In a stunning celebration of the life and achievements of swimming champion Stephen Donovan and his mum and carer, Cathy Donovan, “Filming Our Future” explores the way that sport and physical activities can drive inclusion and community cohesion.
This captivating new 15-part disability-led documentary series by Screenwest and Carers WA aims to ensure individuals, families and friends in caring roles and communities have the best opportunity to thrive and have the capacity to respond to emerging needs and challenges.
Steve, who lives with Down Syndrome, began swimming as a nine-year-old. He went on to compete both nationally and internationally representing Australia on four separate occasions at the Down Syndrome International Swimming Organisation (DSISO) World Championships. Steve had a ten year career and among many other awards held a total of 23 Open T1 world records.
“Now that he is retired it is very important to keep that fitness going,” says his mum Cathy. That’s why she got him involved with Range of Motion, a health facility that supports people of all abilities in a wide range of disciplines and sports.
Cathy says that, “The good thing about Range of Motion is that the exercise is fun. You can do fun things like flipping tyres and climbing ropes and dangling from bars. His current mentor is John. There has obviously been a lot of thought put into who would be a good mentor for Steve. It seems to be going really well and Steve is happy.”
Cathy goes on to say, “I think sometimes people put limitations on what someone can achieve and people with Down Syndrome these days are living really full lives. Steve is motivated to achieve his goals so off he goes.”
