Disability tag rugby
Ulster
The Ballymena Bears can put disability tag rugby front and centre thanks to a £12,250 grant from Wooden Spoon Ulster. For the last 11 years the club has operated from a pitch side picnic table. Now the funding has allowed them to build a permanent cabin.
Opened by Irish international and Lions legend, Willie John McBride CBE, the new cabin gives the disability tag rugby club a home they deserve and are proud of.
This will make a difference to all of the players. one such is Danny who has been playing with the Bears since he was 13, when the club started.
His dad, Eamon, said:“Danny has Downs Syndrome. He’s very active, he loves a bit of rough and tumble and I thought rugby was perfect for him. He loves the competitiveness of the sport. He’ll say, ‘Ah daddy, daddy, did you see? I nearly scored a try’, and he’s delighted in the fact that he nearly scored a try. It really is life changing, we’ve made lifelong friends.”
Before, the club relied on head coach Gary and his wife Jenny to store and transport all the session equipment. The new cabin, complete with kitchen, gives the club a permanent base for the coaches and storage for all the training kit.
Eamon continues: “It’s great to make tea and coffee in this lovely kitchen, instead of the wind blowing sideways at us across the tundra.”
Its just this sort of difference our Tag Disability appeal is tying to help, by providing the support and equipment for clubs and schools to develop the Tag rugby scene. See how you can help this become a reality for more children like Danny
