Ramps4Champs

From December 11th to 12th, 2023, the final meeting of the Ramps4Champs project partners was held in Thessaloniki, Greece. The partnership meeting was accompanied by a conference attended by participants from Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Serbia, and North Macedonia. They had the opportunity to discuss practical and theoretical tools for socialization and social integration through Boccia for people with disabilities.

On 15.11.2023, in the town of Karlovo, the SONIC START sports festival - 15 YEARS TOGETHER and BEYOND with 15 challenges for 15 teams in 15 activities took place, marking the anniversary of a socially responsible company providing successful reintegration for children and adults into society. Representatives of the BSDA took part in the event and supported the celebration of Community facility for people with intellectual disabilities in Banja town - an institution with which BSDA has been successfully partnering for over 10 years.

On October 2, 2023, a consortium meeting for the project "Ramps4Champs" took place in Sofia, with representatives from partner organizations in Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Serbia, and North Macedonia. During the meeting, a practical visit to an Adapted Basketball training session at the National Sports Academy (NSA) was conducted.

On August 10, 2023, at the Kremikovsky Monastery "St. George the Victorious," within the framework of a summer camp held at the monastery and organized annually by Milena Yotsova, a promotional event took place as part of the "Ramps4Champs" project. The event brought together children and young people with intellectual disabilities, with biggest part of the group belonging to Parallel World NGO (Plovdiv) and educational specialists, providing them with practical and theoretical tools for socialization and social integration through the sport of Boccia for people with disabilities. They discussed the power of sports in supporting integration processes in society and how it can serve as a catalyst for more effective and sustainable social change.

In the period July 25-26 2023 at the Crnogorski Monastery "St. Cosmas and Damian" within a summer camp organized by the Sunday School at the "Birth of Christ", Sunday School at the "St. Martyr Paraskeva", the Association of Bulgarians with Allergic and Respiratory Diseases, and the Theater Company "Empty Space," a promotional event was held as part of the "Ramps4Champs" project.

On June 25, 2023, in Sofia, Bulgaria, Bulgarian sports development association held a dissemination event within the framework of the "Ramps4Champs" project, which is implemented in partnership with 5 European countries – Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Serbia and the Republic of North Macedonia. The event was attended by coaches, physical education teachers and sports specialists from Volleyball Club "Ahil" Sofia, as well as children and young people training at the club, who had the opportunity to get acquainted with practical and theoretical tools for socialization and social integration, through the sport of bocce for people with disabilities, to discuss the power of sport in supporting integration processes in society and how it can be used as a catalyst for a more effective and sustainable social change.

On the 23rd of March, 2023, in Sofia, Bulgaria, Bulgarian sports development association, with the support of the “Adapted Physical Activity and Sports” sector at the “Vasil Levski” National Sports Academy, conducted a training within the “Ramps4Champs” project, which is implemented in partnership with 5 European countries – Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Serbia and the Republic of North Macedonia. Coaches and sports specialists from the “APAS” bachelor's program took part in the training and had the opportunity to learn more about the practical and theoretical tools for socialization and social integration, through the sport of boccia for people with disabilities, to discuss the power of sports to support integration processes in society and how it can be used as a catalyst for a more effective and sustainable social change.

On the 13th of March, 2023, in Sofia, Bulgaria, Bulgarian sports development association, with the support of the “Adapted Physical Activity and Sports” sector at the “Vasil Levski” National Sports Academy, conducted a training within the “Ramps4Champs” project, which is implemented in partnership with 5 European countries – Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Serbia and the Republic of North Macedonia. Coaches and sports specialists from the “APAS” master's program took part in the training and had the opportunity to learn more about the practical and theoretical tools for socialization and social integration, through the sport of boccia for people with disabilities, to discuss the power of sports to support integration processes in society and how it can be used as a catalyst for a more effective and sustainable social change.

A partners meeting under the Ramps4Champs project was held in Thessaloniki, Greece, in the period 6-7 March, 2023. The meeting gathered the partners from Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Serbia and North Macedonia, who had the opportunity to learn more about the practical and theoretical tools for socialization and social integration, through the sport of Boccia for people with disabilities, to discuss different phases of the initiative and the upcoming activities.

On January 19, 2023, the first meeting under the Ramps4Champs project took place, bringing together the partners from Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Serbia and North Macedonia. The consortium had the opportunity to discuss the phases of the initiative and the upcoming 2023 project activities.

The main output of the Ramps4Champs project is a guide on how to organise safe and inclusive Boccia BC3 activities including both people with disabilities and their able-bodied peers. To achieve this trainers and coaches will be trained on delivering Boccia BC3 activities but also on first aid and secondary care for people with disabilities.