Sports and play are vital for children with a disability

We identify talent and give them the extra support they need to make their dreams come true. In many initiatives, the Foundation does this in cooperation with other parties, from local teams and sporting associations to NOC*NSF.

In 2015, the Foundation supported the following sports and activities: 

• Teams/foundations: judo, equestrian sport, bowling, football
• Schools: sport days, boot camp, sailing, outdoor weekend
• Sporting associations: skiing, snowboarding, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, cycling, table tennis, swimming, athletics

Highlights

• Opening of the 200th Cruyff Court at Mytylschool Drostenburg Amsterdam by Paralympic athlete Marlou van Rhijn
• Installation of mobile Cruyff Court for the opening of the newly renovated 150-year-old Emma Children’s Hospital
• Paralympic Talent Day with 34 talented sportsmen and women
• Opening of seven Special Cruyff Courts
• Construction of 27 Schoolyard14s for Special Education

Special Cruyff Courts

Special Cruyff Courts are modified Cruyff Courts built for special education institutions. They are adapted to be wheelchair-friendly, and may include an athletics track or hard basketball court. The modifications are made to meet the needs of the institution.
Last year, we opened the 200th Cruyff Court in Amsterdam. This Court was christened for top Paralympic athlete Marlou van Rhijn, who conducted the opening ceremony. The Marlou van Rhijn Court was one of the seven Special Cruyff Courts opened in 2015. Four Special Cruyff Courts have currently been approved.

Research

In the second half of 2015, the Foundation commissioned research agency Trendbox to look at the use of and appreciation for these special Courts.
This took the form of an online survey among professionals (directors, physiotherapists, teachers) and parents (in the end, a net total of 28 respondents).

Appreciation

• Average rating: 8.4
• Positive view of the options for users and the quality of the facility
• Seen as an enrichment for the school
• The Court has a positive impact on the health and general development of young people with disabilities
• Contributes to better integration of young people in society

Average use

• Five days per week
• 50% of children play on the Court at least once per week
• Six organised activities per week

Points for improvement

• Local users are sometimes rather careless with the Court Instances of vandalism or litter problems have been mentioned Cooperation with the community and the involvement of local residents could be better
• The signage on the fencing makes noise; the openings above the goal allow balls to be kicked out of the Court

Schoolyard14 in special education

For Special Education, we are developing forms of sport and games specifically oriented towards children with a disability. The sign with the 14 rules of Johan Cruyff includes braille and pictograms.
As from the start, 49 special education and/or care institutions received a Schoolyard14. Of these, 27 were completed in 2015 and 19 schools are currently working with the starter package.

Promoting sport opportunities

Giving as many children as possible the opportunity to come into contact with sport. The foundation is doing this in part through small-scale local projects, like supporting sports days at school for the disabled, the weekly G-boot camp at special primary education schools, local judo tournaments, and equestrian sports for children with a disability. The foundation is also providing equipment like sport wheelchairs.
The partnership with the seven sports associations (the Netherlands Ski Federation, the Netherlands Volleyball Association, the Dutch Athletics Association, the Netherlands Cycling Federation, the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation, the Netherlands Table Tennis Federation, and the Netherlands Basketball Association) has the primary focus of making each respective sport more accessible to children with a disability.
Twice per year, the activities are evaluated, and in review days held in December we discuss whether the defined results have been achieved, what we can do better, and the plans for the coming year.

Talent development

The Foundation partners with sports associations and NOC*NSF on talent development in a number of initiatives. One such initiative is the Paralympic Talent Intake project. The goal is to scout talent on an ongoing basis and train them effectively, coach them, and prepare them for victory at the Paralympic Games.

Dutch Athletics Association

• Twelve new clubs and clubs offering athletics activities for people with disabilities
• Eight new talented athletes in the talent training programs
• Of the 18 athletes who participated in the world championships in Doha, nine came from the talent development programs (partnership between the Cruyff Foundation and the Dutch athletics Association). Four earned medals, and two qualified for the Paralympic Games in Rio.

Netherlands Basketball Association

• Eight teams in the Cruyff Foundation Junior League

Royal Dutch Swimming Federation

• 875 children participated in Swimstar Special, a program introducing children with disabilities to various disciplines in the sport of swimming
• Nine swimmers in the Cruyff Foundation Talent Selection training weekly with the squad

Netherlands Ski Federation

• Twenty-five athletes registered for advanced lessons through the teams
• Two advanced from the Potentials Team to the National Squad
• Para-snowboarding offers a structure that allows athletes of various levels to develop their talents

NOC*NSF

• 34 participants at the Paralympics Talent Day
• 24 young children participating in the first Minors Day at Paralympic Talent Day; this initiative is intended to introduce the very youngest children, in a playful manner, to the various disciplines within Paralympic sport
• The Potentials4Pyeongchang program was launched during the Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi. Eight talented winter sport athletes from the Netherlands Ski Federation were there to energise their personal development into top athletes. In 2015, these athletes completed a number of workshops with Robin Ammerlaan, including: the team, sponsorship, and media.
• Paralympic Talent Identification meetings: 17 interested participants attended this program designed to find each individual their most appropriate sport.
• Talent review days: looking back and advising sporting associations on their training programs
• Talent scout team: active search for talent, advising and awareness campaigns

The contribution to the objectives of the Cruyff Foundation

Support of sport for the disabled was the Foundation’s original objective, and by supporting projects in sport the Foundation is still pursuing its goal of enabling as many young people with disabilities as possible to participate in sport. We are doing this with the Special Cruyff Courts, Schoolyard14, support of local projects, programs in partnership with sporting associations, and by providing modified sports equipment.
The objective of connecting with target groups through sport and games is very effectively addressed in projects revolving around sport for children with disabilities.
The sport projects that the Foundation supports make a positive contribution to the health, social interaction and personal development of children with disabilities. These are social themes that are part of the Foundation’s long-term vision.
Along with giving every child the chance to be active, another of the Foundation’s main goals is to help talented young people make their sporting ambitions come true. We do this in partnership with sporting associations and NOC*NSF. This is another area in which the principal focus is personal growth. Participation in talent programs not only gives the target group the chance to make their dreams come true, but also teaches them about important aspects like the team environment and integration with other athletes.

What can be improved?

• More comprehensive assessment of the impact; the goal is to launch a baseline assessment for 2016 to support the impact assessment of sport for the disabled, and to systematically assess this over the coming years
• In the partnership with the sporting associations, the communication objectives must be clear and straightforward
• More sporting associations must be encouraged to facilitate sport in forms modified for the disabled

Market developments

The activities for young people with disabilities are the most appreciated of the Foundation’s work, according to the Trendbox survey.* The Cruyff Foundation has 18 years of experience with sport for the disabled. Wherever possible, we actively seek partnership with other institutions to help us achieve the maximum possible.
2015 was another year in which the Cruyff Foundation received more applications than it could approve. This is a sign that the urgency remains as high as ever. This makes it our challenge to enter into partnerships that will result in more budget becoming available.
Sporting associations have indicated that in the coming years, it will be important to make sport through sports clubs more accessible for children with disabilities. At present, there is too little attention devoted to this at the local level.

2016 ambitions

• Raising the visibility of the impact of sport and activity on children with a disability
• Investigating a partnership with a health-care organisation to increase attention to the importance of a healthy lifestyle and a healthy weight

Risk management

Financial risks can arise independently or through the cooperation with other parties. We have drafted clear procedures for keeping the financial risks to a minimum. All parties receiving a financial contribution from the Cruyff Foundation sign an agreement governing the use of the name, payment schedule, obligations on material and financial reporting, and evaluations.
We try to circumvent partnership-related risks as much as possible by carefully investigating the trustworthiness of all potential new partners.

International

Since 2003, the Cruyff Foundation has been working with the International Tennis Federation (ITF). With two large international projects, we are helping introduce young disabled people to wheelchair tennis. These are:

Wheelchair Tennis Development Fund (WTDF)

Objective: to make wheelchair tennis accessible to the young disabled and to promote the sport in developing countries.

In 2015, we organised the following country programs:

• Cambodia: coaching session taken by 12 tennis coaches; clinic for juniors and adults; donation of tennis equipment to continue the program
• Botswana: coaching clinic given for seven coaches; tennis demonstrations and clinics in two disability centres with representatives of the ITF, the Paralympic committee, and various associations for the disabled in attendance
• Tanzania: existing program expanded into new areas

2016 Target

Send delegations back to Brazil, Morocco, and Vietnam to expand programs there into other cities and establish a focus on juniors.

Wheelchair Tennis Junior Programs

Our support of the Junior Program is helping the sport of youth wheelchair tennis to grow worldwide. We are driving this growth with projects like:

• Cruyff Foundation Junior Masters in Tarbes, France
• Cruyff Foundation International Junior Camps, California; training camp for 34 juniors from six countries (Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, USA, Canada, Colombia, and Guatemala)
• Cruyff Foundation International Junior Camp, Switzerland; training camp for 23 juniors from 11 countries
• World Team Cup
• National Junior Camps in Ghana, (50 juniors), Canada (10 juniors), Gambia, and Egypt

2016 Target

Our existing international juniors’ activities continue to be successful. These programs are extremely popular among juniors, and we expect the number of juniors on the international junior rankings to continue to grow. We hope that a number of juniors in the existing programs will participate in the Paralympic Games in 2020.

Points for improvement in the partnership with ITF

The various projects with ITF are producing a number of great success stories in all corners of the world. The ITF puts everything online, but the Cruyff Foundation is not getting enough mileage out of these stories. The Cruyff Foundation can communicate more, and better, about its partnership with the ITF.

Cruyff Foundation Spain

The Cruyff Foundation has a sister organisation in Barcelona, Spain. Like its sister organisation in the Netherlands, the Cruyff Foundation Spain (Fundación Cruyff) focuses on three core activities: Sport for the disabled, Cruyff Courts, and Schoolyard14.
In Sport for the disabled, the primary emphasis is on recreation and an introduction to the sport. The Fundación Cruyff focuses on the following sports: swimming, basketball, football, skiing, cycling, sailing, goalball, equestrian sport, hockey, climbing, synchronised swimming, athletics, and school multisports.