More than 260 athletes competed in the renowned Rotary Disabled Sports Team Championships in Coventry this week, as Rotary did its bit to find the paralympians of the future.
The elated team from Leicester were crowned overall winners after taking gold in the kurling, men’s weights, pitstop, shooting, slalom and table tennis disciplines.
Paralympians Nigel Murray who won gold at the Sydney Paralympics and a silver and gold at Beijing in Boccia, and Keith Morris who took silver at the Seoul Paralympics in rifle shooting and has competed in Atlanta, Barcelona and Sydney, were among the special guests cheering on the competitors, along with Mayor of Coventry Andy Matchet and President of Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland Ian Thomson.
The annual sports competition, organised and sponsored by the five Rotary clubs in Coventry and supported by clubs across England, saw hundreds of spectators packing out the Xcel Leisure Centre in Canley on Saturday 8 November and Sunday 9 November.
Organiser Ron Gibbs, from the Rotary Club of Coventry Jubilee, said: "The weekend was just great. All the hard work and dedication by the competitors, Rotarians, Xcel Leisure centre staff and supporters resulted in a memorable Championship weekend of fierce competition and sportsmanship in a friendly atmosphere – a wonderful display of sport and a fine example of Rotary in Action".
"The event truly helped to promote the Olympian ideal where participation is more important than the winning. The aim of the Championships is to promote team spirit and achievement. We also make it a prerequisite in the competition that each team has at least one boy or girl under the age of 16 years old in a bid to encourage sports clubs for the disabled to do more to develop young athletes."
Second place went to the South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire team, with the North west team coming third.
The 12 teams of competitors, who have physical and learning disabilities, came from Bristol and Gloucester, Derby, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Newark, North West England, Rugby, South Yorkshire/ Lincolnshire, Wakefield, Hucknalland Coventry,
Now in its 27th year, the Championships featured 13 disciplines: kurling, table tennis, table tennis for those with learning disabilities, rifle shooting, boccia team, boccia individual,darts, male weight lifting, female weight lifting, pitstop,swimming, triathlon and the slalom.
The Xcel Leisure Centre in Canley, which opened in June 2008, ispart of the South West Coventry regeneration scheme and largely administered by local Rotarians. The £9m centre has been hailed as the ‘flagship’ for the regeneration scheme that has been designed with the needs of the local community in mind. It is one of 3 that make up the Coventry Sports Foundation, a charity where direction provided by Coventry Rotarian Directors has created superb facilities, not just sport, in under-privileged areas of the City.
The five Coventry Rotary clubs; Coventry, Coventry Breakfast, Coventry Jubilee, Coventry North and Coventry Phoenix and Coventry Rotaract club annually organise the Championship and, along with clubs across the Midlands, raise more than £12,000 through event sponsorship and donations to put the event on. Rotary clubs and districts from across England provide the financial support for travel and accommodation and accompany the competing teams.
For more information on the games, visit www.rotarydisabledsports.org.uk
13/11/08
