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Fresh from World Indoor success in Manchester, the Great Britain Athletics Team was revealed today by the UK Sports Association (UKSA). During 12th – 18th June 2012, 10 athletes from across the UK will challenge Europe’s best at the INAS European Athletics Championships in Gavle, Sweden.

Earning their place on the Team are Emily Rawlins (Longsight, Manchester), Martina Barber (Stevenage, Herts), Kimberley Aspland (Beccles, Suffolk), Holly Durbidge (Lowestoft, Suffolk), Stephanie Moore (Blaydon On Tyne, Newcastle), Declan Manning (Bungay, Suffolk), Owen Miller (Dunfermline, Fife), Robert Ferrol (Carmyle, Glasgow), James Simpson (Ulverston, Cumbria) and Marcel Hodge (Syston, Leicestershire). The support staff are Team Manager, Paul Burns (Barrow, Cumbria) and coaches, John Wootton (Wakefield, West Yorks) and Christine Galloway (Halifax, West Yorks).

Martina Barber said ‘I am really excited about the Championships’, a sentiment echoed by team mate Robert Ferrol who added ‘I am excited and I hope to achieve personal best times’.

Team Manager, Paul Burns said ‘This is an exciting opportunity for me to work with some athletes that I haven’t worked with before. The Team is a young one with a lot of potential. Outdoor competitions are usually more difficult than indoors because we expect a greater depth to other nation’s teams. It’s an opportunity for the Team to equal if not exceed the successes at the recent World Indoors. We’re expecting a tough challenge from the hosts Sweden and probably Portugal who are usually strong. ‘

Tracey McCillen, Chief Executive, UK Sports Association said ‘The INAS Europeans are an important part of an athletes development to reach the sorts of performances we expect at the Global Games and ultimately the Paralympic Games. No doubt some on this young team are already thinking about the 2015 Global Games and even as far ahead as the Paralympics in Rio 2016. I wish them well and hope that the Team performs well in Sweden’.

The Great Britain Team is managed by UKSA in collaboration with its four Home Country members all of whom work to support athletes on the performance pathway. Those members are Scottish Disability Sport, Disability Sports Northern Ireland, Welsh Sports Association for People with Learning Disability and Mencap Sport in England.
The UK Sports Association manages the classification process for athletes with learning disability from the UK and is the only official member of INAS, a member of the International Paralympic Committee.

Further Information

1.     The UK Sports Association for People with Learning Disability (UKSA) is the national disability sports organisation and umbrella body in the UK for sport and people with learning disability. UKSA facilitates and supports talented sports people with learning disability in the UK to train, compete and excel in national and international sport and is the body responsible for classification of athletes from the UK. UKSA is recognised by UK Sport, is a member of the British Paralympic Association and is the official Great Britain member of INAS. See www.uksportsassociation.org

2.     The INAS European Athletics Championships are organised by SUH (Swedish Development Centre for Disability Sport) under the auspices of INAS. See www.suh.se for details.

3.     INAS, For Para-Athletes with Intellectual Disability (formerly INAS-FID), founded in 1986, is a member of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and is the body responsible for the international competition for athletes with intellectual disability. See www.inas.org

4.     The Great Britain Team comprises:
Athlete - Event/s
Emily Rawlins - Shot, Discuss, Hammer
Martina Barber - Heptathlon, 100m hurdles
Kimberley Aspland - 400m, 800m
Holly Durbidge - 100m, 200m, Discuss
Stephanie Moore - 100m, 200m
Declan Manning - Discuss, Shot
Owen Miller - 800m, 1500m
Robert Ferrol - 200m, 400m
James Simpson - 100m, 200m
Marcel Hodge - 100m, 200m

Staff:
Paul Burns (Barrow, Cumbria) – Team Manager / Head Coach; John Wootton (Wakefield, West Yorks) – Coach; Christine Galloway (Halifax, West Yorks) - Coach

5.     Learning Disability is a term used in the UK, with intellectual disability being used internationally. Both refer to the same group of athletes. Learning disability is a ‘hidden disability’. It inhibits how a person learns and performs every day functions that others take for granted. It also reduces communication, understanding, social, and living skills. In elite performance sport learning disability is defined as an IQ of 75 or less; significant limitations in adaptive behaviour and age of onset of the learning disability being in the development years, ie. 0 -18 years. This definition adopted by INAS is from the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of learning disability (mental handicap) and is in line with other internationally recognised definitions.

6.     UKSA and INAS are different to Special Olympics. UKSA promotes performance led elite competitive sport, has just one classification group in events and is focussed on the performance and winning gold. UKSA and INAS are part of the pathway to Global Games and Paralympic Games. Special Olympics are a year-round sports training and competition programme for adults and children with learning disability. Special Olympics competitions are divisioned so that athletes compete with other athletes of similar ability in each sport. Special Olympics competitions are non-elite catering to all-ability levels. High ability athletes may progress to the Paralympic level through UKSA and INAS. Special Olympics focus is on participation and improving an athlete’s quality of life.

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