Armed Forces charity supporting Warwickshire veterans through sports
There's said to be a large ex-military community in the region of almost 19-thousand people
An Armed Forces charity is holding its biggest ever sporting event to support the recovery of veterans in Warwickshire this weekend (7 and 8 September).
Help for Heroes is bringing its Community Sports Series to the area for the first ever time, hoping to attract around 100 veterans from across the country.
Participants will get the chance to take part in a range of different adaptive sport activities at the University of Warwick.
Ryan Hunt, Community Sport and Innovation Manager for the Charity, said: “This is our 14th event since we launched the series two years ago and it’s our biggest so far. We wanted to come to Warwickshire, as we know there is a large veteran community in the region.
“We know from the feedback we get from participants that our Sports Series events can be life-changing for some people, giving them a focus to help them manage physical problems as well as mental health challenges, and also the chance to meet up with like-minded people.
“We’re delighted to have the event supported by the national governing bodies for Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby and Sitting Volleyball. As well as giving an opportunity for veterans to try out some adaptive sports for the first time, we’ll also have some exhibition matches.”
The sports series events are held from February to September, where veterans are given the chance to try traditional adaptive sports including archery, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball and wheelchair rugby, as well as new ones such as boccia.
The Warwickshire event is being supported by British Wheelchair Basketball, which provides Help for Heroes with basketball chairs, staff support, tournament support and club support.
Ryan added: “Adaptive, inclusive sport continues to be an important part of our whole-person approach to recovery for veterans experiencing physical, mental and wellbeing challenges. The Charity runs a Coaching Academy alongside the Community Sports Series, which has seen 25 veterans move from being supported by the Charity, to qualifying themselves as sports coaches before going on to support others, with a further 35 due to qualify this year.”
The event is fully funded by the Charity and participants can either book for the whole weekend or join a taster session on Saturday afternoon, and there are a few places still available.