A group of 22 participants from Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, and Portugal lived and worked together on the topic “Indoor Sports for People with Different Abilities”. During seven days they visited organizations and institutions in Varna that are working in the field. They have collected best practices and brainstormed about a handbook that will help those eager to organize sports activities. As a result of the training all participants are more informed about the adapted sports in the different countries, gained knowledge about the challenges and best practices in Bulgaria, improved their English language, and learned about new cultures, setting the frame for a future handbook.

The training course “Indoor Sports for People with Different Abilities” took place in Varna, Bulgaria, from 30/11/2023 until 06/12/2023. This mobility is part of the project “Empowering Young People with Disabilities Through Sports” (2023-1-PL01-KA210-YOU-000160414, Erasmus+ Program).

The four partner organizations of the project are: Stowarzyszenie Rodziców i Opiekunów Działających na rzecz Dzieci Niepełnosprawnych w Czersku (Poland), Association FOR YOU (Bulgaria), Jaunuolių Dienos Centra (Lithuania), H2O – Associação de Jovens de Arrouquelas (Portugal).

The working program was very intensive and included group team-building activities, exploring the history of Varna, presentations of the realities of adapted sports in each country, discussions with various topics (why the sport is important for disabled people, what are the main challenges when organizing sports activities for them, etc.), preparation of a handbook, meetings with local sports clubs who work with people with disabilities, meeting with the  Varna Municipality’s Sports Directorate.

Participants visited sports clubs for disabled people: Tennis Club “Velto” to meet a revered female wheelchair tennis court champion Zoya Chavdarova; Basketball Club “Black Sea” where they met the basketball wheelchair team; Sports Club for Visually Impaired People “Success” where the more curious tried to play “Showdown” – a table tennis for visually impaired people.

Several institutions that work with disabled children were also visited: “Prof. Dr. Ivan Shishmanov” Secondary School for Visually Impaired Students where the participants tried the game “Goalball”, “Karin Dom” Center for Social Rehabilitation and Integration of Children with Special Needs, psychology and hippo-therapy therapist for children with disabilities.

The very last meeting in the program was with the Sports Directorate in Varna Municipality where participants were informed about the local programs to support sports for people with disabilities, and a discussion about the challenges and problems faced by all the countries involved in the project was held.

All participants received certificates for their active participation.

As a result of the training course the podcast “Questions & Answers Bulgaria” has been created and is now available to listen.

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