Hannah Columnist
COCKROFT
Hannah’s sticking to racing (for now) after her first experience of powerchair football
I
have a whole new respect for football following my taster session with the fantastic players and coaches at Leeds Powerchair Football Club. They signed up to the Parasport website and won a competition to have a Paralympian of their choice attend one of their sessions. For some strange reason they chose me! So I went along and gave powerchair football a go. It surprised me – it was a lot more technical than I thought it would be. The chairs are so sensitive, the slightest movement and you’re flying around the court. I was fully in control but felt like I had no control at all. With a race chair, everything has to be such a big, elaborate movement and you’re not going to do a little push and move very fast. Whereas with this there were no big movements, it was all tiny adjustments that made the biggest difference. Not being a football fan, I didn’t know the rules so they had their work cut out! But I loved it, and it’s definitely a sport that should be at the Paralympics. It’s exciting to play and watch, and they are so talented at what they do. They were a lovely group – very supportive and patient with me – and knew how to challenge me just enough to get me fired up and wanting to compete. At the same time, I think they knew I was a bit scared of the chairs and of crashing! Agilitymagazine | 2
