|
The Olympic sport of
judo was featured at Suffolk Disability Sports Academy’s eighth
showcase day on Saturday 24 July at Northgate Sports Centre in
Ipswich.
The Academy is run by Optua
UK which provides a wide range of services for disabled people
across East Anglia and beyond. They recently received the 2012
Inspire Mark for their showcase days, with the Ipswich instalment
being held as part of the official London 2012 Open weekend.
123 disabled people took
part in the day which featured cultural workshops, theatre and
music as well as opportunities to take part in judo, cycling,
footall, boccia, sailing, archery, darts, judo, powerlifting and
fishing.
Judo’s well received offering
was coordinated by coach, David Oates, and former double Paralympic
medallist Ian Rose, who were both representing the British Judo
Association.
Oates is a coach for the
school programme, Enjoy Judo, and former Paralympic World Champion
Rose, is now the V.I Talent Development Coordinator.
“Ian and I were very pleased
to be invited and relished the opportunity to put on a judo taster
session,” said Oates, himself a 2nd Dan of some repute.
“Ian led a short motivational
talk about his career and life in judo which went down really
well with a group of volunteers.
“We then took two sessions
coaching around 15 disabled athletes for over two hours. The disabilities
ranged from moderate learning disabilities to autism, ADHD and
some physical disabilities such as visual impairment or hearing
impairments.
Oates’ fellow Enjoy Judo
Coach, Dave Martin, represented the British Judo programme four
years ago when judo was first added to the showcase days.
“I was delighted to see
the sessions prove to be so popular again,” said Martin.
“Enjoy Judo coaches have
been ever-present since I was invited to attend the day at Bury
St Edmunds Leisure Centre in 2006. It’s great to see that Ian
Rose is now involved with the event as he has a great deal to
offer in terms of experience, ability and his professional speaking.”
Britain Judo is renowned
for its visually impaired setup which includes reigning World
Champion Ben Quilter, Coventry brothers Joe and Sam Ingram, who
both picked up silver medals at March’s IBSA VI World Championships,
and talent search product Lesley Reid who captured a bronze medal
at the international showpiece.
Ian
Rose oversees the action
|