The event brought together partners from Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey to advance the project’s mission of promoting inclusive sports. This initiative focuses on training swimming coaches to work with children with intellectual disabilities and share best practices.The project is coordinated by BG AND SPORTS FOR ALL (Bulgaria) https://bgsportsforall.com, with partner organizations KARGENC CLUB (Turkey) https://kargenc.org/ and KINITIKO ERGASTIRI (Greece) https://www.kinitikoergastiri.gr/.

Key discussions and agenda items from the Sofia meeting included:

• Training Coaches: Sessions provided strategies for adapting swimming lessons for children with intellectual disabilities, including autism, Down syndrome, and other special educational needs, while addressing behavior management and communication challenges in water-based activities.
• Behavior in Water: Experts highlighted techniques to manage hypersensitivity to stimuli such as eye contact, touch, and sound, ensuring that children feel safe and comfortable during swimming lessons.
• International Sports Camp: The meeting also laid the groundwork for the upcoming international sports camping Nessebar, Bulgaria, in September 2025. This camp will involve 15 children with intellectual disabilities (five from each partner country) and serve as a platform to apply the project’s best practices.
• Best Practices and Problem Solving: Participants shared strategies to tackle communication challenges, repetitive behaviours, and crises during swimming sessions, while also discussing the importance of collaboration with parents in a supportive but non-intrusive manner.

The INSPIRE project is committed to ensuring that children of all abilities can enjoy and benefit from participation in sports. By training coaches and sharing experiences, the project aims to build inclusive communities across Europe.

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