Photo: © Disability Sport Wales / Charlie King
The fifth Para Sport Festival is the biggest yet, as an expanded programme sees it visit four cities – Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and Bangor – bringing together established events alongside several exciting additions to the sporting schedule.
The insport Series: Swansea event is the biggest free youth mass-participation day of the Festival, giving around 300 children from local schools the opportunity to try more than 20 different sports, with expert coaching and guidance from National Governing Bodies of Sport.
Several established and high-profile para-athletes attended the insport Series event, providing additional inspiration and bringing medal-winning prestige to proceedings.
Highlights of the 2026 Para Sport Festival include the first ever Wheelchair Basketball: Cymru Classic (29 August, at Archers Arena, Cyncoed Campus, Cardiff Metropolitan University), the Gorazd Vecko Table Tennis Open (4-6 September, at the Cardiff University Sports Training Village), Wales v England Deaf Football match (11 September, at the Llandarcy Academy of Sport), the British Open Para Sport Championships (11-13 September, at LC Swansea), a Deaf Rugby Community Event and a Mixed Ability rugby fixture between Swansea Gladiators and Llanelli Warriors (12 September, at the Llandarcy Academy of Sport) and the Home Nations Para Powerlifting Open (13 September, at Canolfan Brailsford, Bangor University).
Photo: © Disability Sport Wales / Charlie King
Robyn Wilkins, Para Sport Event Management Senior Officer, said:
2026 marks the fifth year of the Para Sport Festival and insport Series: Swansea.
Following previous years of success, Swansea University’s Swansea Bay Sports Park was once again host to the insport Series event.
This year we welcomed three hundred local schoolchildren who came to try over twenty different sports - brought together by NGBs from all over Wales. It was a tremendous day, with something new for everyone to enjoy.
Photo: © Disability Sport Wales / Charlie King
Chloe Morgan, who represented Team Wales in 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball at the Commonwealth Games, said:
I am thrilled to be part of such a fantastic event and to talk about my amazing experience representing Team Wales at the Commonwealth Games.
“Hopefully we can encourage the next generation of wheelchair basketball players and I feel very proud that the Wheelchair Basketball: Cymru Classic marked the first event of this year’s Para Sport Festival.
Evelyn Thomas, Para Powerlifter, said:
Sport has had such a huge impact on my life and it is so important to support these events. It’s also amazing to see how much the Para Sport Festival has grown and to see Weightlifting Wales as part of the programme for the first time!
Photo: © Disability Sport Wales / Charlie King
Tickets and more information are available at: parasportfestival.co.uk.
For more information, please contact Sam Lloyd DSW Communications Officer on: sam@lloydbell.co.uk / 07974 827813.
