Greenbank Sports Academy offers disabled people the opportunity to try a range of sports at low costs.
One of those sports is Power Hockey.
The sport is currently being developed in the Merseyside area, however the plan is to develop the game on a national and international scale.
Training sessions are on Tuesday evenings and all genders are encouraged to get involved.
The sport sees two teams of four compete against each other with matches being 40 minutes long with 20 minute halves.
It is an invasion sport played using specially designed power wheelchairs and a hockey ball.
Gerry Kinsella is the chairman of GB Power Hockey Association and set up the Greenbank Academy in 1983.
Kinsella has been a pioneer in disability sports and before setting up Greenbank, was a prominent athlete winning Commonwealth, European and World Championship medals with the Great Britain wheelchair team.
Kinsella also competed at the Paralympic Games in several sports.
His career saw him add to his medal tally in swimming, athletics, pentathlon and table tennis.
Several changes have been made to Power Hockey since its inception in 2000, including modifications to the equipment.
The long-term plan is to make the sport global and to take it to the Paralympics, yet it is still a step by step process at this moment in time.
Kinsella is looking to get hubs across the country to promote the sport in local schools.
This is with a view to create a national league so that one day they can be seen as a viable option as a Paralympic sport.
Pete Wyman works closely with the GB Power Hockey Association and he is gearing towards the first British Club Championship in May.
GB Power Hockey looking to expand
Speaking to MerseySportLive, Wyman said:
“We’re looking to get eight teams playing against each other in our first British Championships.
“We’re also setting up hubs in Cardiff, Burton upon Trent, Middlesbrough, Gloucester and Chester-Le-Street, hubs all over England and Wales to grow the game.”
While Wyman holds out hope for Power Hockey to feature in the Paralympics in the future, he accepts that it may still be some way off.
“With all the rules and regulations, the sport has to be played across the world and you need to have so many players and so many national championships so it takes a long time to get there.”
Liam Ashton is a trustee at GB Power Hockey and has been playing the sport since he was eight.
He hopes to be competing regularly against teams from the UK.
“Hopefully, we’ll have a national tournament where we have a few weekends every year where we can go and play the sport.
“We’ve never really played competitively so it will be good to have the best players from our team playing the best players from other teams.”
With the continued hard work and vision of everyone at the GB Power Hockey Association, the sport is only going from strength to strength.
They have a clear vision in mind and they want this to be a sport that inspires others to be inspired.
It may take time but with drive and ambition, they believe this can become a Paralympic sport and stay there for years to come.
