Leeds Rhinos Foundation have teamed up with Mencap to join the Round The World Challenge (RTWC), which turns hours of fun sports and physical activities into a round the world adventure.
The programme aims to support people with a learning disability by helping them to get active in a way that is flexible, fun and empowering. As well as delivering sport and physical activity in an engaging way, the weekly sports sessions- delivered by Leeds Rhinos Foundation to more than 100 people in Aspire CBS community hubs- also aim to prepare participants for their future, through increasing confidence, reducing loneliness and offering volunteering, leadership and employment opportunities.
RTWC has been designed to be inclusive and cater for people of all ages and abilities, with sessions featuring a wide range of activities, from walking and chair rugby to Zumba, boccia and table tennis.
Following each session, participants will register the time spent exercising and use this to calculate the equivalent distance travelled around the world, tracked with a special ‘RTWC passport.’ They will also receive postcards from different locations as the number of hours of activity completed takes them to different places along the chosen route.
Charlie Roberts, North of England RTWC Project Manager, said: “For some people, it might the first time they have been given the opportunity to get active and try these activities. This challenge is all about helping more people to get involved with sport and physical activity, and develop their cognitive responses and build confidence levels, which is huge.”
“Most importantly, people with a learning disability are having fun and enjoying themselves. Their support workers are also getting involved, families are joining in and the sessions are really bringing people together in their efforts to complete the challenge.”
“I think that seeing the joy and pride on the participants’ faces, the energy in the room and how excited they are to be taking part in something like RTWC is brilliant.”
Ben Berry, Disability Co-Ordinator at Leeds Rhinos Foundation, added: “This is a fantastic initiative which aims to get more people active in a fun and engaging way. We’re delighted to work with Mencap to promote the Round The World Challenge with the people we work with through our Aspire CBS partnership.”
To find out more about Round The World Challenge, CLICK HERE. Search #RTWC on Twitter.