Festival showcases clubs offering accessible sport

Ava Kate Brierley, a wheelchair user, said she had rediscovered a love of sports since joining Access Sport

A festival of sport for disabled young people is taking place later to showcase the increasing number of clubs offering inclusive activities.

The Winter Ignite Festival, run by the charity Access Sport, is led by local clubs and organisations in Bristol, coaching a variety of accessible sports.

The event at Clifton College on Saturday will encourage participants to have a go at a new activity and, if they enjoy it, to be linked up with a community club catering for disabilities.

"There are over 75 different clubs in Bristol which have an inclusive offer and that number is growing and growing," said programme leader, Heidi Blunden.

"It could be that someone has never engaged with a particular sport or activity because they haven't felt that the spaces that exist have been for them.

"So this showcases the amazing community clubs that we've got in Bristol, who hold those spaces and welcome everyone and can adapt sessions to an individual's disability or needs," she added.

The sports on offer include football, walking and frame football, wrestling, gymnastics, climbing, boccia, bowls, tennis and wheelchair basketball.

Ava Kate Brierley, who is a wheelchair user, said she used to be a sporty child before her disability progressed. She now participates, and helps to lead, at Ignite Festivals.

"When I discovered wheelchair basketball and then joined Access Sport, I started considering myself as quite a sporty person again.

"I like to make sure everybody else knows about these opportunities because a lot of the issue is around people not knowing what they are - not that they wouldn't want to take part, just that they don't know about it," she said.