Damian Ng (SportsAble)
When SportsAble had to close due to the pandemic, charity members were devastated. Up stepped Damian Ng, to run functional fitness classes via Zoom.
Damian devised fully inclusive workouts for people with a broad range of disabilities. He helped them maintain mobility to accomplish tasks for daily living thereby retaining their independence. 56 sessions, for 8-10 people, ran from March to October. Two 45-minute sessions each week gave much needed social interaction.
Before every session, Damian would open the Zoom room about half an hour early so that attendees could see each other and chat. This provided them with much-needed social interaction.
Damian's passion for keeping disabled people active and connected comes from his own personal experience. Born with Achondroplasia (also known as Dwarfism), Damian had to undergo major surgical operations at a young age.
In 2001, he was advised to join SportsAble swimming sessions as a form of rehabilitation and physiotherapy. Although reluctant at first, because his first love was to play rugby, Damian eventually joined the charity in 2001. It didn't take many swimming sessions before Damian realised he had a talent and a passion for swimming which turned into total commitment.
His swimming career saw him win many national swimming championships and he even made it to the Beijing 08 Paralympic trials.
Now Damian's passion to keep disabled people connected and active helped many feel well during the pandemic.
