To send disabled Badminton players to The 4 Nations games which are held across the UK throughout the year.
by Wayne Carson in Wigan, England, United Kingdom
Next year The Special Olympics are holding an event to mark the 40 year anniversary of GB Special Olympics and 50 years for The Worldwide Special Olympics.This is being held in Stirling,Scotland in August and they are hoping to have about 1200 athletes and 400 coaches attend.If we could raise any extra funds to offset the cost of sending our players there that would be fantastic .
We want to send disabled badminton players to The 4 Nations games which are held across the UK throughout the year. These games allow people who have physical and mental disabilities the chance to compete in a safe environment with other players and hopefully win some medals.
Our club was formed about four years ago when some of the players from Bolton Lads and Girls Club reached the upper age limit to take part. Most of our players live in the Wigan borough with three coming from Bolton, St Helens and Southport. There are 11 of us in total who travel to matches, with two young people now joining who are still at school.
Of course we want to bring some medals home, but there's so much more to this story. Many of our players find it difficult to gain employment and enjoy a full social life due to their disabilities and so spend a lot of time at home. Going with a group, competing and socialising at night over a meal gives our players a chance to experience something different from their everyday lifestyles.
One of our players, Catherine, spoke to David Cameron in the Rose Garden of 10 Downing Street in 2014 when we were traveling to the Summer Games in Antwerp - where she went on to win Gold in the doubles! She told him that these events give them all a chance to socialise together, not only at matches but also at weekends as friends.
The club recently attended The Special Olympics Summer Games held in Sheffield this August, as part of the North West team. We won 5 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze and various ribbons for the lower places (everyone gets something). It is evident that these players put their everything into competing. To compete in these games, which are held every four years, they must attend at least two of The 4 Nations competitions and this is our goal. We want to offset the cost as much as possible and allow these people the chance to concentrate fully on training without the financial worry.
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