All Ability Sports and Leisure

 Our aim is to Increase awareness, and inspire people with a disability to take up healthy and active lifestyles, create a more inclusive sporting community while contributing towards a healthier community in general. 


Jack Petchey Foundation

We are pleased to be accepted onto the Jack Petchey Acheivement Award Scheme. Throughout 2013 and 2014 we have nominated 10 young people and 1 leader award, who were successful for various reasons. Find out more details here:


Community Games All Ability Fun Sports Taster Day 16th August 2014

The Taster Day took place from 11am to 3pm at Stewards Academy, Swimming Pool, Parnell Road, Harlow, CM18 7NQ. Many participants enjoyed trying out activities such as Boccia, Wheelchair Basketball, Seated Volleyball, Table Cricket, Football, Athletics, Swimming with Sea Scooters and a Bouncy Castle. This event was funded via the Essex All Ability Games project on behalf of Active Harlow.


Community Games All Ability Athleitcs & Boccia Challenge 3rd May 2014

A fantastic Competition, took place at Harlow Athletic Club Athletics Track at Mark Hall Sport Centre on Saturday 3rd May. With 44 Participants, who travelled from all over Essex.

The Challenge Cup is a team based competition where althletes can take part as individuals or as part of a team. On arrival athletes were put into teams and they competed in different events from races, throwing events and jumping and also the annual Boccia Challenge. 

This event was organised by our group with the help of Harlow Athletic Club. This was a Community Games Event with the Olympic and Paralympic Inspire Mark also joined on the day by Richard Chiassaro, who is a coach and athlete from Harlow Athletic Club and is currently Great Britain No 1 for 100m racing and placed 5 in the world. He was there supporting the teams and raising everyone's personal best.

Many Trophies and medals were won which included overall winner over 16's male 1st place Steven Burks, 2nd place Daniel Sedgwick and 3rd place Luke Lowe who all compete for Harlow Athletic Club. In the ladies 1st place was Hetty Bartlett from Ipswich Panthers, 2nd place Rosa Huntington and 3rd place Emma Kirbey both from Harlow Athletic Club

In the Under 16's Boys 1st place was Matt Travers, 2nd place Ggo Mizume, both from Harlow and 3rd was Curtis Rulton from Chelmsford. In the Girls Under 16's 1st place was Isabel Stevenson from Uttlesford, 2nd was Freyer Barnes, and 3rd was Florence Truscott both from Saffron Walden. The Boccia competition was won by YMCA Romford and Harlow Hurricanes got 2nd place. The overall winning team was won by Ritesh Rajcoomar, Steven Burkes, Hetty Bartlett, Jenny Savage and Steven Biggins.

The special memorial cup in memory of Karen Joy was presented to Hetty Bartlett. All trophies were presented by Spider Man who was doing a charity abseil from the Water Tower the following day (Chairman Neil Man).

Lots of extra fun was had between events as participants helped to make a banner about what sport means to them. A big thanks was announced to all the excellent volunteers who helped from first aiders, team leaders and officials, the scoring operators and St John's Ambulance Cadets. Plus to our trophy sponsor 'Care at Hand' where all the competitors that took part received a medal with a Ritesh Rajcoomar Perseverance Award.

This was a community games event inspired by 2012 with Sport England lottery funding linked via Active Essex and the County Sports Partnership also promoting Countdown to the Commonwealth games and Lagacy 2014

 

Saturday 23rd October 2013


Pitney Bowes Ltd celebrated their annual 'Diversity and Inclusion Culture Week' this year by including an afternoon of wheelchair sports.  The event was the idea of employee Wendy Merry who (as a Trustee of PACT for Autism) is a partner within the group 'All Abilities Sports and Leisure Services'.  Through links with this group, local athletes Richard Chiassaro (2012 Paralympic World Cup 100m Gold Medallist) and Anne Wafula-Strike (2007 3 x Silver Medals for Track & Field in the US Paralympic Championships) were contacted and delighted to get involved and an have opportunity to promote their sport with the local firm.

WB_training.JPG

Derek Freeman (Business Supplies Manager) and Enza Burgio (International Sales Trainer) organized teams from the new Pitney Bowes Ltd sales office in Harlow, to visit Mark Hall Sports Centre and take part in wheelchair track events coached by Anne, and wheelchair basketball coached by Richard and his Team.  Derek explained 'the idea of this is obviously to have fun, but to also help understand life in a wheelchair and to help appreciate the efforts that disabled people in wheelchairs go through on a daily basis to lead normal lives'.

WB_match_ball.JPG

The afternoon was a huge success and thoroughly enjoyed by all taking part and the many family members spectating.  'All Abilities' Chair Neil Mann and Sports Officer Helen Offord attended the event which promoted the Group's important work at creating opportunities for everyone to access and enjoy sport.  The Group's aims include a project led by Richard of setting up a local wheelchair basketball league for disabled and able bodied people to team up and compete.

WB_practice.JPG

Derek presented Richard and Anne with Thank You gifts and said 'It was a great honour to work with such professional sports people....we had a great day full of competitive camaraderie'.

The event also raised much needed funds of £600 for the All Abilities Sports and Leisure Services group, which will contribute towards repairs of sports wheelchairs.



Harlow Athletic Club

Southern Women’s League,Erith 18th May

womens.jpg

 

What a fantastic day; 189 Match Points, second place and some fantastic performances all around! It is obvious from these bare bones that the turnout was good and only five events were left uncovered. I am so proud of you all, thank you for a fantastic day!

Under 15

The team today was 50% Owen sisters, Hannah, Annabel and
Louise plus Ellie Williams, Amy Edwards and Abbie Campbell. Between them they
managed to cover all but two events. Beyond that they put in some good performances:

I think several PBs were matched or bettered so congratulations to you all.

Senior Women

The Senior Women’s team was predominantly made up of U17 women which makes their performances all the more admirable, competing as they were against some strong senior women. The team was; Amy Hunt, Rosa Huntingdon,Katie Templeton-Knight, Naomi Harryman, Erin Madsen, Steph Fuller and Isobel and Eleanor Moss:

Amy Hunt was second in both the 100m and 200m and first inthe ‘B’ Long Jump;


 Rosa Huntington made a welcome debut and finished fourth in the ‘B’ 100m. She also managed a distance of 7.77m which would have placed her second in the ‘B’ Javelin;

 Isobel had a busy day filling gaps in the 200m and1500m, achieving third place in both. She also won the ‘B’ 800m;

Katie won the‘A’ 800m before she, too, had to dash off to swimming;

Naomi had a good day and was first in all her events, the Long Jump, Triple Jump and 80m Hurdles;

 Erin won the 300 hurdles, was second in the 80m hurdles and third in the High Jump;


Steph was 1st in the ‘B’ Shot, second in the Discus and Hammer and second in the ‘B’ Javelin. Although, perhaps her finest performance was in the Triple Jump!

Finally, Eleanor was second in the ‘B’ Discus and fourth and second respectively in the Shot and Javelin. 

 

There were some cracking performances that will certainly have moved individuals up the rankings both locally and nationally and PBs were definitely broken.

Well done to you all too.



Both teams put out 4 x 100 relay teams and were involved in
two exciting races, finishing second each time. The U15s clocked a time of
59.3s and the Senior Women 55.7s



Well done ladies and let’s hope that our ‘home’ fixture in
June is just as successful! Read more about sport here.