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Disabled and wish you were More Sporty?
Added: (Fri Mar 17 2006)
If you have a disability you may feel you are missing out on sports activities. Maybe you haven’t yet had the opportunity to join in. The Mobility Roadshow Scotland at the Royal Highland Centre near Edinburgh on 5th and 6th April is holding a ‘sports spectacular’ with representatives from local or national wheelchair sports teams demonstrating their skills and encouraging everyone to have a go. Already on board are new-age curling, basketball and rugby, with other sports to be confirmed.
Lothian Disability Sport, the regional branch of Scottish Disability Sport, will also be there to advise you about the wide range of sports available and to help put you in touch with local clubs. Mobility Choice, the charity that organises the Roadshow, say the sports arena will be lively and fun and everyone is invited to join in.
On the first day you also have the opportunity to meet one of the world’s most well-known paralympic athletes, Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, who will officially open the Roadshow and spend the day on the Vauxhall stand. Scotland's Kenny Herriot, the British wheelchair marathon record-holder will also be there.
Supported by the Scottish Executive, the Mobility Roadshow is a rare opportunity for disabled people, their families and carers in Scotland and the North of England to also test drive in a ‘no pressure’ environment over 20 adapted vehicles and to receive impartial advice on hundreds of mobility aids.
As well as the latest adapted cars, you’ll find motor homes, wheelchairs, scooters, pushchairs, tricycles, hand controls and other adaptations, seating and harness systems, hoists, ramps, lifts, insurance, clothing, exercise equipment, hotel and leisure groups and specialist products for children. A number of organisations will be there to offer advice on support, community services and benefits.
With fully staffed crèche, fun and entertainment for young visitors the Mobility Roadshow Scotland is a great day out for all the family. Entry, parking and show guides are all free and sign language interpreters and free wheelchair and scooter loans will help you get around.
Find out more by calling the Mobility Roadshow office on 0845 241 0390 or visit www.mobilityroadshow.co.uk
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Editor’s Notes:
• Scotland is estimated to have 1 million disabled adults likely to be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act - about 1 in 5 of the population. There is a disabled person or a person with a long-term illness living in just over 1 in 3 households.
• There is 1 NHS wheelchair user per 53 people in Scotland. In the year April 2003 to March 2004 there were 21,759 new wheelchair users, an increase from the previous year of 582.
• There are over 230,214 Blue Badge holders in Scotland, indicating that they have a significant mobility problem.
• Scotland has an ageing population. In 2004 35 percent of the adult population was aged 50 or over, 7 percent 75 or over and 1 percent over 90. By 2024 these percentages are projected to be 44 percent, 11 percent and 1 percent respectively.
Editorial contact for more information: Rosemary Vaux at Mobility Roadshow press office tel 020 8943 5343 email mobility@ravenstonepr.co.uk