The Global Sports Wheelchair
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>View discussions about this entry Country: United Kingdom
Organization: Motivation Charitable Trust
Sport - Other
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 2007
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? -
We are enabling disabled people to participate in sport by designing a low cost and locally repairable sports wheelchair for developing countries. Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? -
Most sports wheelchairs cost well over US$2000 and use expensive, specialized parts which are only available in high income countries like the United States. As a result, disabled people in developing countries usually find it difficult or impossible to participate in sport because they cannot afford to import the chairs, or because donated chairs from overseas quickly break and are impossible to repair locally. In contrast, Motivation is designing the Global Sports Wheelchair to cost less than US$300 and using parts that can be produced or purchased locally. It will also be durable and designed for the needs of basketball and tennis athletes in developing countries who often play on rough outdoor courts. Ultimately, it will enable thousands of disabled people who are sitting on the sidelines to participate in sport, thus increasing the profile of disability sport in developing countries and breaking down stereotypes about disability. What are the existing barriers, the biggest problem, your innovation is hoping to address/change? -
In many countries, disabled people are excluded from sport due to stigma, low expectations, and a lack of durable and affordable sports equipment. In order to challenge stereotypes about disabled people and lobby for social and political change, disabled people themselves must be visible members of their communities. Sport is the perfect vehicle for this type of public demonstration of the abilities of disabled people, but it is impossible without access to appropriate and affordable equipmen Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? -
The project is being implemented in three phases: 1.Feasibility & Concept Design The first phase, which has already begun, includes background research, identification of requirements, initial product design and the development of the design brief and specification which outline the specific technical details of the product. The second phase deals with the actual design development of the product. The objective is to resolve the design and manufacturing issues; developing the chosen concept idea into a safe and effective product that meets the performance criteria established in the brief and that can be efficiently made for an acceptable price. It culminates in a fully functioning pre-production prototype that has been tested, trialed, refined and fully documented ready to go into production. In the third phase, the chair will go into commercial production and be distributed through Paralympic sport development camps in various countries. How do you plan to grow your innovation? -
This project will grow because of the support of two key project partners, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) who have both provided financial support and have pledged to help purchase and distribute the chairs. By working together with National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), local sports organizations and potential funders, both the ITF and IWBF will work to ensure that the final product continues to be produced indefinitely, with new orders of wheelchairs every year designed to help jump start wheelchair sport in new countries and regions. The chairs that the ITF and IWBF purchase will be distributed at grassroots training camps in developing countries and will include training and instruction in how to use and repair the chair as well as high level coaching in wheelchair tennis or wheelchair basketball. Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. -
The Global Sports Wheelchair will enable disabled people to compete, thus demonstrating the abilities of disabled people and combating social stigma. What impact has your innovation had to date/or what is your intended impact? Exactly who are the beneficiaries? -
The primary impact of the Global Sports Wheelchair will be to provide opportunities for thousands of disabled people to play tennis and/or wheelchair basketball, getting them off the sidelines, into appropriate chairs and onto the court. By participating in sport, these disabled athletes will gain self confidence and important skills such as teamwork, leadership and goalsetting. These skills will ultimately benefit them in their lives off the court, bringing greater success in the workplace or the classroom. It will also help to bring disabled people together, facilitating the growth of disability movements. On a societal level, this increase in the number of competing disabled athletes will help to break down social stigma by showcasing the abilities of disabled people and creating inclusive sports communities. In places where disabilty is hidden or considered shameful, the Global Sports Wheelchair will show that disabled people can excel both on and off the court.
Please list any other measures reflective of the impact of your innovation? -
A full set of sports wheelchairs in one community will also serve to bring disabled people together in one place for one purpose. As a result, the Global Sports Wheelchair will also help to strengthen associations of disabled people and expand social networks, helping to sustain local disability movements by bringing their members together. This impact has already been observed in places such as Nicaragua, where high profile athletes became key disability rights activists. What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact? -
The primary barrier is cost. Although the Global Sports Wheelchair will be substantially cheaper than existing products, it will still be out of reach for many individuals and will require funders willing to purchase and distribute it. The ITF and IWBF will initially fill this role, but continued success will require more partners or funding. Other barriers include poor access to tennis and basketball courts and inaccessible public transportation to training facilities. How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? -
The first phase of the initiative has been financed by the AUDI Foundation, with additional support from the International Tennis Federation and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation. Once the chairs are in production, they will be purchased by the ITF, the IWBF and by local sports organizations and National Paralympic Committees. The second and third phases of the initiative will be financed by further grant funding. If known, provide information on your finances and organization. - Please list: Annual budget, annual revenue generated, size of part-time, full-time and volunteer staff.
The Global Sports Wheelchair is a project of Motivation Charitable Trust, in partnership with the ITF and the IWBF. The project has a staff of four and funding is currently secured for phase 1 of US$80,000. Motivation has a staff of over 30 employees worldwide located in four offices: UK Headquarters, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Australia. What is the potential demand for your innovation? -
It is estimated that at least 20 million people worldwide need a wheelchair but cannot afford one. Therefore, assuming that at least half of these individuals would participate in sport if they were given the resources and opportunity, more than 10 million people could potentially demand such an affordable and durable sports wheelchair. What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? -
The main barrier will be to ensure a steady stream of orders for sports wheelchairs so that production facilities can stay in business and continue to produce cost-effectively. Purchases from the ITF and IWBF will provide the initial orders and ensure a minimum level of long-term financial sustainability. However, healthy and continuous production will involve recruiting more sponsors for local organizations wishing to purchase chairs. What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. -
Through discussion, Motivation, the International Tennis Federation and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation realized that we shared a vision of the need to stimulate the growth of wheelchair sports in developing countries in order for the Paralympics to become more inclusive of all nations, however rich or poor they may be. Our vision is of a world that promotes everyone’s right to mobility and inclusion, and what better way to achieve this than through sport? The lack of appropriate wheelchairs is a barrier to more people with disabilities participating in wheelchair sports. By designing a low cost sports wheelchair we aim to help grassroots sports clubs and teams to increase the number of people playing wheelchair sports. Ultimately this will help people with disabilities from developing countries to compete on a more equal basis. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material. -
Motivation is an international development NGO specializing in low cost wheelchair design for developing countries since 1991. Our goal is to enhance the quality of life of people with mobility disabilities. Over the last sixteen years Motivation has worked at every level of development from international policy making to grassroots NGOs. We have been active in all key areas of mobility disability services and through our local partners our work has impacted tens of thousands in 34 countries. Contact Information:
Jennifer Howitt
Programme Officer Motivation Charitable Trust (NGO) Discussions about this entry |
Hi Jen,
I'm really excited about this project. I spent some time in Fiji and in 1999 tried to introduce wheelchair basketball. It involved organising for a donation of 10 basketball wheelchairs, fitted with all-weather tyres and transported to Fiji and an introductory workshop. After a number of obstacles they are now living in storage container and in great need of maintenance and repair and not being used.
I'm interested to know, once your low-cost wheelchairs are distributed, what type of systems do you have in place for maintentance and repair to make sure people get the maximum benefit from them?
Also, after just doing my master research on which developing countries have participated in international disability sport competition (Deaflympics, Paralympics and Special Olympics) I've collected data on which developing countries are and are not participating. I'd like to explore some for collaborating and perhaps this participation data may help guide the countries you target next???
Best regards,
Jackie
Jackie Lauff
Free University Berlin
University Challenge
Hi Jackie,
Your question is essentially about sustainability which is exactly the problem that we have seen with donated chairs. The idea behind our design is to utilize parts that are either produced locally or are cheap and easy to import. As the chairs will be produced and distributed by a network of regional producers (who will import the low-cost components from China), they will also be the source for any necessary replacement parts. But the idea is to reduce the need for these replacement components in the first place, both by producing a durable product and also by using tyres and tubes and other parts which can be purchased locally at low cost.
Also, as the DPOs and sports clubs will become owners of the equipment, it will be their responsibility to maintain and repair the chairs when that eventually does become necessary. As much as possible, we will cover simple maintenance (such as changing tyres, axle maintenance, etc) when the chairs are first delivered through our partners. But anything more complicated will need to be carried out at a local wheelchair workshop, and responsibility for arranging this will fall to the owners of the chairs. The design of the chair should make these repairs as cheap and easy as possible, however!
I hope that explains it a bit.
Best,
Jen
I'm really excited about this cause. I studied abroad in Ghana last fall, and connected with a wheelchair basketball team while I was there. There was a great amount of interest in the sport, and there is a much larger population of people with disabilities in developing countries. This is an issue of equality and social justice that cannot be ignored. The players I met while in Ghana were playing in very old chairs, without a 5th wheel, so games could get pretty dangerous especially when playing on concrete courts.
This is great! Keep up the amazing work!
Brittany Murlas
UC Berkeley Undergrad
Great idea!
I haven't travelled internationally with Wheelchair Rugby in over a decade, but while I was overseas I got to know many disabled athletes from various countries and we would share ideas and chair innovations in the rapid growing sport of Quad Rugby. One of the greatest disparities was equipment; and access to state of the art equipment at an affordable price. The players and countries who had the most innovative and contemporary equipment to go along with their skills were the most competitive. Not surprisingly, The US was at the top then at least in part because of cutting edge equipment. I know the gap has closed since then, and again this is at least in part, parity in the area of equipment.
Affordable and maintenance friendly chairs in all sports for those who are unable to afford or obtain access is huge. I hope your endeavors can reach out to those individuals and countries so that more folks can get out and play; and play competively. It definitely can and will change people's lives and break down stereotypes.
Additionally, I remember Enrique Madrinan, who is from Columbia and used to work at BORP prior to moving to Miami, was involved in getting used US equipment (sports and everyday chairs) to various developing nations in the early to mid 90s. Unfortunately, I don't have an e-mail for him. Perhaps if someone from BORP does, he might be a good liason for Central and South American Nations?
Another BORPter making us proud,
Keep up the good work Jen and Motivation Programme!
Chris Cook
USQRA HOF Member
Dear Jennifer,
We are absolutely enthusiastic about your project since we have seen the enormous lack in (money to afford) wheelchairs in the developing countries as MYSA is setting up a project for people with disabilities in the slums of Nairobi (see our competition-entry when you are interested). Therefore, we feel really sorry that the wheelchairs won’t be produced for Kenyan athletes in the first year. In case you would be willing to add a country on the list, we would be interested in a possible collaboration.
Besides the lack of wheelchairs, the lack of accessible roads, playing grounds and storages are a big problem in developing countries. Do you plan to work on these problems as, so the delivered wheelchairs can be used even more effectively?
We wish you good luck for the designing and production of the wheelchairs.
Pierre and Steffi
Hi Pierre and Steffi,
Your project in Nairobi sounds very exciting. I've just been reading about your work on your website and it sounds as if you would really benefit from having access to a low cost sports wheelchair to help expand your programmes.
As far as the countries for distribution, they've been identified as countries where our partners (the ITF and the IWBF) have local partners they plan to work with to distribute the chair and train athletes and coaches. At this point, Motivation is focussing on the design and we'll leave the majority of the implementation to our partners, who are in effect the consumers as they will be purchasing the chairs. It is likely that they will expect local partners to contribute towards the cost of purchasing the equipment as well, depending upon the circumstances. So you would probably want to work directly with the ITF or the IWBF or through the Kenyan Paralympic Committee, as a partner. There's also no reason why you couldn't purchase the chairs directly from our producers in that first year of production, assuming you were able to find a sponsor for the cost. Send me an email at howitt@motivation.org.uk and we can get in touch to discuss both of these options, as well as other ways we might be able to collaborate. I can either put you in contact with the relevant people at our partner organisations, or we can discuss whether or not you'd like to order them directly once we reach the production phase. Either way, we would be able to help you get the proper training needed to use the wheelchairs, as well as help with any sport-specific training assistance you might need, either directly or through partners.
To answer your questions about infrastructure (i.e. accessible roads, playing grounds, storage), you're absolutely right that these are also major barriers to getting programmes started. In fact, I'd add inaccessible public transportation to the list. However, we don't plan to work on these issues directly--instead, this is exactly the sort of thing that local partners of the ITF/IWBF are working to remedy, particularly local sports organisations and National Paralympic Committees. We really only have the scope to design the product and organise its production, and then work with our local partners on the implementation phase.
Hopefully these are exactly the sorts of problems that an organisation like MYSA can tackle!
Best,
Jen
Hi,
I do voluntary work each year in China and know there is a vast difference in what is available to people with disabilities. The children I work with are thrilled if they get a second hand chair from abroad (often USA), but the consequence is the difficulty with ongoing maintainance.
I have coached some disability sport there but appropriate equipment that reflects the potential of the players is the limiting factor. I will track the progress of the project with interest. My main passion is with severe disability sports, Boccia, Powerchair teamsports e.g. Football and Rugby, as well as adapting sports to meet the needs of the player. If there is any thing I can do to help please let me know.
Stewart Evans,
Occu[ational Therapist, Teacher
You're doing great work, Jen. Keep it up!
Anna
Events & Communications Coordinator
Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP)
Rick Spittler
Jen,
Thanks for sending me the information about designing and manufacturing a sport wheelchair that targets developing countries. Designing a low cost sports chair, and one that can be repaired in the communities where the chairs will be used, will play a critical role in expanding the benefits of participating in sport programs for communities, that have so far, been left out.
Please let me know how I can lend my support.
The Angkor Racers: Sustainable Sports Development through Local Production
Since 2004, the CNVLD, in cooperation with the Don Bosco Technical School Phnom Penh, has been developing and manufacturing Cambodia’s only locally produced racing wheelchair, working on the clear premise that effective and sustainable local sports development must incorporate the local design, production and purchase of equipment and materiel wherever possible.
Small numbers of Cambodian Athletes with a Disability had been provided with high quality racing wheelchairs donated from Germany and Japan during the 1990s. Maintaining these chairs (e.g. repairing aluminium or composite frames and sourcing spare parts) and building the basis of a sustainable national programme proved impossible with such equipment, hence the CNVLD’s policy of designing and producing racing chairs locally.
Female Athletes with a Disability, Persons with a Disability in rural areas and young Cambodians with a Disability had also been excluded from provision of high quality racing chairs during the 1990s. The CNVLD’s policy firmly advocates the inclusion and expansion of these groups into the national framework, hence the focus on local production. Production costs are also central to the development of an expanding national programme and the Angkor Racers are produced for only US$250.
The first 50 Angkor Racer 1s rolled off the production line in 2005 through support from AusAID and the CNVLD estimates that each chair has now been ridden over 10,000km, on the basis that each teams trains approximately 100km per week.
In 2006, the wheelchair racing project succeeded in achieving socially responsible, corporate sector sustainability through sponsorship by ANZ Royal Bank, developing from concept to reality to sustainability in just three years. Local production and development of a Cambodian racing chair was central to achieving this success.
Mr Val Sutherland, an Australian Business Volunteer with over 40 years engineering experience, completed two successful tenures in 2006 and 2007 training Don Bosco Technical School Students in the design and production of the Angkor Racer II with testing carried out in cooperation with Cambodia’s top wheelchair racing athletes. All materiel and equipment are locally sourced, as are the distinctive ANZ Royal-CNVLD chair liveries and team uniforms.
Women Sports International (US) and the Women’s International Group (Cambodia) also provided funding for the production of second generation chairs for the 12 Female Wheelchair racers.
These second generation chairs began rolling off the production line in August 2007 and all 35 athletes will be training and racing in the Angkor Racer II for the start of the ANZ Royal CNVLD Wheelie Grand Prix 2008.
The CNVLD acknowledges that the Cambodian designed and produced Angkor Racers are not yet developed enough to allow the Wheelchair racers to compete at the very highest levels internationally.
However, with sustainable, socially responsible corporate sponsorship, a local production base and provincial team-based clubs firmly established, the Angkor Racers ultimately represent the successful implementation and evolution of local sports development. The CNVLD is confident the Angkor racers wil develop to full international standard within two years.
The local production process also has a direct local economic impact beyond the immediate disability demographic for the vocational training school and retail outlets such as spray shops.
More information about the ANZ Royal – CNVLD Wheelie Grand Prix and the Angkor Racers can be found on the CNVLD website: www.standupcambodia.org
Dear CNVLD,
I'll be in touch via email to discuss your project and see how our organizations can best work together. You may not be aware of Motivation's work in the field of wheelchair design, but we have over 15 years of experience designing wheelchairs for use (and production) in low income countries. If you'd like more information, please visit our website at motivation.org.uk. I'm sure that we could share information and potentially work with you on redesigns of your product as your athletes start to give you feedback about areas for potential improvement. With a racing wheelchair, I would anticipate you might have some problems with bruising and abrasions on your athletes arms and ribs, and perhaps some trouble with positioning legs for people with contractures (depending on how you've designed your upholstery), as well as the durability of your compensator components, the performance of your steering and achieving a good level of friction when the racing gloves make contact with the pushring. So if any of those areas are causing problems, we might be able to be of some assistance. And if you would like to expand your programmes to include basketball or tennis, then our wheelchair would certainly be a major help to you as its low cost will reduce the amount of fundraising you would need to do in order to purchase them. We are currently investigating production facilities in Asia, and while it would probably not be produced in Cambodia (as regional production centres are what will help us keep costs low) it will be produced using parts that you could replace locally.
Did you have any questions or comments?
Best,
Jen
Programme Officer
Motivation
I believe you have a great concept and your vision and mission are in the right place. This will open the minds and hearts of the disabled throughout the world and the pockets of many organizations willing to help make this work. I see many more uses for this new light weight wheechair far beyond the sports of tennis and wheelchair basketball.
Don't let anything stand in your way. Your cause is most important to the many who will greatly benefit from it.
The very best,
Dan Parisi
President, N Y A B A
We are very excited about the opportunity to work with Motivation and Tennis on this project. When we first discussed the potential of a sport chair that was affordable for people in developing countries we realized that this would allow us a chance to introduce wheelchair basketball. We believe that individuals can benefit from involvment in sport. In particular young people with a disability need to have a way to show that they are able to take part in sport in the same way that their friends can. We know that if Motivation is able to be successful in designing and producing a low cost sport chair that not only wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis will benefit but the community will as well.
Good luck to Motivation.
Maureen Orchard
President IWBF
www.iwbf.org
.
Great concept and a very worthy effort! Wheelchair Rugby is a global sport played in over 24 countries, yet there are still dozens of other nations that can't participate because of the cost of equipment. Having an affordable sports chair available to people that can't afford to buy them from traditional manufactures would certainly help some of these nations get up and running. Disabled sport helps knock down stereotypes and opens the doors of opportunity to all. Wishing you the very best in your cause!
Yours in Sport,
John Bishop
VP Communications
www.iwrf.com
Excellent concept...I concur with John, more on this below.
Chris
Hi John,
Glad to hear that rugby is interested as well! We're hoping to start exploring ways to adapt this chair for rugby once it's in production, so hopefully by the end of the project it won't be just a tennis and basketball chair, but something that can be used by most wheelchair sports.
Best,
Jen
This is an amazing idea that will change the world of disability sports! More countries will be able to participate in international competition that would otherwise not be able to afford it. The more athletes that participate in the Paralympics and other international competitions, the more awareness of disability sports develops.
This is a great idea, in the countries I have been there is often no opportunity for sport, not because persons with disabilities don't want to play but because there is no equipment and chairs are very expensive. Creating a universal chair would be a great first step to ensure opportunity for these athletes.
This is a great idea, I have seen an immediate need in some of the countries I have coached, where there is one wheelchair for many because they cannot afford it. You need external funding like this to show support of a project that helps more than just one country and grants thousands of persons with disabilities the opportunity to participate in sports like their ambulatory friends.
Excellent concept and roadmap for successful execution.
Best wishes,
Fred Ackerman
Ride Coordinator
Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP)
Excellent concept and roadmap for successful execution.
Best wishes,
Fred Ackerman
Ride Coordinator
Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP)
This project seems like it is taking a sutainable and well thought out approach to providing and supporting ongoing sports opportunities for a population that would substantially benefit. Once this project gets going I would love to see a similar initiative toward developing a power wheelchair for people with more severe disabilities.
Jonathan Newman
Americas Zone President
Federation International de Powerchair Football Association (FIPFA)
Hello Jennifer,
Thank you very much for sharing your program. This project is very innovative and is a tremendous example of the opportunity for sport to serve as a vehicle for social change!!! How do you see the recent advances in international policy toward the rights of persons with disabilities in sport helping toward access and distribution of sport wheelchairs in countries around the world? Do you think that national-level disability in sport policies set by governments will help to further this?
Thank you again for all of your efforts, and look forward to hearing from you.
Warmest regards,
Eli
Eli A. Wolff
Manager, Research & Advocacy
Center for the Study of Sport in Society
Northeastern University
e.wolff@neu.edu
Hi Eli,
Thanks for your support for our project! To answer your questions in turn:
1) One of the main barriers to the development of wheelchair sport programmes in low-income countries has been the cost of the equipment and this has often been used as a handy excuse for governments to avoid responsibility for supporting or promoting disability sport. Now that we have Article 30 of the Disability Convention in place (which requires state parties to provide opportunities for participation in sport for people with disabilities), our partners around the world will be able to lobby governments more effectively for support for new wheelchair sport programmes. With a low-cost product like the Global Sports Wheelchair available, it will become much more difficult for governments to avoid their responsibilities under the convention by throwing out the cost excuse.
2) National level disability in sport policies would be an enormous help to further our initiative because it would ensure a consistent level of government support, particularly at the grassroots level. Often, a government will support disability sport briefly (often in an election year) with a one time grant for sports chairs for a national team or by sending the First Lady to attend the national disability sport games in that country. But the next year support has melted away and athletes at the grassroots level never see the funds they need to keep their programmes running. So, yes, national policies would certainly help to ensure a constant source of funds to purchase these chairs and get them to the grassroots programmes that would put them to good use.
Best,
Jen Howitt
Programme Officer
Motivation
Jennifer,
I am very impressed with your initiative. Working at the International Paralympic Committee I know first-hand how significant the need is for low cost sport specific wheelchairs. We get tons of requests asking what is available on the market and we have had a difficult time sending them to places where the chairs are less than $1000 US Dollars.
With this innovative product, how will you ensure the chair fits users with different characteristics. Do you have a team of international experts and athletes that will be involved with research and design? What is the background of your organization with wheelchair production? Finally, can you share some athlete perspectives on why low cost wheelchairs are needed now more than ever?
Amy Farkas, Development Manager, International Paralympic Committee
Hi Amy,
Thanks for your questions! To answer your first question, the chair will come in several different size combinations to ensure it fits as wide a range of users as possible within our cost contraints. So that means we won't be able to make it completely adjustable or completely custom fitted (which are both very expensive), but we will be able to provide several different seat widths, lengths, etc, in order to accommodate people of different sizes and disabilities.
Regarding international experts/athletes, on our project team itself I am serving as the 'athlete expert' as I am also a Paralympic gold medalist in women's wheelchair basketball with 15 years of playing experience. In the first phase of research, which we're working on right now, we've been consulting with other Paralympic athletes to get their advice and input (as well as direct input from the ITF and IWBF). When we move on to building and testing the prototype, it will go through a set of user trials where athletes will be able to test the chair out and provide feedback about any problems or potential areas of improvement.
You also asked about our organization's experience with wheelchair production. Motivation has been designing and building low cost, appropriate wheelchairs for low income countries since 1991 through partnerships with disabled people's organisations in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe. We are widely regarded as a leader in the field of appropriate wheelchair design for low income countries. For more information about our previous work in this field, you can look at our website: http://www.motivation.org.uk
Finally, we'll be asking athletes to comment on the need for low cost wheelchairs themselves here on this page, as I think it would be best to hear from them directly.
Best,
Jen Howitt
Programme Officer
Motivation
Hi,exciting programme. Tennis and Wheelchair basketball are among the most expensive sports to do for a paralympic athlete. Helping with wheelchair provision would be great. Why did you choose those countries to support? Do you have a plan to do coaching development?
Heather Cameron
Hi Heather,
You're absolutely right. These are both such expensive sports to get started in, so we're hoping to continue to grow these sports in countries where it's just too expensive right now to purchase proper equipment.
We've selected these 22 countries because both the ITF and the IWBF felt they had the most potential based on their experience of working with them already.
And to answer your question about coaching development, Motivation won't be directly doing coaching development as part of this project, but both the ITF and the IWBF support coaching development through their own programmes. So the delivery of these chairs would be alongside their own initiatives in that area.
I hope that answers your questions--let me know if you'd like to know anything more!
Best,
Jen Howitt
Programme Officer
Motivation
.
Great concept and a very worthy effort! Wheelchair Rugby is a global sport played in over 24 countries, yet there are still dozens of other nations that can't participate because of the cost of equipment. Having an affordable sports chair available to people that can't afford to buy them from traditional manufactures would certainly help some of these nations get up and running. Disabled sport helps knock down stereotypes and opens the doors of opportunity to all. Wishing you the very best in your cause!
Yours in Sport,
John Bishop
VP Communications
www.iwrf.com