The GB Paralympic Team have continued to bring home the medals – sitting second in the medals tables with 96 medals. Yesterday I had the great pleasure of meeting one such medallist, wheelchair fencer Piers Gilliver.
Between them, the three GB Paralympic wheelchair fencers have won a very impressive 9 medals- with Piers securing a full house of gold, silver and bronze, to add to the two silver medals he won at Rio in 2016.
In my role as the Minister for Disabled People, I visited the Team Bath Sports Village at Bath University where Piers trains, and I had the opportunity to watch him spar with his coach Peter Rome. It is quite easy to underestimate the speed, strength and agility required in fencing, seeing it first-hand was incredibly impressive. It was amazing to speak to Piers and hear what it takes to be a successful Paralympian, how he manages the pressure and what motivates him. I am always in awe of the drive and determination displayed by elite athletes, and meeting Piers was incredibly inspiring.
My visit to the sports village was an opportunity to highlight the £100 million made available to support disabled athletes and help disabled people get active. This money has a combination of uses – firstly, to support the development of elite disabled athletes, to support local clubs and groups and share best practice; and secondly, to increase confidence in talent spotting and development. Piers is a fantastic example of how important local clubs and organisations are in spotting and producing talented disabled athletes, as Piers began his fencing career at local fencing club Bath Sword Club. A number of Bath Sword fencers were also in attendance and the pride they have in Piers was wonderful to see, their role in his development has been hugely important.
In addition to the £100 million, the UK Government recently announced an increase in for Paralympic sports through UK Sport funding to £61.8 million for the next Paralympic Games, and Sport England will this year invest £40 million into a Tackling Inequalities Fund, which includes a specific focus on disabled people.
This funding is so important to opening up sports for disabled people, and I would encourage as many sport clubs as possible to get involved in order to help as many disabled people as possible to showcase their talent – and perhaps create future Paralympians.
While, quite rightly, the accolades go to the athletes themselves, it is amazing to see the teams behind each of them. From coaches, psychologists, nutritionists and analysts, all have their role to play and can make the difference between victory and defeat.
Facilities are also hugely important, and the sports village at Bath University really is top of the range. In addition to the wheelchair fencing team, there are other GB programmes which use the facilities – including modern pentathlon, skeleton bobsled and rowing.
Paralympians such as Piers are key to driving up activity levels and inspiring us to try new sports and activities. While most of us can only dream of representing GB and winning medals, we all still need to be more active. I hope GB’s recent supporting success can spur on more people in our community to be active.
