Hove energy employees celebrate National Paralympic Day
EDF Energy employees in Hove enjoyed a day of Paralympic sport last week, as they celebrated National Paralympic Day and the company’s continued partnership with the British Paralympic Association.
On Friday September 6, dozens of employees took part in demonstration games of laser shooting, a target sport with a laser rifle, at the company’s Portland Road office. The employees were joined by ParalympicsGB London 2012 shooting athlete Ben Jesson, from Crawley, who introduced them to the rules of the game and offered advice and tips.
EDF Energy recently pledged that it would support the British Paralympic Association (BPA) for four years, in the lead up to the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. This follows a previous charity partnership that saw EDF Energy and its employees raise more than £650,000 for the BPA between March 2010 and March 2013.
The sporting events in Exeter were organised to coincide with the BPA’s first annual National Paralympic Day*, which took place on Saturday September 7. This date marked one year since the end of the London 2012 Paralympic Games and three years to the day until the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Thousands of people across the country supported National Paralympic Day, which aimed to inspire and challenge people’s attitudes towards disabilities. Members of the public were encouraged to try out a Paralympic sport, volunteer at a local disability sports club or attend the National Paralympic Day Festival, held in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The free-to-attend festival relived the excitement of the Games with attendees able to meet ParalympicsGB athletes and watch live sports such as wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball in the Copper Box Arena.
Claire Barron, a B2C Communications Advisor at EDF Energy in Hove, took part in the laser archery demonstration game at the company’s Portland Road office on September 6.
She said: “EDF Energy employees from across the country took part in Paralympic demonstration sports last week and I was really pleased that we could offer our combined support of National Paralympic Day. It was great to be introduced to the game of laser archery and meet a Paralympic athlete. I for one was incredibly inspired by the London 2012 Paralympic Games and I think it’s more important than ever to keep disability sport in the limelight.”
Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of the British Paralympic Association, said: “We would like to thank EDF Energy for their continued support of the British Paralympic Association and of our first annual National Paralympic Day. One year on from what was called the ‘greatest ever’ Paralympic Games, National Paralympic Day provided us with an opportunity to showcase once again the talents of our athletes and continue our efforts in promoting disability sport from grass roots to elite level. We hope that the popularity of National Paralympic Day continues to grow.”
EDF was the official electricity supplier of the London 2012 Games and the company ensured that every unit of electricity that was supplied to the Olympic Park was backed by low carbon nuclear and renewable sources.
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Footnotes:
*National Paralympic Day is a celebration of all things Paralympic across the UK. At the heart of the celebrations is National Paralympic Day featuring the Mayor of London’s Liberty Festival in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which is organised by the BPA, the Mayor of London, and the London Legacy Development Corporation.
For more information contact: Charlotte Mitchell – EDF Energy Charlotte.mitchell@edfenergy.com 07875 114 872