Month: February 2015

Ahead of the pack

An inspirational story from the BBC news pages today, follows a 10 year old boy playing Rugby for his local team, Chorley Panthers. Ben Seward was born with his right arm only partially formed, but through determination and the support of his friends and family he has rapidly become one of the most valued players on the Panthers’ under-11’s team.

It may be unusual for a Blog focused on assistive technology and sporting innovation but this is purely a story of strong will and determination and refusal to be limited by physical impairment.

Para Sliding Sports Gaining Momentum

Last month saw the inaugural World Cup Para Bobsleigh and Skeleton races held at Igls (Innsbruck, Austria) on January 23rd with the second round held in St Moritz on the 31st of January. Team GB have shown a strong presence with Corie Mapp (see photo) winning Gold medal in the Monobob at Igls and Matthew Richardson getting Silver medal in the Skeleton at Igls and St Moritz. There has been other interesting news in the world of Para sliding sports with Jon-Allan Butterworth and Heather Mills both competing in Channel 4’s Celebrity Winter Sports program The Jump. Jon-Allan, using prosthetic attachments adapted to fit the skeleton, clocked the fastest time out of all the male celebrities.