Pressalit has sponsored disabled athletics for years through a tight cooperation with The Danish Disabled Athletic Federation (DHIF), but with the new Pressalit Sports Academy, more ambitious goals have been set. The establishment of the academy is based on cooperation between Pressalit Group, DHIF and Team Denmark. The academy is one step on the road to placing Denmark among the very best at the next Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008, but also to raise the current level of the Danish disabled athletics elite in general.
DHIF’s Elite Committee has selected 16 athletes from different sports to participate in the training at the academy. They will learn to optimize their athletic achievements among other things through mental coaching and better planning of their training.
Pressalit Group sponsors the project with 3.2 million DKK until 2008. "The disabled athletes inspire Pressalit and represent excellent ambassadors for the Keep Living philosophy. We as a company want to support exceptional people, who illustrate how small things do not get in the way of great achievements", Dan Boyter said when elaborating on the background for Pressalit’s involvement in the project.
Keep Living ambassador for some years and medallist at the Paralympic Games, Rene Nielsen, characterized Pressalit Sports Academy as innovative and visionary, and he saw great potential for elite disabled athletics. "Pressalit Sports Academy will contribute to increasing respect for disabled athletics and hopefully create more acceptance and recognition of disabled people."
The Keep Living Award
Creating more respect for disabled athletics was also mentioned as a main point by the winner of the Keep Living award 2005, the 29 year old racing cyclist, Karen Jacobsen. The Keep Living award is named after Pressalit Care’s payoff and is also sponsored financially by Pressalit Care. Karen Jacobsens positive attitude and charisma lightened up the room several times, but no doubt remained that this was a person of seriousness and with great ambitions.
Dan Boyter explained the reasons for Karen Jacobsen being the winner of the Keep Living award as follows: "In Pressalit Care, we believe that many limitations can be overcome with the right attitude and the right facilities. That it is possible to express oneself fully as a person despite a disability. Once in a while we meet people who through their life illustrate this better than words can describe. Karen Jacobsen is a one of those "Keep Living"-persons, and I am very happy to give her the Keep Living award 2005."
Karen Jacobsen was touched and proud to receive the Keep Living award, which she regarded as an important recognition of disabled athletics that would hopefully inspire others. "My main motivation is clearly to be able to create more respect for the sport and inspire other disabled people to believe in themselves." The 20,000 DKK included in the award will be used for a new bike. Her goal for 2006 is clear: to win gold at the World Championship in September.