“It’s perhaps a little early to take stock of the Paralympics, isn’t it?” In the corridors of the headquarters of the Metropolis, the representatives of the Lyon sports clubs do not want to come forward too much. Present at the Adapted Physical Activities forum, which the Metropolis organizes, around fifty clubs and medical-social structures meet for the third consecutive year. The idea of the event is to connect these two actors to develop sport for people with physical or mental disabilities.
While some are skeptical about the legacy of the Games, others are enthusiastic: “I am very happy. There was exceptional excitement, it’s a big step towards inclusion, global inclusion” underlines Philippe Martin member Lyon Handisport.
An educational issue
This big step cannot be taken if and only if slots become available in the gyms, to allow everyone to practice a sport: “the city and the metropolis helps us financially, but finding a niche is an obstacle course” continues Philippe Martin.
For this 2024 edition, the forum highlights the profession of APA teacher (Adapted Physical Activity). This is the job of Fabienne Savapeloss, at the JAAC of Caluire which welcomes young children aged 8 to 10 with mild mental deficiencies from an IME (Educational Medical Institute) for handigym classes: “They come here to get out of their establishment, to exercise above all […] I myself have a tibial prosthesis, they see that I have a handicap, and they ask me questions, if I can run or not. For those who were able to follow the events of the Paralympic Games, it boosts them and makes them want to move.”
All those involved in the forum agree: it is by showing from a very young age that it is possible to play sport, even with a disability, that mentalities can change. The other key? Word of mouth.
Doing judo, all together
It is thanks to word of mouth that Pierre practices showdown every week, a derivative of table tennis for the visually impaired: “It was a friend from Strasbourg who told me about this sport, I inquired and saw that there was an omnisport club in Lyon which offered it.” This club is the New Renaissance Lyonnaise in the 8th arrondissement. Like every Friday, it is on the tatami mats of the New Renaissance that Hicham Aboukebir trains with fifteen other judokas. Suffering from a mental disability, the 32-year-old athlete fights every week with the “able-bodied”. For the competition, Hicham competes in an “adapted sport” category and it succeeds for him. The Lyonnais is the reigning vice-champion of France in the under 100kg category after having already been French champion in the past.
In the New Renaissance, the inclusion of people with disabilities is made possible thanks to the “inclusive sport” label awarded by the French Paralympic Committee. Currently, the judo section and the zumba section welcome people with disabilities, and the idea is to open it up to other disciplines.
Stéphane, Hicham Aboukebir’s coach, sees real strength in this system, and has been able to adapt without changing his way of doing things: “I consider them valid people. If they have to get yelled at for doing something wrong, I’m going to yell at them. Of course, you have to explain things to them several times, in different ways […] We are a family club, the fact of having brought adapted sports with us, it has strengthened this context even more, everyone does judo together, we share things together.
In total, 24 clubs have this “inclusive sport” label today in the Lyon metropolis which has 2,400 clubs. There is still a long way to go, but it is the desire of the metropolitan executive to develop the system, which Florestan Groult, in charge of sports, assures: “We thought about the “health sport adapted to disability” policy over the long term, we think about it outside of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Now, with these games, it has given us a boost, and it is up to us to take advantage of this to continue building.”
Extended the dream of the Games
Build, to allow everyone to benefit from this right to sport. Ten years ago, Michel Sorine, an amateur sportsman, suffered a setback: a cycling accident left him quadriplegic. But as soon as he leaves the hospital, he wants to continue playing sports: “I tried to join gyms, with a prohibitive subscription, I had access to a machine and more, so we created our own gym”. With friends he then created the first gym in France 100% dedicated to people with disabilities. A few years later, around a hundred members attended the room and a new room opened in Grenoble.
The Games highlighted sport and disability so much that I wanted to do something to extend the dream
The founder of the company Extra Sport (which notably organizes the Sainté-Lyon, the International Beaujolais Marathon), was itself surprised by the enthusiasm around the Paralympic Gamesthat he had to rethink the races he organizes: « [Les Jeux] highlighted sport and disability so much that I wanted to do something, extend the dream […] so this year we set up a Paralight team. Light because we want to highlight mental and physical disabilities”. Between 10 and 20 runners with disabilities will participate in Sainté-Lyon. To put this type of initiative in place, Michel Sorine can count on long-standing sponsors and partners, because the challenge is significant: equipping, in particular, quadriplegic athletes with schooners, finding financing, and above all do everything so that through one initiative, the integration of people with disabilities becomes a reality in the long term.
