The iFLY indoor sky diving centre based in Manchester not only, allows people to experience indoor sky diving, but also, promotes the equal participation of people with disabilities and visual impairment to try the same. Members from various disability groups in Blackburn were presented with such an opportunity as Brian Mills and his wife Glen organised the 'All Abilities' session of indoor skydiving with an aim to showcase how people with disabilities can participate in extreme sport regardless of their disability or age. Around 30 people from different charities such as Age UK and Ability Counts took up this opportunity and participated in an exhilarating and enthralling session of indoor sky diving. The entire excursion of the skydive was conducted inside the state-of-the-art wind tunnel with participants simply leaning forward onto a fast column of air to simulate a real parachute jump. Such was the excitement of the participants, as many experienced euphorias and a newfound hobby. Some of the other participants also felt the same and also received a certificate of completion after the session. More details about the iFLY indoor sky diving centre can be found using the link below: https://www.iflyworld.co.uk/?utm_source=GMB&utm_medium=manchester&utm_campaign=&utm_content=Homepage

Following International Day of Disabled Persons, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) unveiled a variety of specific goals to increase the accessibility of tennis for disabled people in Britain through its targeted initiatives aimed with an objective of increasing and making tennis more accessible for people with disabilities across the country. The initiative labelled as ‘Open for All’ intends to build LTA’s successes till date in relation to the disabled community and plans to respond to new identified challenges with an aim to make tennis more accessible for disabled people in this country. The plan sets out in more detail the specific work under way to make tennis more inclusive for disabled people and will act as an extension for LTA’s award-winning Open Court Programme, in order to support greater opportunities for disabled people. The ‘Open for All’ plan has been carefully developed in consultation with the disabled people those supporting disabled people and seeking input from experts such as Activity Alliance and Sport England. ‘Open for All’ the third plan announced by the LTA aims to tackle the ambitious commitments made in last year’s three-year Inclusion Strategy. The five key objectives which ‘Open for All’ remains committed to are as follows: Continue to recover and rebuild We will continue to listen to disabled people to understand the impact COVID-19 has had, and how tennis can respond effectively and inclusively. For example, encouraging a return to competition through the introduction of more informal and local competitions. Make tennis more inclusive for disabled people We will continue to embed high standards of practice in all aspects of the game to include disabled people, explicitly as part of our broader plans. For example, introducing high quality disability inclusive education into the coaching curriculum. We will also apply to become a Disability Confident Employer to attract disabled people to apply to and work at the LTA. Grow and improve the LTA Open Court Programme We will use the views of disabled people to inform how we grow our disability tennis participation programme. We will also grow the programme by working with County and Island Associations and other partners, increasing the number of locations across Britain and improving how people find and access the programme. Reach new and different audiences We will identify and maintain key national partnerships to help us reach new and different audiences by exploring innovative projects to improve the accessibility into tennis for disabled people. For example, Action Audio which supports people who are blind or partially sighted at major events. Continue to support the player pathway This includes delivering talent identification and recruitment campaigns to attract disabled people, and ensure they are supported and nurtured through the Wheelchair, VI, Learning Disability and Deaf pathways. We will also provide accessible opportunities for talent including delivering international events that highlight Britain as a leading tennis nation for disability tennis and bidding for future international events. LTA CEO Scott Lloyd said: “Disabled people are facing even greater challenges than ever. As well as being hit disproportionally hard by rising costs, we know many feel the COVID pandemic has made access to sport and physical activity more difficult for them. “We want to use the platform our very successful LTA Open Court Programme has created as a foundation for change, making our sport even more inclusive for disabled people and ensuring they can access and enjoy tennis without any barriers. “To do this we need to identify and address the systemic issues for disability-inclusion and provide disabled people with the opportunity to access tennis how and when they wish”. Dave Hardman, LTA Inclusion Development Manager added: “Crucially, our work needs to embrace all impairment types – whether that’s inclusively embedding opportunities in mainstream tennis activity or in impairment specific formats such as Wheelchair, Visually Impaired (VI), Deaf, Learning Disability, PAN impairment or Walking Tennis for those with long term health conditions. “Working with our key partners and stakeholders, this ambitious plan will enable us to make our sport ever more attractive and accessible for disabled people, so they have even more opportunities to play in the way they want to play.” Barry Horne MBE, CEO Activity Alliance said: “Activity Alliance is delighted to see the proactive approach being taken by the LTA in its disability plan. Being active and feeling included are essential to everyone’s well-being. We know the Covid-19 pandemic significantly worsened an already challenging position to result in the level of inactivity amongst disabled people being twice that of non-disabled people. It’s essential that sport and activity providers go the extra mile to make sure that they include disabled people in every aspect of their offer, and I’m pleased to see tennis leading the way.” In addition to that, ‘Open for All’ remains integrated with a range of partners and stakeholders including AoC Sport, Parkinson’s UK and SENSE and aims to work with relevant organisations to deliver the actions outlined in the plan.