Much is often said of the potential for sport to inspire people to act. Even as a regular and enthusiastic partaker in sport, it is good to have ones inspiration refreshed from time to time and for me last week I was in inspiration overload!
Let's start with the Invictus Games in Orlando. Thanks to great profile and coverage from the BBC not only did we see great sport, great sporting rivalries, camaraderie and friendship but we also heard amazing stories of self belief, resilience and overcoming adversity. I probably have a bit of a soft spot for the Invictus Games given my military background and brought home especially this year by seeing one of my Sandhurst Platoon singing the opening solo as part of the Invictus Games choir at the Opening Ceremony. (If you haven’t heard the song – do have a listen to the wonderful words written by the choir members to tell their story).
Whilst I left the military with no mental or physical scars it was a timely reminder that many people don't and that their military experience and their commitment to serve their country can change their lives forever. I was fortunate enough to see some of the Games in London in 2014 and great to see the US push the boundaries further. Huge credit must go to HRH Prince Harry - for using his position and influence to create such good and to demonstrate so clearly the power of sport as a force for good.
The second inspirational moment of last week was attending the launch of the National Paralympic Heritage Trust at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Wednesday. The NPHT has been established to safeguard, share and celebrate the heritage of the British Paralympic movement, bringing its stories of human endeavour to life. This will be achieved through exhibitions, online resources and educational programmes to remind people of the role our country played in creating what is now the world’s third largest sporting event.
The Trust has four founding members and I am proud to be one of the Trustees representing the British Paralympic Association. At the launch itself we heard from the president of the International Paralympic Committee Sir Philip Craven and three inspiring British Paralympians. The amazing Margaret Maughan, Caz Walton and Tim Reddish. It was great to hear their stories of competing in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s and hearing how the movement has developed over that time. Margaret now well into her 80s, was a true inspiration recalling how she was told by the founder of the Paralympic movement, Dr Ludvig Guttmann, that when she started playing sport as part of her rehabilitation, "there was no room for tears".
The third source of my inspiration this week came from attending the "Be A Game Changer" awards organised by the Women's Sport Trust on Thursday evening. This event celebrated the success of women’s sport, the work done by many organisations to promote women's sport and the role played by the media to advocate for women's sport. It was great to see many Sport And Recreation Alliance members present and particular congratulations to British Rowing for winning NGB of the year and parkrun UK for winning National Initiative of the Year. The evening concluded with John Amaechi giving us what he described as a 15 minute rant, but was in reality an eloquent and thought provoking speech about what he has learnt from women in sport and how it influenced his career and how everyone - both men and women - must play a role in improving sporting opportunities for women further.
Is it any wonder that on Friday, fuelled by such inspiration, I cycled to work, went for a run at lunch time and then ran home and over the weekend swimming, tennis, cycling and golf have all featured. The power and spirit in which sport already plays a role in our lives, and has the potential to change lives for the better, certainly motivates me in all that I do both on a practical physical level and also in my work here at the Alliance. Inspired to be, borrowing the words from the poem by William Ernest Henley called Invictus, the master of my fate and the captain of my soul.
The Sport and Recreation Alliance and the physical activity sector have published an open letter to the Government on the impact of Pathways to Work on disabled people and activity levels across the UK.
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