Sitting volleyball was among the Paralympic sports that event participants tried out during the Olympic Day celebrations on June 26 at the area around Stade de France in Seine-Saint-Denis in Paris.
The area was transformed into an open-air playground, where participants got to explore three Paralympic sports and 30 Olympic sports, as well as enjoy the art performances and live music.
Multiple Olympic medallists attended the event along with eight French Paralympians.
“It is very important to educate children from an early age because they are the future generation. If they get this message of inclusivity from an early age, they can pass it on to others. And from there disability becomes a banality, like wearing prescription glasses,” said Morgan Troussard, a member of the French men’s sitting volleyball team who was at Stade de France for Olympic Day.
“We are athletes. We have athlete schedules with a very intense sports routine and we prepare for four years for the Paralympic Games, which are our own Olympic Games.”
In addition to Troussard, also present were fellow sitting volleyball player Guillaume Ducrocq, wheelchair basketball players Mamady Traore and Sofyane Mehiaoui, Para swimmers Beatrice Hess and Charles Rozoy, and boccia player Sonia Heckel.
“It is very important to be here and to be able to talk about our sport, to be able to show it,” Ducrocq agreed. “We are happy to make this discipline known. Moreover, we have the opportunity to participate in the Paris 2004 Paralympic Games, therefore, it is necessary that the discipline is known so that there will be people in the stands and spectators behind the screens.”
Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, also attended the event.
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