Disability sports – serving an ace with a spinal condition

Some people think that having a disability means you can’t keep fit or take part in sports – but for a lot of people this is one of the biggest myths in disability history! To bust it, Camilla Francis spoke to 15-year-old Louise Hunt who won Swindon’s Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2006. Meet one of the country’s top young disabled sports people…

Louise, you were born with spina bifida, how does that affect you?

You can’t catch spina bifida, it’s a deficiency of the spine – your legs just don’t work. I’m in a wheelchair all the time and can’t walk at all. But that’s it. Physically it doesn’t affect me in any other way.

I haven’t ever come across anything that I’ve wanted to do that I can’t do. I mean I can’t play football, but I’ve never wanted to!

What made you start to take part in disability sports?

My family are really sporty and we had tennis courts across the road and so I’d play with them. Then I got some information and tried out at Stoke Mandeville Stadium. I tried all sorts of things there, they do fencing, track racing – everything! Eventually though I worked out I was mainly interested in tennis.

Getting involved

If like Louise, you want to get involved in disability sports, you’ll find there are tons of organisations and groups for different sports that support disabled people. These organisations can give you contacts in your region as well as info and support on things like coaching, equipment, events and award schemes. You can also:

Try your local authority’s social services or leisure department. They can give you the low-down on facilities and sports clubs in your local area.
Pop into your local library – libraries are excellent sources of information about what’s going on locally.
Look into getting a leisure pass
which can get you discount on facilities.

Check out Sport England which has been set up to deliver the government’s sporting objectives and aims to make sport accessible to disabled people.

Visit Active Places which helps you find facilities in your area, searching by postcode or town. It will signpost you to your local sports centre, swimming pool or athletic track.

How much time to you devote to tennis?

My whole life! A lot of my time is taken up with exams and schoolwork. I’m in the middle of my mocks at the moment but I play both days on the weekend, and three or four times during the week.

Can you tell us a bit about your achievements?

In tennis, I’ve competed in the World Team Cup for Great Britain in Brazil. In 2006 I was the first British junior girl to compete in the World Masters Tennis tournament and will compete again this year in France. I’m also the youngest British player to win a National title. I’m ranked No. 5 junior in the world, fifth in the British senior rankings and 62nd in the world senior rankings. But I also enjoy racing and I have won the London Mini Wheelchair Marathon six times.

What are the key differences in disability sports? Do you mix with able-bodied sports?

In tennis the rules are the same apart from the fact that the ball is allowed two bounces. Disabled and able-bodied sports are normally kept separate, but at the end of this month – when I go to the France World Junior Masters – we get to play alongside each other and I love it, it’s brilliant. I don’t normally get to see junior able-bodied players so it is really nice to meet them.

This year there’s another girl and two boys from Great Britain going. You don’t necessarily have to take part in sports to win, it’s a great way to meet new friends and have fun! There are end of tournament parties as well, which are great.

What difference has playing sports made to your life?

I think I’m a lot more confident and it’s a great way to meet other people with disabilities, because you’ve got a lot in common. You also get to travel loads! Last year I went to Brazil, Holland, Poland, the Czech Republic and France. But I think it is still really important to integrate with able-bodied people too.

Why do you think it’s important for young disabled people to play sport?

It’s good to meet people with different disabilities as well as with the same disability as you. I think a lot of disabled people can feel quite isolated and think ‘it’s only me’. When you meet other people with disabilities you see other people and think ‘it’s not me, ‘I’m not on my own’ or ‘they’re the same as me’. It shows you that you’re not the only person out there with a disability and can achieve what you want to achieve!

Do you ever come across negative attitudes when you tell people you play sport?

Sometimes you encounter a lot of negative attitudes. When I tell people that I play tennis, they sometimes say ‘how do you do that?’ It is a bit annoying because wheelchair stuff isn’t publicised enough, so people don’t realise how big it is. They also don’t appreciate the standard of the sport we play. We don’t just tap the ball backwards and forwards, it is played at a very high level. These sorts of attitudes don’t help young people who aren’t keen on trying out new sports and activities.

What advice would you give to a young person with a disability who isn’t keen to take part in sports?

I’d tell them to ‘go for it!’. You never know if you’re going to like it if you don’t try it. If you don’t like it, then fair enough. But you need to try lots of different sports as well. I would tell them not to be nervous about people staring – there are such a mixture of disabilities out there. Trust me, when you’re mixing with other young people with disabilities (like at Stoke Mandeville junior games) you won’t think about it.

What’s your motto in life?

It’s not about what you can’t do, it’s about what you can do!

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