Week 2: Snooker, climbing and general thoughts

Snooker and climbing project:

On Thursday, Gab and I visited a bouldering wall. This is my local climbing wall in Colchester, so I already know some of the staff who work there. We spoke to one of the staff members about his experiences with inclusive or adaptive climbing. He said that he considers climbing to be an inclusive sport and that Paraclimbing is becoming popular. At the Colchester climbing gym, there is a regular climber with learning disabilities who climbs with his carer. Some of the walls would be difficult to access for wheelchair users due to the lack of ramps, and the staff member says that he doesn't see many climbers with physical disabilities, but not to say there aren't people with 'hidden' disabilities.

Whike we were there, we went for a climbing session! As we were climbing, we were thinking about the activity analysis for bouldering, and whether it would be suitable for SfC participants. It would be unfair to make a blanket statement along the lines of: 'SfC participants can't do bouldering.' There's no such word as can't! However, our thoughts are that bouldering without harnesses or equipment would be difficult due to the level of supervision that would be needed for most participants. Bouldering is demanding on the body and it requires a good level of strength, endurance, coordination, flexibility, balance and planning. 

I have watched a case study involving a teenage girl who had suffered a severe stroke, who was able to climb with harnesses and support post-stroke. Our thoughts at this time are that harnessed climbing would be a better option than unharnessed bouldering, depending on local facilities.

As a side note, my triceps still ache three days later!

This week, we have been contacting inclusive and adaptive climbing and snooker venues. I’ve contacted the CSP (Chartered Society of Physiotherapists) DisAbility and LGBTQ+ networks to see if anyone knows of any inclusive or adaptive climbing centres. Several members responded, and gave me the details of local inclusive climbing groups that they know about. So far, I’ve contacted a number of disability and LGBTQ+ friendly climbing companies and venues, so hopefully I’ll hear back from them soon! Snooker is proving to be more of a challenge, but Gab and I might visit some local snooker venues to see what provisions they have for people with disabilities. Of course, it would be a shame not to have a game of snooker while we're there!

General thoughts:

Week 2 has given me more insight into the range of sports and activities that SfC can offer. I’ve also thought more deeply about activity analyses for sports such as boccia and climbing. Based on the processes that are involved in carrying out these activities, I’ve thought about the safety aspect of climbing. Bouldering might not be feasible for many of the regular SfC participants, but there may be some participants who could attempt bouldering after a screening tool followed by an exercise programme to work on strength and balance. I think that physios could play a role in designing exercises for people, which use specific muscle groups to allow them to progress to a new activity.

Also, we felt that we helped the participant in the gym by giving him cues for good form and by progressing his exercises. There is a potential role for physios here.

Next week, we will be designing a boccia warm-up that focuses on balance, with modifications for wheelchair users. I’ll also be having two virtual days so that the three of us can work together on our projects. I can't believe the time is going so quickly!