Nick and Sue Coombs, Chairman and Club Secretary of The Dorset Destroyers Wheelchair Rugby Club were invited to the Official Opening of Holton Lee Livability Spinal Unit by HRH Princess Anne and to meet her personally beforehand.
They discussed wheelchair rugby and HRH Princess Anne was reminded about her daughter Zara and Mike Tindall getting involved in the Invictus Games “Friendly” with another of the Destroyers player, Ben Steele.
Nick and Sue have had a long relationship with Holton Lee, having set up a Wheelchair Orienteering Course in 2010 along with adding disability sports to the Summer Fairs every year before embarking on setting up The Dorset Destroyers (Sundays) and Wheelchair Sports (Fridays)
Now the future is looking even better as some of The Dorset Destroyers players will become mentors to the patients and the Destroyers will be running events for patients and players at Holton Lee to prevent the “Long boring months of Hospitalisation” Quote from Nick who has spent many months in Hospitals having had 43 operations!
“We will be running Quiz Nights, BBQ’s and other such occasions, as we run these events around the area normally, and the monthly pub nights are just round the corner from Holton Lee so patients can come down for a beer, chat and a laugh” Nick commented. “We won’t be running a counselling session, more along the lines of having a laugh, beer and just doing what everyone else does down the pub and socialise”
Patients will also be given the chance to play wheelchair rugby at their Sports Centre Base (Rossmore Leisure Centre) and to try other sports as well, including Wheelchair Badminton, Handball and Boccia.
