TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Adaptive Sports

Greece Offering Free Swim Lessons for People with Disabilities

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Woman sitting on a swimming pool lift chair with her toes in the water.
Source: Kostas Bakoyannis on Facebook

Children and adults with disabilities can now take free swimming lessons and other training programs in several sports facilities in Athens, Greece. On March 16th, the Greek capital announced that the Athens National Gymnastics Centre I. Fokianos and the municipal swimming pools in Serafeio, Kolokynthos and Grava will welcome disabled people between the ages of 5 and 40 every week from Monday to Saturday.

There, they will find professionals who are skilled at training people with developmental disorders (e.g., autism and down syndrome), neuromuscular disorders, and phobias stemming from past experiences with water. One can opt to participate in the program by themselves or in a group of 2-3 other students.

The Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, said the program was an example of a commitment to “lay the foundations for a friendly city, without discrimination and social exclusion.” Bakoyannis continued, “The sports programme in the municipal swimming pools and in the Athens Gymnasium for our fellow citizens with disabilities is another action of the municipal authority that aims to improve their quality of life.”

To read more about this commitment to inclusion, see the full press release from the Mayor of Athens.

Meet ‘Obama the Pony’ Who is Helping Make Glasgow Parks More Accessible

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Man using a wheelchair that is secured to a carriage pulled by a pony.

The English and Scottish countrysides are breathtaking – gorgeous rolling meadows meet grassy hilltops and lead to beautiful beaches. Simon Mulholland, through his Pony Access organization, is working to make Scotland’s public parks and beaches wheelchair accessible through an innovative wheelchair accessible pony-drawn carriage.

He has had a vision of bringing ponies back into mainstream communities since he started building pony-powered vehicles 20 years ago. First trialed in England, he found difficulty in gaining buy-in from the public and local governments. Now, after moving to Scotland, he’s making headway in a community that embraces his vision for pony-driven accessibility.

His vision, he said, “is about access.” He commented, “Oddly enough, this isn’t really a pony activity, it is an accessible activity.”

Mulholland’s pony-drawn carriages open up new vistas to disabled people. In an interview with the Glasgow Times, he remarked, “If somebody wanted to go bird watching or anything, I don’t care, they want to go and do something and they can’t get there. I can get them there and that’s what it is about.”

He emphasized that his pony drawn vehicle is not a “disabled activity” yet an “inclusive activity.” Essentially, it’s an experience that’s open to everyone, with accessibility being a key consideration from the start.

To read more about Pony Access, see the article in the Glasgow Times.

Ireland Rolls Out the World’s First Disabled Golf Tour

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Golf ball at the edge of a hole.

The European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA), in partnership with The DP World Tour, has launched the newly-named G4D (Golf for the Disabled) Tour, which will feature a minimum of seven tournaments in 2022.

Kipp Popert, the top-ranked player in the World Ranking for Golfers with a Disability, said “The EDGA has been doing amazing work for more than 20 years and this new collaboration with The DP World Tour will create opportunities for more golfers with a disability to showcase their talents and compete on a global stage.”

To learn more about this new disabled golf tour, read the article from the Irish Times.

How Paralympic Videos from 2016 and 2021 Reflect Two Starkly Different Messages

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The 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil promoted the games through a series of exquisitely produced videos that show people with disabilities performing incredible maneuvers of skill in “Yes I can”, around the idea that disabled people are inspirational and can do anything.

In 2021, organizers for the Tokyo Summer Games sought to reject the idea of disabled people as inspiration or objects of pity, instead focusing on the reality of disabled people as equal members of society – with the same interests, desires and responsibilities as nondisabled people.

OUR TAKE: The evolution in messaging around the Paralympics is representative of the disability community’s move to set boundaries and reclaim their identity, with a particular focus on breaking down the barriers to inclusion – many of which are founded on an antiquated understanding of disability.

A Heavenly but Hair-raising Experience as Wheelchair User & Travel Agent Tries Skydiving

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Kristy Durso tandem skydiving over the State of Texas.

TravelAbility Advisory Board member and owner of Incredible Memories Travel Kristy Durso recently jumped out of an airplane – skydiving with Skydive Lonestar in Luling, Texas.

A wheelchair user, Kristy is proof positive of the demand for thrilling accessible activities within the travel industry and the opportunity for businesses that meet the needs of disabled travelers.

To check out Kristy’s blood pressure-raising experience, watch the video of her jumping out of the airplane.