Quilters' Paralympic Week 2020

Last week (beginning 5^th October) our CEO John Willis returned to Quilters Junior School in Billericay, Essex for their 3rd Annual Paralympic Week! This year the pupils were focusing on ‘Mental Well-being: how do Quiltonians make themselves happier and how do they make themselves worry less?’. With clear synergies between Power2Inspire and Quilters – ‘5 ways to well-being’ – beautifully drawn on their hall wall (pictured) it was always going to be an amazing week!

Connect

Talk / Listen

BE ACTIVE

KEEP LEARNING

GIVE

There were four days of fun – a year group per day on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with the Year 6s ending the week as ‘pros’, competing in their 3^rd games! After learning in the morning, the children competed in their classes in the afternoon, taking part in sitting netball, sitting volleyball, Goalball and New Age Kurling – providing a competitive element!

After a brilliant week, our CEO John Willis said:

It was amazing to return to Quilters Junior School to deliver in person our third Paralympic Week. Thanks to head teacher Mike Wade’s vision and ingenuity we ran the games – four inclusive sports – in a Covid compliant way. Having fun, learning how to be more resilient and making a difference to others are core Power2Inspire values, which we leveraged as part of the learning these inclusive games impart. We can’t wait to do it all again next year!

After the Year 3s took part in the Monday games they wrote John letters about their experiences and what they learnt. Rather than tell you what they said we thought we would show you instead. Click on the images below to see their wonderful notes and drawings!

by Dan Blackburn

First ever virtual PowerHouseGames

On Monday 21^st September Power2Inspire ran their first ever Virtual PowerHouseGames – at The Perse School, Cambridge.

Due to Covid-19, Power2Inspire have had to be dynamic in their approach to delivering inclusive sports events. Following the success of the mch.london virtual boat race and the live, online seat-based exercise classes with Oak Activities, this was just another step in showing that there is no stopping our aim of embedding inclusive sport in school, university and community settings!

By working with The Perse, an always forward-thinking school, and driven by the excellent Millie Diss, the Year 9 Perse pupils had the chance to try inclusive sports when they took part in the first Virtual PHG. They sampled the Paralympic pursuits of goalball and sitting volleyball, guided by instructional videos made by CEO John Willis and Deputy CEO Alex Laybourne, whilst they also had a virtual assembly delivered by John prior to the event. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions John was unable to be at the event in person, however he did join in virtually via Zoom!

The Perse Charities Co-ordinator Millie Diss was pleased that their pupils had not missed out on sampling inclusive sports after the PowerHouseGames event they had been set to take part in was cancelled during lockdown. She said:

We thought it was such a shame that they couldn’t do it in Year 8, so we put it together virtually. There was a virtual assembly where they were introduced to the work of Power2Inspire, who then provided the equipment and the films for them to try the activities.

They absolutely loved it. They learned how much they had to communicate with goalball, where they had to wear blindfolds, and they really enjoyed trying sitting volleyball. It was a really successful day in raising awareness of the charity with Year 9.

Power2Inspire CEO John Willis added:

We were delighted to be able to run our first ever Virtual PowerHouseGames – it was a fantastic day with lots of fun had by all. The Perse staff and pupils were amazing, as always, and the day showed just how successful this virtual version of the PowerHouseGames model can be! We look forward to seeing this grow and continuing to embed inclusive sport.

If you are interested in hosting a virtual PowerHouseGames in your school / college / company / community group please click the button to get in touch

Get in Touch

by Dan Blackburn

Welcome, Alex Laybourne

We are delighted to announce that, after a rigorous and competitive recruitment process, we have appointed Alex Laybourne to the role of Deputy CEO for Power2Inspire!

Alex’s previous experience includes three years running the ‘BOOST Project’ at Loughborough University, a project set up to champion the disadvantaged and disabled through sport. Following this he spent eight years as a PE teacher, holding leadership roles including Head of Rugby, Deputy Head of 6^th Form and Head of Careers during that time. Alex is also currently the Head Coach to Sweden Men’s Rugby team, having previously been Scotland Women’s U20s Head Coach, and is Director of Rugby for ‘The Lambs’, an invitational side set up to create opportunities for players to showcase their skills at a representative level where they haven’t been able to do so before. On top of this he currently sits on the Alumni Advisory Board at Loughborough University, where he is also a Performance Lifestyle Mentor for student-athletes who are combining studying and elite level sport.

Having been a Trustee for Power2Inspire since September 2019, Alex will step down from this role and take up the Deputy CEO post from the 1^st September.

On being appointed, Alex said:

I am delighted to be taking up the Deputy CEO role with Power2Inspire. It is an incredible charity who are doing great things, which can be seen by what has been achieved during the lockdown with the seated exercise classes and the mch.london virtual boat race. I am looking forward to working with John and the Board of Trustees as we continue to build the charity towards being the leading organisation in inclusive sport.

Commenting on the appointment CEO John Willis said:

I am delighted that Alex has taken on this new role. It will greatly aid our efforts as we approach a new ‘normal’ in a post-Covid world and allow us to grow our PowerHouseGames programme especially in universities, as well as building on our huge successes in lockdown: the virtual boat race and the online seat-based exercise classes. Alex brings a wealth of teaching experience, a network of contacts in schools and universities and a contagious enthusiasm for fun. I really look forward to working with him to ensure “No one is left on the bench!”

by Dan Blackburn

Championing the Seat-based Exercise classes on BBC Radio

Championing the Seat-based Exercise Classes on BBC radio!

Dotty McLeod from the BBC Radio Cambridgeshire Breakfast Show interviews Power2Inspire's John Willis and special guest Sue Phillips about the Online Seat-based Exercise Classes.

We have reproduced this week’s BBC Radio Cambridgeshire interview where Dotty McLeod is joined by John Willis to discuss the Online Seat-based Exercise Classes that Power2Inspire and Oak Activities are hosting. They are also joined by participant Sue Phillips who suffers from Guillain–Barré syndrome, an auto-immune disorder that effectively temporarily paralyses the patient and requires physiotherapy. She shares how important these classes continue to be.

Listen to the segment then help us keep these classes online by donating using the link below. Thank you!

by Dan Blackburn

Virtual boat race on 105 Sport Special

105 Sport Special - Virtual Boat Race on the radio!

105 Sport Special – Power2Inspire's John Willis is interviewed about the mch.london virtual boat race.

We have reproduced this week’s 105 Sport Special podcast segment where Ollie Slack is joined by John Willis to discuss the weekend’s virtual boat race between Cambridge and Oxford.

You can find out much more about the virtual boat race by following the links below the podcast.