LinkAble, Woking’s learning disability and autism charity, brought the community together through a recent event with a clear mission – to make sport accessible for everyone.

On Tuesday, 26 August, more than 100 people attended the LinkAble Inclusive Games 2025 at Woking Sportsbox. The event offered attendees a mix of accessible sports, friendly competition and a wonderful sense of community spirit.

Building on the success of LinkAble’s Paralympic-themed event last summer, this year’s Games welcomed participants of all ages and abilities to enjoy specially adapted sports designed for inclusion and enjoyment.

The sports on offer included boccia (a sport related to bowls), table cricket facilitated by Surrey Cricket, adapted cycling with Wheels for All, walking football and accessible golf delivered by Get Golfing.

But accessible sport is about more than just fun. According to disability charity Scope, 40 per cent of disabled people never take part in sport or physical activity despite 91 per cent wanting to be more active.

Barriers such as inaccessible facilities and a lack of confidence mean many are excluded. By offering the chance to try adapted sports in a welcoming and supportive environment, LinkAble hopes to inspire lasting engagement in physical activity.

One parent described how special the day was for her daughters, Eleanor, who has learning disabilities and autism, and her younger sister Phoebe, who is not disabled: “Both girls really loved the cycling with Wheels for All.

“I’ve never seen Eleanor cycle before as it’s not something she can do on a standard bike. Watching her and her sister ride an adapted double bike together was so special.

“This sort of activity would be impossible for Eleanor to attend if it was mainstream, so it was great to be able to do this in an inclusive, supportive environment with such great, accessible facilities. We are really grateful to LinkAble for hosting this fantastic event.”

The day was made possible thanks to the support of event partner Freedom Leisure and a generous £1,000 donation from Seymours Estate Agents. Volunteers from Active Surrey and FE fundinfo also played a vital role in supporting participants throughout the event.

Long-term LinkAble supporters, The Fidelis Partnership, kindly provided volunteers for the day, including Simon Crone, who said: “It was wonderful to be able to assist LinkAble at this fantastic event and brilliant to see so many smiling faces and hear so much laughter as participants tried new activities for the first time.”

The day concluded with medals awarded by local dignitaries, including Will Forster MP and Mayor of Woking Cllr Amanda Boote – a memorable ending to a remarkable celebration.

Sue Stockman, LinkAble’s CEO, said: “The event delivered everything we hoped to achieve. The atmosphere on the day was electric, and seeing so many people of different abilities taking part together was fantastic. It shows why accessibility is so vital. With such high demand, we will certainly run this event again next year.”

In the meantime, LinkAble runs a boccia club every Tuesday at Woking Sportsbox – find out more at https://www.linkable.org.uk/pages/linkable-boccia-club