NMC Titans Progress by Mark Chapman

We  have been training regularly for over two months now, it’s going really well, everyone is enjoying it and developing well.

I have also enjoyed coaching the players, it has been a privilege and it is very fulfilling seeing them improve, develop and grow. Not only as players but as people as well, each week we train I have noticed a considerable increase in everyone’s confidence and in myself also. Being part of a football team also benefits everyone socially; we have all become good friends and I don’t think I just talk for myself here, but I look forward to each session. To have a catch up and banter with friends and have a kick about. 

We have got eight players including myself that train regularly. Sessions consist of getting used to the wheelchairs, first by weaving in and out of cones with and without the ball. Learning to hit the ball for passing and shooting. Learning to take a touch and then hitting the ball. This is then put into practice during different drills such as; tennis, where we split in to two teams and each team works together to hit the ball over the baseline, then piggy in the middle, where we make a big circle around the hall and have to pass the ball between us trying to keep it away from the defender in the middle and then we play a game, where we work together to score against a goalkeeper.

“These are very exciting times for us and the future is looking bright!”

The NMC have strong links with Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), who have been working with the physiotherapy team for a while carrying out research on Muscular Dystrophy. Due to these connections they are letting us use their sports hall for training and have allowed us to place a storage container to store all our equipment.

Once we knew we had a place to train we started fundraising for the container and equipment, sports wheelchairs, goal posts and footballs. The fundraising went really well and we were able to order the equipment. Once we had all of this in place and we had five sports wheelchairs we could commence training and I could start coaching the players.  We had our first AGM the other week, where we discussed the club moving forward.

Everything is going to plan. We plan to enter the North West championship regional league in October, which will give us a few months to be ready. We also plan to organise a few friendly matches, these matches will be our first competitively. We are in the process of getting a kit; we have decided that it will be blue with an orange stripe across. We have had discussions with MMU and we are going to have them as our shirt sponsor, to mark our thanks and gratitude for all their help. Another good thing to come out from us creating a football team is the research opportunities for Matt from MMU and his colleagues, on people with Muscular Dystrophy participating in sport, and how it has a positive effect on our health and wellbeing.

If you are interested in joining please contact Bryn bryn.edwards@nmcentre.com, James james.taubman@nmcentre.com or myself mark.chapman@nmcentre.com.

NMC Titans

The NMC Titans is a newly established powerchair football team based at the NeuroMuscular Centre. The team was set up in January following very successful taster sessions run as part of the summer’s sports days. The team is being co-ordinated by James Taubman (Manager) and Bryn Edwards (Chairman).

Sara Dickinson, a development officer from the Wheelchair football association, helped kick-start the team by providing wheelchairs and other necessary equipment on a fortnightly basis allowing for some initial sessions to go ahead, sparking a fantastic amount of interest from a variety of people associated with the NMC. Unfortunately this has now come to an end and the club now needs to become self-sufficient with their own equipment and storage space, which as you can imagine doesn’t come cheap! Lyndsey Cannon, from the fundraising team at the NMC, is doing a fantastic job applying for and securing funding from various sources.

The team is soon to be affiliated with the Cheshire FA and will soon also be affiliated with the WFA allowing us to make connections with other local teams and begin to look at competing in the regional or national leagues. 

The Titans currently use the sports hall facilities at Manchester Metropolitan University campus in Crewe and are looking to make this the long term training facility with the possibility of on site storage.  

The team so far has had a wonderful response from those involved and others who have heard about it and the Titans are gaining momentum very quickly. It has attracted many people, men and women, from 18 to 53 and keeps on attracting new very enthusiastic members. It is a very exciting and worthwhile venture for the NMC to develop and we hope it will continue to grow into a top league team in the not too distant future.

The NMC Titans are still gaining momentum in preparation to become a regular fixture in the NMC calendar. The team is very grateful for all the money that has been put towards the running of the team and have bought the necessary equipment to begin regular training including sets of goal posts and cones. The only thing missing now is sports chairs. As these are slightly more expensive funding them will take more time however as soon as we have them the Titans we be in full force training in preparation for a competitive future. We hope everyone can get behind the team and the NMC Titans can achieve great things. 

Are you interested in either joining as a player or coming to watch?  The Titans are the NeuroMuscular Centre team and meet at MMU, Crewe Sports Hall. For details contact 01606 860911, james.taubman@nmcentre.com, bryn.edwards@nmcentre.com or see James Taubman or Bryn Edwards at the NMC

Stadium Design Research

Would you like to participate in research to explore stadium design  and the facilities needed  to enable independent wheelchair access to sporting events?

What represents meaningful provision for wheelchair users in English football stadia?
JEANETTE DODD, Doctoral Researcher, SURFACE Inclusive Design Research Group
School of the Built Environment (SOBE), University of Salford.

Jeanette Dodd, who has FSH MD, is recruiting for participants in her Ph.D research at the University of Salford. If you use a wheelchair to attend, or try to attend, live events at football stadia, are aged 16 or over and would be like to take part, then please contact her at the email address below.

The aim of her PhD. research is to examine what represents meaningful provision for wheelchair users in English football stadia, identifying features that can act as barriers to limit accessibility, or which can enhance accessibility and promote inclusion. The objectives are to:

1. Appraise how society views disability and how society is including and excluding wheelchair users;
2. Assess the design process, the legislation, the underpinning regulations, the guidance and how this meets the needs of wheelchair users;
3. Explore the accessibility of spectator sports and appraise the design guidance for stadia that can facilitate access to it;
4. Investigate the everyday user experience when attending, or trying to attend football stadia;
5. Understand how provision at football stadia is determined in practice;
6. Provide a critical synthesis of the extent to which the needs of wheelchair users are being met; Recommend the changes and improvements that need to be made so that wheelchair users are better accommodated in football stadia.

Jeanette will interview you to capture the everyday experiences of disabled supporters who are wheelchair users. If you have attended, or tried to attend, a live event at a football stadia as a wheelchair user, Jeanette would be interested in hearing from you. 

The NeuroMuscular Centre has kindly offered the use of a private room for the interviews, which should take between 30-45 minutes. Participation is entirely voluntary, although interviewees receive a small ‘thank you for taking part’ gift and travel expenses are paid at 45p per mile. All participants will remain anonymous. Data collected will be kept strictly confidential and will be related to your code number rather than your personal details.  If you are interested in taking part, then please get in touch. 

CONTACT DETAILS: * Email:  j.dodd3@edu.salford.ac.uk
*        Jeanette Dodd, SURFACE Inclusive Design Research Group, Room 423, 
          Maxwell Building, University of Salford, The Crescent, Salford M5 4WT