Next Windsor disability sporting event set for July 2024

Next year’s successful disability event Parallel Windsor is set for the first weekend in July – with hopes of attracting more Windsor children this time around.

The award-winning disability inclusion sporting event returned to Windsor Great Park towards the end of June this year.

It welcomed all ages and abilities in a series of challenges involving walking, pushing and running.

Parallel Windsor this year saw celebrity guests Ellie Simmonds (five-time Paralympic gold medallist) and comedian Rosie Jones show up in support.

There were 1,500 entrants and 3,000 people attending, mostly from outside of Berkshire.

Sporting events included the ‘Super Sensory 1K’, which involved interaction with sensory objects on route.

It also featured events with a marathon as short as 100m, to be inclusive of the full range of mobility differences.

Victoria Holt, community development manager at Optalis, which provides adult social care in the Royal Borough, said: “The number of people that were there with different backgrounds and different needs, from all over the country, was quite astounding.”

For next year’s event, it is hoped that more Windsor schoolchildren can take part.

In its second year, this one clashed with local events including school fayres.

The hope is that if the date is broadcast now, schools and community groups can plan according to avoid clash.

The next Parallel Windsor is planned for July 7, 2024 – and there is a place to make the first weekend in July a ‘fixed point’ for the event until at least 2027.