Access to sport for disabled people under the spotlight (From This is Hampshire)

Access to sport for disabled people under the spotlight

6:10am Monday 12th September 2011 in News By Jon Reeve, Education Reporter

ACCESS to disability sport will be thrown under the spotlight at a special conference in Southampton tomorrow.

With just a year to go until the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the University of Southampton is hosting an exciting and informative event aimed at ensuring people make the most of the disabled sporting competition.

Hampshire’s record-breaking disabled sailor Geoff Holt,who became the first quadriplegic to sail solo around the UK and across the Atlantic, will be among the keynote speakers at the conference, which is also looking at the legacy of the games and how to prepare for increased interest in disability sports.

The Disability Sports Ambassador and former Chairman and Trustee of RYA Sailability will be joined by the director of Paralympic Integration for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), Chris Holmes, and Paralympic goldmedal swimmer Peter Hull.

The conference, organised by the university in collaboration with local partners, will also include coaching demonstrations and seminars from recreational and elite disability sports coaches.

To find out more about the conference or book a place, visit www.accesstodisabilitysport.co.uk.