For some people, it will feel natural to want to compete or try to record better results each time they get active and it may be that this attitude lends itself more easily to a sporting scenario.
Saying that, there are opportunities to compete in other areas, such as gardening or even as a ballroom dancing couple. Different people will be motivated by different things; winning and prizes or simply participation and feeling good. Just because you’re not taking part in a club sport, there’s nothing stopping you from taking on the stopwatch.
Other motivation can be milder. Doing something as part of a group can be highly rewarding – winning together is great; losing together isn’t all that bad. Teammates or even those people that you get to know will keep you buoyant and interested in your goals. They’re bound to ask about your aims and share details about their own. Direction always helps to give you a reason to turn up or to keep going.
Perhaps the most important thing about activity is to enjoy it. If you don’t have pleasure in doing it you’ll lose interest and drop out. It’s far better to start with something that you only do because you like it rather than commit yourself to a team or club that you feel obliged to turn out for on a Saturday. If you enjoy doing it, the score or the result won’t matter in the least.
Here are few great activities for disabled people to get involved with:
Paracycling
There are several incarnations of paracycling that employ tandems, handcycles, tricycles and even running bikes. Specialist bikes can often be quite big ticket items to purchase so it’s a relief to realise that there are clubs and societies where bikes can be hired out or loaned from. Some clubs will gather in a specific park or on a track, whilst of course purchasing your own bike can mean complete freedom to ride where you choose.
MORE: www.cycling.org.uk, www.highlandcycleability.co.uk, www.britishcycling.org.uk/disability
Football
The FIFA World Cup will surely have inspired people to look into taking up football. The beautiful game is so utterly simple that it can be shaped to comply with so many differing sets of needs. A quick online search will bring you results for blind football, deaf football, amputee football, power-chair football and even clubs for people with very specific conditions such as cerebral palsy.
Essentially, football tends to be a fast physical game but does not encourage full contact so you can expect to get a little jostled but not seriously hassled. Because in several of the versions, the teams are quite big (up to 11 players) you can expect a good social side too. (Expect plenty of banter as you start to discover which side each of your teammates supports.)
MORE: www.disabilityfootball.co.uk, www.thefa.com, www.theeafa.co.uk, www.rncb.ac.uk, www.britishdeaffootball.com
Golf
Golf also lends itself to different formats. If you’re playing with a very young child or just want a laugh, there are plenty of parks with a crazy golf course. As frustrating as these are, they’re a really gentle introduction to what can be a truly absorbing sport. A step upwards and good for those that want either a ‘quickish’ game or that are just starting out in the game is ‘pitch and put’. Costs are kept to a minimum since courses tend again to be municipal and you’ll only need to hire two clubs between you – an iron for longish shots and of course, a putter.
Golf, in its formal format is an intense and serious game. It’s unusual for people to have a round on their own but might so choose to use the several hours it will take to get round the eighteen holes as slice of peace and quiet. A bit of gentle competition can be quite fun though golf is renowned as a frustrating game.
The distances you’ll need to cover are quite far so you’ll need to be fit enough to cope (whilst carrying your bag of clubs). Your club might be able to organise an electric buggy and even a caddy. Golf kit is expensive as are membership fees but once you’ve got your stuff together a round can be quite reasonable – especially during quiet periods in the week.
There are ‘standing wheelchairs’ on the market that make it possible for some physically disabled people to take a shot from a standing position before becoming their very own golf buggy. (See: www.ottobock.co.uk)
MORE: www.disabledgolfsociety.com, www.sdgp.org.uk, www.britishinclusivegolf.org, www.disabledbritishopen.org,
www.edgagolf.com
Gym
Becoming a member of a gym can give you access to a lot of different types of exercise equipment that will help you to either lose weight, keep fit or better your condition in different ways. Modern gyms are full of high tech machines that will also monitor things like the distances you’ve run on a treadmill (and calories you’ll have burned) as well, meaning that you can often set very precise targets that will keep you motivated to succeed without having to publicly ‘compete’, as it were.
If you’re looking for a more social way to exercise, you could take a class. These don’t have to be as vigorous as a step class, in fact, depending on your condition and what you want to achieve, a Yoga or Pilates session might be even more beneficial and you won’t have to do it on your own.
It’s altogether likely that you’ll be at least a little tired after all that and so it’ll probably be welcome news that lots of gyms have saunas where you can literally go and sweat out your toxins. (Saunas are also renowned as being very good for people with breathing and circulation issues.)
MORE: www.therafitgym.com
Dance
Dance has always been social in its nature. For a start, much of the time people tend to dance in embrace with each other adding not a little romance to proceedings. This of course, makes it an ideal way for a couple to exercise together, at the same time, since there aren’t that many physical sports that say, a married couple, might find equally comfortable to take part in.
Dance is essentially a form of display and so one partner can often feel slightly more inhibited and shy about taking part than the other but it’s certainly worth trying. Dancing tends to be very light-hearted and can be adapted by the type of music you’re dancing to and is open to a wide range of differently able people.
MORE: Check out out the work of our partners, the Wheelchair Dance Sport Association.
Gardening
This is a tremendously satisfying activity since it involves elements of creative design, nurture and appreciation. Whether you choose to cultivate flowers or vegetables, it can be scaled and adapted to your needs. Raised beds and table-top gardening are options that aren’t overly expensive and even in a small space you’ll be able to get the exercise you need through digging out the weeds or trimming your patch of grass.
Unlike lots of sports, gardening has four seasons. There’s usually something that you can grow at any time during the year.
MORE: www.gardeningfordisabledtrust.org.uk, www.thrive.org.uk, www.rhs.org.uk
Kites
It’s almost impossible to fly a kite without smiling. There is something invigorating about seeing it soar upwards and spin around in the breeze. (Actually, it’s likely to be the effect that the actual wind has on people – but that’s not important.)
Kites can be purchased for relatively little money and really aren’t very complicated to fly although the conditions will have to be right. High positioned, open spaces are the best of course, but any field on a windy day will suffice. (Steer clear of power lines – this can be highly dangerous.)
Cricket
Again, because of its popularity, the traditional ‘hard ball’ game has been adapted for a number of different groups. Blind cricketers play in teams on a proper wicket but with a much larger ball with a bell or other audible device inside it and sighted umpires, whilst wheelchair users play a form of table top cricket where they actually use miniature cricket bats too play their strokes. There are plenty of opportunities to play competitive cricket and the chance to play towards county and international honours.
MORE:
England and Wales Cricket Board
British Association for Cricketers with Disabilities
Cricket Federation For People with Disabilities
Walking/Rambling
Walking or strolling is one of the easiest forms of activity to build into your daily routine which is really important if you want to use it to get fitter. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that it has to be especially hard graft, perhaps 20 minutes or half an hour of mildly vigorous activity will be enough to start you off with, in other words just enough to bring you out in a slight sweat or put you out of breath for a few minutes.
No specialist equipment is required and you don’t need to live in the countryside either. You could easily work your way around the local playing fields or park or even develop a route from one local landmark to the other.
Whilst you could do this privately you could also start to invite a friend along, which may be safer depending on the time of day and so on. If you really wanted, this could turn into a group in time.
If you are lucky enough to live in the countryside or near woodlands don’t be too put off by the changeable weather. The changing of the seasons is a fascinating phenomena that Mother Nature will share with all who are interested.
MORE: www.disabledramblers.co.uk
Boccia
One of the least well known Paralympic disciplines, Boccia is a sport that defies convention in that although it’s a ball sport, it needs a steady nerve and a slow, calculated approach. It’s a distant cousin of lawn bowls and a little like the popular French pastime, Boules. The leather balls are a bit like very tightly packed beanbags and are thrown towards a ‘jack’ ball. Because they are leather, means that they are light and not too bouncy and can therefore be used indoors.
Boccia is a popular wheelchair sport because its thoughtful nature means that players can take time their time in manoeuvring themselves for a good shot. Some players that don’t have the strength to toss the balls use a ‘shoot’ that they line up before the ball is slid down and off the end of a ramp.
It’s a huge hit in schools where it’s often used as the basis for an inclusive PE lesson, where the disabled kids tend to show the rest what they’ve got!
MORE: www.gb-boccia.org, www.bocciaengland.org.uk
Wheelchair Basketball
Another adapted version of an able-bodied sport but surely this time, the wheelchair version is far more exciting (both to watch and to play). Although basketball is a non-contact sport, it’s inevitable that players will overreach and overbalance and end up in crunches or on the floor. Injuries don’t tend to be serious but it adds to the action and exhilaration of one of the best examples of active disability sport. Obviously, wheelchair skills are a must but so is skill with the ball in terms of passing and shooting.
The stop-start, intensive nature of the sport means that this is a high energy workout. The different classifications of players mean that differently able players all play together. It’s traditionally a very social sport, not least because some fixtures can take you miles across country and you’ll probably need to share a car or a coach journey with your teammates.
MORE: www.wheelpower.org.uk, www.gbwba.org.uk
Wheelchair Rugby
This has all of the elements of pace and ball handling that make wheelchair basketball fun and exciting but with the added dimension of real physical chair on chair collisions. Wheelchair rugby players don’t have some kind of bloodlust but certainly want a more physical game to play that can often be found in wheelchair sports. It’s clear that many find a level of stress relief in releasing their wild sides on court.
Because of the full-on nature of the game, specialist wheelchairs are required – these are similar to other sports wheelchairs but with additional plating to prevent damage to the frame.
MORE: www.gbwr.org.uk
Wheelchair Curling
Although it’s a winter sport, curling can be played all year round because it’s an indoor game usually hosted in ice rinks. No doubt its popularity will have increased after the silver medal triumph of ParalympicsGB in Sochi this year so it’s likely that an increase in demand might see more opportunity to play the game become available.
There is no difference between wheelchair curling and able-bodied curling but for the fact that teammates don’t brush the ice once a shot has been taken. This means that the wheelchair game is arguably much more about real accuracy as players aim to land their ‘stones’ over the target – known as the house.
MORE: www.royalcaledoniancurlingclub.org, www.worldcurling.org, www.wheelchaircurling.co.uk
Jogging
This tends to be another, quite a solitary activity. The only specialist equipment you might need is a decent pair of trainers. Running without a good pair of trainers will likely win you a blister or two and could eventually, give you issues with ankles or knee joints due to repeated impact trauma.
People tend to find jogging at one or both ends of the day a good way to either energise or clear their heads. Jogging can be scaled to individual needs and might see somebody starting off with a relatively short circuit and either trying to run it faster each time or extend it little by little.
Fishing
Strictly speaking, fishing/angling is a sport, although some might say that it has far more in common with gardening than it does with football, in that you effectively take stuff out of the river/sea etc and eat it.
Again this can be a solitary or shared experience and is one of the biggest participation sports in the UK. Of course, it can be enjoyed standing up or from a wheelchair, from the side of a river or the sea from a boat. (You’ll need to check individual sites regarding accessibility.)
Birdwatching and Bird-Hearing
This is another activity that can help to encourage people to simply take a walk. Again there’s no reason why this can’t be done in either a suburban or countryside setting and you won’t need any specific equipment beyond perhaps, a bird guide and a simple pair of binoculars.
As you gain experience you’ll be able to identify more species and will probably want to explore different places to find those that you haven’t spotted before. Your experience will guide you to specific habitats at specific times of the year to find individual species or you may just want to find out what’s around.
Bird identification isn’t just about visual clues such as size and colour. It’s often difficult to spot birds in hedges or when the trees are in full leaf. This makes ‘bird –hearing’ an intriguing idea, especially for people with visual impairments. The distinctive songs of blackbirds and the call of the cuckoo are definitely worth listening out for.
MORE: www.birdingforall.com, www.rspb.org.uk, www.disabledbirdersassociation.co.uk
Dog Walking
It’s well known that pets, especially something as loyal as a dog can provide welcome company and really lift a person’s mood. In return, all your trusty companion will require of you is food, water, shelter and a bit of love – that can easily be expressed through giving them good, regular exercise. A bigger dog will need more exercise so keep this in mind as you visit the kennels and make your selection.
Swimming
Most towns have a swimming pool within a relatively short distance making this a feasible and financially accessible activity for a range of people. Your choice of pool may be dictated not by the water itself but by the equipment needed either to change or get into the water. There are public pools that have high dependency changing rooms and equipment like hoists that can transfer disabled people into the pool in a safe and dignified manner.
Water is always refreshing, even though swimming can be so tiring. It’s a genuinely good way to burn calories since it’s hard work, improving muscle tone, but also because there is no impact, as in the case of walking or running based activities.
Swimming lengths can seem a little tedious to some so consider doing a pool based aerobics class or just splashing about with the kids for the fun of it.
MORE: www.swimming.org
Power Plate
Power Plate is a fantastic way to deliver unique benefits, increasing the effectiveness of movement, with greater safety and comfort to people with a wide range of disabilities. Each person diagnosed with a disability will have individual therapeutic needs to maintain an active, healthy, and functional lifestyle. Individuals who will benefit from Power Plate include, but are not limited to, those with muscle pain and/or weakness, joint disease or dysfunction from injury, disuse atrophy, muscle hyperactivity (over activation), or hypoactivity (insufficient force production and endurance), fatigue, impaired or heightened neurological sensation, poor balance, rigidity and tightness.
Power Plate’s surface vibrates harmonically triggering the body’s natural reaction to inconsistencies within the natural environment. Muscles work subconsciously resulting in immediate improvement in functional performance, movement, balance, stability, range of motion, circulation, and recovery.
MORE: www.powerplate.com
Parasport Club Finder
The Parasport website (www.parasport.org.uk) is a great place to look for sports that you might be interested in getting involved with.
You can follow Parasport on Twitter for news and updates on grassroots disability sport or to share your own stories on twitter with @ParasportUK.
