Para Athletics
Para (Disability) ATHLETICS EXPLAINED
Para athletes have to have a Disability rather than a Difficulty.
The huge success of our Paralympics in 2012 and the Invictus Games have been extraordinarily successful in bringing to the public’s attention the wide variety of athletics events disabled athletes can participate in both at local and international level. Although there are still not many schools that seem to provide sport for disabled pupils, many clubs are now making great efforts to be inclusive.
For those who want to learn about or get involved with disability athletics, the UK Athletics website has details of Para Athletics Pathways. There are links on this site to explore more details for Para Athlete support. Similar information can be found on the England Athletics website.
There are basically two categories in Disability Athletics – Seated and Ambulatory. The full list of all the Classifications can be downloaded from the Paralympics website, but they do occasionally get updated, the Cerebral Palsy category being a current on-going example. It should be noted that within athletics, there are various specific organisations that run their own competitions and championships both here and abroad. Some examples include Cerebral Palsy Sport, Deaflympics, Dwarf Sport Association UK and, for those with a learning disability, the Special Olympics.
Wiltshire has for some years now, offered para athletes the opportunity to take part in their annual County Athletics Championships and 2019 is no exception with an even larger amount of events on offer. Unfortunately we are only able to cater for Ambulatory athletes at the moment but it is hoped that we will be able to offer some Seated events in the future.
Para (Disability) Athletics News
- Seated Thrower Tie Down Session at Bath UniversityThere will be an intro to Seated Throwing taking place at Bath University on Thursday 15th March commencing at 18.30. There is a fee of £10 to cover Malcolm’s fuel etc. This session is open to not only coaches and officials, but to anyone who is interested. Further information is available from Deborah Bray at […]
- Charlie Goodwin Selected for Cerebral Palsy World GamesLavington Athletics athlete Charlie Goodwin has been selected to represent Team England at the Cerebral Palsy World Games which will take place in Spain in August 2018. Charlie will be competing in Discus and Shot Putt.
