Conducted through the My Lifestyle programme – a free and inclusive recreational sports programme open to anyone at the University of any ability – from 6-12 March users can take advantage of trying out up to 40 new sporting activities such as Walking Football, Boccia, Silent Zumba, and Wheelchair Badminton, all based on the East Midlands campus.
The event was first launched in 2022 as part of the Para Sport Strategy, and this year sees the addition of an exclusive panel event which takes place on Wednesday 8 March from 4pm-5pm in the John Beckworth Building.
The panel will comprise of leading industry experts, including:
- Alasdair Donaldson – Alumnus and Head of Para Sport at Loughborough University
- Olivia Broome – Tokyo Paralympic Bronze Medallist and current student
- Professor Vicky Tolfrey – Director of the Peter Harrison Sport for Disability and Professor of Applied Disability Sport
- Nik Diaper – Head of Paralympic Performance Sport at the English Institute of Sport and former Head of Para Sport at Loughborough University
- George Bates: Loughborough Lightning Wheelchair Basketball Head Coach and previous International and TeamGB Athlete
The panellists will discuss today’s Para Sport environment, including its challenges, how we can raise more awareness and also how far it has come over the years. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask panellists questions as part of the session.
To book your place for the panel event, you can register online.
Yasmina Eissa, who is the Vice-Chair of the Student Para Sport Committee commented: “The panel has been something we've wanted to do for over a year now, and it's amazing to finally do it with panellists all involved with different scopes of Para Sport to discuss pressing issues and share stories from their experience."
The My Lifestyle timetable for the week is as follows:
Monday 6 March
- Mindfulness Yoga, 7.30am-8.30am
- Blind Football, 5.30pm-6.30pm
- Pushing, Walking, Jogging, Running, 6.15pm-7.15pm
- Silent Zumba, 7pm-8pm
- Wheelchair/VI Tennis, 7.30pm-8.30pm
Tuesday 7 March
- Walking Football, 5.30pm-6.30pm
- Walking Netball, 6pm-7pm
- Sitting Volleyball, 6pm-7pm
- Pushing, Walking, Jogging, Running, 6.15pm-7.15pm
- Wheelchair/VI/Deaf Tennis, 7pm-8pm
Wednesday 8 March
- Scenic Walk, 1pm-4pm
- Seated Yoga, 5pm-6pm
- 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball, 5pm-6pm
- Inclusive Badminton, 7pm-8pm
- VI Football, 7pm-8pm
- Accessible Circuits, 7pm-8pm
- Boccia, 8pm-9pm
Thursday 9 March
- Intro to Squash, 4.40pm-5.20pm and 5.20pm-8pm
- VI Cricket, 6pm-7pm
- Dance/Sign in Motion, 7pm-8pm
- Wheelchair Tennis, 7pm-8pm
- Wheelchair/VI/Deaf Tennis, 8pm-9pm
Friday 10 March
- Mini Tennis, 5pm-6pm and 6pm-7pm
- Sitting Volleyball, 5pm-6pm
- Wheelchair Handball, 6pm-7pm
- Inclusive Table Tennis, 8pm-9pm
Sunday 12 March
- Para Throws and Track, 5pm-6pm
- Pan-disability Football, 6pm-7pm
- Wheelchair Badminton, 7pm-8pm
- Inclusive Table Tennis, 8pm-9pm
To book any of the MyLifestyle events, please download the Lboro Sport app and press the ‘Book’ tile and then select the ‘My Lifestyle’ tile. Please note there are limited spaces available, so it will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis.