EFDS launches inclusion initiative

Minister for Sport, Kate Hoey, has launched the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) scheme, the Inclusive Fitness Initiative. Backed by a £1m Sport England grant from its Lottery Sports Fund, the £1.3m pilot scheme hopes to increase opportunities for disabled people to exercise alongside able bodied people by targeting 30 local authority health and fitness centres across England. The two-year scheme will focus on three elements; inclusive fitness equipment so that disabled people can use the gym; disability training for staff; and marketing of the facilities and services to disabled people. Chair of Sport England's disability task force, Tim Marshall, says the initiative is much needed: The inclusion of people with disabilities in sport and physical recreation is a major corner stone of Sport England policy and with some six million people having a disability, it is vital that we work towards giving them the same opportunities to exercise and become involved in sport as able bodied people. Montogomery Leisure Services will manage the Inclusive Fitness Initiative, which EFDS plans to expand to a national-level programme following the pilot.