On a wet Tuesday evening at Worthing Leisure Centre over 50 members of Worthing & District Harriers (WDH) gathered to congratulate Club Partnership of the Year being awarded to the Sussex & Worthing Wheelchair Racing Group.
Founding members of the group coach - Claire Moyle, coach at Worthing Special Olympics & Worthing District Harriers, Julian Stevens - Active Communities Manager at Adur & Worthing Borough Council and a volunteer coach, along with Gavin Stephens the Chair of WDH received the award from South East Regional Councillor Stuart Condie and England Athletics Club and Coach Support Officer Elspeth Turner.
The Sussex & Worthing Wheelchair Group was deemed an outstanding example of how a club, Worthing District Harriers; the Adur & Worthing Borough Council and the Sussex Athletics Network have worked together. The group has raised funds to purchase wheelchairs and equipment, recruited and trained coaches through courses and enjoyed a Flying Coach visit from Paralympic legend, David Weir’s coach - Jenny Archer. The have also arranged competition by encouraging Network clubs to include wheelchair races in their programme and have set up a training environment for newcomers to participate in the sport of wheelchair racing across the county of Sussex. Inspired by the 2012 Paralympics the group has great hopes for the future.