Pushing Forward Foreword A ack of opportunities and accessibe venues have been identified as the top two barriers to participation in sport and physica activity for wheechair users and recent research has reveaed high eves of demand among wheechair users for a range of sports incuding snow sports, archery, canoeing/kayaking and wheechair tennis. Unfortunatey the cost of speciaist equipment needed to take part in these sports and activities remains a significant barrier. Some 54% of disabed peope trave more than 30 minutes to take part in some form of sport or physica activity so there is a cear need for more opportunities to take pace at a oca eve. Sport and physica activity are vita for disabed peope as part of a heathy active ife and whist there is more to do, participation by wheechair users in swimming, gym and fitness, wheechair basketba, waking/pushing and handcycing have been identified as the most popuar current activities. Disabed peope are motivated to take part in sport and physica activity to increase fitness, to sociaise with others, for fun and enjoyment and 74% of wheechair users woud ike to be more active in the future. 2
WheePower Strategic Pan I am deighted that WheePower s Strategic Pan Pushing Forward 2017-2021 wi address these barriers to participation heping to tacke inactivity amongst disabed peope and focus on the needs of young disabed peope and those new to disabiity. By working coaborativey WheePower wi be abe to widen its geographic reach whist sti providing faciities at Stoke Mandevie Stadium which wi continue to pay a key roe in deivery of programmes and events for disabed peope. Through innovative programmes which are designed to be customer focussed WheePower aims to deiver more opportunities for disabed peope over the next four years which wi increase the number of wheechair users taking part in sport and physica activity. Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE Patron 3
Pushing Forward The Sporting Landscape WheePower operates within a changing sporting andscape and Pushing Forward takes account of the Government Strategy Sporting Future a New Strategy for an Active Nation and the Sport Engand Strategy Towards an Active Nation. The Government Strategy, pubished by the Department for Digita, Cuture, Media & Sport states that success wi be judged against five key outcomes: Physica Webeing; Menta Webeing; Individua Deveopment; Socia / Community Deveopment; Economic Deveopment. Sport Engand s Strategy wi focus resources on tacking inactivity; chidren and young peope; vounteering; mass markets; sustaining the core market; working ocay and faciities. WheePower s roe in supporting and contributing to these strategies and the nationa agenda wi be an important measure of our work. The andscape is aso changing within one of our key areas, spina cord injury and WheePower wi take account of these changes as we deveop sport and physica activity opportunities for peope with spina injuries, other reated impairments and those who are wheechair users. 4
WheePower Strategic Pan Executive Summary Pushing Forward is WheePower s Strategic Pan for the period between 2017 and 2021 and aims to move the organisation forward buiding on its heritage, traditions and peope to provide opportunities which wi enabe more disabed peope to ead heathy and active ives. Pushing Forward wi deiver our Mission to Transform Lives Through Sport and is based on our core vaues as an open, inspiring, forward ooking and innovative organisation. Pushing Forward wi: Increase participation in sport and physica activity Provide iconic and incusive faciities at Stoke Mandevie Stadium Ensure WheePower is a credibe and robust organisation Inspire peope through our work, our heritage and the power of the Paraympic Games Pushing Forward wi be deivered through a range of programmes, activities and faciities which are demand ed and customer focussed and wi be achieved by WheePower working with our strategic partners. Pushing Forward wi create opportunities to encourage inactive wheechair users as we as those aready taking part and is an exciting new chapter for WheePower. 5
Pushing Forward WheePower WheePower s origins are from the inspiration of our founder, Sir Ludwig Guttmann. His pioneering work introduced sport as part of the rehabiitation of peope with spina cord injuries at Stoke Mandevie in the 1940 s. Our work supports the deveopment of sporting opportunities for wheechair users (especiay peope with a spina cord injury), young disabed peope, disabed peope who use a wheechair for sport aong with other physica/ocomotor impairments WheePower deivers opportunities at grass roots eve to introduce peope to sport and physica activity and create pathways into recreationa and competitive sport for peope of a ages and abiities. As a Registered Charity, WheePower is abe to deiver these opportunities thanks to the support of charitabe donations, fundraising, corporate partners and grants. 6
WheePower Strategic Pan Mission Transforming Lives Through Sport Sport and physica activity can be truy transformationa in the ives of disabed chidren and aduts. Whether it is a chid born with a disabiity or someone paraysed through a road traffic accident, sport has the power to inspire them to ead heathy, active ives and through sport achieve greater confidence, sef-esteem and enjoyment. The physica benefits of sport are we known but the improvements in webeing and menta heath of peope with physica impairments through physica activity are just as important and can often be the catayst to reducing isoation and increasing socia incusion for disabed peope. By removing barriers to participation, WheePower opens doors to new friendships, skis and opportunities in ife. 7
Pushing Forward Aims WheePower aims to provide, promote and deveop opportunities for disabed peope to participate in recreationa and competitive wheechair sport to ead heathy, active ives. We wi: Increase participation in sport and physica activity Provide iconic and incusive faciities at Stoke Mandevie Stadium Ensure WheePower is a credibe and robust organisation Inspire peope through our work, our heritage and the power of the Paraympic Games 8
WheePower Strategic Pan Vaues WheePower is open, inspiring, forward ooking and innovative. As a registered charity with growing participation in sport and physica activity at the centre of what we do, deivering our mission to transform ives through sport is based on our core vaues as an organisation. These vaues are inherenty part of how we are structured and how we aim to provide an open and incusive wecome for new participants. If we can inspire disabed peope to use sport as part of their ives, whether for fun or within competition we can hep them to achieve their persona goas and improve their heath and webeing. By being a forward ooking organisation we can chaenge ourseves to deiver a high standard of professiona programmes which are innovative and meet the needs of disabed peope. We recognise that in order to achieve these vaues we must operate to a high ethica standard and work coaborativey to create pathways from participation to whatever eve peope want to achieve in sport. 9
Pushing Forward Stoke Mandevie Stadium Stoke Mandevie Stadium, owned by WheePower, was opened in 1969 and foowing major redeveopment was reopened in 2003 and provides the charity s home and base for many of its incusive activities. Through the provision of iconic faciities at Stoke Mandevie Stadium, WheePower provides an incusive, accessibe venue for disabed peope to participate in sport and physica activity as part of a thriving community sports and eisure centre. As a venue for events of a sizes from oca schoos sports days to events ceebrating Stoke Mandevie as the birthpace of the Paraympic movement, the faciities wi provide an important part of the deivery mechanism for our strategy over the next few years. Our pans for the future incude a ong term partnership for operationa management of the faciities from 2018 aongside deveopment of the on-site sporting, accommodation and supporting faciities pus a new Heritage Centre in partnership with the Nationa Paraympic Heritage Trust. Through improved operations and faciities, it is anticipated turnover wi grow from its current eve of 2 miion per year and usage increase from its current eves of circa 500,000 user visits per year which incude 10% by disabed peope. 10
WheePower Strategic Pan Strategic Priority 1 Increase participation in sport and physica activity We wi: Deveop and increase the number of sport and activity opportunities, pathways and events for wheechair users Make it easier for wheechair users to find the right activity, remain in it and achieve their potentia Be the centra resource for education, research and insight reating to wheechair sport and physica activity Support, strengthen and grow the wheechair sport infrastructure 11
Pushing Forward Strategic Priority 2 Provide iconic and incusive faciities at Stoke Mandevie Stadium We wi: Provide a wecoming incusive and accessibe venue for community, wheechair and disabiity sport to take pace Ensure effective management of Stoke Mandevie Stadium Deveop new faciities to enhance our offer for disabed peope Secure the ong term future of wheechair and disabiity sport at Stoke Mandevie Stadium Support the deveopment of Stoke Mandevie s heritage as the birthpace of the Paraympic movement 12
WheePower Strategic Pan Strategic Priority 3 Ensure WheePower is a credibe and robust organisation We wi: Ensure the organisation is we structured with good governance and decision making in pace Deiver high standards of business panning and management with the webeing of our peope centra to a we do Ensure financia and fundraising standards are met Deveop our funding sources to deiver our future pans Manage reationships with stakehoders, supporters and donors in an ethica and open manner 13
Pushing Forward Strategic Priority 4 Inspire peope through our work, our heritage and the power of the Paraympic Games We wi: Use the powerfu stories from our past and present activities to inspire peope Use the inspiration of the Paraympic Games to encourage participation Increase awareness of wheechair, disabiity and Paraympic sport Provide high quaity information and advice 14
WheePower Strategic Pan Impact 2016/17 78,259 disabed peope were supported by WheePower. 47,321 disabed peope payed sport at Stoke Mandevie Stadium 26,888 disabed peope from East London took part in the Paraympic Legacy programme Motivate East 230 recenty paraysed peope received advice on the benefits of sport and physica activity from our Physica Activity Advisors. Our Physica Activity Advisors organised 396 sport sessions which were attended by 2,120 recenty paraysed peope. 715 disabed chidren took part in a WheePower Sports Camp throughout the UK 142 disabed chidren took part in our London Sports Day and 125 chidren attended the Nationa Junior Games at Stoke Mandevie Stadium 92 recenty paraysed aduts took part in the Inter Spina Unit Games A tota of 485,753 peope took part in activity, swam or payed sport at Stoke Mandevie Stadium 15
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