East Region Disability Championships Approaching Fast

More than 200 athletes have entered next month’s Nationwide East Region Disability Championships at Cambridge, and with the majority of the entrants being teenagers, the future looks bright for disabled athletics in the region.

The championships will take place at the Cambridge University Track on Saturday, May 17, and will involve athletes with a range of different impairments - physical, visual, hearing and learning.

Around 40-50 of them will hope to qualify to represent the region at the National Junior Championships in Blackpool in July. The best will then go on to the UK School Games in August in Bath and Bristol.

Breeding Ground For Champions

The East Region Disability Championships have seen a number of current GB international athletes who will hopefully be competing in the Paralympics in Beijing in September, including Dan West, Lloyd Upsdell and Brian Alldis and it is hoped some of this year’s competitors could go on to compete in London in 2012.

Next month’s event is sponsored by Nationwide Building Society with additional support from England Athletics East.

Proud To Support

Chris Jones, regional manager for England Athletics East, said: “We are proud to be supporting this key event in our regional competition calendar. The East has a proud tradition of producing some outstanding Paralympians such as Danny Crates and Brian Alldis.

“The regional championships are a breeding ground for our future stars and we are pleased to support both these and the regional squad that will challenge for honours at the nationals in Blackpool.

Disability Advisor

“We are working hard under the leadership of Richard Hunt, the East Disability Athletics advisor, to integrate disability athletics into our mainstream athletics programmes and through our affiliated clubs, improving access for disabled people to enjoy this great sport.

“The championships provide a great platform to showcase some of this raw talent that we then need to develop through our coaching and competition structures delivered in our excellent network of athletic clubs.”

For further details about the championships and disability athletics in the East Region, contact r.j.hunt@uel.ac.uk or visit www.englandathletics.org/east

Compiled by Nicola Bamford.