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MULTI-SPORTS WHEELCHAIRSIt is essential that young people have access to appropriate equipment to enable them to fully enjoy the benefits that sport can bring. This is even more important for young people with a disability. Sports wheelchairs are vital for many sports such as basketball and tennis as they enable greater manoeuvrability and speed on the court.Lord’s Taverners sports wheelchairs are donated to disabled young people who require a multi-sports starter chair. Clubs can also apply for up to five multi-sports starter chairs to enable even more youngsters to try new sports.BENPARSONS Ben Parsons, the winner of the Greatest Development Award at the inaugural Lord’s Taverners Sporting Chance Awards, and his Richmond College wheelchair basketball team received five sports wheelchairs from the Lord’s Taverners.Ben has Ehlers-Danloss and dyslexia, which makes mainstream education extremely difficult. Unable to join in with sporting activities at college, he persuaded peers and teachers to press for a trial wheelchair basketball club in supported learning, and then played a key role in making the club a permanent fixture. Pushing himself to write press releases in order to share the club’s success, he has since secured prestigious work placements at Hasbro and Sky, and is aspiring towards a career in digital marketing.552BENEFICIARIES IN 201539,000SPORTING CHANCES CREATED FOR 2015 AND THE FUTURE “I am in a chair but with wheelchair basketball I am accepted and on the same level as everyone else. I am proud of my skills and wheelchair basketball is now part of my life and who I am.”12 MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 2015IMPACT REPORT21SPORTS WHEELCHAIRS