Instructions

1. Tell participants about World Challenge Day and explain that the task is to invent a new game in the true spirit of Sport for All. The only criterion is that the game must be one that involves some form of physical activity that increases participants' heart rate for 15 continuous minutes.
2. Ask people to get into small groups.
3. Take the hat containing the role cards to each group in turn and ask each participant to pick one card. Give those people who have a disability card a few minutes to get into role, for instance to put on a blindfold or tie an arm behind their back.
4. Explain that each group has thirty minutes to devise a game in the spirit of Sport for All, that is, a game that everyone can participate in. They may use some or all of the equipment provided. It is up to each group to decide the aims of the new game and the rules. Everyone in the group must participate in the planning and decision making.
5. Let the groups play each other's games.

Debriefing and evaluation

Start with a review of how people in the different groups interacted with each other and whether they enjoyed the activity.  Then go on to discuss the games themselves, and inclusion and disablism. 
• How did you go about designing the game? What factors did you take into consideration? Did it make a difference that you had disabled people in the group?
• How did the groups work? Democratically, or did one or a few people make the decisions?
• The people who were disabled: Was it hard to play your role? Do you think you managed to play it realistically? Were you happy with your contribution to the final result?
• The able-bodied people: What considerations did you have to take on board to overcome barriers that could hinder the full and effective participation of people with disabilities?
• What sorts of compromises did you have to make when devising the games so that you could truly say it was a Sport for All?
• What do you think it must be like to be young and disabled in your country? What would be the particular difficulties that you would face?
• Do you think that the rights of disabled people are fully respected? If not – which do you think are least respected, and what do you think are the main reasons?
• In reality, how are certain groups excluded from sports? Is the exclusion an infringement of their human rights?

Tips for facilitators

Try to ensure that the groups are "mixed", for example, that there are naturally tall and short people, those with glasses and those without, a mix of genders, ages, athletic abilities, etc.

The roles should be divided so that there are no more than two people with disabilities in each group. They can be the same disabilities in each group or different. If each group comprises people with similar disabilities, then afterwards participants can compare how they met similar challenges. If the different groups have people with dissimilar disabilities, then it can be interesting to see if the groups design games that could include all disabilities or only those that are represented in their particular group.

Depending on the group, you may need to begin the session with a quick brainstorming activity about the features of games in general. For example, games need to have clear aims or objectives and rules. You may also need to set limits, for example, that the game must be played within a certain location or not last longer than a total of 20 minutes.

If the groups do not manage to complete the task, or if they are not satisfied with the result, point out that this reflects what happens in reality, and should not be taken to mean that the activity (or the group) has failed. You should discuss in the debriefing the things that led to the result not being achieved, or to some people being dissatisfied with the result.

In the debriefing, people may say that exclusion and discrimination are not really big issues because people tend to choose sports that they are naturally good at. For example, tall people may play basketball and less energetic types may play snooker or chess.  Nonetheless, there is an issue if only those young people who show promise get all the attention and opportunities to play in competitions while those who like to play for fun get less. Some sports exclude on grounds of wealth, because, for example, they need expensive equipment or coaching.

Variations

If you want to use this activity primarily to promote group-work skills you could ask one group to devise a co-operative game and the other a competitive one. In the debriefing you can compare how enjoyable each game was.

You can use the activity to focus on equity, justice and the role of human rights as "rules of the game". In this case, you may wish to leave out the "disability" element and focus on how people worked together to create their games and leave to the discussion the issue of whether everyone, including disabled or other groups, could participate.

Good rules, like human rights, exist to ensure the game is fair by limiting the use of power by some players over others. The rules have to apply to all players in the same way that human rights are universal. Many rules prescribe a right together with duties. For instance, a football player has the right to kick the ball but not a fellow player. There are penalties in the case of an abuse of the rules.
The process of making decisions about changing the rules can be compared with how laws are changed in "real life". Are they changed by decree, by the legislature or by people through referenda or consultation with NGOs and others?
In the debriefing you could discuss:
• Which games did participants enjoy the most? What makes a game a "good game"?
• How important is it to have a clear aim and fair rules in order for everyone to feel that they can participate?
• The Articles in the UDHR could be seen as rules for living in a pluralistic world. But are they good rules? For instance, are they universally acceptable to all players (everyone throughout the world)? Are there enough rules or too many? Are the rules fair? Do all players (all countries) play by the rules?

Suggestions for follow-up

If the group are interested in exploring other issues of equality, they may like to do the activity, "Path to Equality-land", which explores issues about gender equality. The simulation activity "Scramble for wealth and power" looks at inequalities due to wealth. The activity also raises questions to do with equality of opportunity, which could be related back to the conditions faced by people with disabilities.

Ideas for action

Organise a co-operative "Sports day". Invite young people from other clubs to play your new games. The group will have to decide how to make the event as inclusive as possible.
Get in touch with TAFISA and make your games a contribution to World Challenge Day.
Make contact with local organisations that support disabled people in your area and find out how you can get involved and help.
Make a survey of your school, club or meeting place and make suggestions for simple improvements that would make the place more disabled-people friendly.

Further information

TAFISA is the leading international Sport for All organisation with over 200 members from more than 130 countries on all continents.  It organises practical programmes and events in close co-operation with, for instance, the IOC, WHO, ICSSPE and UNESCO.

World Challenge Day (WCD) is organised by TAFISA. WCD is a friendly international competition in Sport for All and physical activity where communities from around the world compete against each other. Anybody and everybody can participate. World Challenge Day is available for communities of only a few thousand people, to the largest cities in the world. The purpose is to promote physical activity and Sport for All, not just in terms of competitive sports or already fit and active people, but in terms of all forms of activity and for all people of every age, gender and level of ability. The only criterion is that the games must involve some form of physical activity that increases participants' heart rate for 15 continuous minutes.

Youth Olympic Games: The vision of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and adopt and live by the Olympic values.

Paralympics: The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is committed to enabling paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

You may find it relevant – for yourself and for the participants - to take into account the following distinctions between Deaf, deaf and hard-of-hearing people:

Deaf: a cultural, linguistic and political identity acquired by many deaf persons. Individuals who are members of the Deaf community subscribe to the unique cultural norms, values and traditions of that group. Its members typically use Sign language as their first language.

deaf: a term used to describe the inability to hear normal speech and general sounds; a medical description of hearing loss.

Hard-of-hearing: refers to persons with varying degrees of hearing loss who communicate primarily by spoken language, supplemented by lip-reading. A hard-of-hearing person may use hearing aids and/or cochlear implants and may supplement any residual hearing with assistive hearing devices. S/he can be medically deaf but, with technical aids, integrated upbringing and education, functions as hard of hearing.

Definitions and information on disablism and human rights can be found in the Disablism section of chapter 5.

Handouts

Download as PDF

Role cards

You are a deaf person.
Collect some ear plugs. You can speak (but not hear).
Try to represent your role realistically without exaggerating or resorting to stereotypes.

You are someone who is hard of hearing.
Collect some cotton wool to put in your ears. Try to represent your role realistically without exaggerating or resorting to stereotypes.

You are a wheelchair user.
Get into the wheelchair and make sure you learn how to manoeuvre it. Try to represent your role realistically without exaggerating or resorting to stereotypes.

You are a person with one arm.
Use a bandage to strap one arm behind your back. Try to represent your role realistically without exaggerating or resorting to stereotypes.

You are a person with no arms.
Use a bandage to strap both arms behind your back. Try to represent your role realistically without exaggerating or resorting to stereotypes.

You are a person with a limp.
Use a bandage to strap the block of wood under one foot, so that it feels as if you have one leg longer than the other.
Try to represent your role realistically without exaggerating or resorting to stereotypes.

You are a person with one leg.
Use a bandage to tie one foot up behind your thigh as if you have lost your leg below the knee. Collect the crutches. Try to represent your role realistically without exaggerating or resorting to stereotypes.

You are a person with learning difficulties.
You are nervous and lacking in self-confidence and you need to have things explained very carefully to you. Try to represent your role realistically without exaggerating or resorting to stereotypes.

You are a blind person.
Put on the blindfold. Try to represent your role realistically without exaggerating or resorting to stereotypes.

You are a deaf and dumb person.
Collect some ear plugs. You can neither hear nor speak, you communicate using sign language and by writing and drawing.
Try to represent your role realistically without exaggerating or resorting to stereotypes.

You are an able-bodied person with no disabilities.
Try to represent your role realistically without exaggerating or resorting to stereotypes