UK Deaf Sport and London Sport agree three year partnership to raise sport participation levels of Deaf people in London.
UK Deaf Sport and London Sport have announced they will be working in partnership over the next three years to support more deaf people to be active for life. The two organisations will focus on interventions to increase participation in physical activity and sport and develop more inclusive opportunities for deaf Londoners.
UK Deaf Sport is a Sport England-funded UK wide organisation, dedicated to getting every Deaf person active and inspired by physical activity and sport. London Sport exist to help physical activity and sport to work better in London, with a vision of making London the most physically active city in the world. Together, this partnership will engage the sport and physical activity sectors as well as deaf communities across London. The wider aim is to support the development of a society in which deaf people are able to access more opportunities of their choice, in an environment of their choice and at a level of their choice.
In 2017, London Sport launched An Active Inclusive Capital – a strategic plan for physical activity and sport for deaf and disabled people in London. The plan – which included input from a range of national and regional organisations, including the Mayor of London, Activity Alliance, Inclusion London and Sport England – set an ambition to support deaf and disabled people to be as physically active as non-disabled Londoners. An Active Inclusive Capital provides a point of reference for enhancing and building on existing work delivered by London Sport and others to advocate for inclusive sport, and to inform and advise deaf and disabled people on opportunities to get involved in physical activity and sport in the capital.
Valerie Copenhagen, UK Deaf Sport Head of Participation said:
“We are extremely pleased to be joining forces with London Sport for the next three years and know that this partnership will bring huge benefits to the London Sport and physical activity sector and members of the Deaf community. We know that participation rates amongst Deaf people in sport are one of the lowest across all disability groups, so this partnership will only seek to encourage, support and grow these rates. There are exciting times ahead and we would like to thank Sport England for their continued support of UK Deaf Sport’s work around the Disability agenda in sport and physical activity across London.”
Alex Gibbons, London Sport Disability Programme Manager said:
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with UK Deaf Sport. We launched An Active Inclusive Capital to set out strategic priorities, outcomes and objectives that will shape how London Sport and its partners work together to create a London where deaf people are at least active as non-deaf people. The partnership with UK Deaf Sport embodies this ambition and is a great step in enabling us to achieve this target.”
To kick off this exciting partnership during Deaf Awareness Week 2018, UK Deaf Sport will be delivering an Effective Communications Workshop for London Sport and other sporting organisations based at their offices at House of Sport on Wednesday 16 May 2018.
The workshop focuses on raising deaf awareness and helping those working in the sport environment to understand the barriers deaf people can face when wanting to take part in sport and exercise sessions.Â
Effective Communication Workshop objectives:
- To be aware of deafness and understand the barriers facing deaf people in sport
- To develop their own communication skills and be able to use them effectively in any coaching session
- An understanding of the pathways for deaf sport in order to encourage participants to aim high
- To develop an action plan to include deaf people in sport and exercise session
