RAF Base Forms First Ever Adaptive Sports Club

An RAF base in Cambridgeshire has started the first ever adaptive sports club in Armed Forces history.

RAF Wyton came up with the idea of a sports club that focuses on Paralympic sports such as wheelchair rugby.  

The founder of the club is Sergeant Pete Lauder, who competed at the 2017 Warrior Games. He suffered an injury in 2015 which has left him with no cartilage in his hip, and explained why there was a place for a club like this in the military.

"It was identified that there were quite a few of us with injuries. What could we do to maintain fitness and train for the big events?" Sgt Lauder said.

"I came up with the idea of creating the first effectively RAF adaptive sports club."

As Sgt Lauder says the club is for everyone and not just military personnel.

He said: "I think we now have 12 members that are not only currently serving, but veterans and local civilians too.

"It’s just a normal gymnasium. Thankfully, we’ve got some kit that has been loaned to us but the majority of the time, for the volleyball, we are using badminton nets. You just need a gym floor to do sitting volleyball.

"If you've got a gym floor and a bit of equipment, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have the wheelchairs."

The club has been helped by the support of the RAF base and its commander, Wing Commander Rachel Dixon.

She said: "I was surprised that we were the first if I’m truly honest. It’s a no brainer. It’s really not difficult to achieve and has been really pushed through by Pete. He is so invested in it and passionate about it.

"From my perspective, it was a really simple decision."

One of the main people behind the scheme is the physiotherapist, Corporal Sion Williams. He gives work-out programmes to the club members in an effort to focus on their recovery.

He said: "It gets the guys really energized about the training so we can give them some strength and conditioning.

"They really buy into it and have a reason for doing it. Sometimes rehab does get a little bit boring so I think it just adds that little bit of extra impetus for them.

"If they have an injury, it still doesn’t mean they can’t train like athletes."