Parafed Bay of Plenty is a not-for-profit organisation that helps to develop sporting opportunities for people with disabilities.

At Parafed Bay of Plenty, they are all about supporting young people to aspire to their potential. It is all part of a new programme called Parafed BOP – Aspiring Youth.

The programme supports young people to participate in school sport by training school staff in the inclusion of all students in all school PE activities and sport.

Parafed also assist with personal training programmes and coaching in Para sport (sport specifically for disabled people), or in community sport – adapting to play in club sport.

Throughout 2018 Parafed, set out to provide a programme of regular sport and activity for youth. Physically disabled young people aged between 8 and 21 meet at least once a month to have fun, learn new skills, make new friends and join other clubs and communities to participate in sport.

Some of the sports that Parafed offer are; adaptive rowing, adaptive snow sports, cycling, netball, para-equestrian, surfing, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.

Twelve aspiring youth are training for the next eight weeks as they prepare to attend the national Halberg Junior Disability Games in October.

The Halberg Games will be held at King's College in Auckland, hosting 20 different sports in a Paralympic style village. The athletes will represent their region and will stay and eat onsite, as they compete against their peers over three days.

There will be an official opening ceremony, lighting of the flame, oaths and awards before the whole event finishes with a closing ceremony.

The youth will also feature at the Anchor AIMS Games in September, competing in athlete with a disability Table Tennis.

'This programme is essential because it provides a foundation to whatever choices there are. Often people with a disability do not experience success and this can be anything from catching a ball consistently - through to representing their school.

"This is not because of their impairment, but the lack of opportunity to be included or provide for within those opportunities. Parafed Bay of Plenty - Aspiring Youth is a platform for that base foundation,” says Parafed's sport development Cherryl Thompson.

'We will then provide training and support to code coaches to assist them to provide opportunities within schools and clubs.”

On Friday, August 10, Paralympics NZ will be hosting a workshop at Sport BOP on how Parafed BOP works with Paralympics NZ to provide physically disabled athletes to national and international sporting pathways.