PARALYMPICS Paralions programme launched in a bid to find future Irish Paralympians

26th February 2008

ParaLions programme launched in a bid to find future Irish Paralympians

ParaLions set to raise awareness of Paralympic Sport in Ireland

The Paralympic Council of Ireland (PCI)* today (26th Feb) launched its ParaLions programme to encourage young people with a physical disability to become involved in Paralympic Sport** and unearth potential Irish athletes for the London 2012 Paralympic Games and beyond.

This Paralympic year provides a substantial opportunity to target young people with a physical or sensory disability, their parents and families in order to stimulate their interest and encourage them into Paralympic sport at an early age. The idea behind ParaLions is to try and make people aware that Paralympic sport in its many forms (e.g. cycling, athletics, swimming, sailing, wheelchair basketball etc.) exists across the country, is accessible can offer incalculable benefits, as well as the dream scenario; the opportunity to represent Ireland at the Paralympic Games.

ParaLions involves the provision of an online resource booklet for young people interested in taking up Paralympic sport which contains a questionnaire to assist the Paralympic Council of Ireland (PCI) in building a database of interested individuals with disabilities.

The PCI will use this database to channel these individuals to sports they are interested in, and crucially to sports that suit their Paralympic classification profile. On receipt of the questionnaire, the PCI will send out a Paralions resource pack including a t-shirt, bag etc. to the individual. Irish Paralympic athletes, who actually devised the name ParaLions will be on hand to provide athlete visits to relevant centres and community groups to share their experience of Paralympic sport.

ParaLions is a collaborative effort by all eight sporting bodies included in Paralympic Sport and is made possible with support from the Irish Sports Council, the International Paralympic Committee and O’Neills Irish International Sportswear.

A number of our Irish team set to compete in the Paralympics this summer in Beijing were not involved in Paralympic sport at the time of the last Games in Athens so the hope is that Paralions will be able to unearth some young Irish athletes for London 2012.

 Speaking at the launch PCI President Tony Guest said; “The Paralympic Council of Ireland are determined to boost the profile of Paralympic Sport in Ireland by capitalising on the performances of Irish athletes in Beijing in order to attract the next generation of athletes into Paralympic Sport. There are many potential Irish Paralympians out there that we simply don’t know about. We want everybody here today to sell the message and find future Paralympians.”

Derry’s Jason Smyth, Paralympic world record holder at 100m (10.61sec) and 200m (21.83sec) only came to Paralympic sport in 2005 and is set to be part of the Irish team in Beijing in September, as is Enda Smyth who was a member of a cycling club locally before realising he was eligible to compete at Paralympic level and he is now ninth in the world rankings heading into the Games.

ParaLions was launched to an invited audience of sports development personnel by some of Ireland’s leading Paralympians including world javelin silver medalist Lisa Callaghan.

Speaking about Paralions Lisa Callaghan remarked: “My involvement in Paralympic Sport is hugely important to me. I’ve been lucky to reach the heights of representing my country at the very top level of the sport and feel very proud to do so. I have made countless friends, traveled the world and all the time had great fun doing it so it’s great to see ParaLions coming on stream; everyone with a disability should be able to get the chance to enjoy the immeasurable benefits of Paralympics Sport.”

*The Paralympic Council of Ireland was founded in 1987 and is responsible for the preparation and management of the Irish team in the lead up to, and at, the Paralympic Games every four years.

**Olympic style games for athletes with a physical disability were first held in Rome in 1960. Today, the Paralympics are elite sport events for athletes with physical and sensory disability. They emphasise the participants’ athletic achievements rather than their disability. The movement has grown dramatically since its first days. The number of athletes participating in Summer Paralympic Games has increased from 400 athletes from 23 countries in Rome in 1960 to 4000 athletes from 153 countries set to compete in Beijing in 2008.

The Paralympic Games have always been held in the same year as the Olympic Games, and in recent times at the same venue. The Chinese city of Beijing will host the 2008 Paralympic Games and London will host the 2012 Games. Ireland has a proud tradition at the Games, winning four medals in Athens in 2004 and the team for Beijing currently stands at 33 in number. Paralympic athletes are supported and funded under the Irish Sports Council’s elite support systems with approximately €1.2million allocated in 2008.
Ends.
Issued on behalf of the Paralympic Council of Ireland by the Irish Sports Council

For further information:
Nancy Chillingworth, PCI ParaLions Coordinator, nancy@pcireland.ie
or Sinéad McElroy smcelroy@irishsportscouncil.ie