Paralympic Sport: Sitting Volleyball

Disability: Congenital double leg amputee

Home Town: Canterbury

Club: Kent Wyverns

Career highlights

2010 -2011 GB Grand Prix Series
2009 -2010 GB Grand Prix Series
2009 Kent International Tournament vs. China and Hungary

What is your sporting ambition?

To be a part of the 2012 Paralympics

What was your inspiration to take up your sport?

To play a team sport that the GB women will be entered in for the first time at the London 2012 Paralympic Games

What are your interests outside of sport?

Reading, teaching, music and theatre

In your mind, what’s the most memorable moment of past Olympics/Paralympics?

Rebecca Adlington getting the double gold a the Beijing Olympics and Liz Johnson getting gold in the pool at the Paralympics in 2008

What three words best describe you?

Happy, Determined, Busy

How often do you train?

At this level the training is pretty intensive. I’m doing nine sessions a week altogether. This includes team training at weekends and on a Monday. Some of the other players and I have been chosen to take part in the Talent Transition program at Bath University this involves our stability, fitness and weight being continually assessed. We also do a specially designed program including at least three aerobic sessions a week, to lift our heart rate above a certain rate, as well as sport-specific activities such as ball exercises. Some of the training activities are definitely more fun than others but being on the program does help you know that there’s going to be someone checking up on you, monitoring your progress it makes it easier to push yourself.

What was it about sitting volleyball that made you think that’s the sport for me?

My route into sitting volleyball was actually pretty lucky. I started off in swimming, and I was asked by Kent County Council to become one of their Disability Officers. It was at a meeting there that I met Tom Middleton who told me that I was an ideal candidate for sitting volleyball I’m a double leg amputee, caused by a congenital condition. He asked me to come along to an open day event organised by Volleyball England. I went along and really enjoyed it and now I’m competing internationally!

Want to get into Sitting Volleyball?

For further information about Kent Wyverns Sitting Volleyball Club please visit the Volleyball England website