Our purpose in setting up this conference was to explore what can be done to encourage the inclusion and integration of people with intellectual disabilities in target shooting as far as possible.
The need for such an initiative has been apparent for some time. Our contacts with clubs, coaches, range officers, committee members, etc. over the last two years have shown that whilst many are willing to welcome people with these disabilities, and to try hard to help them take part in the sport, others are so worried about safety, and feel so ill-equipped to deal with such people, that they have not been prepared to welcome them in. In a sport for which safety is absolutely paramount, this level of caution is understandable, but it is often excessive. We have been aware of shooters with a range of intellectual disabilities who are taking part in the sport perfectly safely.
The principal disabilities considered were learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorders, Asperger's Syndrome and brain injuries. Epilepsy and some mental health conditions were also discussed.
Delegates from a wide range of shooting backgrounds were joined by representatives of several disability support organisations. They heard from a number of very interesting and helpful speakers. Cathy Fox of Headway West Midlands spoke about their members who have suffered brain injuries, often accompanied by other disabling injuries.
Next we heard from Nick Platt of Growing Rural Enterprise about the Wellies Project, which succeeded in converting the Staffordshire NHS from opposing to supporting target shooting as a recuperative activity for people who have mental health problems and often intellectual disabilities as well. Nick showed a video which can be viewed on their website.
Dr Niamh-Elizabeth Reilly talked about the people she has worked with at Special Olympics GB, and Sara Lunn of Mencap Sport gave a good overview of learning disabilities in sport. Representatives of several clubs contributed their experiences. There were lots of questions and plenty of discussion of the key topics, which had been identified as: safety, volunteers, accessibility, training and guidance, opportunities, and barriers.
One particularly helpful piece of information that came out was that some of the disability organisations will provide workshops for people who wish to learn about the characteristics of those with a particular disability, and to find out how best to work with them. These are usually run by local groups free of charge, so it should not be difficult for clubs to arrange for key people to attend.
By way of light relief, WMRC staff and DSP colleagues arranged some shooting. This gave delegates the chance to try some equipment which can be helpful for people with some intellectual disabilities, such as red dot aiming, which helps those who find conventional sight systems too complex to cope with. Thanks to Blackburn Rifle & Pistol Club, who kindly loaned the equipment, crossbow shooting was also on offer, and was very popular.
At the end of the day, in addition to the key topics, the conference had provided us with a list of key points by way of an agenda for moving forward in this area of the sport:
In the coming months we will be considering these points, gathering information, consulting interested parties, and working with NGBs and disability support organisations. In Spring 2014 we plan to publish our proposals for tackling them.
Throughout this process we shall be pleased to receive contributions from people who have an interest in this subject. Particularly useful, of course, will be news of those individuals or clubs who have found ways of solving problems and overcoming barriers in working with shooters who have intellectual disabilities.
Cathy Fox reported that she had carried out a simple survey of Headway West Midlands members to find out which sports they would like to try. Shooting was on the list, and got twice as many requests as any other sport. A fortnight later we heard from another disability sport organisation that exactly the same thing happened to them. It seems that when shooting is offered, plenty of people are keen to take it up, so presumably the reason why many more people don’t choose shooting is because it isn’t offered or they don’t know it’s available. Food for thought!
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