Preston college - Inclusive Tennis

Natalia Bedkowska (Cross College Engagement Officer) Preston College, case study

According to a survey conducted by Activity Alliance, the national charity and leading voice for disabled people in sport an activity, just one in five (20%) disabled people had taken part in an organised activity session in the last year and three-quarters (75%) of disabled people would like to be more active.

Inclusive Tennis is a sport programme that creates opportunities for young people living with disabilities including: hearing impairment, visually impairment, learning disabilities, long term illnesses, mental health and physical impairment and it does this by tailoring exercises ranging from slow and reduced movements to adaptive equipment and active tennis sessions. In addition to accessible and motivating space created for underrepresented students, Preston College’s Level 3 Sport students join our sessions for the 6 week program to learn and observe how to play and coach tennis and support players with different levels of impairment.

The programme is led by Tony Knappett; Head of Disability and Inclusion. His accolades as a professional wheelchair tennis athlete for Great Britain, and his years of coaching experience make him an ideal fit for the project, and a great role model for disabled students and our aspiring coaches. And myself, an Enrichment Officer in Preston College and a 2023 Wimbledon Ladies National Finals Champion in wheelchair tennis, we hope that our experience both in sports and as a disabled educators only heightens the range of opportunities, insight and support for disabled and non-disabled students in our college. Tennis is one of the most adapted sports in Britain and we hope to introduce more players and more coaches into the ever-growing and inclusive community.

Not often enough, young sport students get equal opportunities too, especially female and disabled students who aspire to coach, mentor and support others in their communities.
During our first two weeks our sport students were unsure on how to approach working with people with disabilities. It wasn’t a situation they often found themselves within their community and it was a challenge for them to learn best ways to communicate. We managed to create a safe space for them to ask questions about disability and watch experienced disabled staff create bonds with other students. It also took a while for our SEN students to feel comfortable with new people and environments. Creating game-like fun exercises and keep the same working groups week on week allowed us to overcome the hesitance on both sides and improvement in engagement and enjoyment was enormous.

Through Inclusive Tennis we can create a unique opportunity for them to develop coaching and management skills. By working with students with adapted needs in an accessible environment we help dismantle stigmas and encourage collaboration between the volunteers and participants no matter their lived experiences. Providing young sport students with an insight to accessible sport in College has a huge chance of building inclusive future in sport for new generations.

Learn more about EDI AoC Sports.