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Today, I’m writing to tell you a little about the Sky Sports Living for Sports Initiative.  I am one of 50 “Athlete Mentors” who work to deliver this initiative in secondary schools across the country.

The first thing I should tell you is: it is completely FREE for schools to get involved and get Athlete Mentors to visit.

Basically, SSLFS is a flexible initiative, available free to all secondary schools, helping teachers work with targeted 11-16 year olds to change behaviours, improve life skills and increase attainment through participation in sport.    Through sports sessions and tutorials, and encouraging students to organise their own sports event, projects are tailored to inspire each student to work towards personal goals, whether it be improving confidence, raising attainment in class or leading a healthier lifestyle.

The schools select a target group of young people who they feel need support, pick sporting activities to engage them, help your young people achieve goals and get them to work towards an event, before finally celebrating their achievements. Meanwhile, an Athlete Mentor, like myself, can be booked to come into work with your chosen students (and other student groups if you wished).  On our full day project visits Athlete Mentors aim to deliver the following:



·      The Athlete’s personal story

·      An introduction to the Six Keys to Success (Mental toughness, Hunger to achieve, People skills, Sports and life knowledge, Breaking barriers, Planning for success).

·      A practical/games session

·      A goal setting session

For more details, and to register, please visit http://livingforsport.skysports.com/ if you do wish to register, it is very simple to do. However, I am happy to assist you if necessary. 
Each school is allocated their Athlete Mentors by area. However, if you register and would like me to be your school’s Mentor, just let me know (email: Info@fran-williamson.co.uk) and I can do my best to forward your request on to the office.

I hope these details are of interest to you.
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There are just under two months until In the Swim 2012 – an inclusive swimathon raising money for national disability charity United Response. Fortunately, there are still some places left!

 Taking place on 21st May at Kensington Leisure Centre, the event is open to swimmers of all abilities, with each participant receiving a medal and complimentary cream tea!   Oh, and one more thing... I'll be hosting the event!

However, I'd like to use this blog to tell you a little bit more about a lady called Maria Smith – the inspiration behind In the Swim 2012. Maria is deaf and physically disabled. She lives in a supported living service run by United Response.

Maria is an experienced swimmer, having started at the age of 7, when her father used to take her to their local swimming pool. She has always been inspired by sport and enjoys watching football, as well as supporting British athletes in international competition.

Last June, Maria contacted the United Response fundraising team, asking if there were any inclusive swimming events in the local area she could take part in. After an extensive search, the team realised that there were no sponsored swimming events in the area, let alone inclusive ones. It was then that United Response decided to create a swimathon event everyone could take part – including the people they support.

They were able to find a superb venue for the event in Kensington Leisure Centre, which has excellent facilities for people with disabilities. Sadly, this is all too often the exception rather than the norm, as support worker Sue Telling is only too aware.

"I have visited pools that have equipment – like hoists and special ramps – but no one on shift to operate them," explained Sue. "Also sometimes, such equipment gets put away before you even arrive if they don't know you are coming, or forget. Because of such problems, some disabled people are put off going swimming in the first place."

In the Swim 2012 will provide the ideal opportunity for anybody – regardless of disability or other mobility issues – to take part in a swimming event, have fun and raise some valuable funds – all in the year the Olympics and Paralympics come to London!

Maria told United Response: "I am really looking forward to In the Swim 2012 and claiming my medal at the end of it all! I am very proud that I was the inspiration behind the event." 

If you fancy taking part in this exciting and inclusive sporting event, please go to www.unitedresponse.org.uk/InTheSwim to find out more.

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I am very pleased to be supporting United Response with a fundraising challenge due to take place at the Kensington Leisure Centre in West London on 21st May 2012. The challenge, to be known as In the Swim 2012, gives disabled people the opportunity to get active in the pool to raise valuable money for the work United Response does to support the disabled community across Britain.

In order to harness the symbolic significance of the up and coming Olympic and Paralympic games, the challenge will be comprised of a 2012 metre relay. Open to swimmers of all ages and abilities, the event really allows people from all walks of life to do something proactive, that will truly make all the difference.

You can find out more about the event on the In the Swim webpage.

Getting active is a great way of feeling a sense of achievement – especially if it is combined with making a difference to people’s own, important, support networks. Therefore, I would encourage as many people as possible to take part and do something noteworthy that makes them feel proud.

You can register online, at the United Response website.

I am very much looking forward to attending the event in person. So much so, that I will be personally awarding some awesome (can't be bought in shops!) prizes for a range of categories, including: “fastest swimmer” and “most sponsorship raised”. So, there are multiple reasons to get active, take part, work together and meet new people!


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1. As an ambassador, how exactly did you get involved with this event and why is it important to you?

 I got involved with this via Twitter actually. Paul Wilson from the Rotary saw my profile on there and sent me a message asking if I'd be interested in getting involved.  It is a fantastic event that will get people of all ages, across the world, working together at the same time to achieve the same common goal.  The event is not only unique but it is accessible too; people only need to swim 4 lengths of a 25m pool to do their bit.  If that is all people need to do to change the lives of so many others then I am excited.

2. I understand the chosen cause for this event is eradicating Polio. How do you feel this event will contribute to tackling polio?

Polio now only affects people in two countries across the world.  When the Rotary began their "End Polio Now" campaign in 1985, the occurrances of Polio have dropped from 1000 cases a day to just 1500 case a year.  Moreover, 5,000,000 children have been saved from this deadly desease.  We are very close to seeing total erradication of polio.  With events like this, aiming to raise approximately £100,000, we get even closer!
 
3. What benefits do you believe swimmers can enjoy from taking part in this event, and what would you say to encourage people to take part?

I think the key here is a sense of achievement. Its great to get people active, but its even better to be able to tell someone that they may have helped save a life by doing so.  Not to mention the fact that they will be a member of a (hopefully) 11,000 strong World Record holding team!!
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Throughout my life I have fought against the stereotypes that are placed upon me because of my impairment.  I have had Athetoid Cerebral Palsy since birth.  This means I have brain damage that affects the way all my muscles work and are controlled … this also causes me to have a distinctive speech impairment.  As a result, many members of society assume that I have a learning disability - and speak to me as such.  I make a huge effort to make it known that this is not the case and that, in actuality, I have a lot of intelligence to offer.

Today, however, I have discovered that these efforts have been somewhat tarnished by a fundamental oversight of a major public organisation.  Official documentation of the London 2012 Games Makers mission has categorised Cerebral Palsy as a learning disability.  Whilst it is true that, depending on the areas affected by brain damage, some people with CP do have learning impairments, it is not an major affect of CP for all who have it.

I will openly admit that my school days were not prosperous and I did not get the grades I should have done.  However, I can say with confidence that this is due to my personal learning styles not matching with orthodox educational routes, and not my CP.  I now have a first class degree and I am about to start writing my research dissertation for my Masters degree. And no, I am not the only person with CP to display this level of intelligence. 
Nevertheless, on a daily basis, due to public stereotypes and misconceptions, I, and others like me, get talked down to about 80% of the time.

As I said earlier, it is possible for people with CP to have learning difficulties.  The type of brain damage people with CP have varies dramatically from person to person.  Thus, the areas of the brain affected in people with CP can cause varying impairments.  However, categorising CP as a learning disability is in no way a legitimate mistake to make.  Indeed, it is a fundamental oversight that is currently informing in excess of 80,000 Games Maker Volunteers, many of whom will be working during the London Paralympic Games this August.

This oversight presents itself in the 'Understanding Disability' section of the London 2012 Games Maker Workbook.  This displays four categories of impairment, as such:

"Visual Impairments (blind or partial sight):

- people may use a white cane, guide bog, sighted guide or their own remaining sight for mobility.
- People may have difficulty accessing print, recognising faces, differentiating colour and small detail and may use technology to access computers and other equipment 

Hearing Impairments (Deaf or hard of hearing):

- People may use a British Sign Language interpreter, be able to lip read or use personal hearing aids or hearing loops
- People may have difficulty understanding complex written or spoken English

Mental health/Mental distress (Bipolar disorder or Depression):

- People may be feeling extremely anxious and frightened and may be agitated, but are rarely a threat to others.

Learning Disability (Autism, Aspergers Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy*):

- People who find it harder than others to learn, understand and communicate."


This is possibly the vaguest and most under-researched "understanding disability" page I have ever seen.  In essence, CP should really fall under 'physical impairments'.  However, the literature makes no mention of these.

It is worth noting the words I have underlined: May and Who.  From my perspective, the word 'may' indicates the possibility of these impairment factors.  Whereas, the word 'who' (used in the Learning Disability section alone) indicates the definitive occurrences of these impairment factors.

*It should also be noted that epilepsy is not a learning disability either.

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As you may or may not know, tomorrow (Saturday 11th Feb) it is exactly 200 days to go until the opening ceremony or the London 2012 Paralympic Games!  To mark this milestone ParalympicsGB (the British Paralympic Association) made an exciting announcement for all of Britain's retired Paralympians!

Each retired Paralympian will be given the opportunity to apply for two free Paralympic tickets, Courtesy of ParalympicsGB.  It remains unclear how many retired British Paralympians there are at the moment as current records only go back to 1989. However, I will wait with interest to see how rare we are!

This is a fantastic offer from the BPA.  The spirit of a Paralympic Games never leaves a Paralympian.  Indeed, as a retired athlete, I now watch Paralympic sports with fascination and admiration as I know just how much work the athletes put in to compete at such high levels.  Therefore, to be given the opportunity, courtesy of the BPA, to watch some of the finest sports people in the world, is both an honour and a privilege.  It is also great that even retired athletes will be recognised for the work they did to represent their country.

I am very excited that we only have 200 days to wait!

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_This is somewhat of an extension of my last blog, but I suppose it will be more focused on this years Paralympic games - an event that about 400 athletes across Britain will spend most of the next 9 months thinking about!
Until five months ago, I too was going to be one of the athletes I describe above. However, we all know I chose to leave that life behind. I've woken up on the first morning of a Paralympic year twice before, hoping my name would be on that all important 'selected athletes' list. So, I am all too aware of how these athletes will be feeling.
At the end of a games/four year paralympic cycle, everyone thinks the next games will take an age to come around - four years does sound like a long time. However, time flies, training cycles come and go, and before we know it the opening ceremony is about to commence in all it's glory!!
The de-brief of each Games always (for us swimmers anyway) includes the words "its only x# of days until the start of the next games…".  Given that these words hit the athletes merely 12 hours after they have laid down their tools and are preparing to celebrate their recent achievements, you can clearly hear the internal groan coming from each athlete in the room.  In that precise moment, all these athletes are thinking is "job done" and "i'm ready to go home" - and rightly so after being away working, without a day off, for about 25 days.  I'll admit, when I first heard those dreaded words, I was most displeased - we hadn't even got through the Athens 2004 Closing Ceremony yet!  But, within a blink of an eye, I was stood at the blocks preparing to qualify for Beijing 2008.

The truth is, from my experience, when an athlete hears how many days are left until the next Games, they tend to think two conflicting thoughts at the same time.  The first is "ahhh thats over 1000 (or whatever the number is at the time) days, thats plenty of time to get everything right".  Of course, that first thought is a relaxing thought, and should not be pushed aside as I think it could be the only thing keeping an athlete sane and grounded.  however, speaking from experience, it should also not be over used as everyday is vital for any athlete.
The second thought that runs through an athlete's mind at this point is this: "agggh ok, so much can happen in that time! I need a plan; what can I do to make sure I'm definitely in this room in four years time!?".  This may seem like a stressful thought but its also positively realistic.
In essence, athletes who are most likely to make their respective selections will adopt both these thought processes simultaneously - to remain realistic yet not so stressed that everything falls apart at the last hurdle.  The last hurdle, incidentally, being between now and July/August.

I'm not an athlete now, so I can sit here feeling excited about watching the final product of all the hard work come August/September.  However, I am very aware, that despite many misconceptions of Paralympic athletes, these people (along with Olympic athletes) will work harder than most other people in the world.  After taking a maximum of three days off over the Christmas and New year period, their next lot of time off will not be granted until the very end of September - thats over 9 months of continuous training and competing.

If you are reading this and still have any misconceptions of Paralympic Athletes, current or future, regarding their purpose, dedication or how hard they work, I urge you to shake them off.  For the majority of athletes, certainly for me and those I've worked with over the years, their sport is their job and their life!! Athletes don't get second chances - once London 2012 starts they will give it everything they have.  And when I say everything, I really do mean it.

Get behind the Paralympics!  By the time we settle down to watch the London 2012 Opening Ceremony, our athletes will have done approximately 1460 days of mental and physical work to be there!

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_I realise I’ve not updated the site recently. So, I have been meaning to do a video blog since just
before Christmas (like the queen) but time has
flown by and I've not got round to it. So I figured,
whilst watching Love Actually and eating rubbish, I'd knock up a quick new years day blog post. 

This year has been an odd one. On one hand, its flown by… probably because I wrote off the first 3 or 4 months. But on the other hand… well, its been very loooong!

Aside from not being well, a lot has happened this year and it feels like I’ve been busier than ever. I’ve definitely done a lot of miles in the car, that’s for sure!  So what have I done?

I went to the European Championships and won two bronze medals – I thought I better get that achievement in first. I'm proud of these medals, despite the meet being hard going and not going quite to plan, it was a rather apt end to my swimming career - finishing exactly how it all started.

After the European champs, I came home and did A LOT of thinking.  This ended in me making the decision to retire.,. I am pleased I did so as I did not wake up in a panic this morning, thinking “oh my god its Paralympic year!!”. Mind you, I am very excited about this fact. I have tickets for all 12 days of the Paralympic games and I cannot wait!

I’ve spent the year working with Chris, and various others, trying to make good things happen – most of which are still to come and exciting.

 I’ve established an excellent relationship with Whizzkidz, and have had so much fun working with them – not to mention the fact that my work with them has allowed me to meet some amazing kids and has taken me to television centre, City Hall and inside 10 Downing Street!

 

As well as working with Whizzkidz, I became a Champion of VoiceAbility – who I very much hope to work with in the new year, I’ve reconnected with Disability Huntingtonshire and opened their new building as their patron, and I was also announced as the UK ambassador for the Rotary Global Swimathon – please watch the video on the "Videos" page for information on this.

So, as I say, lots has happened – I told you you hadn’t seen the last of me! – but its been a tough year, so I am very much looking forward to  starting a fresh new year!

I have a feeling that 2012 will be a busy, exciting and fun year! There's lots of ideas and plans floating around my head, just a matter of working out a concrete plan of action and finding a bit of money to enable me to get cracking.  Of course, there may be hard work involved but I’m pretty sure it’ll be worth it.

 

Happy new year to you all – and good luck to all the athletes reading this, its 2012 … this is the time to give it everything and I'm very excited for you all!!   


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I very rarely take much notice of stuff on facebook to be honest.  But the following status caught my eye and keeps making me think:

"makes me mad, the neighbour is claiming disability allowance off the gov, coz she has a bad back, gets a brand new car off them for free ....yet shes been outside cleaning the car and hoovering it out for the last past hour!!! does she know what being disabled means lol"

Now, I do know or know of people who take the biscuit and get things they perhaps shouldn’t be entitled too.  I also know I have been guilty, myself, of judging others and their impairments in the past.  I’d like to meet someone who claims they never have, not even fleetingly.  However, aside from this person’s obvious, and public, judgement of her neighbour.  Something else wacked me in the face when reading this:

“does she know what being disabled means??”

Ok, so, I am disabled, have been from birth… and I’m pretty sure no body who meets me could question that fact.  In a way I’m lucky, because there is nothing hidden about my impairment. Well, aside from perhaps the pain I feel sometimes.  However, as we all know, my being disabled does not mean I sit at home all day taking it easy.  It does not mean I couldn’t clean my car if I wanted to (i really must do that soon).  If I wanted to I could walk round all day, but it would hurt too much and kill me for the next week.  Therefore, I use a wheelchair for longer distances because it saves time, energy and saves me being in so much pain afterwards.

I was getting my wheelchair out my car yesterday, and one of my lovely neighbours came up to me and said “you know Fran, you put a lot of people to shame with what you do everyday!”  I laughed and said something about just needing to get on with what you have.  He wasn’t judging me or being funny about my impairment, he was genuinely saying “yeah you are disabled but it doesn’t stop you”. 

So, what does being disabled mean? I know what it means to me, and, for the most part, I am unique because I see it as a positive attribute to my life.  But I am fascinated, what does being disabled mean to the person quoted above?  What does it mean to other disabled people? Or to the general public?

If people’s impairments are questioned (rightly or wrongly) because they spend an hour of their time cleaning the car,  what does this mean?
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Today I finish a book called 'Stairlift to Heaven' by Terry Ravescroft (2011). Put simply, its his journal from his 65th birthday to his 70th - it's ridiculous! He's a comedy writer, and you can tell.
Anyway, one of his entries made me laugh so much that I went  back and re-read it! Then I realised how un-PC it was and smiled at the thought of people refusing to laugh at it out of principle.  Well, as a Paralympian, I urge you to at least smile at this... he was 66 after all......

"April 27 2007. THE OLYMPIANS.
 
I’ve always believed that walking is the finest exercise you can have apart from sex, and like sex  can be perfectly free - unless you start buying special clothes and equipment for it and call it hiking or golf - and at the age of sixty-six I still walk five miles every day just for the sheer pleasure of it.
It was while I was out walking and passing through the local park on the way to the canal for one of my regular trips along its towpath that I chanced upon an abandoned Zimmer Frame at the of the path.
It immediately struck me what an unusual thing it was to abandon. I can understand people throwing away prams, their owners having no further use for them once their children have learned to walk, but I would have thought once you have found you need a Zimmer frame to help you get around you’d need one for life. It crossed my mind that maybe its former owner had been suddenly cured by a faith healer and having no further need of it had dramatically cast it away, a bit like the cripple who, on being cured by Jesus, had taken up his bed and walked. Or perhaps it had simply been thrown away by someone who had taken delivery of a new, lighter, faster, aluminium, tungsten-tipped , you-must-have-the-very-latest Zimmer Frame? I don’t know. Anyway it was there in the park and I found it.
You have to take your opportunities for a bit of fun when and where you find them so when I noticed a man of about my age approaching I picked up the Zimmer Frame, twirled it round my head a couple of times, and heaved it into the distance. It had not long since been announced that Britain had been granted the 2012 Olympic Games, and with it the Paralympics, and it was probably this, and the thought I’d just had about people taking up their bed and walking, that put the idea into my head.
 After I’d gone to recover the Zimmer and started to walk back the man had stopped to watch, and now looked on puzzled. I turned to him and said, a little self-critically, 'Not bad.'

His face was a picture of inquisitiveness. 'What are you doing?'

'Training for the Paralympics.'

'Paralympics?'

'Throwing the Zimmer Frame,' I explained. 'Apparently the host country can pick an entirely new event and Britain has chosen Throwing the Zimmer Frame'. It just nudged out the Hop, Hop and Hop for the One-legged? I believe.'

I returned with the Zimmer to the spot from which I'd thrown it. Two twirls round my head and I launched it again. This time it went about five yards farther.

'Better,' the man observed, encouragingly.

'Yes, must be close to my PB that one,' I said, sounding pleased with myself. 'That's Personal Best,' I explained.

'Yes I know, I'm a fan of athletics,' he said. He thought about it for a moment. 'Can anyone enter?'

I shrugged as though I didn't really know. 'Well I suppose. You'll need a Zimmer Frame of course'. I had a thought. 'It's possible you could qualify for a grant - you might be able to get funding for one if you show you any promise, I'm sure I've heard of pole-vaulters getting grants for fibre glass poles.'

I retrieved the Zimmer and made to throw it again........."

The story continues, but I'll leave it there for fear of people telling me off for encouraging this behaviour.
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