The return of the PowerHouseGames to Canterbury Christ Church University was a huge success, bringing students together for a day of inclusive sport and giving everyone the opportunity to get involved. 

Students from Newingate School, Small Haven and the SLBS Base department joined us for the event, ready to try a range of sports and experience what the PowerHouseGames are all about. 

We also had a fantastic turnout of people helping to make the day possible.

Six different sports were on offer: goalball, New Age Kurling, walking deaf football, sitting volleyball, sitting netball and walking rugby. For some students, these were completely new activities, but that didn’t stop them from giving everything a go. 

Throughout the day, the students showed great enthusiasm and a willingness to participate in every sport. There were plenty of smiles as they got to grips with new rules, worked out how to play together and supported their teammates. 

That teamwork was particularly clear during activities such as walking rugby, where communicating and working together was just as important as scoring. Everyone gave it their best shot, regardless of their previous experience or ability. 

But one of the best things to see was how comfortable everyone became within their teams. The PowerHouseGames is about much more than simply trying different sports. It’s about creating an environment where disabled and non-disabled young people can take part together and everyone feels like they belong. 

There couldn’t be a more fitting way to round off the Oxford Young Sports Leaders Programme than with a PowerHouseGames. 

Bringing together students from the six schools taking part in the Oxford Young Sports Leaders Programme alongside pupils from John Watson School, the event gave young people the opportunity to put months of learning into practice through inclusive sport. Held at the University of Oxford’s Iffley Road Sports Centre, it was a chance to see everything they had been working towards come together.  

That’s exactly what stood out to Zoe Pugh, Sport and Community Engagement Officer at the University of Oxford: 

“…it was wonderful to see them interacting, collaborating, and building new connections with peers from different schools.”  

One of the highlights of the day was welcoming Miranda Loughry from Oxfordshire Goalball Club, who introduced participants to goalball and shared her passion for adaptive sport. 

Miranda noticed the transformation in the students throughout the morning. 

 “I especially loved how the groups consisted of mixed ages and kids from different schools. I noticed how the kids started out a little nervous and reserved in the morning and became more confident as the day went on. The kids in the last few groups I worked with really seemed to have developed friendships with their peers and their team captains that will endure beyond the closing ceremony.”  

The PowerHouseGames was the perfect way to round off another successful Oxford Young Sports Leaders Programme. It celebrated everything the students had learned while showing that leadership isn’t just about organising activities or giving instructions. It’s about making sure everyone feels included and has the confidence to take part. 

We would like to thank the University of Oxford, Zoe Pugh, Miranda Loughry and Oxfordshire Goalball Club, the participating schools and everyone who helped make the event such a success.  

Another year of the Granta Park PowerHouseGames is complete, and this year’s event certainly brought out everyone’s competitive side. 

Returning as part of Granta Park’s annual Summer of Sport programme, five teams from businesses across the park came together on the cricket ground for an evening of inclusive sport. The BaseSpace Blazers, Flow Cell Flyers, Illumina Innovators, Los Muchachos De Nuffield and T-Therapeutics were all ready to battle it out for the trophy. 

It was one of the hottest events yet, but that didn’t stop everyone throwing themselves into the games with plenty of enthusiasm and competitive spirit. 

This PowerHouseGames took a slightly different format to our usual events. Rather than rotating around activity stations, the five teams went head-to-head, first playing each other at goalball before moving on to sitting volleyball. When teams weren’t competing, they could practise their boccia skills ready for the final. 

Despite the friendly atmosphere, things soon became remarkably competitive. Eventually, it came down to T-Therapeutics and Los Muchachos De Nuffield, who faced each other at boccia to decide the champions. 

After a fantastic evening of competition, it was Los Muchachos De Nuffield, representing Nuffield Health, who came out on top and took home the trophy. While there could only be one winner, the evening was also a brilliant example of what inclusive sport can be. 

One participant had originally come along simply to support her friends, but it wasn’t long before she found herself joining in and enjoying the games too. It was a great example of how easy it can be to get involved when sport is designed to include everyone. 

Power2Inspire was delighted to deliver a second collaborative PowerHouseGames with North Cambridge Academy and Cambridge University, bringing young people from across Cambridgeshire together for another morning of inclusive sport. 

Held at the University’s Wilberforce Road Sports Ground, home to Cambridge University’s athletics and hockey facilities, the event offered a different setting to previous PowerHouseGames.

The outdoor venue created a relaxed atmosphere where students, volunteers and university staff could play, connect and enjoy the morning in the sunshine. 

Building on the success of the first event, 10 mixed teams were made up of students from North Cambridge Academy, Meldreth Manor School, Fairway School and Stephen Perse. They were joined by volunteers from Cambridge University, including students from King’s and Wolfson College, who helped ensure every participant felt welcome and included. 

With temperatures rising at the start of the summer heatwave, everyone adapted to keep participants comfortable. Four gazebos, kindly provided by Meldreth Manor School, offered welcome shade throughout the morning, allowing everyone to enjoy the event before the hottest part of the day.

Participants took part in a range of inclusive sports, including boccia, goalball, touch rugby, walking football and kwik cricket, before everyone came together for a game of sitting volleyball to round off the morning. 

The outdoor setting also created some unique moments. The university’s athletics dugouts were transformed into the courtside seating for boccia, adding a memorable twist to one of the day’s most popular activities. 

For many students, the impact of the day extended far beyond the sport itself. 

Narges Gonzalez, Head of School at Meldreth Manor School, said: 

“I wanted to take a moment to thank you for what was an exceptional PowerHouseGames experience. 

The event was not only a wonderful opportunity for our students to have fun and engage in sport, but, more importantly, it provided a platform for them to be recognised and celebrated for their individual strengths and abilities. That sense of inclusion and value was incredibly powerful. 

The layout of the event felt safe, purposeful, and very well organised, which enabled our students to participate with confidence and ease. The impact this will have on their self-esteem and confidence extends far beyond the sporting activities themselves. 

Thank you again for creating such a meaningful and inclusive experience. We are very grateful to have been part of it.” 

Some weeks are busier than others, and this was certainly one of them. 

Over five days, we delivered three PowerHouseGames, a Games2Inspire, an assembly and a charity fundraiser. From Bisham Abbey to Suffolk, it was a week packed full of activity and plenty of memorable moments. 

Tuesday brought sunshine and our fourth year in partnership with Leighton Park School and the Independent School Association. With more than 80 participants from seven schools, it was another fantastic example of what can happen when young people come together through inclusive sport. 

 The energy throughout the day was brilliant. A huge thank you to the Leighton Park sports leaders who ran each of the activity stations. They did a fantastic job making participants feel welcome, and we hope the experience gave them valuable insight into inclusive sport. 

 One of the highlights of the day was seeing young people realise they were capable of more than they thought. Whether it was trying a new sport or stepping outside their comfort zone, it was fantastic to watch their confidence grow.