THE POWER OF SPORT
We all know that sport is good for mental and physical health, but all too often the people who could benefit the most – for instance those with disabilities – are the least likely to be included. Thanks to Martino Corazza and International Mixed Ability Sports (IMAS), things are beginning to change.
“Our ultimate ambition would be for IMAS not to exist. That anyone could go to their local club and say I want to join and that the club would be welcoming and fully inclusive.” says Corazza, who founded IMAS, a not-for-profit social enterprise that brings people of all abilities together to play sports, in Bradford (UK) back in 2014.
“We’re talking about teams and activities across many different sports at many different levels, not as part of a special projects, rather just another team within the club, where people are equal members, wear the same colors, belong to the same family.”
ABILITY KNOWS NO LIMITS
The World Health Organization estimates that 1.3bn people worldwide live with a disability or a long-term health condition. Often excluded from everyday life, they face prejudice, discrimination and experience additional barriers such as disproportionate levels of unemployment. After more than a decade fighting for inclusion, Corazza acknowledges there is still a long way to go to fulfill his ambition. But IMAS is making great progress.
Top of the list of achievements – and there are many – is the fourth International Mixed Ability Rugby Tournament (IMART), that took place in June in Pamplona, Spain. Sponsored by Flutter, this saw some 1,500 players from 25 countries, including England, Argentina, Canada, Spain, Italy and Belgium, play more than 70 matches over 6 days. England’s Longlevens Mixed Ability Rugby won the title in the men’s tournament, while the Italian Harlequeens gained the crown in the women’s one. It was a huge success on and off the pitch, and the biggest event of its kind to date.
But that’s not all. Simultaneously, IMAS organized the Mixed Ability Games that ran alongside the rugby tournament. Teams competed in rowing, football, basketball and floor curling – a fully inclusive form of curling. There were exhibitions in golf, goalball and other sports. On the educational side, the event hosted a fringe program that culminated in an international conference on how Mixed Ability empowers identities and enhances representation, contributing to a fairer and more inclusive society.
FOSTERING SOCIETAL CHANGE
Corazza’s drive to use sport to foster societal change started in Italy more than 15 years ago, when he realized that while there was lots of provision for disability sports – the Paralympics being the most popular – this wasn’t matched by the opportunity for people with a disability to play mainstream sport as equals.
“In Italy, children with disabilities go to mainstream schools and I was working to support them. Inclusive interaction with non-disabled students worked well in PE [physical education] and so I thought there was a chance to replicate that positive dynamic in rugby, through my club, including players of all abilities” he explains.
In 2012, he received funding from the European Union to spend a year in Bradford sharing learning with a similar project whilst teaching disabled adults in the community. He stayed and helped develop the local Mixed Ability team, the Bumble Bees. Others followed.
“You’ve got a Mixed Ability team and it’s got to play against somebody; the beauty is that it doesn’t have to be another Mixed Ability side, you just need another team. That’s how it’s grown. And that’s how you get the biggest impact: putting together diverse people who wouldn’t normally interact”, he says.
Grassroots Power, Global Impact
With contact across Europe and interest from places as far away as Argentina, he soon realized there was a movement and founded IMAS to give it structure and purpose. IMAS offers education, shares best practice and provides practical training to help Mixed Ability teams succeed. It also empowers experts with lived experience of disability to train advocates for Mixed Ability sport, such as health and social care professionals, school teachers, sports coaches and administrators, as well as policymakers.
“All these people create the ecosystem that drives our movement forward. It is grounded in, and belongs to, local communities everywhere. If it was something imposed from the top – that wouldn’t be sustainable,” he says.
That’s not to say there haven’t been challenges. “Barriers are always the same. Cost, transport, time, volunteering,” Corazza says. “But the big obstacle to bring about change is cultural. There’s still this wider mentality whereby people with disability can’t do certain things. The stereotypes and prejudices are still quite shocking.”
Having said that, in his experience, where there’s a will there’s a way: “Everyone who starts a Mixed Ability team knows someone who was excluded, a son or daughter or sibling who wanted to be part of a club, and they are the champions driving it forward. We know there’s a global demand for Mixed Ability and we can’t meet it without adequate resources. In that sense, the partnership we have [with Flutter] is essential.”
Investing In Inclusive Futures
“As a business rooted in sport and entertainment, it’s a natural focus for our community partnerships,” says Kerry McNally, Group Head of Communities & Engagement at Flutter. “IMAS’s mission to make sport more inclusive worldwide mirrors our belief that inclusion fosters social cohesion and shared values. Sport also strengthens physical and mental health, teaches teamwork, and builds self-worth. “
Alongside sponsoring IMAS, Flutter encourages colleagues to get involved. This includes sharing professional skills in areas such as communications, logistics and management, or by volunteering, fundraising, playing in a Mixed Ability team and attending the various IMAS organized events – including this year’s IMART.
For Corazza, this support is vital to building IMAS into the truly global force he wants it to be. “Mixed Ability sport is something that’s missing, especially at the grassroots level, but which is desperately important. It not only increases participation for those who need it most, it gives them voice, agency, and it develops skills that can be transferred to many other domains in life, for all those involved. It didn’t exist before, but now it does. And it’s here to stay.”
