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Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge PowerHouseGames 2024

On the 15th of November 2024, the third annual PowerHouseGames with Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, took place at the Cambridge University Sports Centre – and what a wonderful day it was!

I studied Natural Sciences at Fitzwilliam College (between 2020–2023) so it was great to be back in Cambridge for the Fitzwilliam College PowerHouseGames. In 2022, Maya Hodgson and I embraced the challenge of bringing back a distinct sense of community and inclusion in our roles as President and Vice-President of Fitzwilliam Sports and Societies.

Fitzwilliam’s emphasis on sports and society is what makes it such an incredibly welcoming college so, together with Power2Inspire, we organised the inaugural Fitzwilliam College PowerHouseGames.

You can read the Varsity article about the first Fitzwilliam College PowerHouseGames here.

This year, we welcomed students from Landmark International, Castle School and Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology (CAST). Games included Boccia, Goalball, New Age Kurling, Sitting Volleyball, Kwik Cricket, and concluded with a massive game of Sitting Netball. Personally, Kwik Cricket was my favorite—it was great to witness some incredible batting and fielding from all the teams!

During Sitting Netball, it was also brilliant to see how much the children had grown in confidence. Many of them were enthusiastically communicating with teammates from different schools as well as new faces! The atmosphere in the hall was electric, and I even noticed a few curious spectators drawn in on the balcony by the roars of joy from inside the hall!

I had the chance to speak with Emma Pretty, the current Vice-President of Sports and Societies at Fitzwilliam College, who shared:

“PowerHouseGames was such an inspiring event to be a part of, representing so clearly the power of inclusive sport in bringing communities together. It fostered a shared love of sports, with each participant contributing their individual strengths and receiving supportive encouragement to take part in new team sports and have fun.”

A huge shoutout to Emma and Joseph McGuigan, President of Sports and Societies at Fitzwilliam College, for all their hard work in organising the event, as well as the wonderful Fitz volunteers! I’d also like to extend a huge thanks to Alasdair Fletcher who rallied to bring a few more volunteers down to ensure we had enough support.

We were delighted to welcome Ed Hackett and Ben Dyer of ReGroup as volunteers. Their enthusiasm and willingness to participate fully has led us to exploring how the two organisations – Power2Inspire and ReGroup – can help each other in 2025.

Clare Laidler, from Castle School, shared her thoughts on the event:

“Castle has been attending the PowerHouseGames for a long time—it’s the highlight of our pupils’ year! We are an SEN school with a mixture of abilities and learning difficulties and are guaranteed a great morning of sports. We receive a massive welcome on arrival, support for our pupils, and interaction with understanding adults and university students (the students are always brilliant with the children). The range of sports is accessible to all levels of ability and fitness, with a focus on positivity and support. The medal ceremony at the end is always lovely. I highly recommend you go and see how amazing it is.”

If your company would like to get involved—whether through sponsorship or by providing volunteers—we’d love to hear from you! Sponsors have the opportunity to enjoy a fantastic team morning as volunteers, acting as team captains, leading students through the games, and experiencing the fun of inclusion and community cohesion firsthand.

What are PowerHouseGames?

PowerHouseGames are incredible sports days using adapted games and sports, with activities designed to be accessible and fun for everyone, old and young, with disabilities and none, sporty and not. Participants are encouraged to test their beliefs about ability and disability and what it is to be different, to learn to respect other people’s differences, and Power2Inspire works with them to challenge their assumptions of what they can and cannot do.

Inspired? Then Get Involved!

Would your university sports team, or school love to be involved in a PowerHouseGames? Could your company support our mission by volunteering at one of our PowerHouseGames? If so, then we would love to hear from you. We are also always looking out for people willing to fundraise for Power2Inspire through their own inspiring means. Or, you could volunteer individually at one of our events, or you could give to the ongoing work of Power2Inspire. There are SO MANY WAYS we can all help to ensure “no on else is left on the bench!” Click the button here to find out more.

Bethany Haran

P2I Intern