Vote for Palace for Life to win Parasport Club of the Year!
This year has been a memorable year for our Disability Sports programme, culminating in a nomination for Parasport’s Club of the Year!
Palace for Life alongside 11 other clubs has been nominated for this award for its extensive work supporting people living with disabilities in south London.
To vote for Palace for Life, please head here.
Parasport is developed by ParalympicsGB in partnership with Toyota, as part of their commitment to making movement better for everyone. Their ambition is to create the UK’s biggest fun and vibrant community for players, parents and coaches to share their experiences of para sport.
Palace for Life Foundation’s Disability Manager, Michael Harrington, was incredibly proud of this nomination. When speaking to him about the nomination and the year the Disability Sports had, he stated:
“It’s a great honour for the Palace for Life Foundation to be nominated for the Parasport Club of the Year 2022. We would greatly appreciate it if you can please vote for us!’’
“By combining the Power of Palace and the Power of Sport, it is great to see all these people and their families enjoy themselves whilst making new friends and realising they can also do things that most of us can take for granted’’.
“We believe that everybody should have the opportunity to be involved in sports in whatever way they can, and we are proud to help support over 450 people with a disability a year get involved with something they love doing’’.
Parasport awarded Palace for Life for their October Club of the Month which recognised the excellent work being done by the wide variety of initiatives and opportunities, including Down’s Syndrome, powerchair, vision impairment, and mental health football. Through Palace for Life’s disability sports programmes, participants can improve motor skills, strengthen their self-esteem, and interact with new friends and the community.
These weekly sessions also provided participants with some unique opportunities. The Down Syndrome team, DS Eagles, had their own training session with the 1st team at the training ground. After watching the 1st team train, Patrick Viera and his team of top-quality coaches invited the DS team to participate in the drills they had just watched their idols complete. During one exercise, the team were surprised by Palace stars Marc Guéhi, Joel Ward, Jeffrey Schlupp, and Conor Gallagher, who joined them in the session, giving the DS Eagles and their families a memory for a lifetime!
In addition, Palace for Life held their first ever SEND (special education needs and disabilities) School festival at the Crystal Palace Academy for secondary school pupils across Bromley and Croydon. The various schools that attended this event bought 2 teams, giving them a unique opportunity to play at a top-class facility.
Our Palace for Life Powerchair team also had quite the year. Last season, the team finished second in the league, breaking all personal records for most goals and points and also the fewest goals conceded. This momentum is carried on this season, with the team off to a fantastic start sitting at the top of the table with no losses!
To vote for Palace for Life for Parasport’s Club of the Year, please head here.
To find out more about our disability sports work, please head here