When All Abilities Play Together, Everybody Wins
It is a constant challenge to find new, unique ways to engage kids in physical education. There are lots of options out there, but how do you choose one? What priorities do you set when seeking out new engaging activities? The answer we hear most often is adaptability. In other words, games that are suitable for all ages, strengths, and abilities, that challenge the most athletically inclined children alongside children with limited mobility or physical fitness.
The real winners – the activities that make every student cheer when they enter the gym and see what’s on the schedule – are the games that can include everyone. The games that take every kid – no matter their age, size, strength, or ability – and put them on a level playing field. These games teach empathy and encouragement. They build confidence, bonds, and friendships.
Enter FloorCurl – fun physical education equipment that has been designed and adapted to allow participants of any ability to play together, in the same games, at the same time. A low-impact target sport where indoor curling ‘stones’ are pushed towards target mats, FloorCurl promotes the development of hand-eye coordination, aim, and strategic thinking. The stones can be delivered three ways, based on each player’s comfort and abilities: from floor level (holding the stone’s handle with one’s hand), or from a standing or seated position/wheelchair (holding the stone’s handle with a specially designed pusher stick.) All methods of delivering a stone are acceptable within the same games, eliminating the need for players to be separated or categorized based on abilities.
A major part of FloorCurl’s mission is to promote inclusion through mixed ability activities. While activities designed specifically for persons living with disabilities are extremely valuable and do wonders for promoting an inclusive message, it is rare to see these activities bringing players of varied abilities together.
Over time, we have gained a greater understanding of the challenges many people face when divided into groups based on their abilities. FloorCurl brings together people of diverse abilities and ages, no matter how they deliver their stones, to join in a friendly competition, get moving, and have fun.
True inclusion brings people of all abilities and backgrounds together. It is not division, but union. Because we should all be able to #PlayTogether.
