Your entry fee only covers the cost of running the event, so please consider fundraising. By doing so, you will be transforming the lives of physically disabled children and newly injured adults, like Malachy and Laura.
Malachy from West Sussex attended his first WheelPower National Junior Games in 2023 along with his grandmother and guardian, Lucy. Malachy has Spina bifida hydrocephalus malformations and scoliosis, so he is disabled from the chest down. He goes to a specialist school for children with Cerebral Palsy and Spina Bifida, but doesn’t get a lot of access to sport and activity.
Here is what Lucy had to say about Malachy’s time at the National Junior Games:
He is absolutely loving it and he’s tried pretty much everything. Even the Hand cycling that took three of us to get him into the hand cycle, but once in he managed it really well. I watched him as he went around the track 3 times which was amazing, and I cried
Attending WheelPower events doesn’t just carry benefits for the participants, it can be a life changing experience for their friends and family too.
Here is what Lucy had to say about her experience attending the Games:
I didn’t think there was a lot of hope going forward, but this event has given me so much. Every person I have spoken to has given me leaflets or telephone numbers, or email addresses or clubs that we can get to nearer to home. I’ve found that we’ve got archery club near us, we’ve got tennis about half an hour away, we’ve got opportunities that we’d never thought we’d have, and now we can explore different avenues he wants to go down in the future
Laura attended the WheelPower - Inter Spinal Unit Games in 2023 with the Belfast team. In October 2022 Laura sustained an incomplete spinal cord injury after being involved in a car accident.
Prior to her injury, Laura lived an active lifestyle with Irish Dancing, Swimming, Yoga and the gym being part of her fitness regime so it was no surprise that once discharged from hospital, Laura wanted to get involved with sport and physical activity again.
Here’s Laura thoughts on the impact attending the games had on her:
You are told that your whole mobility has completely changed and then you see yourself doing things that you never thought you'd be able to do, it's such an amazing sense of achievement. When you're in the hospital bed you're like my whole life has changed, nothing's going to be the same … so to see sport opening so many doors for you, is an amazing feeling
Malachy and Laura's stories are just two examples of the transformative effect that WheelPower's work has on those with a physical disability and by taking part in the Tour de Vale and fundraising, you too can help transform the lives of disabled people through movement, activity and sport.
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