Excelling on the Field – and Changing Society off it

Monday 28th August marks one-year to go until the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, to mark the occasion we had a quick question and answer session with David Clarke OBE, PLY , CEO of ParalympicsGB .

Paralympic sport, with its incredible athletes and awe-inspiring performances, has been gradually gaining the attention it deserves since London 2012.

Before being appointed as CEO of ParalympicsGB in January 2023, David Clarke pursued his love of football, representing England and GB on no less than 144 occasions, scoring 128 goals, including at the 2012 London Paralympics.

David was diagnosed with glaucoma as a baby and has been blind his entire life. As well as his sporting achievements, he had a successful career in the banking sector spanning 24 years. He joined the Royal National Institute of Blind People ( RNIB ) as Director of Services and then?Chief Operating Officer until March 2023.

His focus was on ensuring visually impaired people have access to the information, advice and guidance they need, alongside providing consumer and commercial services that seek to remove barriers in everyday life.

Six months into his new role, we caught up with David at the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships to discuss the significance of visibility for Paralympic sport, to explore how it challenges societal views on disability, and to assess its impact on athletes during home events.

Why is visibility crucial for Paralympic sport?

I think it's huge. Firstly, because it gives our athletes an opportunity to show off their elite performances. But secondly, it brings it to hopefully a whole new community of people who may have partially or maybe not at all engaged with the sport.

Then hopefully it gets people thinking about how they view disabled people. It can challenge how they view [disability] and how many disabled people they interact with on a daily basis in whatever environment they're operating in. So, I think it’s huge.

What does the sold-out attendance at events like the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships reveal about the British public?

The fact that the British public are prepared to consume disability sport lands it very firmly in the domain of there being a fan base, there being support for what we're doing, there being relevance to what we're doing.

I think we can take huge encouragement from what's happened in women's sport in certain areas that weren't traditionally [seen]. You know, looking at sold-out stadia for the Women's Ashes, looking at sold-out stadia for the Women's World Cup.

Paralympic sport very much needs to think of itself as on that trajectory – and actually, in many places it’s arrived at the end of that trajectory.

The more people we can get to witness the incredible achievements of these athletes, and then to think about how that translates into other parts of our world, is really important.

How do athletes experience competing at home events, and what emotions do they go through?

I've experienced it myself, both in goalball and football, that there was an advantage of some sort in being at home. You get an absolute boost from that.

Competing in home games provides a significant advantage for athletes. The overwhelming support and energy from the home crowd serve as a powerful motivating force.

Athletes draw strength from the positive atmosphere, driving them to perform at their best. This advantage can make a substantial difference in their performance and ultimately influence the outcome of the games.

It can be a double-edged sword. In 2003 we had the European Championships of Blind Football in Manchester at the Velodrome, and we got to the final, which we probably wouldn't have been expected to do. But I remember the opening game and feeling the pressure of playing in that game.

But what came with that pressure was the drive and the support that comes with it, and with people wanting you to do well.

So I certainly used it as a massive positive in my experience whenever I played at home. And I'm sure the athletes, judging by the first night's performances [at the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships], which were pretty damn brilliant, looks like that's going to happen here as well.

What excites you as a former athlete now in the role of CEO of Paralympic sport in Britain?

It’s the potential of what we're trying to do. We have some incredible building blocks already in place, but the potential of what we can go on to do. I think it was absolutely critical that we reassessed our strategy and our strategic objectives a couple of years ago.

It was really critical that we got to a place that marries up our best prepared performances on the field of play, with affecting society off the field of play.

I think that's a really genuine thing to do. So, I'm really pleased that we did that because it gives us a real North Star through to 2032, to really go forward and achieve some amazing things.

I've been super impressed with the team we've got, the positivity, the professionalism, the expertise, and knowledge. The years of experience across the team. Plus, a really good mixture of new talent. It leaves us in a really good place to kick on, so the potential is huge.

What is the aim for the Paris 2024 Paralympics?

The aim next year has to be, to have our best performance ever.

I think we need to recognise there's two sides to this. On one side, we're part of a movement, and a movement that is continuing to grow and achieve at pace. And it's really starting to continue to break new ground every time anyone competes.

And that's brilliant for our movement. It's brilliant for the sports. And to see the speed at which that's happening, in terms of times distances, weights, scores, it's incredible.

The other side of that coin, of course, is it makes it harder to win medals. That’s a good thing, because it challenges us. It makes us become more innovative and to really build programmes that are trying to push the boundaries all the time, all while ensuring the wellbeing of our athletes is at the heart of those programs. So, for me it's about delivering our best performance ever.

If you look back, the last time we had the Games in Europe it was in London – and we remember the amazing things that happened in London, and the amazing spirit that surrounded the Games.

But what would have got you a gold medal in London 2012 probably won’t get you on the podium in Paris 2024. So, we have to recognise that and build for that. The teams are well under way in that progression towards the start line; the start of Paris 2024.

How does the ParalympicsGB’s "Championing Change" strategy contribute to societal impact beyond the sport?

We’ve worked incredibly hard to get Paralympic sport taken seriously and we've been on a journey from when people felt sympathy and empathy around Paralympic sport to now really enjoying it – and, as we're seeing at these championships here, consuming it. They're prepared to come and buy tickets.

We can't take that for granted. We have to really make sure that is how we move forward. That is the given now, that is how we operate.

However, I think what our new strategy “Championing Change” does is, it says, OK, we've got that on the field of play. We don't take it for granted, but we've got it. We bank it.

We absolutely now must use that to help wider society, see disabled people excelling and living their lives in all sorts of other areas of society.

So that means our social impact work. It means our work around grassroots sport and grassroots involvement. It’s about the wider depiction of the role models that we have through our Paralympic athletes and, when it's possible and when athletes are willing, to tell their wider story.

Not necessarily the classic story about, well, how did you get your disability and what was it like and all that stuff, but how are you living a life? What are your aspirations? What are the barriers? What are the challenges? What would you like people to know about you and the way you live? And tackling all sorts of other issues alongside it as well, not just disability.

For me that really genuine mix of on- and off-field involvement I think is really exciting and has huge potential in collaboration with others across the sport sector, across the disability sector and across society as a whole, to really make a difference.

A big thank you to David for speaking to us. The Paralympic Games get under way in Paris on the 28th August 2024.

The BPA’s ‘Championing Change’ strategy goes beyond promoting Paralympic sport and focuses on utilising its visibility to drive societal impact. This involves efforts to present disabled athletes as role models, highlighting their lives, aspirations, challenges, and accomplishments. Through social impact work, grassroots sport involvement, and collaboration with various sectors, the strategy aims to influence society's perception of disabled individuals and create positive change on and off the field.