The projects
Sport for All is a sports and social project that was created to promote sports activities practised by people with and without disabilities, in order to foster integration and social cohesion. In particular, the initiative is committed to broadening the range of sports on offer to people with disabilities, so that everyone, without distinction, can enjoy the psychophysical and relational benefits of sport. The project is being implemented in Rome thanks to the collaboration with Accademia Scherma Lia, supported by Progetto Aita Onlus. The main objective of the initiative, in harmony with the mission of the implementing body, is to promote sport, health and social integration; sport, and fencing in particular, is not only a mediator of psychophysical wellbeing and educational and moral growth, but also a tool for social inclusion, through which it is possible to involve people with different degrees of ability and disadvantage in socio-cultural and relational terms. The initiative is based on the concept of integrated sport, i.e. sport in mixed groups, which makes diversity an asset and encourages interaction and sociability between people with and without disabilities. In addition to the social mission, however, the purely sporting sphere is not neglected: the aim of the Academy is to train young athletes with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and place them in competitive contexts, in which they can measure themselves against their peers and learn to manage strong emotions in unfamiliar contexts.
In our country, few people with disabilities take up sport, either at school or outside school. The sports offer dedicated to them is extremely limited, both in terms of quantity and quality; the facilities are often unsuitable, the staff not adequately trained and, in general, there is a widespread indifference about the role that sport can play in improving diseases and, above all, about the educational and social benefits that derive from the practice of integrated sport.
Accademia Scherma Lia, with the support of Fondazione Milan, aims therefore to respond to this deficiency, encouraging children to practice sport and, in particular, fencing, a discipline that, like all combat sports, has important metacognitive implications: it allows to increase awareness of self and others, to develop the ability to read movements and moods, and finally enhances the skills of strategy and problem solving.
The direct beneficiaries of the project are 10 children and young people with a form of ASD, accompanied by other indirect beneficiaries who share the Academy experience with them, including some peers who do not suffer from the disorder, their families and the entire community, in a true network in which knowledge, experiences and moments of fun are shared. The protagonists of the initiative come mainly from the western suburbs of the capital, in particular from the Colli Portuensi area, whose neighbourhood extends into the better-known Monteverde, the site of the parish hosting the planned activities.
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