Participating in sports games with your friends is always a fun time, whether you’re a child on the schoolyard or an adult taking a break from work. However, playing sports like basketball is much easier when you’re non-disabled. Children with disabilities who use wheelchairs may have a much harder time getting into the spirit of the game when the basketball hoop is harder to reach for them.
How can we remedy this situation? Instead of telling the children who are having difficulties that they should ‘go choose something else,’ we should take measures to make the game more inclusive for everyone.
Childhood play is an extremely important part of mental and physical development. Children who have disabilities or health conditions should not be excluded for something that they cannot control. Instead, we can take the steps to make sports more fun for everyone.
How Sports Like Basketball Can Be Made More Inclusive
Altering your basketball court to be more accessible for children in wheelchairs is rather simple. Recently, our HotShot Sports team supplied an attached hoop to a local New Zealand school for children in wheelchairs. We made sure to set this hoop at a height that was more suitable for their situation.
Regularly-placed basketball hoops may be too tall for children in wheelchairs to reach, which could make the game far more difficult for them to play. The specially-placed hoop, on the other hand, was adjusted so that they could have a better time while they played.
Small adjustments like this are very easy to make, but they can have a massive impact on the children who are playing. Children with disabilities are more restricted with the activities that they can participate in with non-disabled children. With simple equipment adjustments like this, we can help to close the gap between what these children can participate in and what they can’t.
Custom-made sports equipment can be the answer to your prayers if you are looking for specially-made equipment. At HotShot Sports, we’re happy to work with customers in order to create custom solutions that are perfect for your situation.
Certain fitness equipment, like the wheelchair press and shoulder grinder, are also designed to be inclusive from the start. These outdoor fitness pieces are perfect for public outdoor spaces and can encourage healthy living for everyone.
Why Inclusive Sports Equipment And Fitness Equipment Are So Important For Growing Children
If you don’t have any disabilities and don’t experience any health conditions that keep you from participating in the fun sports that you love, you may not realise at first why inclusive sports equipment is so vital for New Zealand children.
Playing sports with other children isn’t just about having fun; it’s a vital part of development. Play, specifically playing with playground or fitness equipment or participating in sports, can promote healthy hand-eye coordination, motor skills, physical strength and balance. Young children can improve simple skills like this while playing with their friends.
Furthermore, play is also a vital part of social development. Children who play in team-based sports can learn teamwork and coordination. Plus, it helps them bond with each other and have fun while learning about the joys of exercising and being active.
Playing together as equals can also help children realise that everyone has value, despite their differences. Inclusive playground equipment and sports equipment encourage tolerance and appreciation among children.
Exercise, in general, is something that everyone needs, regardless of physical status or age. Getting outside, breathing in the fresh air and bonding with friends can improve mental and physical health at the same time. Children should learn at a young age that exercise and staying active can be fun and rewarding and that there are plenty of different ways to stay active.
Rather than focusing on the majority of non-disabled children, equipment designers and people who put together play areas and sports areas should focus on everyone. Children with disabilities may suffer if their needs are not taken into account. If a child’s development is skewed, they could suffer for the rest of their life because of it.
Where To Go For High-Quality Equipment In New Zealand
At HotShot Sports, we strive to make New Zealand a better place for everyone, one piece of sports equipment at a time. We have a wide selection of sports equipment available on our website.
If you are looking for custom solutions for children or others with disabilities or health conditions, then we encourage you to contact us today. Our team is passionate about finding fantastic solutions that benefit you and the people you care about. With our help, we’re sure that we can come up with a custom-made solution that fits your circumstances perfectly.
To get in touch with us, please call our team at 0800 483 6647. We’d love to hear from you! We have plenty of experience working with all sorts of people, and we look forward to working with you as well.
HotShot Sports is here to fulfil all of your sports equipment needs.
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