National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Week

Melbournians will witness wheelchair athletes pit their skills in a riotous game of Wheelchair Soccer being held as part of Scope’s celebrations of National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Week.

Celebrity athletes will have the chance to give the game a whirl. Hawthorn player Stephen Gilham and Olympic swimmer Andrew Lauterstein will be put through their paces in a wheelchair obstacle course followed by the demonstration game of Wheelchair Soccer.

Test driving a wheelchair, understanding the skills and strength required to not only get where you’re going, but to compete as an athlete, will hopefully give members of the public an appreciation of the importance of creating welcoming and inclusive communities for people with a disability, creating respect, understanding and acceptance. 

Details

When: Monday 1 August, 2011

• 11.30am-12.30pm – Stephen Gilham and Andrew Lauterstein will see if they have the necessary strength and dexterity to manoeuvre a wheelchair
• 12.30pm-1.30pm – get set for the real action as the Scope wheelchair athletes show how it’s done in a four-a-side game
• 12.30pm-1.30pm – Melbourne’s public are invited to join in, testing their own skills in manoeuvring a wheelchair through an obstacle course

Where: Federation Square, Swanston Street Forecourt, Melbourne