The Paralympics may have shone a spotlight on disability and sport, but daily life for most disabled people in France remains a challenge, especially in Paris. Novosports, a sports club, is working to make sport accessible for everyone – disabled and non-disabled alike – but there is still a long way to go.
Before playing most sports, you need to get to a venue – a gym, or a field or a court. And if you are in Paris and disabled, especially wheelchair-bound, that’s a challenge in itself.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Jerome Rousseau, the founder and general manager of Novosports, showed up at a city-run sports complex on the northeastern edge of the city to lead a session of inclusive volleyball.
The disabled access lift was visible from the street, but bars at the courtyard entrance designed to keep bikes and motorbikes out also blocked Rousseau's wheelchair.
Rousseau, who is quadriplegic, had to wait while a key was found to open a gate at the far end of the complex. From there, a long path wound around two football fields before finally leading to the gym.
“Everything takes more time when you are disabled,” Rousseau said, unfazed, while riding around one of the fields.
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Accessibility hurdle
“Sometimes a facility is accessible for spectators, to watch a game, but not for playing,” Rousseau continued, explaining that accessible changing rooms, showers and toilets are also essential.
Finally inside the gym, he introduced a visiting delegation from the Centre Français of Berlin to inclusive volleyball – a game anyone can play, regardless of their disability.
Players roll a large yoga ball on the ground under a net and are limited by how many times they can touch the ball.
Rousseau, who loves sports, developed the game after his experience in university, where he found there was no way to play with his classmates.
“We had a gym, we had disabled and non-disabled students, and we had nothing for them,” he said. “So we had to create new sports.”
He founded Novosports in 2020. It offers inclusive volleyball as well as baskin – inclusive basketball, a more established sport that originated in Italy.
About 60 percent of the club’s 50 members are disabled. Men and women of all ages play together.
"We have lots of examples of children with disabilities who now can play with their parents who are not disabled or disabled parents who can play with their children,” Paul Quesada, Novosports' project manager, explains.
“These kind of sports allow people to play together, and they can be competitive because there are rules.”
The rules of inclusive volleyball take into account people’s physical abilities. Non-disabled players must sit on the ground before hitting the ball to level the playing field.
Paralympics boost
Since the Paralympics in Paris, Novosports has received an increased number of calls from people interested in joining.
The Games gave the club media coverage, but also opened up the world of handi- and parasports to the general public.
But a lot of challenges remain for disabled athletes.
"The Paralympics were a success, but it's only a first step," said Romain Tran Van, who implements sport policy for the City of Paris.
Of Paris' over 1,770 sports clubs, just under 200 are able to serve people with disabilities - for a city with 200,000 disabled residents.
Just getting around the city is already a massive challenge, as the metro is virtually inaccessible to wheelchairs.
Parasport activities therefore need to be ideally local, but there is already a shortage of sports facilities across the city.
Limited facilities
Paris has 400 sports facilities, the lowest ratio for its population of any French city. Securing time in a gym, tennis court or pool is a political process, determined by local councils.
Giving a prime slot to a parasport activity often means taking time away from other clubs, which typically have more members.
“When they do it, it sends a strong message," Tran Van says, and that is what is needed.
The Paralympics helped spread the message and unlocked some funding to retrofit gyms and outdoor basketball courts.
Tran Van helped launch the Network of para-friendly sports clubs in 2020, after Paris had been chosen to host the Games.
The programme helps clubs welcome more disabled members, but it requires investment in equipment and training for coaches.
While sport might seem minor compared to other challenges facing disabled people in Paris – like basic mobility, getting kids services in schools or finding jobs – Tran Van insists it’s vital.
“It is a bit of a cliché, but it is true that sport brings people together,” he says. “Sport is a tool to accelerate change in how disability is seen.”
For people living with a disability, beyond the health benefits, sport helps combat isolation and provides a sense of inclusion that they may not experience elsewhere in life.
Sport gives purpose
“I believe sport brings people together even more than the world of work,” says Philippe Depres, a volunteer with Novosports whose son, Elliott, works for and plays with the club.
Autistic and with a genetic disorder that has left him almost blind, Elliott has always been dependent on his parents – even today at the age of 22.
He had trouble getting through school, and sport became his focus. He has played tennis since he was 12, though it took a while to find a club that would accept him.
When he was younger, Elliott didn't talk much and had outbursts.
“Some regular clubs refused to accept him,” Depres said. “They said they couldn’t manage him, that it was too complicated. I understand that training is needed, but a willingness to try makes a difference.”
Today Elliott's work with Novosports has given him a purpose, and he plays both inclusive volleyball and baskin.
He says he prefers baskin, as it doesn’t require him to sit, which is difficult for him due to breathing problems.
Inventing a sport
But the rules of inclusive volleyball are still evolving and can be adapted based on players' abilities.
“Sometimes someone gets to touch the ball twice instead of once – it depends on their physical issues,” Rousseau says.
The sport was initially developed for people in wheelchairs at a high school outside of Paris.
“I said that’s fine, but if you don’t have a disability, you can’t play,” Rousseau adds. “So we created a sport where people who are not disabled don't have to be in a wheelchair, but can instead play with their own abilities.
"Inclusive sports is, by definition, having different people in the same space, with mental or physical disabilities, and we can all play together.”
More on this story in the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 115. Listen here.
