Paddle courses for people with intellectual disabilities in Barcelona, Spain

Project location: SPAIN, Barcelona
Project start date: February 2017 - Project end date: May 2017
Project number: 2016-071
Beneficiary: Asociación Doblegiro

Nowadays, because of the social environment, it is essential to take initiative in order to cover the needs and concerns of the population in risk of social exclusion.

DobleGiro aims to strive for all social groups receive equal opportunities, and with this project DobleGiro offers people with disability to be integrated throughout sport, and in this case with paddle activities.

In the current social contexts is very difficult to include people with disability, and we can find this problem in different areas: culture, professional, education… In fact, the main problem for them is to confront social exclusion. Disabilities do not belong to people but to social contexts in which people have the deficiencies. Thus, this project aims to address this necessity and to take one more step in order to lead this situation.

The benefits of sport for people with disability are known by everyone. Specifically, to practice sport helps to improve physical conditions, functional and social autonomy. In addition, to practice sport improve life quality, psychological conditions, dependence situations, prevent sedentary lifestyle, increase social relationships, and it gives a better point of view of this group and his capacities.

Practicing paddle gives specifics benefits that make it different from other sports. Paddle helps to promote social integration, also improve psychosocial aspects, and develop values such as motivation, effort, excellence and teamwork. On the other hand, it implies mechanical movements, for that reason it develops different skills. Also, paddle gives the opportunity to become part of social environment with people without a disability, trainers and educators. In Barcelona, is not very common paddle activities for disability people, while in the rest of the country there are many actions related to paddle activities for this group. For that reason, DobleGiro is going to offer during the first semester of this year 2017, paddle activities, once a week, in Club Hispano Francès. There will be one group of eight persons, from “Escola Fàsia”.

This school was founded by Montserrat Gabarró i Font in 1974 because of the educational necessity for the children with disorders. Nowadays, this is an institution with two schools in Barcelona, in the district of “Eixample” and “Sarrià”. In this moments they have 140 students, between 5 to 19 years with physical disabilities and personality disorders. This organization offers personality education, and a rhythm of work in function of the abilities of each student depending on the age, intellectual capacity and physical level. The DobleGiro Association, thanks to the Nando Peretti Foundation, Delegació a Catalunya, is going to make a new step in favour of the opportunities, bringing paddle activities to disability people. Therefore, the Association will be able to promote social integration of this group in risk of social exclusion and improve the development of new social abilities in this population.