FFSA wins FIA EmPowering Disabled Motor Sport

Introduced this year, the FIA ​​EmPowering Disabled Motor Sport Award aims to recognize and reward initiatives that make motorsport more accessible to people with disabilities.
 
This award, supported by the FIA ​​Disability and Accessibility Commission and its President Nathalie McGloin, is part of the #PurposeDriven movement launched by the FIA ​​to improve the contribution of motorsport and mobility to society, particularly in terms of diversity and inclusion. 
 
Applications were open to companies or individuals operating anywhere in the world and meeting at least one of the following criteria: organization or delivery of running events dedicated to people with disabilities; significant support to facilitate them (equipment loan or grant, philanthropic actions, sponsorship, guidance, etc.); design or engineering of vehicle adaptations; training, courses or advice to help them practice motorsport.
 
Among all the applications, the jury chose the FFSA International Handikart Trophy as the winner of this first edition. This Trophy was created in 2014 to facilitate media coverage of handikart among the general public and to encourage people with disabilities to discover this sport. This initiative was part of the program set up in 2001 by the FFSA to integrate the greatest number of people into the different disciplines of motorsport and particularly in the Karting.
 
The jury also praised the quality of the numerous applications received. In addition to the winner, the other candidates present remarkable initiatives, in line with the strategy of the FIA ​​Disability and Accessibility Commission, which intends to help them develop their project in the future.
 
FIA President Jean Todt said: “I would like to warmly congratulate the FFSA International Handikart Trophy for winning the first FIA EmPowering Disabld Motor Sport prize. The FIA ​​is strongly committed to recognizing and rewarding those who make motorsport more accessible. I hope that this new prize and its first winner will serve as a catalyst for awareness and progress in this direction.”
 
The President of the Disability and Accessibility Commission, Nathalie McGloin, declared: “ I am very happy to present this Prize to an organization as deserving as the FFSA International Handikart Trophy. Since its inauguration in 2018, our Disability and Accessibility Commission has worked tirelessly to increase the number of disabled people in motorsport. To truly bring lasting change, we need initiatives like this competition dedicated to disabled pilots. As a result of this program, some of them were able to participate in high-level FIA championships. I would like to personally thank the organizers of the FFSA International Handikart Trophy for their dedication and hope that this award will inspire other initiatives that will help our Commission achieve its ambition of making motorsport accessible to all.”
 
The President of the French Motorsport Federation, Nicolas Deschaux declared: “The FFSA and I are honored to receive this first FIA EmPowering Disabled Motor Sport Award. This prize rewards the work put in place by the Federation in developing the practice of karting for people with disabilities, with the flagship International Handikart Trophy, organized in France for 4 seasons now. I would like to highlight our Handikart Working Group, chaired by Mr. Alain Nicolle, who through his dedication in organizing this event, allowed the Federation to receive this honor. I would also like to congratulate the other applications which were presented for their investment in the deployment of sporting practices dedicated to people with disabilities and to thank the FIA ​​Prizes Committee which selected our application. We must all continue on this path, to perpetuate the practice of disabled sports. »