THE Kingdom Wheelblasters sports club was presented with a cheque for €4,000 by Kerry Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus at the John Mitchels GAA Complex on Saturday morning.
The Kingdom Wheelblasters are an Irish wheelchair affiliated sports club for children and teenagers with a physical disability.
Speaking at the presentation of a cheque, secretary of the club Tadhg Buckley said; “The Kingdom Wheelblasters has been up and running for 18 months starting out initially with just four children and now we have nine children plus their siblings. Our membership is growing steadily as our profile grows.”
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“The club is acutely aware of the extremely positive outcomes that sports can bring to its members,” said Tadhg. “Sport gives a purpose and a discipline that are the building blocks to developing independence whether you have a disability or not. The benefits for our parents is also not to be underestimated as it gives a venue for parents to talk about their own experiences, exchange information and support each other.”
The club originated through Deirdre Gallagher, Family Support Worker for Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland. Deirdre organised all initial meetings of different interested parties when she noticed the gap in services for such a group in Kerry.
It is run by parents on a 100% voluntary basis and is the first club of its kind in Kerry. It has been set up on the blueprint of the incredibly successful Rebel Wheelers in Cork.
The club meets fortnightly, on Saturday at John Mitchels Sports complex in Tralee. The main hall there is perfect for all sports for the children. The most popular sport played by far is wheelchair basketball but the club has also introduced its members to wheelchair hurling, tag rugby, boccia and hand cycling.
The club intends to get its members involved in athletics sports and more as it grows
The running of the club is organised by the parents and the funding to date is €5 fee per family per session. The cheque will be put to immediate use to purchase equipment for the club which is extremely expensive.
Good quality sports chairs costs in the region of €1,500 each. The equipment the club uses at present is on loan from IWA Sport for which the club are very grateful.
Presenting the cheque, Chairman for Kerry Spina Bifida hydrocephalus association and three-time Paralympic athlete, Roy Guerin, commented that the committee, Tadhg Buckey, Mairead Hickey and Lisa Hickey’s dedication cannot go without recognition and praise.
Without this committee and the support of the parents, the club would not be where it is today.