Known as 'Shades', Chris Hallam was probably one of the better known
pioneers of disabled sport and unfortunately died last month.

Chris Hallam MBE mastered many disabled sports  following a motorcycle
accident that left him paralysed below the chest. Best known for swimming
and wheelchair racing in the late eighties and early nineties, Chris was a
much respected character who was often described as flamboyant.

Chris was in his late 40s and lived in South Wales for most of his life. He
was probably best known for wheelchair racing and won the London marathon on two occasions.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson called him an "icon in wheelchair sport" and is
one of very many who claim he was a massive inspiration to make them compete
in disabled sports. He had marathon victories in Paralympics in Seoul,
Atlanta and Barcelona.

Chris didn't sit still for long and was in the spot light in the late
eighties for his around Wales wheelchair ride which raised funds for the
centre for the disabled at Cardiff University.

Following his achievements in disabled sport, Chris took to coaching and
concentrated on a number of wheelchair racers from Wales as part of their
academy system.

When we hear of yet another sportsperson who has been badly injured whilst playing their chosen sport it always saddens us. Many youths each year are injured badly enough to leave them wheelchair bound with varying degrees of disability.

When we heard about one particular Northern teenager who broke his neck whilst playing rugby we were amazed to hear of his brave comments on how it is "the best thing that had ever happened to him" as he has now set his goal on becoming a wheelchair rugby paralympian. Such strength of character and signs of determination are not seen very frequently.

16 year old George from Blackburn in Lancashire has recently been offered a new specialist wheelchair to help him meet his goals. London's Rosslyn Park injury trust fund have agreed to supply a customised specialist wheelchair from their fund which is there to help people injured whilst playing rugby. He expects to receive the new chair ahead of their match against Flyde on November the 2nd.

Sports wheelchairs are very specialist items and are often designed to meet the exacting requirements of the individual user. Typically ultra lightweight and super strong the wheelchair frames and components are often made using aluminium and carbon composites to ensure that they are fit for the on the pitch action and will withstand the knocks and tumbles experienced in wheelchair rugby.

We wish George who is eagerly awaiting delivery of the new chair all the best and hope that he provides inspiration for others who have had the misfortune of similar life changing injuries.

Pete Donelly's recent news video for the BBC 'Top Tips for Wheelchair users' is a great watch for wheelchair users and others alike. Giving a real insight in to the daily life of wheelchair users Pete seems to have adapted brilliantly and copes with virtually all conditions of a normal city life.

Pete suffered paralysis following a motorbike accident at the age of 19 when a T6 back brake ended his walking life. This doesn't seem to have stopped Pete one little bit and his video shows this. He covers many aspects including self propelled wheelchair technique, including posture and self transfer in to and out of the wheelchair in seconds !

Watch his wheelchair skills video here

His self propelled wheelchair is a bit specialist and would suit only the younger more agile wheelchair user but does allow him to conquer all sorts including flights of stairs. The video includes some tips for more active wheelchair users including the back wheel balance which, as he points out is an important start to a number of daily manoeuvres including going up and down kerbs, ramps and steps. His agility and control is very impressive and while he is young and has good upper body strength, being in a wheelchair isn't going to prevent him from missing out on much.

As Pete says his wheelchair skills allow him to live the kind of life he wants to live, including of course going to the pub, the video shows Pete managing his pint whilst propelling himself back from the bar. By swapping hands from pint to wheelchair rim he makes it look so easy !
His wheelchair is fitted with a video camera for the article and much of the footage is taken from this camera and gives a great perspective of the wheelchair in use and more so Pete's experience and control.

In fact Pete's appetite for life is enormous and the accident and being wheelchair bound doesn't prevent much, including a parachute jump, his ambitious travel plans and recent trips to Asia and Bangladesh where he has worked as a volunteer. and This really is a must watch for wheelchair users and others - he's a great source of inspiration.

Following various charity trips Pete now works for Back Up as a wheelchair skills adviser and i'm sure will make a huge difference to the younger more adventurous user of wheelchairs.

Over the last few years we get to hear of more sports being played by folk with disabilities and wheelchair users. When you hear of a new wheelchair sport you get a vague picture in your mind of how it may look but when we heard of wheelchair hurling being played by teams in Northern Ireland, I had no idea what to expect !

Ryan O'Connor is one individual who hasn't allowed being a wheelchair user to prohibit from playing many sports. Starting out with wheelchair basketball Ryan soon realised that he was able to enjoy playing sport rather than just watching it. A couple of months ago he got in to hurling and now considers himself 'very active'.

Ryan has two prosthetic legs and  has had a heart transplant and prefers to be in a wheelchair when playing these sports. His enjoyment and enthusiasm has lead him to helping others to participate and enjoy wheelchair sports and the social life that they bring. Ryan's involvement has allowed him to make many new friends both within the teams and off the pitch.

Ryan's praise for his coaches is endless and his spirit is strong encouraging others to make the most and get out there and enjoy whatever sport you can. Wheelchair hurling is a relatively new sport in Northern Ireland starting just 6 months ago so we will be interested to see it develop and admire all those on the pitch and making it happen.

Of the 3 clubs in existence, all the players have some form of disability, some with cerebral palsy and some forms of spina bifida and others like Ryan with missing limbs. Regardless of disability, the emphasis is very much on focusing on the ability they have to play the sport and enjoy themselves.

We wish them all luck !

Have you heard of Google Glass ?

One of the more recent gadgets that's aiming to change things is the invention of google glass - yes a pair of glasses with a built in computer allowing you to do a multitude of things using just your eyes to control things and not your fingers !

Efforts are already being made to use this device to help folk with disabilities thanks to Google Glass Explorer contest where techies and engineers alike are asked what they can do with this new gadget.

One contestant has used eye tracking software that is based on a web cam to control various items including a wheelchair ! This makes the technology more realistically affordable as the glasses are within some users affordability. It will only work on powerchairs and takes over the control that is generally provided by the joystick assembly.

Powerchair and electric wheelchair users will don the glasses and see many things including a visual controlled wheelchair throttle control, a stop function and of course steerage. These controls will allow most wheelchair and power chair users to go about their usual routes and leave their hands free if needs be

The man who has applied this new technology is called Steve McHugh and he is hoping to win some funding to make this exciting new development for more electric wheelchair and powerchair users.

Martyn Sibley completed his marathon wheelchair journey this week from John O'Groats in Scotland to Lands End in Cornwall - that's an incredible 874 miles, racking up to 40 miles in any one day in his electric wheelchair.

Just one month after his departure, Martyn arrived at his destination having driven himself the whole way while his girlfriend cycled alongside.

They encountered a mix of conditions including the inescapable driving rain and strong winds in some of the more exposed areas.

Martyn who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy made the trip to raise money for charities but also to prove that with the right kit disabled people can be incredibly independent and can achieve incredible things as his journey points out.

His powerchair suffered mechanical failure towards the end of his journey forcing them to make a diversion to South Wales for a free repair by the manufacturers. Other encounter included numerous near misses by impatient car drivers trying to pass them on some of the smaller roads.

Martin and his partner both celebrated their 30th birthdays prior to the trip and are both very thrilled to have completed the trip having made so many memories and encountered much of the beautiful landscape of Britain.
Martyn has always had big goals and has a habit of achieving them ! Including globetrotting in his mobility car with trips to Lithuania and Czechoslovakia in recent years.

As editor to the Disability Horizon magazine Martyn has a busy life but continues to do great things to raise the profile of disabled people and was assisted on this mission by the National Lotteries Big Lottery to keep the spirit of the 2012 Paralympics.

41 year old Andy from Cornwall recently won the world wheelchair darts title after almost packing the game in a while ago. Amputee Andy Chilton was always a keen darts player and had always played from a standing position using his crutches.

When he decided to enter for the World wheelchair darts tournament it meant he had to retrain to play darts from his wheelchair. Wheelchair users play from a standard oche but the bulls eye and indeed the whole board is lowered by 15 inches. This meant that there was a fair bit of change to get used to.

Andy states "I had to learn where to throw and how to throw, I had to change everything, but I wasn't going to let it beat me." Like many sports there are good days and bad days and Andy who is shocked at the wheelchair win title said "It's unbelievable, it's only really just sinking in"

Andy will now go back to playing both standing and wheelchair darts for his local club in Penzance called the Buffalo Club. You can read more here

So its always good to read stories like this where someone who has had a fairly severe set back in life is able to turn the tables and get back to one of the things that they loved.

In this case its a man from Edmonton in Canada who was left wheelchair bound following the amputation of his right leg in 2000 due to a complication with diabetes. But thanks to a gift from a stranger, Gordon Cameron is back up to speed – up to 70mph – in his customised motorbike that allows him to steer from his wheelchair in the sidecar.

Friends of Gordon saw an old motorbike for sale complete with side car. After extensive modification to accept the wheelchair Gordon is now able to wheel himself complete with self propelled wheelchair in to the side card and off he goes!

Being a Hondamatic there is no need to change gear as it has an automatic box which leaves the accelerating, braking and steering. Although Gordon uses the wheelchair converted motorbike for local errands he says it is great to feel the wind in his hair. A year later, he catches people’s attention wherever he goes. Some take photos, others give him the "thumbs up."

Read more here

Strictly Wheelchair Dancing is a Manchester based dance group including folk of all ages and abilities whose motto is “You can do it”!

Using both electric or manual wheelchairs, the club welcomes everyone regardless of their ability or their disability as they put it.

Wheelchair Dancesport is becoming more popular thanks to clubs like this and involves individuals with a physical disability that affects the lower limbs. Having said that you wouldn't believe what they can do.

Wheelchair dancers as they are known can participate in “combi” style dancing with an able-bodied (standing) partner or “duo” style dancing where two wheelchair users dance together.

Sticking to a fairly conventional menu,wheelchair dances include the Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep. Latin-American dances include the Samba, Cha-cha-cha, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive. There is even Group Formation Dancing for 4, 6 or 8 couples at a time.

So a bit of fact about this sport / art: Wheelchair Dancesport became an IPC Championship Sport in 1998 but is not yet part of the Paralympic programme. It is governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and co-ordinated by the IPC Wheelchair Dancesport Technical Committee, which incorporates the rules of the International Dance Sport Federation (IDSF).

Wheelchair Dance Sport is widely practised by athletes in 22 countries. Read more here

Its great to follow the wheelchair tennis doubles masters tournaments currently although its a shame I can't find it on television. What's more encouraging is that there are 4 British players in the semi-finals ITF Wheelchair Tennis Doubles Masters in California USA.

Many of us have heard of Jordanne Whiley who is playing against fellow Paralympic bronze medallist Lucy Shuker in the ladies semis today. Louise Hunt is in the other semi while Gordon Reid is into the last four of the men's doubles.

Wheelchair tennis at any level is a very involved game and requires great fitness strength and mobility. Their wheelchairs are specialist models with great rigidity and are ultra-light allowing them to make the alarmingly fast turns and sprints on court. Having found some coverage on YouTube it is great to see the dexterity of these wheelchair users and all the better to see that their grit and determination has helped them to become the top in their sport.

So back to the tournament, from what I can tell Whiley and her Japanese partner Yui Kamiji, who are the defending champions also won all four majors in this year !

They are now up against Shuker and Germany's Sabine Ellerbrock and face a tough semi-final match. Shuker and Ellerbrock won both of their pool games and won a tournament together in South Africa earlier this year so they definitely have their work cut out. Good luck and keep it up. Hopefully we can get to see more wheelchair sport on TV before too long.