North West Under 15 and Under 19 Gold Medal Winning Teams
25th to 27th July 2014 has been an amazing weekend for Junior League Wheelchair Basketball.
Stoke Manderville Stadium in Aylesbury hosted the Lord’s Taverners’ Junior Championships, in the usual superb style.
There are photos of the event on our Facebook page, website and hopefully you’ll be able to read about us in the local press. Because of all this, I want to present some different views. Before I do, though, I want to thank everyone who was involved in the event. All the players, coaches, team managers, referees, table officials, caterers, dorm supervisors, parents, carers and everyone else involved, should be very proud to be a part of this event. I’d love to list everyone here, but it wouldn’t make for a very interesting read…. Sorry!
So, this year, 10 regions entered teams to the Under 15 year olds tournament, and 12 regions entered the Under 19s.
Can you imagine a larger gathering of kids with disabilities?
Stoke Manderville Stadium, with it’s Paralympic history, is the obvious choice of accessible venue for this. Throughout the weekend, the edges of the two courts became a dumping ground of daytime wheelchairs, kit bags, orthotic devices and discarded prosthetic limbs. One of the most difficult things for kids to deal with is the issue of body confidence. Obviously, given the regularity of media articles on this subject, it is pertinent to all ages, but adolescents have the hardest time. The prevalence of eating disorders is a serious worry for all parents and so feeling your teenager has some degree of body confidence has to be reassuring. I’ve spent time in schools. Teenage girls wear more make-up than film stars. They spend ages straightening their hair, getting spray tans, acrylic fingernails, false eyelashes, ‘Sharpie-marker’ eyebrows and tottering around on platform heels in a cloud of perfume; boys sprouting beards , dealing with acne and trying to handle hair-gel. And despite all this, these kids are still insecure.
Any sporting tournament is a big event, all the participants give time and energy to prepare and to participate. All the children proudly representing their regions worked exceptionally hard to get into their teams. For children with disabilities, particularly if these are physical and obvious, life can be full of added challenge. People who should know better will stare, and for already self-conscious teens, this is wearing. It is equally irksome and particularly irritating for the parents of these teens too. A friend of mine once told me of someone, – a stranger- berating her for scolding her son, who was misbehaving, as young kids tend to do. This stranger felt that my friend shouldn’t be reprimanding her child because he uses a powered wheelchair, and therefore, in the eyes of this outsider, could not possibly be misbehaving. Reality check…. having a medical problem, a body which looks different, doesn’t work the same way as others, or has parts missing, does not mean an inability for mischief. For any other parent, not correcting an erring child would be considered neglectful. You wouldn’t allow your toddler to climb the furniture or on the windowsills, so why is it okay if your toddler has shortened, deformed limbs? Inclusion for disabled people should cover all aspects of life. Parents of disabled children ignore the pitying looks, smile saccharin-sweetly at the words of encouragement, and the ‘I don’t know how you cope…’ because it doesn’t help. There is no easy way to explain. You cope because you cope! It’s not like there’s a choice. Attending an event like the Lord’s Taverners’ Junior Championships puts parents together. There’s no need to discuss diagnoses, nobody is going to want details of your child’s condition, or ask how you cope. No-one is going to look askance at you if you tell your one-legged teenager not to hop down the staircase. We all know that you can’t tell teens what to do anyway, and for all the kids facing life with differences, we know they are finding their own ways to do things.
When you have a baby, you want for them to sit up, to crawl, to walk. Developmental milestones are ticked off by the medical professionals. But if your baby skips one, doesn’t crawl, or is a bum-shuffler, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. If your child gets around on their hands, swinging a leg-less torso between them, how can that be wrong? They’re still independently moving! And all this is why disability sports tournaments and clubs are so important. In a sports hall of teenagers, I’ve never seen so much effortless body confidence. Prosthetic limbs were shown off in shorts or discarded when their owners took to sports-wheelchairs. The problem of excess trouser-leg fabric was solved by simply tying a large knot, or tucking them under. A high-five at a basket scored could be a left-handed affair if one of the participants has a hand deficiency, or reduced arm control. There was even a very well-behaved assistance dog in attendance, although he wasn’t allowed on court!
In the 33 degree heat of the hottest weekend in a long time, all these kids gave their all to the game they all obviously loved. Many went home disappointed at not winning. All of them went home with certificates for participating and the admiration of everyone there, and quite a few probably went home sporting new bruises due to contact with the floor following sporting altercations, and enthusiastic game play. I hope all the players also went home more content with who they are.
Disability sports groups are nurturing families. All parents are proud of their kids, and none more-so than parents of potential future sporting heroes.
Despite the success of the Paralympic Games, disability sports still lack publicity and media coverage. I say if you want to see radiating joy, and achievement in bucket-loads, no matter where you are in the world, you’ll search out groups like ours. Being proud of who you are and what you can achieve is the biggest boost to body confidence you can ever get, so support your local clubs, because for the North West Regional Under 15 and Under 19 teams, winning the Gold, and achieving happiness, is infectious!
Cumbria Wheelchair Sports Club is proud to be associated with members of the Gold Winning Teams.
Here’s the Role of Honor!
North West U19 Team
Head Coach: Josie Cichockyj
Assistant Coach: Nick Howard
Team Manager: Colin Pattinson
Pat Deacon (Manchester Mavericks)
Holly McGrady (Carlisle Panthers)
Nathan Maguire (Carlisle Panthers)
Adam McGrath (Vikings)
Nat Pattinson (Carlisle Panthers)
Ben Taylor (Carlisle Panthers)
Gregg Warburton (Oldham Owls)
Lucas Warburton (Wigan Warthogs)
Samantha Wilson (Carlisle Panthers)
Jenny Wilson (Manchester Mavericks)
North West U15 Team
Head Coach: Paula Johnson
Assistant Coach: Julian Mattinson
Team Manager: Emma Tomkinson
Finley Tonner (Manchester Mavericks)
Callum Doherty (Vikings)
Jack Tate (Vikings)
Lewis Craddock (Vikings)
Tyler Baines (Carlisle Panthers)
Lauryn Beattie (Carlisle Panthers)
Louis Telford (Wigan Warthogs)
Callum Fairweather (Vikings)
Ethan Pattinson (Carlisle Panthers)
Joel Pattinson (Carlisle Panthers)
Not forgetting, Carlisle Panthers players Dylan Cummings and Carrie Cannon who represented Scotland.
All the players names can be found using the following links.
cumbria wheelchair sports 