Vasil Levski: Adapted basketball sport programme

The aim is to create an inclusive educational sports practice, which will include people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in organized group sports activities, in this case - through basketball.

Country, Region/City, Place: Sofia, Bulgaria

Organization / experts conducting the practice: National Sports Academy “Vasil Levski”

Activity leaders: Associate Professor Mariana Borukova, Ph.D., Associate Professor Stefka Djobova, Ph.D., Assistant Ivelina Kirilova, Ph.D. Coach: Syuleyman Syuleyman.

Objectives of the activity: The aim is to create an inclusive educational sports practice, which will include people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in organized group sports activities, in this case – through basketball.

Tasks:

  1. acquisition and improvement of sports skills in basketball, increasing the levels of physical activity and socialization of the participants with disabilities.
  2. providing a real inclusive practice environment for students in the Adapted Physical Activity and Sports  and the Basketball Program.
  3. ensuring knowledge and skills development of the participants through sport as a tool for education. 

Key factors of success: Empowerment of young persons with ID through showing their potential and their abilities, ensured by volunteering team of sport experts, devoted to the development of persons with ID.

Target group: 23 people with intellectual disabilities (cerebral palsy, autism spectrum, Down syndrome, general mental retardation, etc.) aged 17 to 43 years, as well as students from NSA “Vasil Levski” in the role of sports partners.

Description of the program and the methods used: There are weekly training sessions for the acquiring of skills in the field of basketball, training sessions, lectures on healthy lifestyle. The sessions also include students of NSA “Vasil Levski”, devoted to the development of sport for persons with ID. The organized program of the Basketball Sector and the Adapted Physical Activity and Sports Sector of the NSA is modeled based on the United Sports Program, created by the world’s largest sports movement for people with intellectual disabilities, Special Olympics and developed by Special Olympics Bulgaria. Since 1968, the movement has offered sports training and competitive opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Basketball is one of the most attractive and developed sports in the movement’s program. In Bulgaria, regular basketball training programs for people with intellectual disabilities are very limited. For this reason, the number of athletes involved in sports is small, and it is even more difficult to attract partners and supporters. 

Impact of the program: This practice started two years ago with several athletes, and currently the athletes and partners included in the team are 40 people. The combination of sports sessions, in which individuals with ID and students participate equally, leads to extremely positive results for both the physical and the social and emotional skills needed for the inclusion of the specified target group. This leads to a great progress in their physical activity levels increase, aggression levels decrease, positive attitude, increased regular physical activity and healthy lifestyle development. The educational aspect of the initiative is very significant as the participants with ID are acquiring new skills in the field of: communication, team work, understanding of the social environment around them, human rights and inclusion aspects. 

Interesting moments:

From Syria to NSA – Nina’s story

For my sister, to be chosen to represent Bulgaria at the Special Olympics Games in Abu Dhabi in March 2019  is a dream come true… but the dream that really fills her heart is to return to her home in Syria – says Diana Al Rifai (Nina’s sister) in an interview with AL JAZEERA. 

Nina is a child from a mixed marriage with a Bulgarian mother and a Syrian father. She was born with Down Syndrome on June 4., 1985 in the city of Homs, Syria. This is a condition in which a person has additional genetic material on chromosome 21. This is the most common genetic abnormality in the world. In 1985, there were no tests in Syria to show that the child was a carrier of this extra chromosome. So the doctors found out that Nina had Down syndrome only after she was born. The mid-eighties were not the time to give birth to a girl like Nina. She and her mother face rejection from society. In 1990, the whole family moved to Damascus. Nina changes several schools because she needs a special educational program. In 2005, the first school for children with special needs opened in Damascus. And since Nina started studying in it, she feels that she belongs to a growing community. She doesn’t want to miss a single school day. Even when she’s so sick, so that she can’t get out of bed, she struggles to go to school. Nina grew up developing incredible talents. She loves to read, speaks three languages (English, Arabic and Bulgarian), loves sports, loves horseback riding and loves to meet new people. Nina also loves photography. Her photographs of Damascus were displayed and sold at an art gallery in the city; she loves art and was inspired by it because my mother is an artist – we both sat in my mother’s art room for hours. Nina was so creative that anything her teachers would ask of her, would turn into a masterpiece.

She started swimming training in Damascus, her coaches were so impressed that they offered to join the Special Olympics, where her journey into the world of sports began.

Together with her team, Nina participated in her first regional games in Egypt, the UAE and Syria, organized by Special Olympics.

She later took part in her first international competition, the Special Olympics World Games in Athens, Greece, in 2011, and returned with a gold and silver medal.

A few months after Nina returned home from Athens, the war in Syria escalated and the situation became dangerous. Everyone in Syria is thinking about Plan B at the moment. When shots or explosions were heard, Nina was scared and cried endlessly, she was so confused. Nina cannot understand the concept of war and why it is happening in her country.

They left Syria in 2012, and since then the family has experienced so many things, moving from one place to another.

Years passed and Nina’s family moved to Sofia, Bulgaria. Nina starts attending a center that supports people with intellectual disabilities, and this helps her to immediately feel at home. She started taking Bulgarian lessons again, horseback riding, swimming and basketball trainings. She represents the Bulgarian national swimming team at the World  Special Olympics Games in March 2019 in Abu Dhabi. There she ranked 3rd in her division.

 

Resources:

Materials: Sport field, sport equipment, bips, cons, etc.

Human resources: Trainers, coaches, supervisors, volunteers and medical staff.

Total costs: Free for participants