The Paris 2024 Paralympics may whet young people’s appetite to try out a Para sport, or they may have already been inspired by the Super Movers for Every Body campaign from BBC Teach, the Premier League and ParalympicsGB.
Whatever their motivation, find out how you can help young people discover more about inclusive sports, and encourage them to take part. Whether you have a disabled child or you teach or coach disabled children – or if you have a non-disabled child who wants to try something new or find a sport they can play together with their disabled friend or family member – Super Movers for Every Body has put together a list of 12 Paralympic sports with information on how to get involved and where to find out more.
Please be aware the links on this page will take you away from the BBC.
What are the national sports bodies?
ParalympicsGB’s Every Body Moves initiative (formerly Parasport) is designed to empower more disabled people across the UK to become active in whatever way works for them. You can use their website to search for local activities or try a range of online sessions and workouts from home.
You could also try the disability sports body in your UK nation:
- England: Activity Alliance has a list of inclusive gyms in England.
- Northern Ireland: Disability Sports NI opportunities map lets you search for a sport or club, or use their list of members for clubs, schools, groups and centres across Northern Ireland.
- Scotland: Scottish Disability Sport has info on sports and where you can play.
- Wales: Disability Sport Wales helps you search for Para sports in your area.
You might also want to look at the national governing body for the Para sport a child is interested in. We’ve included details of those bodies, alongside information on clubs and opportunities for each sport, below. For more local options, try the Active Partnerships network.
How can I find out more about taking part in a Paralympic sport?
Use this list of 12 Paralympic sports to signpost your child to the sport they’re interested in.
Boccia
Boccia can be played by anyone with any disability. Boccia England has lots of information on the sport, as well as a club finder. You can find out more about Boccia Wales via Disability Sport Wales. Scottish Disability Sport has a map with links to where you can play boccia in Scotland, and Disability NI has a map linking to clubs in Northern Ireland.
Blind football
Super Movers for Every Body has a section all about blind football, and the FA website has contact details for the County FAs, which offer opportunities locally in England. EFL Championship clubs like West Bromwich Albion offer blind football development sessions for all ages.
In Wales, Swansea City FC are hosting football sessions for visually-impaired children aged eight to 18, and Cardiff City FC host sessions for children that focus on partially-sighted football, with some aspects of blind football.
Disability football
There are many other different types of disability football you can play, such as cerebral palsy and frame football, powerchair and deaf football, among others. A good starting point to find out more about grassroots disability football in England is the Football Association (FA) website.Super Movers for Every Body campaign partner, the Premier League has also made a commitment to “providing access to football for all”, and many clubs have pan-disability football opportunities. These clubs include:
Follow the links on the Scottish Para-Football website for more information on specific disability football clubs and opportunities.
In Wales, use the Disability Sport Wales website to search in your area. Cardiff City FC also has a disability football programme.You can also read more via the Great Britain Disability Football Association.
Para badminton
Badminton England has a form you can complete if a child is wanting to get involved in inclusive badminton. Badminton Scotland runs para badminton events across the country, and has a list of disability badminton clubs. In Northern Ireland, Ulster Badminton has a list of clubs for disabled players, from aged eight and over. Badminton Wales has a club finder function, as well as details on wanting to encourage more disabled players.
Para cycling
Para cycling currently includes riders with cerebral palsy, sight impairments and physical impairments. British Cycling has created an inclusive programme called Limitless, which includes a list of clubs by region.Cycling UK has supported over 40 inclusive cycling centres in England. The Bikeability Trust also has a list of organisations which offer inclusive cycling sessions around the UK. The National Cycling Centre in Manchester also holds track cycling sessions in its velodrome for disabled and visually-impaired young people aged 12 and over.
Para equestrian
Para dressage is the equestrian competition that features in the Paralympic Games. British Equestrian is running a British Dressage (BD) Para Equestrian competition to encourage young riders aged 13 and over to get into para dressage.There are also grassroots opportunities in British disabled carriage driving, and a push to create a rider pathway for future para equestrian jumpers. The Riding for the Disabled Association(RDA) has information on how to take part in riding or carriage driving, and a list of groups across the UK.
Para judo
Find out more about para judo – which can involve sight impaired or adaptive judo – on the British Judo website. However, judo at the Paralympic Games is only for visually-impaired athletes at the moment. British Blind Sport says there are over 100 clubs that are accessible to blind and partially-sighted people. You can find clubs via the British judo club finder.
Para table tennis
According to wheelchair sports charity Wheelpower, table tennis “is one of the most adaptable and inclusive sports there is for people with all kinds of disabilities. People with any impairment can play table tennis, however high performance table tennis currently does not have specific classifications for visual and hearing impairments, at the moment.”
You can search for a club via the Table Tennis England website. They’ve also created a series of ‘PremierClubs’ with the aim of making them more inclusive and increasing participation in table tennis. Polybat is an adaptive form of table tennis for deafblind people and those with severe motor function problems.
If you’re based in Scotland, you can search for clubs via the Table Tennis Scotland website.
Disability Sport Wales is running a campaign to attract young disabled players aged nine and above to try the sport and maybe become the next generation of para table tennis players.
Councils and leisure centres around the UK also run taster sessions for inclusive table tennis. ParalympicsGB team member Martin Parry got into table tennis at a summer camp at the age of 16.
You can find out more about competitive table tennis on The British Table Tennis Association for People with Disabilities website.
Swimming
Swim England has a link to find Para-Swimming Hub Clubs where a child’s swimming can be assessed and then they’ll be assigned to a swimming provision that suits them best. Swim England also runs an inclusive aqua festival for primary-aged children called Aquasplash.
In Scotland, use the Scottish swimming club finder if they want to try para swimming.In Wales, you can look for Swim Wales affiliated swimming clubs and lessons by typing ‘disability swimming’ and the child’s area into a search engine.
In Northern Ireland, many para swimming clubs are based near Belfast, but use the Disability Sport NI link at the top of the page to search for opportunities.
Track and field athletics
Track athletics includes sports like “wheelchair racing, running with blades or guided running for athletes” who are blind or sight impaired. You can use the Super Movers for Every Body campaign partner, ParalympicsGB's Every Body Moves website to search for athletics opportunities using the child’s postcode, or look via their local council’s website.
You can find out more about disability athletics classifications via the England Athletics website and download their affiliated athletics clubs list for opportunities for disabled children. Use the Scottish Athletics website to find out more about para athletics in Scotland, and contact your local authority or leisure trust to find out more about clubs and opportunities in your child’s area.
Welsh Athletics has a list of coaches and clubs that currently offer inclusive athletics opportunities for disabled children.
Athletics Northern Ireland has information on taster sessions for children aged eight to 17, which they run several times a year, as well as beginner and developmental sessions for para athletes over 12.Para field athletics includes sports like shot put, javelin, club throw and long jump. Use the links to the national athletics bodies above to search for local opportunities.
The Special Olympics for learning disabled people also includes field athletics events, as well as over 30 other sports.
Wheelchair basketball
British Wheelchair Basketball is the national governing body for England and Wales. There are eight clubs listed on their website for England and Wales, or you can contact your local council to find out about other local opportunities.Scottish Disability Sports has a list of wheelchair basketball clubs in Scotland (on page 5). You can use the Disability NI opportunities map to find clubs in Northern Ireland.Inclusive Zone Basketball (IZB) is also played across the UK and is British Wheelchair Basketball’s main schools competition. It involves four running and wheelchair basketball players on each side playing against each other, matched in their abilities within zones. You can use this Your School Games guide if you want to set IZB up in your school.
Wheelchair rugby
Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR) has a section on junior wheelchair rugby, plus a club finder function. Children can play from eight years old, and everyone can join in – friends and siblings are encouraged to take part, to help support juniors into the game. GBWR hosts festivals, as well as under-14s and under-18s national championships, if an older child wants to play competitively at a national level.
What are the specific Para sport organisations?
There are seven national disability sports organisations that will give you or a child more information on getting involved in disability-specific sports, and many include an activity or club finder:
Other ways to get involved in inclusive sports
The School Games aim to involve all children in sport and activity, and includes schools across England which are recognised for their expertise in encouraging young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to take part in school sport and PE.
The Special Olympics Motor Activity Training Programme (MATP) is designed for athletes of all ages with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) or complex needs.
The Youth Sports Trust has a list of festivals and sports programmes for young people with and without SEND that tie in with big sporting events like the summer and winter Paralympic Games.
You can also read A teacher’s guide to Super Movers for Every Body.
There might be some costs involved with some sports but lots of clubs can help with free first taster sessions as a starting point.
