Northern Actionnaires take part in their own 2008 Paralympics
18 September 2008
As the Paralympics of 2008 took off in Beijing, Action’s Northern Actionnaires sports clubs had their very own.
146 blind and partially sighted children and young people from 12 Actionnaires sports clubs across the North of England got together and took part in a variety of track and field events and for many of them it was their first time. Events included short and long distance races, standing long jump, high jump, vertical jump, turbo javelin, shot putt, target throw and club relay.
Sheffield Actionnaires were the overall winners of the event but all the children taking part did really well and had a great time. All the competition results will be given to England Athletics to give the talented participants the opportunity to join their Yorkshire and Humber regional squads.
Lesley Inganni, Deputy Sports Manager at Action for Blind People, said: “The event was all about bringing young people from different areas together and trying something new. It is great to see blind and partially sighted children and young people learning different sports. You never know, these children could be our Paralympians in the 2012 Olympics. “
Gerry Sutcliffe, Minister for Sport, gave a message of support: “I am delighted to hear about this project which no doubt will encourage people who are blind or partially sighted to take part in friendly, competitive sport. I hope that the success of your sporting event will help to inspire other promising young athletes who are blind or partially sighted to get involved in sport, and will encourage those already involved to aspire to greater heights at the Paralympics.”
