugby Football League who took over at Sport England in February, has earmarked £200,000 for investment in the Special Olympics national games in Leicester this summer.
"Progress is being made in opening up sporting opportunities, but there is a long way to go – particularly in driving participation among people with learning disabilities," said Lewis.
The sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, has also written to the governing bodies of every sport to ask them to consider ways in which they might encourage participation by those with learning disabilities.
The Special Olympics GB National Summer Games will involve more than 2,700 athletes competing in 21 events in Leicester in July. The national event takes place every four years, as does the international Special Olympics on a different cycle.
The last international games took place in Shanghai in 2007. It grew out of the movement started in the US by Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1968. Ted Cassidy, the chair of Special Olympics Leicester, said one of the challenges in the UK was to match the profile that learning-disabled sport has in the US.
"Learning disability has always been the Cinderella of the sport's world. But sport changes lives, it gives people confidence and changes perceptions about what they can achieve," said Cassidy.
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