Because in sports, we are a team

Everyone should be able to find a sport that suits them and that they enjoy. There are around 1,300 sports clubs and over 50 sports associations in Luxembourg – so there should be room for everybody. However, people with specific needs often find it difficult when it comes to training with others. Not because they themselves are too complicated, but because many clubs do not offer inclusive activities and therefore close the door to people who are "different".

Successful inclusion starts with the very youngest, i.e. children. Through contact with people with a disability, they lose their fear of contact from a very young age and grow up in an inclusive environment in which everyone belongs – whether with or without a disability. When it comes to sport, a distinction must be made between two different fields: Paralympic disciplines, which are primarily aimed at people with a physical disability, and the Special Olympics, whose target audience is athletes with an intellectual disability.

The Luxembourg Paralympic Committee is responsible for the former category in Luxembourg, accompanying professional athletes on their competition course, but also focussing on grassroots sport, i.e. sports activities in which people participate as a hobby. Since 2018, the committee has been actively involved in the global education programme I'mPOSSIBLE. Using didactic material provided by the International Paralympic Committee and special training programmes, partners in the respective countries are to develop their own projects that convey the values of the Paralympic movement, i.e. equal access to sport for all.