A disabled sports day was organized by high school students in Physical Education and Sports, in partnership with members of the High School Life Council, the association of former students and teachers. An action largely supported by the management, delighted with the commitment and dynamism of its students.
« There is a real desire among our students to carry the republican values of solidarity and fraternity. They are very interested in the issues of inclusion and the fight against all forms of discrimination, proudly explains the principal of the Ernest-Ferroul high school, Carmelo Ingrao. We are lucky to have high school students so involved and we must value their initiatives, beyond competition and personal results. They are the ones who organized this disabled sports day and who manage everything. The work of adults in psychosocial terms is well done, because high school students are autonomous in their actions “. The establishment and its multiple projects are also well identified by the Occitanie Region, as stated during his visit by the regional adviser, Benjamen Assié (read below).
Athletic and committed students
Historically, it was Nadia Ponsa, a PE teacher, who initiated disabled sports days in high school with her students in the sports option: “The final year students test the workshops in order to be able to run them afterwards and the first year students help them with the organisation. As for the second year students, they participate and next year, they will take over..
Two other ESP teachers, Agnès Olive and Henri Leal ensure the smooth running of the day. For the occasion, students from the IME of Pépieux were received, as well as the schools of the city. In addition, many high school students spontaneously took part in the workshops: “ They go there on their own in their free time
“, rejoices the headmaster.In the courtyard, on the sports fields, in the gymnasium, the excitement reigned between the many activities offered (**): “ Sport is a good way to approach the notion of disability”,
A tandem in sport shared with the elected Sébastien Gasparini.
Gaelle GueantWhat elected officials thinkBenjamen Assié, regional councilor and elected to the board of directors of the school: “
I am delighted to see that this school is setting up great projects that promote republican values with a supervising team and involved students. This disabled sports day is all the better because we are in the week of the fight against discrimination and I welcome the arrival of the Regional Olympic and Sports Committee which has raised awareness about the history of the games and discrimination in sport. Everything conducted by the Lycée Ferroul corresponds to what the Region wants to bring. Moreover, we put on Education one billion euros of our budget out of three billion, because it is a major axis. It is by supporting Education that we build the future“.Valérie Dumontet and Sébastien Gasparini, vice-presidents of the departmental council, for youth, democracy and education: “
We use our cantonal envelope for this action because we are very happy to support the notions of diversity and otherness carried by this youth initiative. It allows, through the vector of sport, to know the living conditions of disabled people and to accept the differences. It’s a way to lift taboos, to understand the other and to transmit a body of common values to form a society together. Republican values found in the history of the Olympic Games. Moreover, the Aude department has been labeled Terres de jeux as part of the 2024 Olympics and we are going to organize major events around the promotion of the Para-Olympic games, in particular a day with more than 650 college students, on 23 June, in Carcassonne”
.
It should be noted that Sabrina Fito-Darzens, municipal elected official in charge of youth, also visited the high school students.
Youth testimonial Louison Perny-Fil has been elected to the council for high school life (CVL), the academic council for high school life (CAVL) and, more recently, the national council for high school life (CNVL). A triple hat for this 17-year-old girl, herself a great sportswoman, who is mobilizing to build the Education of tomorrow with her counterpart Gabriel Le Noach. She spoke about the importance of Disabled Sports Day: “
I’ve been doing it for three years. I first tested it in second, then in first I managed a class and a workshop and this year, I welcome local elected officials to explain our approach to them. This day is important to show that life does not stop only at able-bodied people. At any time, you can have an accident. You have to open up your horizons and reach as many people as possible from an early age to remove prejudices, be more tolerant and put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Through sport, we educate others about what people with disabilities experience. We need more inclusion for them in everyday life with appropriate infrastructure. This type of action also helps people with disabilities to dare to do things. Last year we had a student with a disability who was a table tennis champion
».
Wheelchair basketball to understand the concept of disability.
Gaelle GueantStudents engaged in school sportsFor Stéphane Arias, Academic Director of the National Union of School Sport and Vice-President of the Regional Olympic and Sports Committee, “the
he high school sports association affiliated with the UNSS is one of the most dynamic in the Montpellier academy, which is reflected in terms of sports results and above all through the commitment of the students, some of whom are French champions in multi-activity shared sport (mixed teams of two able-bodied students and two disabled students). At the level of the UNSS, the high school shines in the academy”.