Scores of people with disabilities were treated to a day of free sports activities in Clissold on Sunday to increase awareness of the leisure services available to them.
Clissold Leisure Centre welcomed more than 100 disabled residents through its doors, offering archery, wheelchair basketball and trampolining. There were also arts workshops involving T-shirt painting and headdress making.
The first of the open days was held in 1998, and since 2003 there have been three held every year, each at different leisure centres. Originally open solely to those aged up to 19, they were extended to cover all ages last year.
Kunbi Jones of the City and Hackney Primary Care Trust said the Paralympics coming to Hackney in 2012 had been very useful in helping raise awareness.
“We are lucky to have Paralympians from Hackney willing to give up their time to engage with young people, so they’re aware of what can be achieved and to support them through to professional level training.”
Jones said that swimmer Dervis Konuralp and cyclist Jody Cundy had both been instrumental in boosting disabled participation in sport in the borough.
Claire Ruocco, Greenwich Leisure Limited’s senior community development officer, said: “A lot of it comes down to giving them confidence.
“Coming into a leisure centre for the first time can be quite an intimidating experience, particularly for people with learning difficulties.
“We simply hadn’t had adults with learning difficulties coming into leisure centres, so if it wasn’t for days like this we wouldn’t have seen an increase in participation.”
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