Sainsbury’s Launches Paralympic Challenge

Daniel Sturridge and Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock have launched a new initiative to get more young people involved in inclusive sport and to raise awareness of Paralympic sport ahead of the Rio 2016 Games.

Sainsbury’s Active Kids Paralympic Challenge has been designed to introduce 2.5m young people to the sports of boccia, goalball, sitting volleyball and athletics, offering schools the opportunity to win prizes, including a trip to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

By downloading the Get Set Road to Rio app, schools can convert time invested in meeting the challenges into kilometres travelled, with the shool travelling the furthest winning a chance to go to Rio.

Liverpool and England player Daniel Sturridge said: “Providing young people with equal opportunities to get involved in sport is really important. Sport has helped me in all areas of my life and I hope that teachers across the country will encourage students to participate in Sainsbury’s Active Kids Paralympic Challenge.”

Jonnie Peacock added: “At school, I had to quickly learn to fit in around the sports on offer. But for children with an impairment today, through Active Kids Paralympic Challenge, things should be easier – you can have all kids playing the same games and it’s a fun way to learn more about Paralympic sport.”

Youth Sport Trust chief executive Ali Oliver commented: “Sainsbury’s Active Kids Paralympic Challenge aims to increase awareness, and challenge perceptions of disability among young people. It will encourage them to be more active through exciting inclusive sports challenges designed to engage disabled and non-disabled young people together.

“At the Youth Sport Trust we know how powerful major sports events can be at capturing the imagination of young people and inspiring them to be active. We hope Sainsbury’s Active Kids Paralympic Challenge will build on the success of our support of London 2012 and the recent Rugby World Cup.”