Representatives of the British Paralympic Association and UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Dennis Assanis officially signed a partnership agreement at a Nov. 21 conference. The University will host the British Paralympic team while they train and prepare for the Summer 2028 Games in Los Angeles. 

UCSB will host upward of 400 ParalympicsGB team members. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus

Athletes will share campus facilities with students, including the Recreation Center, San Joaquin Villages and Portola Dining Commons. Paralympics Great Britain (ParalympicsGB) traces its origins back to the Stoke Mandeville games in 1948, a precursor to the modern-day Paralympics. In the 2024 Paris Olympics, ParalympicsGB placed second on the medal stand with over half of their athletes medaling. 

The signing capped off over three years of searching and work by ParalympicsGB, who first toured UC Santa Barbara in August 2022. According to ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission for the 2028 games Penny Briscoe, UCSB will host upward of 400 ParalympicsGB team members, including 180 to 200 athletes.

UCSB facilities staff, community leaders and students were present for the announcement. Director of Marketing and Communications for UCSB Housing, Dining and Auxiliary Enterprises Kirsten Brinlee spoke first, stating that the University “couldn’t be more proud to be hosting these world-class athletes.” She also said the partnership “embodies a shared commitment to excellence, determination and the spirit of sport.”

Next, UCSB Chancellor Dennis Assanis shared his excitement for UCSB to host British Paralympians. According to Assanis, this partnership is particularly special to him because of his connection to the Olympics through his Greek heritage and ties to Britain, where he attended college.  

“This partnership is a profound opportunity for us. It allows us to open our doors and our facilities to some of the planet’s most inspiring athletes. It is a chance for our students, our staff, our community to witness their preparation first hand,” Assanis said. “We’ll witness all these efforts first hand, and it’s a moment for us to jump in inclusion, access and the high performance that defines the Paralympic movement.”

In an interview with the Daily Nexus, Assanis elaborated on UCSB’s commitment to accessibility and their shared goals with ParalympicsGB. He also emphasized the positive impacts the partnership will bring to campus and the community 

“Here in Santa Barbara, we’re so committed to inclusive excellence … this epitomizes everything we stand for. It’s a shared vision, shared mission, to lead all people to success in spite of their physical abilities or disabilities,” Assanis said. “If we need to make some improvements [to campus], the good news is they’re here to stay. They will last forever for our people, our students. So it’s great. It’s also great for all the opportunities for students and faculty and staff to volunteer, community members to engage those people, to host those, to learn about different cultures.”

Briscoe then went over the history of the Paralympics and ParalympicsGB as well as how they settled on UCSB. According to Briscoe, ParalympicsGB were impressed by the “warmth of the welcome” from UCSB as well as the facilities, accommodations and dining on campus.

“[UCSB is] a flat campus. It’s hugely accessible for our athletes and staff members. The facilities, the accommodation, the dining, it’s safe and secure,” Briscoe said. “We’ve got intellectually impaired athletes, we’ve got visually impaired athletes, we’ve got athletes in wheelchairs. This environment for us represents the optimal team environment for which we will prepare for the LA games and that is hugely exciting.”

At the end of the event, Clark, Briscoe and Assanis signed the contract, finalizing the partnership. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus

CEO of ParalympicsGB Dave Clarke added that they often have to fight for disability accommodations, but he has found that the UCSB administration and community “are on exactly the same page.” He briefly spoke about ParalympicsGB’s social impact work beyond the Paralympic games.

“What’s the point in winning all the medals if you can’t get the train to work? And I don’t know if it translates into [United States] language, but I meant it in terms of, ‘If this is not transcending life in the jobs [people with disabilities] get, the education they get, the health care they get, the life they lead, then we need to make sure there is a link,’” Clarke said. “If you can accept high performance on the field of play, you need to be able to accept the opportunity to be high performing in life, and that comes from removing barriers to success and barriers to living an ordinary life.”

At the end of the event, Clark, Briscoe and Assanis signed the contract, finalizing the partnership between UCSB and ParalympicsGB. Clarke then gifted Assanis a glass plaque recognizing the partnership. 

In an interview with the Nexus, Briscoe shared her excitement for athletes and students to live in shared spaces. She also reiterated that ParalympicsGB is looking forward to using UCSB as staging ground for the 2028 Games.

“We’re trying to ensure that balance between student access to the facilities that they pay for and obviously the facilities that we’d like to use, so it will be a co-share, and I think that is hugely exciting for students and athletes to be in the same facilities at the same time,” Briscoe said. “We really hope that our Paralympic athletes will inspire staff and students and the wider communities here in Santa Barbara.”