5 tastes

Thought it was about time I updated everyone on Powerchair football in Middlesbrough.  

We've delivered 5 free taster sessions, using funding from a Community Health grant, to buy in the support and the hire of specialist football chairs from Percy Hedley Disability Sports Academy in Newcastle and to hire the sports hall (the size of 4 badminton pitches) at the Rainbow Leisure Centre in Coulby Newham.

MPFC practicing team play with a match, trying to abide by all the rules!

The Rainbow Centre have allowed us storage space and we are gradually obtaining some secondhand club powerchairs through donations and some eBay purchases.  They are not all specialist football ones but we hope they will fill the gap once the taster session funding ends (one more session left). We are getting these ready with the help of Nigel at Active Mobility. Next step is bumpers from DB Engineering - they are Boro fans so we're hoping for preferential treatment!

Photos by Christopher Reed

During the last taster at the end of July we not only had two sessions but visitors attending too. Chris Reed came along and took some photos for us - he claims he is an amateur photographer but I was very impressed, my photos are usually blurry! Thanks Chris, your photos are fab!

We were also joined by Chris Read (a different Chris to the photographer - it's Read with an A and yes it was confusing) from A Smile for a Child. Chris came along to one of our taster sessions earlier in the year and was so impressed he accepted our request for help and came back this time with a cheque from A Smile for a Child. This donation will mean that we will be able to pay for the hire of 5 powerchairs, to enable MPFC to get going as a Powerchair football club and to be able to train on a regular basis. This is thanks to a new initiative from the WFA, they are so impressed with our progress as a new club that we are the first club to have this scheme offered - another thankyou. We will have these powerchairs for 6 months, during this time we need to raise funds to purchase our own - we will be fundraising so WATCH THIS SPACE!

Thank you Thank you Thank you