Mel Woods writes for SDS about how a welcoming, inclusive environment allowed her to thrive in athletics after acquiring her disability in 2018.
Initially after I acquired my disability in 2018 I was driven to get back in to sport and find something I enjoyed again. I got in touch with Scottish Disability Sport to find out all the options that were available to me. From there I got involved in athletics and tennis. I started by going down to Red Star Athletics Club (Glasgow) and meeting the coaches and athletes within the group. Seeing the range of athletes, their abilities and what they had achieved motivated me to get involved.
I managed to borrow equipment to get started, which was very fortunate as getting access to a chair can often be the hardest part. It can be hard to try something new and know whether you will enjoy it if the equipment is not available, highlighting how important this really is. I was going along to club sessions weekly and then when I got my own chair a few months later, I committed to training twice a day in sight of getting better (I was supported by a couple of different charities to get equipment).
I was lucky to join Red Star and have the support and experience of coaches (Ian Mirfin) who knew the pathway. This ultimately allowed me to know what was required of me in each stage of progressing through the rankings. It was also so important to have athletes within the club to ask questions to – knowing what they had achieved and understanding how they did so. I would recommend to anyone to be put in contact with athletes that have experience in the sport to get a better understanding of competing and equipment. Unlike mainstream/able bodied sports, there is less information out there so having people to speak to is so important. Equipment is a massive part of the sport and finding out what would suit your needs best is a hard task.
I started entering races in my first year of the sport (2019) to get experience and mostly for enjoyment. I was informed about the classification process, getting that organised as soon as I could. After my first year of competing I got on to the British Athletics development academy, offering further contacts and support. I continued finding out more about racing, having people to ask questions to and ultimately point me in the right direction.
I didn’t get much opportunity to compete in 2020, but a few races proved some significantly faster times and allowed me to get on to the British Athletics Futures Academy.
Ultimately I didn’t have any overly specific goals – other than improving. I knew I was a beginner and had a long way to go, but I just focused – and now continuing to focus – on seeing how good I can be. That has all come through a mixture of commitment and dedication to training and having coaches/athletes around to support and guide along the way.. Getting on to the pathway system just gave me confidence that I was moving in the right direction.