Interview with Ray McBride, Chairman of Cumbria Wheelchair Sports Club

What sports do you play at the club?

Wheelchair basketball, boccia, power-chair football and we’ve just recently started wheelchair tennis too. We have over 200 regular players at our satellite hubs across Cumbria including Whitehaven, Penrith, Kendal and James Rennie School in Carlisle.

Take us back to how the club started...

The club was formed in 2010 by my daughter (and Nat’s mother), Mel Pattinson. As a teenager, Nat would often have to sit and watch his friends play sports because it wasn’t possible or permitted for him to take part. However, Mel wanted him to be able to take part in sports with his friends.

With help from myself and the rest of the family, CWSC started small and raised £50,000 in funding to cover the cost of ten wheelchairs. It started out with just six people attending each week - it is incredible just how much it has grown.

What makes the club so popular?

With any of our sports, anyone can take part regardless of their disability. We also encourage disabled people to bring their able-bodied friends; we have a young boy with cerebral palsy who brings his brother and eight friends. The club is not just about disabled people playing sport - it is about social inclusion.

One of the sports CSWC members can play is boccia. Many able-bodied people may not have even heard of boccia; however, for people with disabilities it can offer a new lifeline as it is a sport designed for people with high support needs. It can be played by anyone - and I mean that in the truest sense. When I speak to someone who is apprehensive about joining and they use the words ‘I can’t’, I turn around to them and say that is absolute tosh. We have a fully paralysed man who regularly plays - we can and will get anyone playing boccia and power chair football.

The boccia club has grown considerably in popularity, we now have between fifty and sixty people playing each week across two divisions. It’s a really flexible game that can be played as singles, doubles or teams. In the friendly league, this really helps us to ensure we can offer a game regardless of how many people turn up.

Finally, tell us about the Wheelchair basketball World Championship victory

Nat was chosen to be part of the GB under 23s team who played in the world cup in Toronto Canada, he is the best of a dozen or so young wheelchair basketball players in Britain.

For Cumbria Wheelchair Sports Club to have produced someone who could play at this level is fantastic, it will inspire other youngsters to take part in sport and be the best they can be, it gives them a clear pathway in life and an opportunity to be the best you can be.