Herts Disability Sports Forum for Young People 16 May 2014

The Herts Disability Sports Forum for Young People exists to support individuals with disabilities, and organisations delivering sport to disabled people, to get involved in sport and physical activity in Hertfordshire. The forum has representation from the county’s Project Ability School, Special Educational Need Schools, Local Authority Sports Development Officers and the Herts Sports Partnership; and invites officers from local sports clubs, National Governing Bodies and Advisory Services to its meetings on a regular basis. The forum works to four themes; support of Project Ability, talent ID/taster days, increasing participation and the support of community and clubs.Nominal amounts of funding are available for clubs to apply for through the group, to support ventures that aim to increase participation in sport among the disabled community. This newsletter aims to share information about activities and events taking place to the wider community.

Wheelchair Dance Sport in Welwyn Hatfield!The Wheelchair Dance Sport Association (UK) is happy to announce the launch of our ‘Tedwood Wheelchair Teddy Bear’, the mascot for our children’s membership known as The Tedwood Club. The Tedwood Club is a great opportunity for children with disabilities and able-bodied children alike to take part in a fun and exciting event in their community.

Tedwood’s aim is to get more children with disabilities involved with wheelchair dance, as well as raising awareness of disabilities to able-bodied children. Wheelchair Dance is something that can be done in a wheelchair and on your feet, so everybody can dance together.

From 2pm to 4pm on Saturday 31 May, there will be the chance to come and meet the real life Tedwood at our

Adam Edney awarded for his Perseverance, Determination and SuccessAdam Edney, 14 years old from Royston was awarded the trophy for perseverance, determination and success during the Eastern Region Athletics DSE Championships, held in Chelmsford on Saturday 10 May 2014.

Representing Special Olympics East Herts (SOEH), Adam won two gold medals and one bronze medal; gold in the 1500m and 800m runs, with a bronze medal in the long jump, measuring 2.97 metres.

26 SOEH athletes in total travelled to Chelmsford to take part in the competition, and for many of the athletes it was their first competition. Age groups included Primary, U14, U16, U18, U20 and Senior. SOEH returned home with 25 gold, 19 silver and 11 bronze medals.

Jack Smith (Primary), Conor Wills (U20), and Emma Large (U20) all won three gold medals, while Adam Edney (U16), Grace Gypps (Primary), Ellie Berry (U16) and Billy Elford (Senior) all won two gold medals. One gold went to John Baldwin (Primary), Sam Wilson (U20), Chris Thornton (U18), William Philips (Senior), Luke Rogers (U18), Kyle Vinyard (U18), Charlie Forgione (U20), and William Philips (Senior).

Three silver medals were presented to Luke Rogers (U18). Two silver medals went to Luke Cooper (U16), Susannah Mew (U20), Mitchell Wright (U20), Kyle Vinyard (U18), and Chris Thornton (U18). Zak Guy (Senior), John Baldwin (Primary), Lucy Goodman (Senior), Max Anker (U16), Grace Gypps (Primary), and Harry Herbert (U14) all took home one silver medal. Debra Dann (Senior) and Sam Cawdell (U14) won bronze medals. Ifepo Koleade finished in 4th, with Daniel Carr-Sheen and Jamie Henderson finishing in 5th places.

Penny Warner Vice Chairman of SOEH and Head of PE at Amwell View School said ‘It was a fantastic day; we were very pleased with the numbers of athletes that attended. Even the downpour, at the end of the afternoon, which resulted in athletes getting soaked, did not impede their enthusiasm or dampen the spirits of the team. Many thanks to all the parents, carers and volunteers who came to support the event.’

Neil Ward, Founder and Chairman of Special Olympics East Herts said ‘I am so proud of all of the athletes. We are now working hard to prepare for our Annual Presentation Evening which will celebrate another great year.’

Promote your Activity here…If you would like to promote your activity free in the Herts Disability Sports Forum for Young People newsletter, please send your articles, along with any pictures, posters or web links to;

Shelley WoodsE: s.woods4@herts.ac.uk T: 01707 281005

Wheelchair Dance Sport in Welwyn Hatfield!The Wheelchair Dance Sport Association (UK) is happy to announce the launch of our ‘Tedwood Wheelchair Teddy Bear’, the mascot for our children’s membership known as The Tedwood Club. The Tedwood Club is a great opportunity for children with disabilities and able-bodied children alike to take part in a fun and exciting event in their community.

Tedwood’s aim is to get more children with disabilities involved with wheelchair dance, as well as raising awareness of disabilities to able-bodied children. Wheelchair Dance is something that can be done in a wheelchair and on your feet, so everybody can dance together.

From 2pm to 4pm on Saturday 31 May, there will be the chance to come and meet the real life Tedwood at our

Celtic Harmony launch new Special Olympics Archery!Celtic Harmony are pleased to announce a new Special Olympics East Herts Archery Club starting on Thursday 5 June from 6pm to 7pm at the Archery Barn, Hertford. This Archery course will run for six weeks and is for anyone aged 8-80 years with a learning disability.

Course costs: £20 for an annual membership, plus £36 for the courseVenue address: The Archery Barn, Brickendon Lane, opposite Celtic Harmony Camp entrance, Hertford, SG13 8NY

If you are interested in coming along, please email Luca Parrella at luca@celticharmony.org.

Hertfordshire Talented Athlete Programme (HTAP)Once again the Hertfordshire Talented Athlete Programme is offering Hertfordshire’s most talented young athletes the opportunity to access high quality services to assist them in their sport.

Based at Hertfordshire Sports Village and supported by the University of Hertfordshire, Herts County Council, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and Herts Is Ready For Winners, the programme has been supporting talented athletes for 9 years. During this time a number of these have ‘graduated’ to higher levels of support such as the national government funded programme TASS, UKA funding and various University Sports Scholarship programmes.

Success stories of the programme include England Women’s rugby player Hannah Gallagher who joined the programme in 2007 age 15 when she was selected for the Regional Women's Rugby U16 Squad. In 2012 she gained full International Honours for the Senior England Women’s Squad when she played in the 6-Nations. Other notable alumni include London Olympic double gold medallist Laura Trott who started her cycling career at the track in Welwyn Garden City, European U20 100m Champion Jodie Williams who is tipped as a likely competitor at Rio 2016 as is Disability Discus and Shot-Put athlete Michael Pope who is the current World Champion in his classification.

Current high profile HTAP athletes include National Youth Champion Sailor Rhiannon Massey who was selected for the British Sailing Team at the Laser Radial Youth World Championships 2013 and Cyclist Jack Plumley who won the title of National U14 Track Champion 2012, the same award won by Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish at his age. Four of our current HTAP athletes are also recipients of Sports Aid funding.

Athletes on the programme access support services at Hertfordshire Sports Village on an annual basis starting in September each year. The list of services is attached, along with the application form. For more information on the programme and the current athletes, please visit www.hertssportsvillage.co.uk/htap.

Please pass details on to clubs, coaches and individuals you feel meet the criteria and would benefit from the programme. The deadline for returning application forms is Friday 27th June.

‘Can you help us develop visually impaired golf’ from Emma WhitlockAs County Development Officer for Hertfordshire Golf Partnership, I was tasked with creating three disability ‘flagship’ golf clubs in the county who could have the chance to review their current set-up and offers to provide better accessibility to the sport for people with disabilities.

I am are currently working with Essendon Golf and Country Club near Welwyn Garden City, who have been chosen to focus on visual impairment. The professional there is very interested in the coaching side of disability and really wants to make sure his coaching is flexible to deal with peoples varying needs. The owner of the golf club, Elaine, also wants to see how the club can become more accessible for all disabilities, to create an atmosphere where everyone is welcomed and feels catered for.

This lead us to a decision to hold an open afternoon to which we would invite local groups along not only to get a taste for what Essendon could offer, but also to ask for feedback on how we might improve what we do. Disability is quite a new focus to us as a sport and we intend to get as much information and feedback as we can to make sure we get it right.

With this in mind, we would really love to invite people from Hertfordshire organisations to either of the open events. In return for this help attendees will receive a free 4-ball voucher (a game for four players) to take away and use with friends. The agenda for the days is below;

Tuesday 3rd June9.30am – arrival, coffee and danish pastry, welcome and tour of the club, informal chat about the current disability position 10am to 12pm – an opportunity to experience some coaching, finishing with a putting competition for both golfers and non-golfers. Once finished there will be a small presentation where the four-ball vouchers are awarded

Wednesday 16th July1pm – arrival, sandwiches, welcome and tour of the club, informal chat about the current disability position1.30pm to 3.30pm – an opportunity to experience some coaching, finishing with a putting competition for both golfers and non-golfers. Once finished there will be a small presentation where the four-ball vouchers are awarded

We have had to limit the days to a maximum of 20 people (2 from each organisation) to make sure we get time to chat with everyone and hear your ideas and views.

If you feel that this is something you may want to attend, or know of an organisation which might, please get in touch with Emma Whitlock on 07706 005964 or email cdo@hertsgolfpartnership.org.

Celtic Harmony launch new Special Olympics Archery!Celtic Harmony are pleased to announce a new Special Olympics East Herts Archery Club starting on Thursday 5 June from 6pm to 7pm at the Archery Barn, Hertford. This Archery course will run for six weeks and is for anyone aged 8-80 years with a learning disability.

Course costs: £20 for an annual membership, plus £36 for the courseVenue address: The Archery Barn, Brickendon Lane, opposite Celtic Harmony Camp entrance, Hertford, SG13 8NY

If you are interested in coming along, please email Luca Parrella at luca@celticharmony.org.

Grace breaks another British RecordSix Hoddesdon swimmers qualified for the ASA East Region Youth Championships held on Saturday and Sunday 3 and 4 May 2014 at Luton Inspire long course pool.

Grace Harvey swimming in the Combined Result - Multi-Disability by British Disability Points group broke the British Record on day two for the long course 50m backstroke by 1.30 seconds which had been held since 2008. Georgie Pryor won two gold medals in the 100m and 50m Butterfly and David Kelleway won a silver medal in the 100m Freestyle.

Grace Harvey, a pupil at Presdales School in Ware competed in five events over the weekend including winning gold medals in the 400m Individual Medley, and two silver medals in the 50m Breaststroke and 200m Individual.

Grace breaks another British RecordSix Hoddesdon swimmers qualified for the ASA East Region Youth Championships held on Saturday and Sunday 3 and 4 May 2014 at Luton Inspire long course pool.

Grace Harvey swimming in the Combined Result - Multi-Disability by British Disability Points group broke the British Record on day two for the long course 50m backstroke by 1.30 seconds which had been held since 2008. Georgie Pryor won two gold medals in the 100m and 50m Butterfly and David Kelleway won a silver medal in the 100m Freestyle.

Grace Harvey, a pupil at Presdales School in Ware competed in five events over the weekend including winning gold medals in the 400m Individual Medley, and two silver medals in the 50m Breaststroke and 200m Individual.

Truly InspirationalJohn Willis didn’t disappoint when he visited a Disability Swimming Session and Hoddesdon Swimming Club on Sunday 11 May 2014 at The John Warner Sports Centre.

John travelled from Cambridge to Hoddesdon to complete two of his 1000m challenge swims as part of a fundraising effort where he will have swum fifty 1000m swims at fifty schools promoting integration in sport.

The 48th swim was at 4pm, and swum in 35 minutes 42 seconds. John completed his swim during the Disability Special Needs Session at The John Warner Sports Centre which is held every week between 4pm and 5pm. Coaches from Hoddesdon SC support this session and the swimmers who swam alongside John encouraged him through the challenge.

Head Coach Janet Warrington said ‘When John approached the club I really wanted the people who swim in the disability session to meet John and be inspired by him, but I also wanted the members of the swimming club to meet him and also be inspired. Luckily for me John was prepared to swim the 1000m twice and therefore meet both groups.’

Disability Sport Support SchemeThe Herts Disability Sports Forum for Young People is pleased to announce that its Disability Sport Support Scheme is now open to receive applications for funding. The scheme exists to help individuals with disabilities and organisations delivering sport to disabled people to get involved in sport and physical activity in Hertfordshire.

Organisations delivering sport, including sports clubs and schools, may apply for support of up to £500 in one application with, among other things:

Training courses for members to increase disability awareness Providing taster sessions for adults and/or children with disabilities to try new sports activities Increasing the provision of extra-curricular activity for children with disabilities Sporting events which aim to increase participation among disabled people in sport, improve activity levels and

health of people with disabilities and improve the levels of performance of disabled sportspeople

For more information, or to receive application forms, please contact Shelley Woods on 01707 281005 or email s.woods4@herts.ac.uk.

Truly InspirationalJohn Willis didn’t disappoint when he visited a Disability Swimming Session and Hoddesdon Swimming Club on Sunday 11 May 2014 at The John Warner Sports Centre.

John travelled from Cambridge to Hoddesdon to complete two of his 1000m challenge swims as part of a fundraising effort where he will have swum fifty 1000m swims at fifty schools promoting integration in sport.

The 48th swim was at 4pm, and swum in 35 minutes 42 seconds. John completed his swim during the Disability Special Needs Session at The John Warner Sports Centre which is held every week between 4pm and 5pm. Coaches from Hoddesdon SC support this session and the swimmers who swam alongside John encouraged him through the challenge.

Head Coach Janet Warrington said ‘When John approached the club I really wanted the people who swim in the disability session to meet John and be inspired by him, but I also wanted the members of the swimming club to meet him and also be inspired. Luckily for me John was prepared to swim the 1000m twice and therefore meet both groups.’