Participating in sports has been associated with a number of benefits for one’s physical, mental, and social wellbeing.
Unfortunately, individuals with disabilities are often excluded or discouraged from participating in sports due to various barriers such as a lack of training and competition opportunities, inadequate awareness on how to include people with disabilities, and inaccessible facilities. The SHOWDOWN project aims to facilitate and promote the participation of people with visual impairments in health-enhancing physical activities that will improve their health and help them establish social connections within their communities.
To achieve this, the project will focus on the Showdown game, which is an inclusive sport that welcomes people of all genders, ages, and abilities. The main output of the project SHOWDOWN is a guide on how to organise safe and inclusive Showdown activities that will involve both people with visual impairments and without.
The creation of the guide will start with the identification of the needs of visually impaired people in terms of sport participation, the collection of best practices, and the training of the partner organisations on how to organise safe and inclusive Showdown games in mixed-abilities groups.
Safety is the highest priority for the partners and therefore all training staff will receive appropriate first aid training tailored to the specific needs of people with visual impairments. Currently, there are no guidelines or protocols for organising such activities in the partner countries.
As a result, the project will have a significant impact on the local, national, and international level. The project results will be disseminated to more than 300 target group representatives and relevant stakeholders through the organisation of more than 10 events and activities in the partner countries and to more than 10,000 through digital channels.
For more information about the project, click here.