New UK Campaign Connects Disabled People with Inclusive Sport Opportunities

August 23, 2024 

ParalympicsGB has teamed up with the UK's Channel 4 to encourage disabled people to take up sport and become more active in the lead up to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Throughout the Games, the on-air campaign will link people with disabilities with inclusive opportunities to be active in their local area as part of the Every Body Moves partnership between ParalympicsGB and Toyota. 

According to Activity Alliance, 49.1% of disabled people in the UK said there aren’t enough options to play sports or be active near where they live. Barriers to participation include a lack of social care support, transportation and the cost of equipment. According to a Sport England survey, the gap in activity levels between disabled and non-disabled children increases as they get older. Between the ages of 14 and 16, 48% of disabled children are less active compared to 28% of non-disabled children. Activity Alliance’s My Active Future report revealed that one-third of disabled children take part in less than 30 minutes of sport and physical activity per day. 

There’s a vast amount of research that shows that inclusion in sport greatly benefits wellbeing, with a study showing that sports play a major role in improving mental health (48%), building confidence (47%) and making friends (41%) among disabled adults. However, 72% of survey takers said there were times when they avoided sports altogether becaused they believed it was inaccessible to them.
 

The new campaign will air across Channel 4 starting from the August 28 Opening Ceremony and then throughout the Paris Paralympics. It intends to help support the grassroots sports clubs that have been offering activities to all disabled people regardless of age or abilities and have often been the training ground for elite Paralympians. The initiative will feature an on-screen QR code at least four times a day, which will take people to the Every Body Moves website where viewers can find local sports clubs and gyms. Additionally, information on the project and its participants will be shown alongside the QR code. The site makes it easy for people to locate sport and physical activity groups focused on supporting mental wellbeing and active lifestyles.

“You don’t see someone like you [on social media]. I still visit schools where disabled children are being told they can’t do sport, they can’t take part in P.E. That was what I was told growing up and look what I’ve gone on to achieve. It terrifies me that there are still young people out there being told that, it’s such a damaging narrative,” said seven-time Paralympic Champion Hannah Cockroft. 

“Campaigns like Every Body Moves show that everybody can do something. There is a sport or activity that everyone can enjoy. You don’t have to be a Paralympic champion, all that matters is having fun and being active.

Drawing on the lived experience of disabled people throughout the UK, Every Body Moves is an evolution of ParalympicsGB’s award winning Parasport platform. The platform has grown to become the nation’s largest site connecting people with thousands of inclusive sporting and physical activities. Its mission is to connect sport to everyone – no matter their age, gender or impairment.

Channel 4 has been the official broadcaster of the Paralympic Games since 2012.