Why is it good for you?

“Being physically active is a lifestyle choice proven to provide social and personal benefits,” says the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS).

Physical activity boosts the immune system, provides natural pain relief, improves strength and balance, and can also help to build confidence and reduce stress.

The range of sports on offer means there is something for everyone, whether you prefer the accuracy challenge of archery, the intensity of judo, the artistry of para-equestrian or the physicality of wheelchair basketball.

Get involved

The Parasport  website should be your first port of call for disability sports opportunities in the UK. Read Parasport’s guide to the sports available  then use its club finder  to search for local clubs in more than two dozen sports by postcode.

The EFDS website maintains a list of events across England  if you want to see a sport for yourself or try it out.

Visit the Disability Sport Wales Community  for more information about events and clubs in Wales. Scottish Disability Sport  provides a sport-by-sport list of contacts as well as regional opportunities. 

Disability Sports NI  keeps a list of local opportunities you can find in Northern Ireland.

Disability sport encompasses dozens of activities and disciplines – here are four examples of sports you can get into:

IPC Athletics

IPC stands for the International Paralympic Committee, whose athletics programme includes a wide range of events spread across different classifications according to your type and degree of disability.

Amputee runners and wheelchairs racers are the best-known IPC athletes, but field events also exist.

British Athletics operates its Parallel Success programme to develop disability sport across the UK, with separate initiatives for each of the home nations.

More info: British Athletics – Parallel Success 

Paracycling

Britain is a world power in paracycling, led by the likes of Dame Sarah Storey, who won four gold medals at the London 2012 Paralympics as well as winning able-bodied World Cup gold in the lead-up to the Games.

Paracycling takes various forms, including standard track and road cycling (both events in which Storey excelled) alongside handcycling, where competitors power the bike with their hands and arms. Tandem bikes are used for blind or visually impaired athletes and their assistants.

British Cycling has pledged to encourage and support the cycling ambitions of anyone with a disability and can help with coaching and events.

More info: British Cycling 

Sledge hockey

The Paralympic form of ice hockey, sledge hockey sees players propel themselves around the ice using small hand-held sticks which double as picks to grip the surface.

The game is fast-paced and, strapped to the sledge, players have the same range of movement whether disabled or not.

Team GB has competed at three Paralympic Winter Games sledge hockey tournaments, and there are a growing number of sledge hockey clubs at rinks around the UK.

More info: British Sledge Hockey Association 

Wheelchair basketball

Wheelchair basketball is one of the biggest Paralympic sports, renowned for its athletes’ no-nonsense approach on the court in a physical and strenuous game.

Able-bodied players are encouraged to take part while the sport also caters for paraplegics, spina bifida, amputees, brittle bones, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis.

British Wheelchair Basketball offers details on ways into the sport and includes a UK-wide club finder.

More info: British Wheelchair Basketball 

History

A competition held for disabled people at England’s Stoke Mandeville hospital in 1948, to tie in with that year’s London Olympics, became the forerunner of the modern Paralympic Games.

However, almost a quarter of a century earlier, the origins of the Deaflympics had been established with the “Silent Games” of 1924 in Paris.

The International Paralympic Committee was founded in 1989 and now has 174 different national committees among its ranks.

Britain’s first Paralympic gold medal was won by archer Margaret Maughan in 1960, the year the modern Paralympics as we know them were born in Rome.

BBC

The Lagoon Leisure Centre in Paisley, home to the West of Scotland Warriors, was the stage for a fierce match between the two teams. Strong performances from both sides made for a nail biting match that had little more than 2 points between the scores throughout the game. The second half saw Lothian Phoenix fight back with some great play to secure the victory of 47-41.

To find out more about the teams click here

Haj Bhania has been appointed head coach after working with British Wheelchair Basketball for over 16 years, previously holding positions as the Great Britain Junior’s Head Coach, Great Britain men’s and women’s Assistant Coach and most recently Performance Programme Manager.

He is a very experienced coach and has been involved in the coaching setup for many years now not only coaching at International level but at club level with Aces Wheelchair Basketball Club since 1996.

Haj Bhania’s role will include leading and preparing the GB men’s team for international competitions, the development of elite players in Great Britain and overseeing the Academy to be based at Worcester University.

Haj Bhania said “I feel very privileged and honoured to have been chosen to head up the coaching team for the GB men’s team. It is an enormous opportunity for me to progress as a coach and I am looking forward to meeting the challenges that will come with it.

“There is a vast talent pool of Wheelchair Basketball players in the country and we will be encouraging all to increase the selection competition and push the team to the next level.

“As well as helping develop other high level coaches and the quality of coaching in the country, we will be looking to ensure that we will be a worldwide force in Wheelchair Basketball!”

British Wheelchair Basketball’s newly appointed Performance Director, Paul Davies said, “I am looking forward to working with Haj and delighted to have him as part of the Performance Team.

“The knowledge and skills he brings to the role is a huge asset to the programme. The dedication and commitment he has shown to British Wheelchair Basketball, the performance teams and the development of Wheelchair Basketball is undeniable.

“I hope together we will certainly be able to move forward to newer heights and reach our target of a medal in Rio 2016.”

Commenting on the GB women’s team vacant head coach position, British Wheelchair Basketball CEO, Charlie Bethel said, “Unfortunately we have not been able to find a suitable candidate to drive the GB women’s programme forward at this time, however we are now considering a variety of options, with an eye on the European Championships 2013 and the World Championships in 2014.”

www.paralympics.org.uk 

The Bulldogs battled hard through the first half, trailing by just six at the break, but could not maintain that intensity for the rest of the match, in front of a crowd of 5,300 at North Greenwich Arena.

Canada’s Patrick Anderson contributed 17 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds as the North American side progressed to the final for the fourth time in succession, where they will meet reigning champions Australia in a rematch of the 2008 final.

Ade Orogbemi, GB’s Nigerian-born guard who now lives in Liverpool, contributed 14 points and some passionate defending, which saw him foul out in the last minute with the game well beyond reach.

“We gave it all we could but it wasn’t to be tonight. We knew they were a good team and we tried to keep the game close to give us a chance towards the end but they were just that bit better than us,” said Orogbemi.

“We wanted to change the way they played and make some of the other players in their team [besides Anderson] win the game for them but unfortunately it didn’t quite work out.

“I don’t think it was defensively that we lost the game. Offensively we couldn’t quite get it going. We kept them to about 60 points and if we’d had a good offensive game I think we would have won.”

The home team now enter a play-off against the USA on Saturday, as they did in Beijing four years ago, with a third successive Paralympic bronze medal the best they can aim for.

Great Britain knew they had a task on their hands going into this match, having lost 70-54 when the two met in the group stages, although their form improved in subsequent matches.

They also had to find a way to defend against Anderson, considered the best player in the world, who scored 29 points in that group defeat and had averaged 24.8 per game so far.

By half-time he had been kept to 10, thanks to a combination of back-court blocking and the presence under the rim of centre Simon Munn, whose second-quarter steal from the hulking Canadian forward was a declaration of intent.

From the moment co-captain Abdi Jama opened the scoring, the Bulldogs held the lead for much of the first quarter, until some over-zealous defending saw Canada move ahead with free throws.

Forward Terry Bywater, who contributed 12 points in all, exchanged angry words with Argentine Cris Salguero at half-time and he explained later: “There was one guy on the floor tonight who thought he was going to make sure there was no home advantage and he did that. I think he had a point to prove.”

Coach Murray Treseder supported his veteran star, saying: “A real influence early in the game was the substandard refereeing. I thought early in the game they were diabolical.

“They didn’t make 17 points’ difference but in the first half they hurt us by not protecting our shooters.

GB’s shooting was hurried but their defending effective in the second quarter, Bywater leading the way with four defensive rebounds in the first half, keeping Canada to within six points at 33-27 up at the break

But they were unable to rediscover their intensity after the break and Anderson was allowed two field goals in quick succession to help turn momentum.

Towards the end of the third quarter he took a pass to the right of the key and shot successfully past Bywater while falling in his chair on his side as Canada stretched their lead from 10 to 20.

However, Treseder said: “Ade Orogbemi’s game on Anderson was enormous; we kept him to 17 but the other guys got away from us.”

GB’s Australian coach also pointed to the 16 turnovers allowed by his side – compared to Canada’s 10 – as a major factor in the defeat but he does not believe it will be difficult to lift his side for one more match.

“The sun rises tomorrow and where would you rather be, playing for a bronze medal on Saturday or in Syria? Get some perspective about what the world’s about,” he said.

“We got beaten by a better team but we get a chance of a medal. It will be really tough but they don’t give away Olympic medals; they’re proudly won. The US are a formidable opponent and we’ll need to play well to beat them.”

The match was tied at full-time at 66-66 leading it into extra time which brought a tense 5 minutes for everyone, but it wasn’t to be for the GB side as Germany fought back to win with 77-72.

To read more on this story visit www.paralympics.org.uk/gb