An initiative to help young people with physical and sensory disabilities develop their sporting skills has started in Dunedin.
The Halberg Disability Sport Foundation programme began yesterday at the Caledonian Ground and Logan Park gymnasium.
About 20 young people from throughout Otago, all with different forms and degrees of physical or sensory disability, participated in the two-hour athletics session.
Each Sunday for the next month they will gather to hone their athletics skills, before spending the following month trialling a new type of sporting activity.
Halberg Otago and Southland sports co-ordinator Bridget Meyer said the programme aimed to give young people with physical and sensory disabilities the chance to have a sporting career if they wished.
''If we introduce a sport to a young person they may see themselves being able to take that sport further. It's about getting them to try lots of different sports and having the resources in place for them to do that.''
Physiotherapy students would be involved in the Sunday sessions, helping participants realise their potential, which would, in turn, earn those students course credits, Ms Meyer said.
Aside from encouraging participants to develop their physical abilities, the programme also served as a social activity.
''Every Sunday they will have sport, just like every other able-bodied young person. This is going to be a permanent fixture on the calendar and already we have sessions planned for every Sunday right through to May next year.''
There was potential for the programme to grow and be expanded throughout the wider Otago and Southland area.
Participants yesterday included those with cerebral palsy, spina bifida and hearing impairments.
Sunday sports sessions would last between one and two hours depending on the activity and ability of those involved.
