Region 6 Multi-Sport
West Mercia Police Headquarters, Hindlip
On Wednesday 16th October, Police UK Disability Sport attended West Mercia Police Headquarters, Hindlip to host the first Region 6 Multi-Sport.
Gibing officers, staff and volunteers, past and present from the force and surrounding forces that make up Region 6, the opportunity to try wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and sitting volleyball throughout the day.
The event was opened by West Mercia Chief Constable, Richard Cooper, who said:

“I am a huge sport fan, so I warmly welcome Police UK Disability Sport to our HQ today. The benefits of sport are well known, and it is fantastic to work alongside this organisation who offer so much to serving and retired police officers, staff and volunteers. It is important that sport is accessible to everyone, and I hope today will be an opportunity for officers and staff to try something they perhaps haven’t done before”.
The first session was wheelchair rugby, with 14 participants, including the Chief Constable (right). The session started with a quick safety brief, before the players got in their chairs to first learn how to get moving, which didn't take long and before we knew it, we had progressed to a relay race, some passing drills and full contact hits.
We then had time and the numbers to have a full match, which was surprisingly competitive, with both teams putting plenty of scores on the board.
We were supported by Worcester Warriors Wheelchair Rugby Club, who kindly donated the use of their chairs for the taster sessions.
We then had a fantastic session of wheelchair basketball, which provided a very different experience of wheelchair team sports for those that had just taken part in the rugby session. Now having to push down court and aim a shot at the basket (full height) to score, instead of crossing a line on the floor as we do for rugby. So a very different set of skills required.
After some practice drills, the two teams faced off in a match, both teams improving as the session progressed.
We were supported by Bears Wheelchair Basketball Club who donated the use of their chairs, and our very own member Jacob who is a Bears player/coach led the sessions.
This event was also being supported by members of the West Mercia Police Cadet Force, with 12 on site, we were also able to run a junior wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball session, which they all thoroughly enjoyed and were pleased to be included in the days' activities.
This event will pave the way for a full weekend Region 6 Multi-Sport in the new year, which will provide even more court time and a range of other sports to even more participants from all of the forces in Region 6. We are now working on setting up the PUKDS Region 6 Hub, which will provide regular training sessions, regional events and national competitions.
We will now apply to the Sport England Movement Fund for a grant which will help to fund a series of community led tournaments in Region 6 for team sporting events, where we will be working with community based clubs to stage events at HQ, providing positive force and community engagement.
Please head over to our events page to keep up to date with all future events, dates are being added all the time, in each of the regions.
If you would like to take part in Region 6 or any of the other regions events, head over to our membership page to sign up for your FREE Lifetime Membership with PUKDS, which will enable to to participate in all of our events and competitions, also for free.
PUKDS is a self-funded not-for-profit registered community interest company, as such we rely on the kind donations of the public and funds raised through sales of merchandise and sponsorship opportunities. Every donation is greatly appreciated.