Stoke Mandeville Games (unedited).

The Stoke Mandeville Games, 1972 took place in the same summer as the IVth Paralympic Games which were held in Heidelberg, West Germany, 2-11 August, parallel to the ‘official’ games. The footage, made by an unknown person, features disabled participants taking part in the shot put, discus, javelin, archery, track races and basketball. Events have players who are either standing or seated. Proceedings are well organised with participants having numbers pinned to their clothing and performances being recorded. The film also gives a brief glimpse of the scale of participation and attendance at the Stoke Mandeville Games – the audience for some events is at times many people deep. Towards the latter half of the film, there is an awards ceremony (although, unfortunately the film has no audio, which would have helped in the identification of winners). The presentation of the medals takes place encircled by a number of national flags and there are also a few identifiable teams with matching track suits. It is a relatively informal affair. There are also exterior views of the 'Stoke Mandeville Sports Stadium for the Paralysed and Other Disabled'.