ALEX: I'm Alex Clifford, a Disability Gymnast.
A Disability Gymnastics programme has been in place at British Gymnastics since 1985.
The sport used to be known as 'GMPD'
and it has now been changed to 'Disability Gymnastics'
We're going to show you some of the benefits and how you can get involved in this fantastic sport.
So now it's over to some other people who are involved in Disability Gymnastics to find out more.
KAY: It used to be Gymnastics and Movement for People with Disabilities
Which nobody ever understood and kept asking "What does 'GMPD' mean?"
PAUL: You always have to explain what 'GMPD' means.
When you say 'Disability Gymnastics'
Disability Gymnastics speaks for itself
ALEX: What are the aims and ethos of Disability Gymnastics?
KAY: Disability Gymnastics covers all ages.
We are 'Pan Disability' which means we take learning disability, physical sensory impairment
it is available to everybody, irrespective of their disability.
PAUL: There is no barriers.
Whether you're in a wheelchair or whether you're fully ambulant, there's something you
can do within Gymnastics and Trampolining.
It's our job as coaches to find that ability and get the best out of them.
ALEX: Disability Gymnastics is a sport that can be accessed from a range of different levels.
I love being part of this sport.
Now lets find out what Disability Gymnastics is for.
Hannah: It has helped me with my confidence and my balancing, my coordination, making new friends.
Enjoying every moment of it.
DANIEL: Well I first got it involved because I couldn't really do anything else because of my arms.
Someone sugggested I should go to trampoline class once a week.
It's just fun, I love doing it.
KAY: Achievment is very important for everybody.
A person who thinks they can't do anything, they must feel very worried
and you work with them over a period of weeks, over a period of months and then suddenly
they achieve something.
I always use the scenario of a forward roll.
In a mainstream gym club, a forward roll is probably the first move they ever learn.
Whereas, in a Disability environment, getting them to do a forward roll could take up to
6, 9, 12 months.
The sense of achievment when they get it just has to be seen to be believed.
That applies for the parents aswell because they perhaps think that sometimes their child is never
going to achieve something like that
and it's important that they understand we can do so much to help them.
HANNAH: I started off really shy and really quiet
and eventually once I've got to know people I become more confident in my own self.
KATIE: After a while I got out of my shell and just started enjoying things.
At the end it makes me feel really proud and happy that I achieved something like that.
ALEX: We need to enable all Gymnasts to focus on what they can achive not what they can't achieve.
So now what opportunities do exist in Disability Gymnastics?
KAY: Disabled Gymnasts can become involved in all the disciplines offered by British Gymnastics.
Disability pathways can be found in Acrobatic, Team Gym, Men's Artistic, Women's Artistic,
Trampoline and Rhythmic.
Displays take place all over the country.
A lot of displays available in Gym Fusion, National Gym Fusion and Regional Gym Fusions
there is also the Gym For Life and Gymnastrada's.
All those are open to Gymnasts with a disabilty.
ALEX: Disability Gymnastics is really a discipline that's inclusive for everyone.
It can offer a wide range of oppertunities for people who can't fit in a mainstream Gymnastics environment.
To find out more information on Disability Gymnastics head to the British Gymnastics website.
You can also use British Gymnastics club finder on our website to find the nearest Disability Gymnastics club to you.