#btsia Post-match Interview: Paralympicsgb

15 Nov 2013 | tshego

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Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of ParalympicsGB, reflects on a year in which the organisation received one of the most prestigious Awards at the BT Sport Industry Awards.

What did it mean to be recognised with the Outstanding Contribution to British Sport Award, supported by Jaguar, at the BT Sport Industry Awards 2013?

It meant a huge amount and it was a proud night for everyone associated with the Paralympic movement in the UK. It mattered for three reasons. One was the simple fact of winning such a prestigious award at what is still one of the big nights of the sporting year, which gave the whole team at the BPA a big lift. The second was the due recognition of our athletes’ achievements at London 2012 and how their performances had registered with and inspired the nation. Most important, however, was the way in which the award was presented.

The argument for our winning, put so beautifully by John Amaechi in his citation, was that the Paralympics and our athletes had shown the world something different about themselves, and proved that perceptions on disability and what individuals can achieve can not only be challenged but changed. This is at the core of our vision and belief, so it was special to see it given such profile and recognition.

The Award was collected on behalf of ParalympicsGB by Jonnie Peacock and Dame Sarah Storey – two heroes of the London 2012 movement – how essential are icons like that to aid the Paralympic momentum that was built last year?

Every sport team, organisation and movement will say that athletes are at its heart – and the Paralympic movement is no different. Our athletes are first and foremost great sportsmen and women, many of them the best in the world in their discipline. Jonnie and Sarah were perfect to pick up the award in that regard but they are two among many. They are great role models and great people. But again the depth of their achievement is what is important. Not only do they inspire through their endeavour on the field of play, they also provide a hugely positive context for wider discussion and debate on disability – ensuring that the focus is on what people are able to do, rather than what they are not.

Looking ahead, what did you learn at London 2012 that you are now taking into Sochi, Rio, and beyond?

So much. While the environments are incredibly different and very challenging the fundamentals remain the same. Be it summer or winter we need to ensure that the BPA provides a truly world-class environment for our athletes at Games time, with global competition now so fierce that we can afford to leave no stone unturned in pursuit of our ambitions. Beyond that we need to continue to build on the narrative that London created around positive change and attitudes to disability. Many of our summer athletes in particular are now household names. Their continued success in Rio and beyond can really help challenge perceptions and be the catalyst to debate and positive change in wider society.

The British Paralympic Association’s contribution to sport extends beyond the track, how have you encouraged participation figures in Paralympic sport?

While our core role is ensuring that the ParalympicsGB team is best prepared at every summer and winter Paralympic Games, you are right that the opportunity extends beyond that. Our vision at the BPA is “through sport, inspire a better world for disabled people” and London has created an incredible platform for that. In research carried out after the games 70% of disabled people agreed London 2012 was inspirational for them and 80% of disabled people considering taking up sport following the Games. We have sought to capitalise on this through leveraging the power of our brand and the inspiration of our athletes. So we created National Paralympic Day this year in September – hosting a wonderful celebratory day of competitive sport back on the Olympic Park which also provided significant ‘have a go’ opportunities for disabled people – with nearly 6,000 watching the sport in the Copper Box and around 20,000 attending the event overall it was a fantastic success and we are looking to build on that for 2014. We have also run two incredibly successful ‘ParalympicsGB SportsFest’ events, where we gather athletes and representatives from every sport and invite members of the public to come along and ‘try the sport, meet the medallists, get inspired’. The two events held so far in Guildford and Sheffield attracted 1,700 people through the door and there are more to come. Lastly we continue to run our Deloitte ‘Parasport’ online programme, a one-stop shop website which signposts disabled people to what sport might suit their impairment, and where in their local area they might find a club where they can give it a go. We have seen a terrific uplift in interest in the Parasport site since the Games.

You have a strong sponsorship portfolio, including the likes of adidas, BT, Deloitte, Nissan and Sainsbury’s. How crucial is corporate backing to the continued growth of the Paralympics in the UK?

We are very proud of the success of our commercial programme since London. We sought to engage them early with the focus on the momentum we knew we would have and to show how that could be of benefit to them. Crucial to that is their awareness that by partnering with the Paralympics, they are not just gaining access to a Games, but to an incredibly powerful, growing, global movement. We are delighted to have two new partners in Nissan and Hogan Lovells, but it is also very pleasing that seven of our partners for Rio were also sponsors of the London 2012 Games – adidas, BT, BP, Deloitte, Sainsbury’s, EDF Energy and Mondelez International. Having seen the benefit during 2012 they now want to join us on the journey forward.

Our partners’ support is fundamental to the BPA. Not just our ability to take the teams to the Games, but also the help they give us in driving the profile of the brand and our athletes and engaging the nation in the wider debate we are seeking to create. Either internally through their employee engagement, or through their customer and wider external promotional activity, our commercial partners are hugely powerful advocates and allies. In addition, their support for distinct programmes like Deloitte’s support for Parasport or Sainsbury’s investment in disability inclusion training in Schools means that we can provide dedicated wider activity that benefits the movement as a whole rather than just the BPA.