Stoke Mandeville Stadium is the National Centre for Disability Sport in England. It is sited alongside
Stoke Mandeville Hospital
Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital located on the parish borders of Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, England. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.
It was established i ...
in
Aylesbury in
Buckinghamshire. Stoke Mandeville Stadium is owned by
WheelPower, the national organisation for wheelchair sport.
History
The stadium developed out of the Stoke Mandeville Games — the forerunner of the
Paralympic Games — founded in 1948 by
Ludwig Guttmann
Sir Ludwig Guttmann (3 July 1899 – 18 March 1980) was a German-British neurologist who established the Stoke Mandeville Games, the sporting event for people with disabilities (PWD) that evolved in England into the Paralympic Games. A Jewis ...
. He was a neurosurgeon at the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital who recognised the value of exercise and competition in the rehabilitation of ex-members of the British armed forces. By 1961 Guttmann had founded the
British Sports Association for the Disabled (now named
English Federation of Disability Sport
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) inow operating as Activity Alliance Activity Alliance brings our members, partners and disabled people together to make active lives possible. Collectively, the charity continues to challenge percep ...
), expanding the concept of organising sport for men, women and children with disabilities and developing Stoke Mandeville Stadium into an international centre of disabled sport. The stadium was officially opened by
Queen Elizabeth II on 2 August 1969.
When Sir Ludwig Guttmann died in 1980 the Stadium was renamed Ludwig Guttmann Sports Centre for the Disabled. In 1993 the Stadium hosted the first international ex-service wheelchair games, organised by the Royal British Legion and opened by King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan. In 2001, following a £10 million refurbishment, it was again renamed as "Stoke Mandeville Stadium". The
Paralympic mascot Mandeville is so named due to the legacy with the games.
BBC Wenlock and Mandeville
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Facilities
Facilities include a 400-metre outdoor running track, Cazenove Sports Hall, a 25m six-lane swimming pool, tennis courts and an indoor bowls arena. In addition the Stadium has its own "Olympic Village" accommodation for athletes and the Olympic Lodge Hotel and the Wolfson Conference Centre provide guest facilities.
1984 Summer Paralympic Games
Stoke Mandeville Stadium was one of the two venues of the VII Paralympic Games, the last of the Summer Paralympics not held in the same venue as the Summer Olympic Games.
See also
*IWAS World Games
The International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) World Games (or IWAS World Games) are a multi-sport competition for athletes with a disability, which were the forerunner of the Paralympic Games. The competition has been formerly known as t ...
References
Further reading
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External links
Stoke Mandeville Stadium websiteWheelPower website
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Buildings and structures in Buckinghamshire
Sports venues in Buckinghamshire
Sports venues completed in 1969
Paralympic Games
Sports science
1984 Summer Paralympics
Sports academies
Stadium
Parasports in England
1969 establishments in England