Disability
In association with GMB, Charlton Athletic's disability partners
The ever-increasing number of disabled people wishing to come and watch football at The Valley is a testament to Charlton's effort to promoting inclusion.
The Addicks are fully committed to meeting their duties and responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the club's disability programme now rightly replicates the other community initiatives with which the club have been involved in recent years.
Disability Liaison Officer
A disability liason officer deals with all ticket and general enquiries relating to disability issues and providing liaison with away clubs to assist disabled supporters traveling to games at other grounds.
The work of the disability liaison officer is very much based on a social rather than medical model of disability, and this is filtering through the club in its day to day activities.
For ticket information call 0870 226 1905.
Spectator Facilities
Since Charlton's return to The Valley in 1992 the ground has changed out of all recognition and disabled people have benefited as much as anyone from the improvements.
Until 2002, the club provided 30 wheelchair positions at pitchside in the west stand, 20 at the rear of the est stand and seven for away supporters halfway up the Jimmy Seed stand.
With the opening of the new north stand however, a further 47 places have become available at the rear of the north-east amd north-west quandrants.
Both these areas are served by two fully fire-protected lifts, with the added benefits of access to all floors, including hospitality and concourse areas where refreshments are available. All have low level counters and dedicated, adapted toilet facilities.
The north stand positions provide uniterrupted views of the pitch, which is often not the case elsewhere, even with new stands.
Indeed, The Valley's north stand is in many respects a future industry standard and it forms the basis of a national lobby by disabled supporters as part of a fundamental review of stadium design.
Charlton can now accomodate disabled people with a range of mobility difficulties.
Both season ticket and matchday facilities are available to wheelchair and ambulant disabled people at a variety of locations around the ground.
Ticketing And Parking
Charlton's pricing policy is consistent across all disability groups, with the disabled supporter being the one who pays a concessionary rate while essential helpers gain free admission.
The club have made arrangements for disabled parking for up to 43 cars on-site at locations in both the west and east stands, including a number for away supporters.
This far exceeds any London club, but still falls short of current demand.
Commentary
Charlton's commitment to blind and visually-impaired supporters is by means of a transmitter and reciever system.
This means that supporters can sit at any location around the ground rather than be restricted to one particular section that a loop system would operate in.
A dedicated commentary has been made available since the beginning of the 2001/02 season, which means that it takes consideration of the target audience and orientates the supporter, rather than just offering a straight description of the game.
CADSA
The club has fully supported the activities of the Charlton Athletic Disabled Associtaion (CADSA) - a fully recognised branch of Charlton Athletic Supporters' Club (CASC) - since its formation in June 1999.
This has helped the organisation to become one of the most pro-active in the country.
With the club and CASC's support, CADSA raised in excess of £15,000 in 2001 to convert, for its members use, a fully accessible and adapted executive coach, owned by Camberwell-based firm Redwing.
It has enabled many disabled fans to travel to away matches for the first time.
This unique initiative has been welcomed by the Disability Rights Commission as a great example of social integration in the national game and a benchmark for other clubs to emulate.
Charlton and CADSA talk regularly in order that the club gets a true understanding of the expectations and aspirations of the full range of disabled supporters attending The Valley and the input is genuinely respected.
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