Who are we?
Bromley Wheelchair Rugby club has developed after being aware there are no opportunities for those with physical impairments to play Wheelchair Rugby in south/south- east London & north-west Kent area. The next closest club to Bromley is over an hour’s drive, which for many people with a physical impairment is not accessible. Disabled people are twice as likely to not participate in physical activity and without adequate opportunities to play this figure is lowered even further.
In addition, players who intent to play Wheelchair Rugby tend to have more severe disabilities and impairments including spinal injuries, limb deficiencies, muscular sclerosis and cerebral palsy to name a few, and in turn, would struggle to play other sports accommodated for those physical impairments such as Wheelchair Basketball or Wheelchair Tennis due to their lower function ability, meaning there are even fewer opportunities for meaningful sporting activity.
Why are we crowdfunding?
he club have put 4 volunteers through GBWR’s Level 1 Safe Session Course to ensure the level of coaching delivery is up to the NGB standards. In addition to gaining this qualification, GBWR have arranged for a Level 2 coach from a different club and former GB paralympic athlete to act as a coaching mentor for the new club coaches to develop their wheelchair rugby skills and provide invaluable guidance and support.
The club have not only linked with the NGB but have built relationships with other key partners to help with the promotion of the club and aiding with finding new players. Some partners include Bromley Local Authority Sport and Leisure Department, Back Up Trust, CP Sport, Limbless Association, Wheel Power to name a few. The club would like to link with a local running rugby club to provide additional support and promotion.
The club intend to have a strong online presence with a detailed website and regular postings on social media. In addition to online promotion, the club will deliver local outreach where appropriate by providing taster sessions, information stands, speaking at events etc to raise awareness.
How many people will benefit in total?
Please note; if we fund your project you will need to report on its success so you should keep records of the number of people who benefitted and tell us about the impact on them.
The area of east London and north-west Kent has 10% of the UK population of our target audience. Each year these numbers are added to by 4400 individuals nationally, meaning there are 440 individuals each year being added to that total. However, we are aware that it is increasingly more difficult to engage with those with disabilities and are not to expect numbers as large as this.
The average GBWR club has roughly 10-15 players and within our first year we hope to gain the same number of regular participants. As the years expand, we would aim to increase our offering to wider age ranges and aim to increase the member database of up to 50 players.
How we’ll spend the money raised
Budget breakdown (up to £15000)
Wheelchair Rugby Chair x3 = £10500 (standard wheelchair rugby chair is £3500)
9 months hall hire = £4560 (£60 p/h x2 hour p/w x 38 weeks
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Community impact
Bromley Wheelchair Rugby Club will be used at the catalyst for other positive intentions. The club will be used to improve the physical wellbeing of the players not only for sport focused activities but to assist them physically in everyday life eg transferring in and out of chairs, pushing up hill, increasing stamina on longer walks/pushes, building muscle mass which may have been lost etc.
Our intention for the club is it to become a social hub for players and not just a place they come to play sport. After being involved in the Wheelchair Rugby community for 15 years as my step-son was/is a player of the sport, I am aware of how social the sport is. From attending weekly sessions to traveling to national and international competitions together and attending social events outside of the club related activities, Wheelchair Rugby clubs are the starting point for so much outside of playing the sport and we intend for Bromley Wheelchair Rugby club to be just that and will actively encourage this side of delivering a club.
Overall, we want players attending the club to have a sense of belonging. Although the social model of disability has come a long way, it is still sometimes difficult for people with physical impairments to truly feel they belong in certain situations and circumstances due to not having others around truly understand their needs, a place not physically adapted to suit their needs or a sport for example not being able to cater for their needs. What is incredible about Wheelchair Rugby is that anyone with a physical impairment can play, not just those with a certain ability level of physical impairment can play.
If players decide to leave the club in the future, we would have hoped the club would have provided them with a supporting network that continues after the leave. Whether that be the advice or guidance they’ve received from others, the confidence to be independent again, a fighting spirit to not settle and peruse what they want, lasting friendships or being physically fitter and healthier, we hope the club will leave a positive and potentially life-changing impact.
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How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!