PATTERING FEET AND HAPPY CHILDREN'S VOICES
SHINI: Get your kit on and do some stretches to warm up, because we’re going to be trying out some of the skills you need for Para athletics.
We are going to be trying our hand at some of the sports that you see on the Paralympics.
So, what are we going to be trying our hand at first?
JULIE: Shot put first.
SHINI: Woo! Okay.
A shot is a heavy metal ball that you have to throw as far as you can.
The ball is called a shot because it used to be played by the army with a cannon shot, another name for a cannonball.
So, there’s a lot of explosive power in this sport, right?
JULIE: Absolutely, we need to send it nice and quick but with loads of power.
We start with the object and it will go into our neck.
So we turn sideways, my feet are going to either side.
We’re going to put our elbows up.
Done.
And we’re going to bend, push.
SHINI: Shall we give it a go, guys?
CHILDREN: Yeah!
JULIE: Bend, push…
Bend, push…
Pick up your beanbag.
SHINI: Shot putters need a good aim because they need to throw their shot in between the lines marked on the field.
One, two, three, push…
CHILD 1: In Push Power we had to put our hands on our neck, move our arm to the side and then use our push power to throw.
JULIE: We’re going to really work on accuracy which really is about aiming.
So, we’re going to use the same skills, the techniques, the low, the swish and the push.
We want those beanbags to land in the moon craters.
Three, two, one… go!
SHINI: And it’s easy to adapt any of these shotput activities by throwing from a sitting position on a chair or a wheelchair.
JULIE: This is going to be the biggest challenge now, because we’ll use a weighted ball.
So we’re going to be really strong in our arm, really use the low to high and this will have to travel a long distance.
SHINI: Everything we’ve learned: the power, the aim…just with a heavier ball.
JULIE: We really need the explosive power now, so it’s going to be a really big push.
Forwards, with a big push. Up.
Wonderful work!
SHINI: Our next athletics event is guided running.
Guided running, or assisted running as it’s sometimes called, is for athletes who are blind or visually impaired.
To make the competition fair, everyone wears a blindfold and each athlete has a fully sighted runner to act as a guide, who runs alongside them on the track.
JULIE: So, we’ve got to do team timing because we’ve got to move and work with one another.
So listening and communicating with each other, but taking steps together to be able to be successful.
Ready? I want you to march.
Ready? One, two, three, four…
…five, six, seven, eight.
Can we march together forwards in time?
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
SHINI: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
JULIE: Faster.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
SHINI AND JULIE: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
SHINI: So, we’ve practised the teamwork and the timing necessary for guided running. What’s next?
JUIE: In guided running, there is one person who will not be able to see, which means you have to trust me, and I also have to trust you.
Right.
And they wear… masks.
So, one person will have a mask on.
They may choose to shut their eyes if they don’t want to put the mask on.
You are going to help your partner to get from this side to that side, safely.
CHILD 2: At first, when I put the blindfold on, it was a bit scary.
But then when I put my hand on Aretha’s shoulder, I know that I could trust her.
SHINI: And our last Para athletics sport has just landed. The javelin.
Javelin is a field sport where the athlete throws a pointed metal spear, called a javelin, as far as they can.
Have any of you guys ever watched javelin before?
CHILD 1: Yeah, I’ve seen it on the TV and I’ve also played it.
CHILD 3: I’ve played it as well.
SHINI: We’ve got two experts already.
JULIE: So, what we’re going to do now is just practise the movement with our arm.
Arm back, and we’re going to turn sideways and we’re going to do the swish, and as we do the swish, we release forward.
One, two, three, high elbow.
Fantastic.
Now, we try it with our beanbags.
Three, two, one, go.
So, we’ve used the beanbags to get that action and that movement down.
What’s next?
We start to use these.
We’ve got the foam javelins.
Step, bring the elbow through and send it.
Arms back, side on and we’re going to do the step, swish, release.
Ready?
Three, two, one, go!
Wow.
So, this activity is called rocket launch. Rocket, launch.
SHINI: All of the javelin activities can be adapted too. They can be done while seated on a chair or a wheelchair.
CHILD 4: I like throwing the javelin as far as I can and beat my old record.
APPLAUSE AND CAMERA CLICKS
PATTERING FEET AND HAPPY CHILDREN'S VOICES
Watch this film with British Sign Language
Watch this film with audio description
Shini Muthukrishnan joins Athletics Coach, Julie Pearson as she runs through some of the skills required in Para athletics.
Skills
The skills learned in these activities are:
Shot Put
Learning the action of pushing (not throwing), using a bean bag to practise. Followed by an accuracy exercise where the children decide where to aim their throw.
Guided Running
Learning how to keep in time and to get quicker and quicker, working in pairs to finesse timing skills. Then wearing an eye shade in a trust exercise, following and giving instructions.
Javelin
Learning how to throw the javelin differently to the shot, turning to the side, holding their arm back and throwing with a swish.
Activities
Shot Put
Push Power
The pupils learn how to put the bean bag on their neck, turn sideways, put their elbows up and bend and push so that they can put power behind their throw.
Moon Craters
Here the pupils practise accuracy in their throws by aiming their beanbags to land in hoops – the ‘moon craters’. They then practise with a weighted ball to push the ball as far as they can.
Guided Running/Assisted Running
This sport is for athletes who are visually impaired. To make the competition fair, everyone wears a blindfold and each athlete has a fully sighted runner to act as a guide running alongside them.
Team Timing
To practise teamwork, the pupils march on the spot, then together in time down the room, then repeat this but more quickly.
Trust Me
The children wear an eye shade or shut their eyes if they don’t want to wear an eye shade, and their partner guides them down the room.
Javelin
Javelin is a field sport where athletes throw a metal spear as far as they can.
Star Swish
In this activity the pupils practise the javelin throwing movement. With their arm back, they turn sideways, swish and release the bean bag forwards. Then they try with a foam javelin.
Rocket Launch
Using this throwing technique, the children throw the foam javelin over a net as far as they can.
Activity cards
Activity card: guided running 8-11. document
Download and print the activity card for guided running 8-11
Activity card: javelin 8-11. document
Download and print the activity card for javelin 8-11
Activity card: shot put 8-11. document
Download and print the activity card for shot put 8-11
