Read for the Off…

15th October 2019

On Sunday we said goodbye to Kitakyushu after a very successful first training camp. The city was fantastic and looked after us incredibly well – a big thank you to everyone, especially the staff at the Rhiga Royal Hotel and at the Kitakyushu sports centre. Also to the many citizens who greeted our arrival and who came to watch and to support us – some shown here talking to Head Coach Paul Shaw. ...

True Value

11th October 2019

We have developed a culture obsessed with measuring impact and value, and when the object of interest proves difficult to measure we often resort to using metrics which are easy to capture but in reality provide us with little true meaning. I am being tested at the moment on how to measure the social impact that my wheelchair rugby athletes can have on broader society – we know they inspire others but how do we prove we know? But consider this: Today with the GB Wheelchair Rugby team I visi...

Take Time to Enjoy the Moment

15th August 2019

Congratulations to the GB team who have just returned from Vejle in Denmark having been crowned European Champions for a third successive time. Throughout the tournament the team demonstrated by its performances why it is now ranked 4th in the world by winning the majority of its games by 20-30 tries. Perhaps unsurprisingly it was host nation Denmark in the final that presented the biggest challenge, but although having only led by just two tries at half time, GB took control to win the game by ...

Shut Out the Noise and Enjoy the Things Which Make You Happy

29th July 2019

It’s difficult not to sense an uneasiness in our country at the moment. Against a background of bigoted rhetoric and negativity, many ordinary people feel disempowered and down-hearted; their voices seemingly unheard and their hopes and aspirations in the hands, and at the mercy, of others. It is easy for us to be dragged down by things we are just unable to influence, and I admit that I have my black moments when I feel this deeply. So I am making a conscious effort to focus on the things whi...

Playing the Game and So Much More

2nd July 2019

Last weekend saw the Lord's Taverners Junior Wheelchair Rugby National Championships take place at Stoke Mandeville with 50 young people playing across 2 age groups – U14 and U18. This was the first tournament most of the U14s had ever played and they were understandably very excited and a little nervous at the same time. In the U14 final Northampton Saints chalked a win in the final over Scarlets 10-5, whilst Ospreys won over Mapleford Saints 11-8 to take 3rd place. The U18s competition was i...

GB Win Gold at Four Nations in USA

28th May 2019

There are many of us who will have related to the tweet on Saturday from one of the respected elders of our sport, himself a distinguished Paralympian, which read: ‘waited 20 years to start seeing our sides being successful overseas’.  Winning the Four Nations Tournament in Lakeshore Alabama this week was a big moment – not because the team suddenly has any illusions that the job is done and they are now top of the world, but because they have broken through what had become a see...