Family Fund’s Post

▶️ Australia’s first Para-Sport Unit unveiled at the South Australian Sports Institute. The Para-Sport Units will provide world-class services which supports athletes on their pathway from identification through to the Paralympics. A partnership between the #theAIS, Paralympics Australia and National Institute Network, the Para-Sport Units will provide additional opportunities for people with a disability to be discovered and to provide world-class services which supports athletes on their pathway from identification through to the Paralympics. The initiative was made possible through the Australian Government’s $54.9m additional Para-sport funding, doubling the existing support, as announced by Minister for Sport, the Hon Anika Wells in June.

🏅After finishing second in the medal table with 124, how have Team GB seen such great Paralympic success? 🇬🇧 The 2024 Paris Paralympic Games marked one of Team GB’s most successful performances in the history of the competition. China finished with 220 medals (94 gold). Team GB finished far ahead of Team USA, and neither team was anywhere near the top of the Paralympic table. 💸 Over the course of the Paris Cycle, UK Sport has invested £315 million ($415.24 million) of government and National Lottery funds across 53 Olympic and Paralympic Sports. 🔑Investment is key - as has been evident from China and GB’s success. 🇺🇸 Will the LA 2028 Paralympic’s see China’s global dominance ended?

Boria Majumdar in Paris We started planning for the Olympics and Paralympics in late 2022. Budgets, travel plans, hotels and, more importantly, whether it was even feasible for an organisation that was just a year old (then) to think of taking a six or seven-member team to the Olympics and the Paralympics for 50-plus days. Paris is expensive, and money was always an important consideration. The truth is it sounded impossible to start with. But then, we started breaking things down, worked our way round the maze and realised that if we had to do quality coverage of a very different nature, we needed a sizeable team in Paris. And not just for the Olympic Games, but the Paralympics as well. For us, both were events of equal importance that defined us as a team. At no point did we think that we’d cover the Olympics and go back. The idea was always to stay on and follow our Olympics coverage with some strong work at the Paralympics. Read: https://lnkd.in/g2-SFrhB Boria Majumdar

Blindly following rules is crippling your organization. How do we start to go past rules and your staff just sticking to the word of the "law"? https://lnkd.in/g3GhpAqH 1. Start with why. If we can put all the rules we have on a whiteboard, do we see any underlying similarities between all of them? If we look at the way leaders run their teams, are there specific values that stand out? Consolidating all these values into a statement allows staff to start seeing the intent of the rules, and not just stop at rigidly executing instructions. 2. Give the staff boundaries. Instead of getting staff to ask for permission, tell them that everything within certain boundaries are allowed. This is challenging on 2 fronts. For staff that are not used to being given freedom to do what they want, it takes time, knowledge and practice for them to get used to this new found power and responsibility. For leaders, it can feel disorientating to delegate control and it is challenging to hold oneself back and letting the team member experiment and practice. 3. Be very clear on expectations. Start small, and set your team up for success. Then work your way up. Your team might just surprise you with the results. Delegating responsibility should come with a delegation of power, resources and the ability to use them. Consistently doing it over time is how you eventually have your team ready to take on greater responsibility and roles. If you could, what would you delegate tomorrow to your team and give them the freedom to execute and deliver?

A story breaking in the UK, whereby #Paris2024 medalists from Team GB & ParalympicsGB were invited to a royal reception at Buckingham Palace in #London, yet only the medalists from Team GB were invited to an after party at luxury retailer Fortnum & Mason. There is lots to unpick here, but a couple of points I would like to highlight. Clearly balls were dropped in terms of communication & I doubt we will never really know if the separate party for our #Paralympians was always planned or a rushed after thought, following Zac Shaw calling them out. What I do know is that for many years the retailer has its tea packaged by the amazing team of supported workers at the Enham Trust 3PL factory, a social enterprise that employs disabled people. I do not think for one moment that Fortnum & Mason wants to deliberately upset the disabaled community. However, somewhere within the organisation, there has been a serious error of judgement & very poor communication around 'space'. This has caused reputational damage to their brand & hurt to some para-athletes. But as you judge them, I would suggest they do more than most organisations to support our disabled community. I would also like to go on & question why, post-Olympics & post-Paralympics, we always lump celebratory events together with both sets of athletes. Whilst the #Olympics is the largest sporting event in the world, sitting at number 3 is the #Paralympics. To remind ourselves, ParalympicsGB came 2nd in the medals table (124), nestled between China (220) & USA (105). That is a phenomenal achievement, which, in my view, deserves to be celebrated beyond the shadow of the Olympics & not diluted. Of course, disabled people want parity with the rest of society, which is a daily fight for most. But combining celebratory events for our Olympic & Paralympic athletes is not really parity, it's just a cost saving measure for the organisers & sponsors. I have a solution... UK Sport awarded c.£246 Million to various National Governing Bodies for #Paris2024 Summer Olympics. They awarded c.£69 million over a similar period for #Paris2024 Summer Paralympics. The disparity of funding aside, UK Sport's funding comes from Department for Culture, Media and Sport & #TheNationalLottery. For #LosAngeles2028, when DCMS & The National Lottery are making their financial forecasts, I think it would not be unreasonable (& not unaffordable) for them to increase or set aside budget / funding to include 4 post-Olympic / Paralympic celebratory events, rather than 2. We already know the formats; a televised 'Homecoming' & a Royal Reception / After Party. So, let's continue to celebrate & recognise all of our amazing athletes & para-athletes. But let's also budget for this properly & not allow our national elite athletes to ever be compromised by cost or convenience. https://lnkd.in/epAGEEJq #DisabilityInclusion #Disability #Sport #ParaSport #Athletics #ParaAthletics #SupportedEmployment

Mes Jeux Paralympiques de Paris ressemblaient un peu à ça. There’s no doubting that it’s been an incredible three years since I joined ParalympicsGB just before the delayed Tokyo Games. With the Paris Paralympics so close to home, it has been fantastic to get to experience it directly in person for the first time. There have been countless highlights and plenty of challenges in this role. One of the key milestones has been establishing the Lived Experience Advisory Board, which played a pivotal role in informing the rebrand from Parasport to Every Body Moves. Since we first heard of the potential of a partnership with the Channel 4 Paralympic coverage for Every Body Moves, to make Paris the games that gives inclusive participation the boost it needs, made possible by the Toyota (GB) plc sponsorship. We knew this was a huge opportunity for the programme and more importantly the disabled community. We’ve seen huge interest, some of it has been a learning curve, but overall what a moment! Our growing focus on social impact is something I’m incredibly passionate about and proud of - what we’ve achieved together (so far) has been remarkable. For my part the impact of Every Body Moves - on the ground and in public eye has undoubtedly been a professional highlight. Along with the pride I felt in watching my colleagues see the #EqualPlay campaign they’d spent over 18months working so hard on land so emphatically. 👏 As these Paralympic Games become a memory, it’s clear this isn’t ‘La Fin.’ There’s much more to do, and Every Body Moves will continue calling for greater accessibility and inclusion in sport and movement. #MoveYourWay #EveryBodyMoves Video description: (Montage video of The Every Body Moves fanzone, club of the month network, watching elite Paralympic sport and behind the scenes in Paris including at the British Embassy and ParalympicsGB house.)

Special Olympics is not the Paralympics. I've been hearing a lot of 'You must be busy!' and 'Why aren't you in Paris?' (my thoughts exactly), though as the 2024 Paralympics wind down, I thought I'd make some distinctions between these games and the Special Olympics. Firstly, it's a common misconception that the two are the same. So common in fact, that it's the most popular blog post on the SO Australian site. Here are the facts: Special Olympics and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) are two separate organisations recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Both are international non-profit organisations focusing on sport for athletes with disabilities. Special Olympics and the Paralympics differ in three main areas: 1) the disability categories of the athletes they serve, 2) the criteria and philosophy under which athletes participate, and 3) the structure of the organisations. The Special Olympics global mission is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and Autism, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community. Special Olympics offers many non-sports opportunities for people with an intellectual disability like leadership, lifestyle and healthy living programs. These programs help athletes develop the confidence and skills to be active and respected members of the community. Because Special Olympics Australia (and globally) struggle with building this awareness, we need your help in breaking down inclusivity barriers. If your organisation or company would like to partner with us and advocate for persons with ID and Autism, let's chat. In the leadup to our National Games and 50 year anniversary, it's an exciting time to be a part of SOA. www.specialolympics.com.au

The closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympics will be held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, this Sunday. The Paralympic Games have grown into one of the world’s largest sporting events, attracting over 4,000 athletes from more than 160 nations. Held every four years after the Olympics, these Games celebrate the extraordinary talents of athletes with disabilities. Since their origin in 1948 as a small competition for British World War II veterans, the Paralympics have evolved into a major global event. The Paralympic Games are designed to celebrate the athletic achievements of participants, showcasing their skills and strengths. Today, the Summer Paralympic program includes 22 sports, while the Winter Paralympics feature six sports. A key element of the Paralympics is the classification system, which ensures fair competition by grouping athletes based on the nature of their disabilities. The Paralympic Games continue to grow and play a crucial role in challenging societal perceptions of disability. With each event, the achievements of Paralympic athletes affirm that sport is for everyone. Learn more about the Paralympic Games ➡️ https://w.wiki/3vtA

CELEBRATING THE PARALYMPIC SPIRIT 8 years ago I was in the final preparations for my final Paralympic Games in Rio. As a 2-time Paralympic gold medalist and silver medalist, I know firsthand the immense dedication, resilience, and passion that it takes to reach the Paralympics. It's a journey filled with challenges, but also one that embodies the true spirit of sport. Since 2008, we've witnessed a significant shift in the awareness and recognition of Paralympic athletes. This movement has been crucial in providing athletes with opportunities to compete and build a career in their chosen sports—something that was often out of reach for many para-athletes in the past. When I won gold in 2008, I received $4,000 USD for that performance. By 2016, this amount had increased by our national Olympic committee to $23,000 USD for a gold medal. One of the most incredible milestones as a South African Paralympian came in 2012 and 2016 when the South African Olympic Committee made a groundbreaking pledge to equalize prize money for both Olympic and Paralympic athletes. This was a huge step towards fairness and recognition for all athletes, regardless of the challenges they face. While we don't do it for the prize money, something as small as making prize money equal goes a long way in promoting recognition and respect. This equality has also opened doors for brand collaborations with para-athletes, who now have the platform to grow their audiences through social media. This connectivity allows the world to see how they deal with the challenges of being a para-athlete. Through Social Media, we are now closer to the athletes than ever before, and I believe these Games have the potential to push the Paralympic movement forward in huge leaps because of it. As we look forward to the Paris Paralympic Games, let’s continue to champion the progress of the Paralympic movement and ensure that every athlete has the opportunity to shine on the world stage. International Paralympic Committee South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee SuperSport

Here's the story behind what made Nishad Kumar enter the Paralympics. [ Nishad Kumar, Silver Medal, Paris Paralympics 2024, Paralympic Games ] #NishadKumar #SilverMedal #ParisParalympics #ParisParalympics2024 #ParalympicGames #IndiaAtParis #IndiaAtParis2024 1Connect Events & Publishing Rishi Sutrave