PANATHLON AT 2
Panathlon is a fantastic charity. When I was at school, there was nothing like this for disabled kids. Even today, without Panathlon some of these kids wouldn t get involved in sport and that is completely wrong. But they aren t just here to have fun; this is a competition and they want to win. If there is anything that demonstrates an Olympic and Paralympic legacy, it s this. Alex Brooker, star of Channel 4 s The Last Leg and Panathlon patron 2
Welcome I am very proud to be Panathlon s Paralympic Ambassador as the charity celebrates 20 years of inspiring young people through sport. Since visiting my first Panathlon competition in 2008, I ve witnessed on many occasions what the charity means to the disabled young people involved. Panathlon gives everybody the chance to compete in sport and reap the benefits of doing so, whether by developing skills, building confidence or working as a team. Without Panathlon, many of the participants wouldn t get the chance to take part in any competitive sport, developing themselves and becoming more empowered as they do. Sport has always been a massive part of my life and I think every child should have the opportunity to get involved. Panathlon makes that happen for thousands of disabled youngsters every year and long may it continue to do so. Here s to the next 20 years! Liz Johnson Paralympic swimming champion and Panathlon Ambassador Every child should have the right to take part in competitive sport. Panathlon makes that happen. 3
PANATHLON 4 The Panathlon Challenge is proud to celebrate 20 years of providing sporting opportunities to disadvantaged young people. Founded in 1995, Panathlon was designed to increase the number of children playing competitive sport in inner city schools by providing a competition structure reliant on minimal facilities, that allowed all schools to compete on a level playing field. This ethos was extended to include disability sport in 1999 and after six successful years of working with special schools and seeing the positive impact that sport can make for disabled young people, Panathlon began to focus solely on disability sport in 2005. Today Panathlon provides sporting opportunities to over 7,500 disabled young people every year, many of whom would otherwise not have any access to competitive sport. In the last decade we have delivered over 400 mini Paralympic multi-sport competitions for 5-19 year olds, along with dedicated football, boccia and swimming programmes. Alongside our sports competitions, Panathlon has also trained over 3,000 young leaders, aged 14-19, who act as officials for Panathlon competitions.
AT 2 A YEAR IN PANATHLON 7,500 COMPETITORS 450 SCHOOLS 100,000 ACTIVE HOURS OF SPORT 1,350 YOUNG LEADERS ALL 32 LONDON BOROUGHS 27 COUNTIES (30 BY 2017) CORE VALUE: Panathlon seeks to inspire young disabled people to use sport as a means of personal and social development. OUR VISION: To be the leading provider of competitive sport for young disabled people in every county in England by 2020. 5
Multi-sport Panathlon s multi-sport competitions, or mini Paralympics, include a range of sports designed to be appropriate to young people with a wide range of physical impairments and severe and complex learning difficulties. The programme caters for youngsters aged 5-19, though focuses largely on secondary-aged students. Teams compete over six rounds - boccia, polybat, table cricket, new age kurling, field athletics and athletics races, many using adaptive equipment to increase accessibility - with the team accumulating the highest points total crowned the winner, while all competitors receive a medal. All 32 London boroughs compete in regional heats for a place at the London finals, held in the Olympic Park, while across the country teams compete to become county champions, many of whom go on to regional finals, introduced in 2014 to provide another level of competition for the best teams. Panathlon has successfully delivered over 600 multi-sport competitions since 1999. Our core programme, these mini Paralympics now take place in 27 counties across the country each year, with plans to be in every county in England by 2020. Sport is inclusive not exclusive and Panathlon is inclusive sport at its best. 6 Fiona Bell, Head of Secondary at St Giles School, Croydon
Primary Primary Panathlon is a team competition for 5-11 year olds that builds foundation skills in a range of Panathlon sports. The introductory programme, which develops skills in line with the national curriculum (Key Stage 1 & 2), was designed to help address basic physical literacy needs for primary-aged children along with training needs for primary school teachers. Primary Panathlon sports include parachute popcorn, polybat, precision beanbag, new age kurling, boccia blast, flight path, football skills and table cricket. The Primary Panathlon programme is funded by the Wembley National Stadium Trust (WNST) and the Mayor of London in the capital, and by local investment outside London. Since the first pilot in 2013, the programme has grown rapidly to include school, borough, county and regional inter-county competitions. By the end of 2015, over 85 Primary Panathlon days were delivered across 14 counties nationwide, involving over 2,500 competitors. Primary Panathlon is fantastic. The activities are pitched perfectly for younger children. Penny Warner, Head of PE at Amwell View School, Hertfordshire 7
Boccia Boccia is a Paralympic sport played by athletes with disabilities affecting motor skills. One of the original Panathlon sports, boccia still features strongly in our programme today. Working with partners including Boccia England, Panathlon delivers competitions across the country and is starting to develop new participation opportunities for both deaf and visually impaired children within the sport. We also provide boccia leaders and young officials training courses in many counties. Swimming The Panathlon swim programme was designed to enable disabled children to enjoy being in the water. Swimmers and non-swimmers alike take part in a series of individual and team challenges, with around 25% of participants enjoying being in a pool for the first time. Since it launched in 2013, demand for the swim programme has grown rapidly across the country, with over 1,000 swimmers taking part to date. 8 In July 2015, Panathlon held its first regional swim final in the London Aquatics Centre, with more than 50 swimmers from London and the south east taking to the water at the London 2012 venue.
Impairment-specific Panathlon provides tailored developmental coaching and competitions for children with visual impairments, hearing impairments and Powerchair users, competing against each other in appropriate sports. Our deaf programme has engaged 25 schools and more than 500 deaf competitors across the country to date. Football Football was introduced to the London Panathlon programme in 2008, targeting players not involved in any competition elsewhere. We have since provided opportunities to Panathletes with severe learning difficulties, visual impairments and Powerchair users, involving over 500 disabled footballers each year. 9
ISLES OF SCILLY WEST MIDLANDS WARWICKSHIRE ISLE OF WIGHT FIRST TEN YEARS Left: Kate Hoey MP supporting Stockwell Park School in 1997 1995-2005 The original Panathlon Challenge was designed by the late Mark Barker who, having witnessed the decline of school sport during the late 80s and early 90s, created a multi-sport programme that would be effective in every school in the country, regardless of the facilities available. The new programme, which involved an equal number of boys and girls across all five secondary school age groups, featured nine sports taking place at the same time, thereby forcing schools to select from a wider pool of pupils. This resulted in many children being selected to represent their school for the first time. The sports chosen combined traditional PE activities and more adventurous pursuits, whilst the inclusion of chess ensured the programme also featured an intellectual challenge. The full list of sports: badminton, basketball, chess, cycling, football, netball, orienteering, table tennis and indoor athletics. A Panathlon Fair Play Charter set out standards of behaviour on and off the field of play, meaning competitions were fair, well behaved and conducted with good sportsmanship. Above: Panathlon cycling in 2002 at Eastway Cycle Circuit, now under the Olympic velodrome 2005 DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY REGION CUMBRIA NORTHUMBERLAND DURHAM TYNE & WEAR CLEVELAND NORTH YORKSHIRE The first Panathlon pilot event took place in London in 1995 and over the next 10 years, spread to three other cities - Liverpool, Bristol and Leeds - with over 250 competitions involving 100,000 young people from disadvantaged areas. Local rounds in each area led to city-wide finals and, in 2001, a national final was established bringing together the winners from each of the four host cities. DYFED GWYNEDD WEST GLAMORGAN MERSEYSIDE CLWYD POWYS MID GLAMORGAN SOUTH GLAMORGAN GWENT LANCASHIRE GREATER MANCHESTER CHESHIRE SHROPSHIRE HEREFORD AND WORCESTER AVON STAFFORDSHIRE GLOUCESTERSHIRE WEST YORKSHIRE WILTSHIRE DERBYSHIRE SOUTH YORKSHIRE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE LEICESTERSHIRE OXFORDSHIRE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE BERKSHIRE HUMBERSIDE LINCOLNSHIRE BEDFORDSHIRE CAMBRIDGESHIRE HERTFORDSHIRE SURREY GREATER LONDON ESSEX NORFOLK KENT SUFFOLK SOMERSET HAMPSHIRE WEST SUSSEX EAST SUSSEX DEVON DORSET 10 CORNWALL
ISLES OF SCILLY WEST MIDLANDS WARWICKSHIRE ISLE OF WIGHT SECOND TEN YEARS 2005-2015 Although the first disability Panathlon Challenge took place in 1999, the last 10 years have seen us focus entirely on providing sporting opportunities for young disabled people. The growth of Panathlon over the last decade has been phenomenal and the benefits delivered substantial. In 2005, there were 10 Panathlon competitions involving 500 young disabled people, whilst 2015 saw a total of 115 competitions involving 7,500 disabled youngsters. Having started in Barnet, north London, Panathlon now reaches 27 counties and all 32 London boroughs and continues to grow, with plans to involve 30 counties by 2017 and be truly nationwide by 2020. 2015 DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY NORTHUMBERLAND REGION TYNE & WEAR DURHAM CUMBRIA CLEVELAND The programme itself has expanded in recent years to involve our Primary Panathlon, bespoke impairment specific, swimming and football competitions and a hugely beneficial young leaders programme, while regional inter-county finals have helped raise the standard of competition across the country. NORTH YORKSHIRE DYFED GWYNEDD MERSEYSIDE CLWYD POWYS LANCASHIRE GREATER MANCHESTER CHESHIRE SHROPSHIRE HEREFORD AND WORCESTER STAFFORDSHIRE WEST YORKSHIRE DERBYSHIRE SOUTH YORKSHIRE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE LEICESTERSHIRE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE HUMBERSIDE LINCOLNSHIRE BEDFORDSHIRE CAMBRIDGESHIRE NORFOLK SUFFOLK It has been a memorable last decade for Panathlon with some fantastic highlights, including Panathletes becoming the first disabled athletes to compete on the Olympic Stadium track, in front of 23,000 people at an official test event just months ahead of the London 2012 Games. CORNWALL WEST GLAMORGAN DEVON MID GLAMORGAN SOUTH GLAMORGAN GWENT SOMERSET GLOUCESTERSHIRE AVON DORSET WILTSHIRE OXFORDSHIRE BERKSHIRE HAMPSHIRE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE HERTFORDSHIRE SURREY WEST SUSSEX GREATER LONDON ESSEX EAST SUSSEX KENT Panathlon returned to the Olympic Park in 2014 and we have been proud to host our last two London finals at the Copper Box Arena, along with a fantastic inaugural regional swim final at the Aquatics Centre in July 2015. 11
Young Leaders Panathlon has trained over 3,000 students aged 14-19 in our leadership programme since it launched in 2011. The programme involves students from both mainstream and special educational needs schools across the country, 14% of whom have learning difficulties. The leadership programme involves a variety of courses, including those for primary and secondary young leaders, governing body qualifications and impairment-specific courses. After taking one of the course options, the leaders get to put into practice the theory they have learned by running a Panathlon competition, where they officiate each of the sports and assist the young disabled competitors. Most schools integrate the Panathlon training and competition experience into their BTEC, GCSE, A-Level and degree-level practical assessments or coursework, offering an invaluable experience to the young leaders, most of whom are working with disabled young people for the first time. Panathlon s two 2015 Olympic Park finals were officiated by some of the outstanding Panathlon leaders from across the country. 12 Panathlon has changed my perspective on things. It has opened my eyes to what I want to do, which is teach PE and work with special needs children. I love working with kids but helping these kids is even more rewarding and inspiring. I love it. Elysia Stewart-Procter, Year 13 student at Sir Herbert Leon Academy in Milton Keynes and Panathlon young leader
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CASE STUDIES Robert Walter 14 Faizan Bidiwala Faizan arrived in Ilford from Pakistan in 2011 with very limited English and a heart condition related to his Downs Syndrome that left him short of breath and jaundiced after even a small amount of exercise, severely restricting his participation in any sport. After recovering from life-saving heart surgery, Faizan became involved in Panathlon and has since gone on to represent Little Heath School at boccia and cricket, becoming a key member of the Redbridge Panathlon team, who won the 2014 London plate final at the Copper Box Arena. In recognition of his incredible journey, Faizan was awarded the 2014 Jack Petchey Outstanding Achievement Award, aged 16. Faizan is a true inspiration for everyone. He is fiercely competitive but really supports his team and is encouraging to those who are having a bad day! He is a great role model for his team mates and other disabled pupils. Jen Christensen, PE teacher at Little Heath School Robert has Sturge-Weber syndrome, a rare congenital neurological and skin disorder that left him unable to walk until the age of seven. Just two years later, through lots of hard work, physiotherapy and support from family and school, Robert was able to move around independently using his Kaye walker and even took some unaided steps. Robert loves sport and is a big part of the Hounslow Panathlon team, which has also led to him representing Lindon Bennett School at the National Table Cricket competition. In 2014, aged 10, Robert was named joint winner of the Wembley National Stadium Trust Primary-Aged Achievers Award, which celebrates some of Panathlon s youngest competitors. Robert is the sporting star of the school. He has shown us all that, through hard work and self-belief, all things are possible. Through Panathlon Robert has developed his passion for sports. He loves competing and representing both our school and Hounslow. Ben Ryan, PE teacher at Lindon Bennett School
Participation - Doucecroft School Young leaders - Great Baddow High School Chelmsford s Great Baddow High School have fully embraced Panathlon s leadership programme, making it an integral part of their BTEC Sport qualification for the last five years. Trained as Panathlon young leaders, their students, aged 16-18, have overseen numerous Panathlon competitions, including the annual Essex county finals and the 2015 Panathlon swim finals at London s Olympic Park. Working with disabled young people has proved very rewarding for the students, two of whom were so inspired by Panathlon that they have recently graduated with a disability sports degree and will continue to work in this area. Colchester s Doucecroft School only joined the Panathlon programme in January 2015, when they took part in the Essex Primary Panathlon, but the move has already transformed their approach to sport. The school, which caters for pupils on the autistic spectrum and with a range of additional needs, have since competed in Panathlon s ten pin bowling and swimming events, culminating in the regional swim final at the Olympic Park. Involvement in Panathlon has increased pupils confidence and given them invaluable access to the community, while it has opened staff s eyes to the importance of PE and sport for the students. Panathlon is very inspiring. Our pupils gain a lot from working with children with a range of disabilities and adapting their leadership skills. They do 200-300 hours of volunteering in a year and Panathlon is the best event that they do. Chris Persey, Sports College Coordinator at Great Baddow High School Panathlon is great for our children. Before we got on board, we weren t involved in competition with other schools at all, so this is fantastic. Caroline Wells, Director of Doucecroft School Services 15
HOW YOU CAN HELP It feels amazing to be representing the borough. It s an amazing experience to even be here. I really enjoy being part of Panathlon and I think I d like to be a young Panathlon coach in the future. Toyin Fabusiwa, aged 15, Croydon The Panathlon Foundation was established in 1997 and has since raised over 6m which it has invested in creating sporting opportunities for over 125,000 young people during that time. I would like to thank the various trustee s on our Board over the last 20 years and our chief executive, Ashley Iceton, who has consistently driven this charity with huge skill and enthusiasm throughout this time. The money raised has come from a variety of sources: local and national government, trusts, charities, commercial sponsors and individual contributions. There are far too many to thank here individually but we are truly grateful for all of the support we ve received in our 20 years. What is obvious is the constant and growing demand for sporting opportunities across the country and we constantly strive to meet those expectations and aspirations. Panathlon now delivers in over half of the counties in England, but there is much more to do in these areas and in those counties beyond our current provision. This is not 16
I m the only pupil on the Panathlon team from my school, so its a great opportunity to have fun and meet other people. Jamie Keat, aged ten, Hammersmith & Fulham for lack of demand, simply a lack of resource. To enable full nationwide rollout of the Panathlon Challenge would require the Foundation to double its current financial and human resource. We will continue to strive to involve more partners, whether commercial sponsors, new charities and trusts or local, regional and national bodies. Our aim is to innovate in our fundraising to maximise the potential of our tried and tested programmes and products, in order to provide more life-enhancing opportunities, as documented in the surrounding pages. The best thing is that there is a level playing field. Whatever disability you have, the scoring system levels it out, so kids with all sorts of disabilities can compete against one another fairly. Jane Chave, PE teacher at Priory School, Bury St Edmunds Please help us on our quest to inspire young disabled people to maximise their life opportunities and reach their own personal potential, whatever that may be. If you wish to be involved and help us on our journey, then please do get in touch. Andy Sutch Chair of the Panathlon Foundation 17
Thank you for your support Over the past 20 years I have seen the Panathlon Challenge grow from an idea and concept to where we are today - a national organisation that influences thousands of lives. On this journey, I have met too many people to mention to whom I owe my thanks for helping us build what we have today. I can t go any further without thanking the late Mark Barker who created the Panathlon concept 20 years ago and who sadly passed away in 2004. I know he would be proud that the values he held, of wishing to create a level playing field and opportunities where they didn t exist, still hold true today. I need to thank everyone from the 650 schools involved in Panathlon over the last 20 years - all of the teachers, carers, parents and coaches that have enabled us to provide their students with over one million hours of sporting activity. Thank you to our sponsors, funders and all those who give us the financial backing to enable us to do what we do and provide these life-enhancing sporting opportunities. I can t thank all of the 150+ organisations that have helped in that quest individually here, but you know who you are and you should be all be proud of the part you have played in Panathlon s work over the years. I also need to say thanks to Panathlon s board of trustees, patrons, ambassadors and its staff - two of whom deserve particular mention. Tracey Smedley and Tony Waymouth have been with me for the vast bulk of the last 20 years and are still very much part of the team today. Thank you for all your efforts over the years and long may it continue. Looking back over these pages I am proud of what we have created and hope we can continue to have a positive influence on the lives of young people for many years to come. Thank you once again to everyone who has played a part in Panathlon s success over the last 20 years. Finally, thank you to all those young people that participate with such skill, enthusiasm and commitment - it is you that drives us on every day. Ashley Iceton Chief Executive of the Panathlon Foundation Left to right: Ashley Iceton, CEO; Liz Johnson, Ambassador; Tony Waymouth, COO; Andy Sutch, Chair 18
It feels overwhelming to compete at a place like the Copper Box. I only began to play boccia last year, so it s really special. If there are any other children in a wheelchair out there, this is what you can do. Don t sit back at home thinking I can t do it because you actually can. Joshua Wilkins-Waldron, aged nine, Wandsworth 19
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