Amy gets into the swing of things

The cheery smiles, the animated conversations and the sheer buzz of being young and brimful of energy said it all about the joys of participating in sport.

Except the youngsters in question face more challenges than most of their peers. But, despite being visually impaired, they proved such a disability need not be an obstacle to enjoyable activity.

Thirty-eight participants, aged from eight years to 17, took part in CampAbilities, a five-day national camp for the blind and partially sighted in Killarney, Co Kerry.

Two of Ireland’s Paralympian athletes, Catherine Walsh and Nadine Lattimore, offered encouragement when they attended the formal closing of the camp.

Catherine, whose daughter, Alison, 9, was in the camp, thought it was an opportunity for young people to try out different sports and to meet other children with similar challenges.

“They can learn a lot from each other. It can only be good for them,” she said.

Nadine said such camps were “absolutely imperative” to enable people with disabilities to be active in a range of sports.

“Everyone needs to begin somewhere and it’s great to see them all joining in. Everyone can do some form of sport and it’s all about inclusivity. Hopefully, the experience of the camp will help people get involved in sport in their own communities,” she said.

Amy Sinnott, 14, from Portlaoise, had the week of her life, saying she enjoyed meeting new people and the chance to play sports she might not try otherwise.

Being a Laois football fan, she wore her county’s blue and white colours. Her favourite sports are Gaelic football, soccer and rugby, and she was on the team beaten in the final of the mixed football competition at the camp. Amy, a student at Heywood Community School in Ballinakill, also tried judo for the first time. “It was an absolutely amazing week. Unreal,” she said.

The programme was run by the National Adapted Physical Activity Centre, the Institute Technology (IT), Tralee, National Learning Network, National Council for the Blind and Irish Blind Sport.

Based in the An Oige Youth Hostel, outside Killarney, it featured a wide selection of sports including swimming, tandem cycling, soccer, athletics, orienteering and bowling, to name just some, with social activities in the evenings.

The camp, co-ordinated by Niamh Daffy, IT Tralee, also aimed to educate community groups and clubs how to include children with visual impairments in their sporting and recreational activities.

According to Ursula Barrett, an IT lecturer in adapted physical activity, people with visual impairments have the lowest level of sports participation of all people with physical disabilities.

“One of the best things I witnessed in the camp was the confidence the participants gain in themselves and in their own abilities,” she remarked.

The closing ceremony was attended by representatives of the Paralympics Council, Tralee IT, National Council for the Blind and Irish Blind Sport.