[Image ID - A cover graphic for July’s ‘Good News’ blog post. Featured on the grey background is white text with the title of the blog, the Disability Sports Australia logo, ‘Disability Pride Month’ written in text and the Disability Pride Month flag.]

Welcome back to Disability Sports Australia’s (DSA) ‘Good News’ series. This third instalment falls on Disability Pride Month! Largely American-focused, we’ve happily noticed the celebrations start to make its way over to Australia. Learn more about Disability Pride Month here.

For those that are new to the Good News series, this is a shortlist of DSA’s favourite stories that we have seen this past month.

At DSA, we love learning about the wonderful things people are doing for the active disability space. We hope this series generates a snowball effect of good stories to share leading to further growth in the sector.

Do you have a story you want us to tell?

Please send the story and your contact details to Disability Sports Australia’s email: info@sports.org.au

1.Unified Leadership

[Image ID - a cover graphic for this section of the ‘Good News’ blog. Featured on a green background is white text detailed in the title above. Accompanying this is the Special Olympics Australia logo and a screenshot from their Inclusive Sport Academy website landing page.]
Photo credit: Special Olympics Australia

In early 2022, Special Olympics Australia (SOA) launched their new online learning platform, Inclusive Sport Academy. The platform upskills sport deliverers for programs involving people with intellectual disability and autism.

Modules within the Inclusive Sport Academy have received recognition from the sector. Their Gymnastics Victoria collaboration ‘Creating a Positive Experience for Athletes with Austism in Gymnastics’ workshop won the 2021 VicHealth Initiative of the Year – Sport at the Victorian Disability Sport & Recreation Awards.

SOA’s latest course addition to the platform is called ‘Unified Leadership’. This course provides the education to support people with intellectual disability and autism to become leaders at your organisation. Co-design's importance across all forms of an organisation is now clearer than it has ever been. This course will give you the tools to add people with disability’s valuable input to your operations.

To begin the course in SOA’s Inclusive Sport Academy:

specialolympics.com.au/inclusive-sport-academy

Source: Special Olympics Australia

2. New Para-Base Incoming

Another exciting development ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Games. The Queensland Government has pledged support for a new Paralympic branch in Brisbane. This will be the fifth base in Australia alongside Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney.

The Queensland Government intends for Brisbane 2032 to be the most inclusive Games ever. The Games will create new accessibility standards with the goal of making all venues more accessible.

“This is a significant step in building the capacity and sustainability of the Paralympic Movement in Australia,” said Paralympics Australia Chief Executive Catherine Clark.

Read the full story via the link below:

paralympic.org.au/2023/06/paralympics-australia-excited-about-new-queensland-base/

To connect with Paralympics Australia, please visit:

paralympic.org.au

3. Gala Day

The annual soccer gala day happened recently in New South Wales’ Mid-North Coast. Each year five clubs come together to play at Taree Zone Field. For the first time, local all-abilities soccer club, the Rainbow Warriors FC, were invited to play against mainstream teams in the region.

The Rainbow Warriors generally plays against themselves. The success of the gala day gives exciting thoughts ahead of what future integrations of All-Abilities and mainstream teams could look like.

To find the full video feature covered by NBN News, please visit:

nbnnews.com.au/2023/07/15/all-abilities-gala-day-goes-ahead-at-tarees-zone-fields/?fbclid=IwAR0WgfWLSIoo_kJpNULjGlz1zdRuoojh7Jh91GpO8JckaYwf-OxtJMup9PI

For more on the Rainbow Warriors’ inclusive programs:

footballmidnorthcoast.com/all-clubs/rainbow-warriors-football-club

Source: NBN News

4. Baseball Collaboration

An adaptive baseball program is uniting a community in Canada. The Medicine Hat Adaptive Sports program hosts a weekly baseball game for the Challengers Baseball team. The program launched seven years ago.

A recent collaboration with local Little League teams has brought ten and eleven-year-old players to support the program. The connection with the local teams has driven a more inclusive culture in the community showing that everyone can enjoy baseball together.

To find the full video feature, please visit:

chatnewstoday.ca/2023/06/09/diverse-community-brought-together-through-shared-love-of-baseball/

For more on Medicine Hat Adaptive Sports:

mhasr.com

Source: Chat News Today

5. UEFA TV – Disability Episode on Outraged

In 2020, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) released a documentary series called ‘Outraged’. This short video series accompanied by an educational toolkit intends to tackle the issue of discrimination in soccer.

The initiative raises awareness and engages the soccer community around topics of discrimination. The series has received critical acclaim and been seen by millions following screenings by 112 broadcasters.

Each episode is theme-led, including topics such as homophobia, racism, and sexism. The latest episode focuses on disability. Five stories of people with disability are followed. The episode provides perspective and how sport can be adapted for everyone to enjoy.

To find the full video and written feature:

uefa.com/insideuefa/news/0283-187788a21511-951f9584a968-1000--uefa-film-highlights-five-life-changing-stories-about-foo/