Free Running
Thanks to research on classification for para sports at Queen Margaret University (QMU), Frame Running is now included in European and World Para Athletics championships and is on the provisional list for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
However, access to equipment remains the biggest barrier to bring children into the sport.
Together with key partners ACE RaceRunning and RaceRunning Scotland, QMU are looking to establish the first ever Frame Running Equipment Hub, with a £20,000 grant from Wooden Spoon Scotland.
Thomas Kelly, Head of Development & Alumni at QMU, tells us what the new hub will mean to youngsters with little or no mobility:
“For example, you have a child with Cerebral Palsy, you place them in a frame, and they can walk. It sounds so simple, but they have never been able to do that. It’s incredible when you get to see children use a frame for the first time.”
“But then imagine how frustrating it is for a child who has been using that frame for two years, but has now grown out of it and doesn’t have access to the next size up. And this is what the hub will provide, almost like a swap shop for the next size frame.”
This is not the first project with Queen Margaret University. In 2018 Lions star, Jason White opened the Wooden Spoon Speech Therapy Clinic, which uses ground-breaking technology to change the lives of youngsters with speech difficulties.
To help fund more life-changing projects, you can give regularly and become a member of Wooden Spoon for just £5 per month, or make a one-off donation here.