British Blind Sport, the national charity for visually impaired (VI) people to access sport and physical activity have opened submissions for clubs to register for their upcoming Activity Finder, making it easier than ever for people with visual impairments to identify local activities offering a welcoming and positive experience.

British Blind Sport research exploring how blind and partially sighted people overcome the barriers to participation uncovered that visually impaired people can often struggle to find information regarding accessible sporting opportunities. Inaccessible content can lead to blind and partially sighted people missing out on sporting opportunities as they can't access the poorly formatted adverts. A participant in the study said "A lack of information is holding me back".

This insight exposed the demand for a search tool, which could display information regarding VI adapted sport and physical activity opportunities in an accessible and inclusive way, leading to the development of the British Blind Sport Activity Finder.

Logan Gray, National Partnerships Manager of British Blind Sport said:

"Some of the biggest challenges facing VI people when searching for sports opportunities are knowing where to find information and when they do it is often inaccessible. We hope that the Activity Finder will be known as the UK's centralised database of activities that people with a visual impairment can be confident with, in one, easy-to-reach place. It will allow people to find local opportunities in a matter of clicks, making it really easy for VI people to find a local activity that they enjoy."

The British Blind Sport Activity Finder will launch in May 2019 with the purpose of being the leading source of information for users to locate VI friendly activities to get active and meet new people in their local area. The Activity Finder aims to positively impact on the levels of visually impaired people meeting the Chief Medical Officer's recommendations for physical activity and aims to become the most popular tool on the market for locating VI inclusive sports sessions in the UK. Once live, the Activity Finder will help people to search their local area to find inclusive sports clubs and activities which support VI people, making it even easier to choose an activity for them.

The Activity Finder will become embedded into the highly accessible British Blind Sport website, building upon the growing number of resources making sport and activity more accessible for people living with a visual impairment. These include; the an events finder, Find a Guide national guide runner database, educational resources, e-Learning courses, research publications and an accessible online store - where visitors can purchase a range of specialised equipment to aid their sporting endeavours.

Alaina MacGregor, Chief Executive Officer of British Blind Sport said:

"At British Blind Sport we are very aware of the need for accessible tools to encourage increased participation in sport and physical activities. The Activity Finder will help even more people living with sight loss to find inclusive sports opportunities in their local area. We anticipate the Activity Finder will become the most popular page on our website, attracting a high volume of traffic and creating an exciting opportunity for clubs to gain greater awareness. We expect a wide range of users, who could be actively searching for their next sporting adventure or even considering taking part in a physical activity for the very first time. We are urging on all of our partners from national to community level who will welcome people with visual impairments to register clubs and activities, whether their activities are VI or sensory specific, pan-disability or pride themselves on being open to anybody."

Clubs and coaches, who wish to recruit people with a visual impairment to their sessions, are now able to register their club information with the Activity Finder by submitting a completed registration form at https://britishblindsport.org.uk/club-registration/.