Access, Equipment and Venues
EFDS
Inclusive Fitness Initiative
Kent and Medway now have seven accredited IFI sites
- Pent Valley Sports Centre - Folkestone
- Julie Rose Stadium - Ashford
- Strood Sports Centre - Medway
- Larkfield Leisure Centre - near Maidstone
- The Stour Centre - Ashford
- Medway Park - Gillingham
- The new accessible Gym facility is now open at Cascades Leisure Centre in Gravesend, and it is the management's intention to register the new, larger Gym under the IFI Scheme.
- Sevenoaks Leisure Centre - Sevenoaks
- Dover Leisure Centre - Dover - are planning to register
IFI is a national scheme whereby fitness suites are awarded grants to increase the range of equipment that they offer that is ‘user-friendly’ to disabled people. Staff receive disability equality training and the fitness instructors are further trained in working with disabled people. Lastly the site will then receive funding to employ an Activator to promote the new service.
All this is following an access audit of the facility and submission of a plan to show how the site will contribute to local disability sports development.
There were 150 sites accredited across the whole of the UK, so for Kent to gain seven is a good average.
In addition, the Zeroth Active Zone in Boughton Lane, Maidstone offers accessible gym facilities and equipment for use by groups of disabled people
Telephone: 01622 749564
e-mail: Zeroth Active Zone
plus, the new Maidstone YMCA in Melrose Close, Loose has recently opened with a fully accessible Gym with a range of disabled-friendly equipment. The venue also has accessible toilets, changing rooms and other facilities. They plan to register with IFI soon.
Everybody's Gym
A new gym in East Farleigh with disabled access.
Telephone: 01622 725005. Please view for further information (pdf)
New - Kart hand controls
Kart Force is an organisation set up to provide injured Service personnel with the opportunity to experience the thrill and buzz of Karting through providing kart hand control systems.
For more information contact Dave Player
Or take a look at the Kart Force web site.
Fancy trying something a bit different ...?
Laser Tag - no paint... no overalls... no problem... If you want the excitement of paintball and the thrill of a team game then look no further than..... Wheelchair Laser Tag
contact Gary Byrne on 07576012756
Speed Stacking
Speed Stacking is a new and exciting sport that improves hand-eye co-ordination
and reaction time by up to 30%. It involves a wide range of exercises
which can be done at a table or across a sports hall in relay fashion.
It is particularly good for disabled youngsters or adults and can help
develop skills for other sports by developing use of both sides of the
brain at the same time.
For more information on how Speed stacking works and how to get sets
of equipment, including demonstrations go to www.speedstacks.com
Equipment
Have you ever thought about taking up a sport but were discouraged by the cost of buying all the equipment needed, especially a suitable chair ? Well you could be eligible for some help towards the cost of a sports chair.
Taking part in sport can be a great boost to your self-confidence and help you develop the social skills needed for everyday life. Many sports, though, require you to have a specific type of chair to enable you to take part in competitions. Rugby and Basketball chairs require more protection for your feet and legs as they are contact sports while Tennis chairs need to be more manoeuvrable so that you can turn using one hand (as you hold the racquet in the other!). The cost of a sports chair can be around £3,000 depending upon the sport, so it is easy to see why many people are unable to afford this. There are two organisations that may be able to help you buy the sports wheelchair that is needed.
Get Kids Going will award grants to young adults and children under the age of 26 to enable them to participate in the sport of their choice. They have provided chairs for marathons, triathlons, athletics, mountain skiing, and tennis, among others.
They will also award grants to young disabled people for everyday chairs so that they are able to join in with their friends in whatever they are doing. Any equipment that the child has grown out of can be donated back to the organisation and then recycled so that another child is able to benefit from it.
The other organisation is Whizz Kidz and they award grants to children and young people under the age of 18. They will also put money towards the cost of both lightweight manual chairs and powered wheelchairs to enable children to be able to join in activities with their friends. The amount of the grant awarded depends entirely upon the needs of the child and Whizz Kidz will perform their own assessments.
If you would like to benefit from either of these grants you can either contact Sarah Stanwix on the Spinal Injuries Association Helpline; 0800 980 0501 or by email or you can contact the organisation directly.
Lord's Taverners Sports Wheelchair Sponsorship
The Lord's Taverners organisation currently run a scheme to assist disabled young people to purchase sports wheelchairs. To access this you need to fill in a short application form, which can be obtained from:
The Lord's Taverners, 10 Buckingham Place, London, SW1E 6HX, by telephone: 020 7821 2828, or direct from their website.
Variety Club
The Variety Club offer help with wheelchairs for disabled children, through their Easy Riders for Kids Scheme. Last year it helped over 3,000 youngsters under 19 years old with manual and powered wheelchairs, and buggies.
Contact the Easy Riders Team on tel: 020 7428 8100.
Davies Sports
Please view for products and equipment from Davies Sports
GBL Wheelchair Warehouse
GBL Wheelchairs sell a range of sport as well as everyday wheelchairs and have an extensive warehouse where you can go and try out equipment.
