Former GB captain and chief constable shooting hoops for pioneering sport programme
A former Great Britain wheelchair basketball player, Lincolnshire Police’s chief constable, representatives from the county council and a Lincolnite reporter all took to the court as a pioneering local sports programme celebrated its 10th anniversary. Lincoln Minster School hosted the anniversary celebration for Active Lincolnshire’s Wheelchair Sports Programme. It is the biggest Wheelchair Sports Programme…
Representiaves from Active Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire County Council, Stokes Tea & Coffee and the RSPCA, along with project lead Ian Brown (front right) and former Great Britain Under-23 captain Richard Sargent (front left). Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A former Great Britain wheelchair basketball player, Lincolnshire Police’s chief constable, representatives from the county council and a Lincolnite reporter all took to the court as a pioneering local sports programme celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Lincoln Minster School hosted the anniversary celebration for Active Lincolnshire’s Wheelchair Sports Programme. It is the biggest Wheelchair Sports Programme in the country, with 170 sports wheelchairs in 17 trailers that go out to schools.
It has had in excess of 40,000 people and been delivered in secondary, primary and special schools, as well as at events including the Lincolnshire Show.
The Lincolnite was among those to try out the have a go sessions on Monday in a sport which has inspired several young people and rescued some from very dark places in life.
Lincolnshire Police’s chief constable Bill Skelly in action on the court. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Ian Brown, project leader at Active Lincolnshire for the Wheelchair Sports Programme, told The Lincolnite it’s about “reverse integration” and “engaging people in wheelchair sport”.
After a motorbike accident near Caenby Corner in 1991 Ian, who has been playing the sport for nearly 20 seasons, was left paralysed from the chest down.
His love of wheelchair basketball has been crucial for him and he is proud of how far the programme has come in Lincolnshire over the last 10 years.
Ian Brown, project lead at Active Lincolnshire’s Wheelchair Sports Programme. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
He said: “The programme has had a massive impact. It’s surprising how much impact it’s made on people and the way they think about disability sport and the change of attitude. It’s slowly changing people’s perceptions.”
Why not give the sport a go? Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The NK Jaguars train on a Monday night between 6pm-8pm at OneNK Leisure Centre on Newark Road. The club has over 40 members aged between 10 and 76, with a mixture of able bodied and disabled players.
A birthday cake to celebrate Active Lincolnshire’s Wheelchair Sports Programme. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Rehabilitation from sport
Richard Sargent, 27, from Lincoln recently retired from a career professional basketball, which included being captain of Great Britain’s Under-23 team and carrying the Paralympic flag in front of the Queen in 2012.
He started playing wheelchair basketball after a crash in Lincoln in August 2001 left him paraplegic, and he used the sport as a way of rehabilitating and building his strength back up.
Richard Sargent, former captain of Great Britain’s Under-23 wheelchair basketball team. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
In additional to the experience of playing at international level, Richard also spent several years playing in the professional wheelchair basketball league in Italy.
He told The Lincolnite that back in 2001 there was a big issue about reinstating people back into mainstream school as someone in a wheelchair or a disability usually went to a special school.
Players taking to the court to have a go at the sport. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Richard, who is now studying for a new law career, said: “When Active Lincolnshire and the NHS teamed up, they became innovators in the way that we saw sport in school and programmes like this are massively beneficial to the county.
“I’m a big believer that people who may stare at someone with a disability are not staring because they are being rude or arrogant, they are actually inquisitive. One of the big things about this programme is it just allows everyone to lay their cards on the table and learn from each other.”
Inspiring people in sport
Victoria Lyon, 17, suffered a head injury and neurological damage after a car crash in 2015.
An emotional Ian reflecting on her case study said that when Victoria became involved in the sport her mother told him it was the first time in ages she’d seen her smile.
Project lead Ian Brown with Lynn Chantrey, who said the sport saved her life. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
It left her feeling extremely depressed, but she said the Wheelchair Sports Programme and the sport as a whole “saved my life and it is such a brilliant activity”.
Lincolnshire Co-op sponsored the Wheelchair Sports Programme for five years, by which point it was able to fund itself. The county council, and in particular, its executive director of adult care Glen Garrod, have been an amazing support to the programme.
Glen Garrod, executive director of adult care at Lincolnshire County Council, has also tried his hand at the sport. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Lincolnshire Police’s chief constable Bill Skelly enjoys playing the sport. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The Lincolnite reporter Joseph Verney tried the sport. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
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Lincoln City players hosted a meet and greet at the club shop in the city, building anticipation ahead of the new season.
Hundreds of eager Imps fans, young and old, were queuing inside the Waterside Shopping Centre for a chance to meet some of their favourite players on Thursday.
Representatives from both the men’s and women’s team were in attendance, and everyone was in great spirits ahead of the opening fixture of the 2021/22 season this weekend.
Jody Steadman, Katy Thornley and Toni McHamilton from Lincoln City Women were taking pictures with fans. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
From the men’s team, Cohen Bramall, Liam Bridcutt, Anthony Scully, Lewis Fiorini, Lasse Sorensen, Regan Poole and Tom Hopper were signing autographs and posing for pictures, while Jody Steadman, Katy Thornley and Toni McHamilton were there from the women’s side.
A young fan getting his shirt signed by Lewis Fiorini. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
The Imps kick their League One campaign off this Saturday with an away trip to Gillingham, looking to go one better than last season, where they narrowly missed out on promotion via the play-offs with Wembley defeat to Blackpool.
Great to see players reconnecting with the fans again after so long apart. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
It was the supporters’ first chance to meet new signings Lasse Sorensen and Lewis Fiorini before they take to the field for their competitive debuts in Imps shirts.
The meet and greet took place inside the Lincoln City club shop at the Waterside Shopping Centre. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
The event was run with COVID-secure protocols, such as encouraging the wearing of face coverings and maintaining a social distance where possible, in order to protect both the fans and the players.
Give us a smile! Tom Hopper and Regan Poole, key figures in last season’s success, were welcoming fans at the club shop on Thursday. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
Some fans were a bit shy when they came face to face with their heroes! | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
Lincoln continues to have the highest COVID infection rate in England on Thursday, with its seven-day rate increasing from 716 per 100,000 population to 741.
Government figures released on Thursday showed 405 new cases in Lincolnshire, 105 in North Lincolnshire and 120 in North East Lincolnshire. The 630 case total is 2% higher than last Thursday’s 618 cases.
There were no coronavirus-related deaths in the government figures today in the Lincolnshire region. However, NHS figures reported one further death in Greater Lincolnshire’s hospital facilities today.
Vaccine figures released by the government on Thursday showed Lincolnshire health staff had now given out 1,030,246 cumulative doses, up 11,030 on the previous week’s 1,019,216 total. That’s 2,026 doses fewer than the previous week’s 13,056.
According to the figures released today, 74% of 18-24-year-olds in Lincolnshire have received their first dose, while 76.2% of 25-29-year-olds have had theirs. The figures are up only slightly from last week’s 73.5% and 75.3% respectively.
The new rules, which come in from 4am on Sunday, August 8, will see Austria, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia move to green list on the government’s traffic light system.
Meanwhile, Bahrain, India, Qatar and UAE will move to the amber list from the red list. And Georgia, Mayotte, Mexico and Reunion will move to the red list.
New figures have shown that the number of COVID-19 app alerts fell by 43% in England and Wales in the last week of July, official statistics show. Nearly 396,000 people were pinged, compared with the previous week’s 690,129.
The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in England has dropped by 39% according to the latest Test and Trace figures.
In the week to July 28, a total of 189,232 people tested positive for the virus in England.
Further data from the Office for National Statistics have revealed around 945,000 in the UK have experienced long COVID in the four weeks to July 4.
Around 380,000 people in the UK have experienced symptoms of long COVID for at least a year, the ONS has said.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday, August 5
84,144 cases (up 630)
54,988 in Lincolnshire (up 405)
12,927 in North Lincolnshire (up 105)
16,229 in North East Lincolnshire (up 120)
2,224 deaths (no change)
1,633 from Lincolnshire (no change)
305 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
286 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 1,332 hospital deaths (up one)
823 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up one)
43 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
465 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)
5,952,756 UK cases, 130,000 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF THE LATEST UPDATE. POSTCODE DATA INCLUDES DEATHS NOT IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES OR IN HOSPITALS OUTSIDE AUTHORITY BOUNDARIES.
Climate change will be the theme for the Uncle Henry’s Maize Maze 2021 this summer near Gainsborough, ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, also known as COP26.
The award-winning five-acre Maize Maze returns again and this time is part of the Behind the Garden Wall at Uncle Henry’s experience at Grayingham Grange Farm in Grayingham, Gainsborough.
Tickets are now on sale priced at £8.95 per person or £30 for a group ticket for four people – book tickets here. Tickets include access to the Maize Maze, Fairy Trail, and use of their Jumping Pillows and Crazy Golf.
Visitors must answer questions on the farm’s sustainability initiatives to decipher a secret code, before finding their way out.
The maze’s new theme of climate change was chosen as Uncle Henry’s is taking the opportunity to inform its customers about their farming philosophy and the sustainability initiatives that are happening at the farm.
Ten markers are hidden in the maze for people to find. They must then answer questions on the farm’s sustainability initiatives to decipher a secret code, before finding their way out.
The maze will be open until September 5, 2021.
Behind the Garden Wall, including the maze, is open 9.30am to 5pm every day of the summer holidays until September 5, 2021.
Meanwhile, the Fairy Trail which launched in May continues to be available for visitors, who follow visual clues through the woodlands to complete a quest set by the Fairy Queen. Uncle Henry’s Cafe is open 9.30am-5pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sundays for breakfast, lunch and coffee.
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