£250,000 boost for disabled sport

DISABLED people across Cheshire and Warrington will have more opportunities to get involved in sport after Sport Cheshire received £250,000 of funding from Sport England’s Inclusive Sport fund.
Sport Cheshire is one of 44 projects across England that will benefit from £8.06 million of National Lottery investment from Sport England to open up more opportunities for disabled people to play sport.
Funds will help to deliver the “Count Me In” strategy, produced by Sport Cheshire on behalf of local stakeholders.
The investment aims to build confidence among coaches and volunteers, improve quality and accessibility within local operators and increase access to the local offer for those with impairments.
Sport Cheshire chairman David Newton said: “We are absolutely delighted to be receiving funding from the Sport England’s Inclusive Sport Fund. It means a great deal to local stakeholders as it provides invaluable funding to help us extend the opportunities for disabled children, young people and adults in the local area to get involved in sport.”
The number of disabled people playing sport regularly is on the rise. In December last year, Sport England’s Active People Survey – an annual, in-depth measure of the nation’s sporting habits – revealed that a record number of disabled people in England now play sport each week.
However, non-disabled people are still twice as likely to play sport as disabled people (39.2 per cent compared to 18.5 per cent) which is why Sport England continues to focus attention and investment to address this imbalance.
Sport England’s Inclusive Sport Fund supports programmes that aim to increase the number of disabled people playing sport. Since the fund launched, £17.1 million has been invested in 88 projects that make sport a viable lifestyle choice for disabled people.