Volunteering at Junior Parkrun – By Scarlett
For my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, I volunteered at my local Junior Parkrun. The volunteering system was very structured, with a rotation system so people are allocated different roles each week, but also, for beginners like myself, a system that allowed me to experience each role from a marshalling point to run director. Initially, I started as a marshal, clapping and encouraging the runners around the course. I could hear the sound of the runners’ feet and heavy breathing approaching coming past my point, which allowed me to know when to start encouraging the runners when they were [...]
Superhero triathlon fundraiser – Q & A with Ryley
In 2018 Ryley, age 13, decided to set himself a huge sporting goal and enter the Superhero Tri, the UK’s one and only disability sports series for the Everyday Superhero! Ryley was born with a rare congenital eye condition which limits vision in both of his eyes and after attending VICTA activities himself, decided to support VICTA and raise funds towards our activities and services. We decided to find out what spurred Ryley on to take on this inspiring challenge… What inspired you to enter a triathlon? I wanted to try a new group of sports all together and [...]
How health and fitness helped me manage my mental health when I became blind
By Ibraheem Iqbal Hi everyone, my name is Ibraheem, but you can call me Ibz. I am proud to be one of VICTA’s Young Ambassadors. I have been given the opportunity to write an article about mental health in this issue. I will begin to outline what is meant by health and fitness then I will talk about my own experiences and lastly the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and tips towards achieving it. Before I begin, I would like to make the reader aware that this content may be sensitive to some people. If at any point [...]
Gaining new skills and confidence through the Infinity Pilot Project
After taking part in this unique project provided by The British Exploring Society (BES) and The Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) Roesie and her mother Angela were interviewed regarding her experiences: How and why did you hear about the Infinity programme and BES? Roesie - I saw it advised on the VICTA website, literally by chance. What thoughts and feeling did you have when you first signed up? (i.e. anxious, nervous, excited) Roesie - I was terrified, I was not confident at all. Angela (Rosie’s Mother) – Roesie can loose confidence, she has high levels of anxiety What were you [...]
Have you thought about… playing rugby? By Archard
by Archard Yabsley My name is Archard Yabsley, I am 17, have a visual impairment and I play rugby; a sport that at first glance may appear as far from appropriate for the partially sighted as is possible. However after five years of playing, I have no doubt that Rugby is one of the most suitable and accessible sports for children and adults with sight difficulties. The advantage that rugby union has over other sports is its variety of positions and responsibilities. Take a look at any rugby team, right from the grassroots up to the internationals, you’ll find [...]
Blind Skiing on the Slopes of Sauze, Italy by Eeshma
Blind Skiing on the Slopes of Sauze, Italy By Eeshma Qazi How do you feel about skiing? Are you a champion skier, gliding gracefully down those slopes every December? Or maybe you, like me, are a complete novice, whose idea of a good winter holiday is more a mountain of food by a warm fire than flinging yourself unceremoniously down a mountain of snow. And so, it was to my very great surprise and to my family’s complete shock that I found myself along with a dozen 18-29 year olds on this VICTA/Seable trip. All of us were destined [...]
My experiences playing blind cricket by Owais
By Owais Niaz I started off playing cricket for fun during my break and lunch times at Joseph Clarke School. After some time playing, I started to improve which caught the attention of the teacher in charge of managing the school cricket team. Noticing my enthusiasm for the sport, she asked me to help her manage the team, a responsibility I really enjoyed. My teacher was so happy with how I took on this task that I was then awarded the ‘Most Responsible’ and ‘Best Manager’ of the month, an award presented to me by Jack Patchy CBE, a [...]
