Disability inclusion

Sported’s Disability Lead Gemma Lumsdaine is passionate about sport being accessible and shares her experiences and expertise with those involved in the sport sector through her role.

Her second life is as a wheelchair athlete and a member of the GB Wheelchair Rugby Talent squad which helps to prepare athletes to make the step to the Paralympic squad.

Gemma is also in the Scottish Disability Sport Athlete Academy as well as coaching wheelchair sports for Dundee Dragons Wheelchair Sports Club and won the COVA Young Coach of the Year in 2018.

Disability Sport Network

Sported’s Disability Network brings together all of our members and allies who offer; or are looking to offer inclusive sport/physical activity for young disabled people.

The network is a growing group of Sported members who are able to work together and access specific webinars useful to this type of organisation as well as learn from each other.

Accessibility

If you are looking at improving access to sport and physical activity for disabled people, there are a number of steps you can take. We have some helpful resources below that will help you to make your offering as inclusive as possible, and provide opportunities to everyone in your community.

An important starting point is our inclusive language webinar. Inclusive language is ensuring the words and phrases you use avoid biases, slang, and expressions that discriminate against groups of people based on race, gender, socioeconomic status, and ability.

Ensuring physical access to your building and facilities is vital when looking to improve access to sport for disabled people. This guidance from Sport England is a good place to start.