It feels safe to assume that, at this point, every person with a disability or chronic illness has been told at least once that they should simply try exercising more in order to address their health issues. In fact, being told by well-meaning strangers to try Yoga or Pilates is such a recurrent joke in the disability community that there are now T-shirts being sold with the slogan ‘Yes, I’ve tried Yoga!’. None of this is to say that exercise is not good for you; research from Public Health England found that for ‘disabled adults with physical and cognitive impairments physical activity is associated with increased cardiorespiratory fitness, improved muscular strength, improved functional skills, reduced disease risk and prevention, and improved psychosocial wellbeing and community.’ At the same time disabled people are twice as likely to be inactive as the general adult population. While some of this is due to the significant impact of some health conditions, there is also a broader issue of a lack of suitable sporting activities being available.

For those with lifelong conditions in particular, being unable to participate well (or at all) in school sports is likely to be a foundational memory, while any disabled or chronically ill person who has ever taken part in mainstream sports will be able to attest that on average there is a lack of disability awareness on behalf of sporting providers and instructors. As such parasports, that is, sporting activities designed with disabled people in mind, fill an important gap in mainstream provision. In this country, Channel 4’s showcasing of the Paralympics every 4 years has done much to raise awareness of the existence of a range of parasports. However, just like most weekend joggers aren’t engaging in Usain Bolt level training, most disabled people aren’t looking to become the next Hannah Cockroft or Alfie Hewett and train at an elite level. Club sports and beginner-level classes are just as important, if not on average more so, than facilities for elite pare-athletes. Sport England’s Active Lives survey for 2022-23 nevertheless highlighted that disabled adults feel they now have fewer opportunities to be active and take part in sports than in preceding years. If anything, this makes it more important to showcase areas of good practice where there are a range of sporting activities suitable for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions.

As someone who has had a number of lifelong physical impairments that were not diagnosed until I was 30, my general experience with organised sports of any kind has been one of frustration and resentment. My inability to reliably reproduce a Badminton serve no matter how often I tried was probably equally baffling to me and my longsuffering PE teacher and I was certainly never picked first for any sports team. Its therefore quite unsurprising that my adult sporting experiences involved a lot of half-hearted swimming and many abandoned gym memberships. However, after a long awaited surgery to corral at least one of my joints into a decent position and, upon the urging of my physiotherapist, I decided I should make a proper attempt to find a sport that doesn’t just involve swimming lanes over and over like a particularly uncoordinated goldfish. The wider Canterbury area is unusual, not just in the Southeast but in comparison to most of England, in offering multiple parasport opportunities outside a major metropolitan area. As such I ended up starting wheelchair rugby and para badminton in fairly quick succession. To this day I am still completely amazed by the immediate transformative impact of having coaches and instructors that are used to working with disabled people and those with chronic health issues. It is incredible what a difference it makes to not be the odd one out when participating in sports, but rather to take part in sports that are intentionally designed to be inclusive of people with a range of impairments and ability-levels. Being able to take part in organised sports has been enormously beneficial to both my physical and mental health, particularly at a time when things are especially stressful for many of us. Especially when working in academia, where there tends to be a lot of pressure and feedback is often on the critical side, it is wonderful to have a setting where one can make tangible progress on mastering a skill and improving one’s fitness level in a supportive and welcoming setting.

Below I would like to highlight three parasports activities that may be of interest to Kent staff and students:

Canterbury Hellfire Wheelchair Rugby Club.

(Development League match, Reading, 2024)

Wheelchair rugby, previously known as murderball, is by now a well-established parasport version of standard rugby. It is played in mixed-sex teams of either 4 or 5 players using special rugby wheelchairs. Unlike standard rugby it is not a person to person contact sport, although there is wheelchair to wheelchair contact. The sport is open to anyone with a physical disability, so there is no requirement that players have to be wheelchair users in their daily life. Anyone can come try out the sport for 4 sessions (practice is held at Canterbury College so it is not too far away) and all equipment is provided. Hellfire is a very friendly and inclusive team and coach Steve Brown is a former TeamGB wheelchair rugby captain, so very much an expert. You can watch Steve give a brief intro to wheelchair rugby. The club itself is a registered charity, so the membership fee after the 4 sessions is very low. For more details, including how to sign up for the practice sessions please see the club website. Hellfire is hosting this year’s Gill Laurie Cup against Brighton Buccaneers on the 15^th December from 11-4 at Canterbury Christ Church Sports Centre (Pilgrims Way, CT1 1XS). Anyone who would like to come watch a wheelchair rugby match is welcome to attend!

Canterbury Para Badminton

(UK Para-Badminton Championships, Sheffield, 2024)

Para badminton is a rapidly growing sport, suitable for a wide range of physical and intellectual disabilities. It is a modified version of standard badminton that allows players to be standing or use wheelchairs with more limited use of the badminton court compared to the standard game. In Canterbury, Para Badminton can be found at the Kings Canterbury Sports Centre, which offers reduced membership rates to Kent staff and students. Canterbury Para Badminton sessions are suitable for players at all experience levels and group coaching is provided for both standing and wheelchair players. There are sports wheelchairs and rackets available to borrow. Coach Lesley Uphill has experience of coaching for a range of disabilities and is also an Assessor for Badminton England.

Wheelchair Basketball 

Wheelchair basketball is a modified version of standard basketball, played using sports wheelchairs on a standard basketball court. It was initially designed as a sport for people with spinal cord injuries, but has since then been opened up to physical disabilities more generally. Maidstone Rebels Wheelchair Basketball Club is Kent’s only National League club, offering people living in the region the chance to play Wheelchair Basketball to a competitive level. The club is primarily for wheelchair users with upper body coordination, but non-disabled players are welcome.

There is also a wheelchair basketball team in Folkestone called the Folkestone Arrows. They are open to anyone with a physical disability and provide wheelchairs for players to borrow.

Please do get in contact if you are interested in taking part in any of the para sport activities highlighted or would just like more information.

Do you have something you are passionate about and would like to raise awareness of?  Get in touch via EqualityandDiversity@kent.ac.uk

First published December 2024 as part of Disability History Month activity