Accentuate

Accentuate funding secured major disability sporting events for the region, such as the Disabled British Open (DBO) Golf Championship and IPC Shooting World Cup. The inaugural DBO Golf Championship took place in August 2009 at the Old Thorns Golf Club in Hampshire, and was the first truly pan-disability golf event in the UK. It has been run in the region ever since and now attracts competitors from the all over the world, providing a showcase for their talent, and the South East’s commitment to furthering disabled sports and leaving a lasting legacy within the region for future generations.

The DBO Golf Championship is seen by many as a ‘game changer’, providing the starting point for something new and helping create a ‘bridge’ between the major golf organisations and disabled golfers. The number of competitors has grown steadily and the event was oversubscribed in 2012. A Junior Open was established in 2011 which has proved equally successful.

Media coverage for the DBO was substantial from the start, and has grown steadily. The tournament is shown around the world on Sky Sports TV, BBC News  and ITV. It also receives radio coverage, along with print and online coverage. The estimated media value for coverage of the DBO over 3 years exceeded £750k. In 2010, an audit of the value of media coverage generated by the event amounted to £385,925, including:

• Sky Sports coverage of four, hour-long slots - valued at £200,000
• BBC South-East –2 minutes of coverage on the BBC during the primetime morning, evening and lunchtime news - valued at £32,000.
• ITV Meridian–2 minutes of coverage during the evening news programme and the following morning - valued at £22,000.
• Radio  - 25 minutes of coverage on BBC Radio Sussex and 10 minutes’ on Uckfield Radio  - together valued at £44,000
• Large amount of coverage in regional and national newspapers, magazines and websites in the UK and internationally - valued at £15,000.

The English Golf Union fully supports the event and there are high profile sports personalities involved with legendary BBC golf commentator Peter Alliss being the guest of honour in 2011. About 140 volunteers are involved in supporting the event.

The Disabled British Open has provided the opportunity for many to increase their knowledge base and develop their skills, including organisers, staff at the venue and volunteers. The main areas of learning were:

• For organisers - awareness of disability golf, the opportunities within it and how to cater / adapt
• For staff - awareness of differing types of disability, and how to cater / adapt for individuals in the context of people’s normal working practice
• For volunteers - managing a golf tournament, with some gaining an NVQ in Spectator Safety, enhancing their pathway to future employment.

The future looks bright for the Disabled British Open Golf Championship. Its growing profile has helped attract a lead sponsor for 2012, yourgolftravel.com. In 2016 golf is a trial event for the Olympics and Paralympics and there are currently very few elite Paralympic golfers in the UK.

Accentuate projects have been collecting examples of how their work is having an impact.  Whether this is the personal experience of an individual, or the influence Accentuate projects have had on organisations. Click the link to view the case studies.