Special Olympic Club launches this week

A new Special Olympics club in Exeter will celebrate gaining full accreditation from Special Olympics GB in an official opening this week.

Bob Billson from Special Olympics GB (a provider of year-round sports training and competition programmes for children and adults with intellectual (learning) disabilities) will make the presentation to Special Olympics Exeter & District Club at 7pm at The Stansfield Centre on Falcon Road.

The club has been running activity sessions for young people with disabilities since January and caters for the community of Exeter and its surrounding area. Based in the brand new venue at The Stansfield Centre in Exeter, the club has a sports hall, fitness room, outdoor facilities and a social area. Sports available range from Badminton to Boccia.

The club is open to anyone aged 16+, catering for all disabilities and runs every Thursday evening from 6-8pm, costing just £2 per session.

The official opening this Thursday (14th March) will include a street dance session with top street dance instructor Joy Parke in addition to the usual club activities. The club is encouraging everyone to come along and have a go.

A number of taster sessions were initially run at the end of 2012 and proved so popular, with 30 young people participating, that Paul Gray, Chairman of the Special Olympic Club applied to Active Devon, the County Sport Partnership for support to continue the sessions. Active Devon secured Sportivate funding for the club and helped locate a suitable venue.

Jason Wood, Disability Sport Coordinator at Active Devon said “Sportivate is a fantastic programme for 14 to 25 year olds, offering coached sessions across a variety of activities giving a taster of just how fun, enjoyable and social sport can be.”

For more details on the club, contact Paul Gray on 07790546913. If you would like to learn more about inclusive sport opportunities across the county, contact Jason Wood at Active Devon on 01392 263674.