Winter Update

The Europeans is a distant memory now, chalked up and debriefed as our attentions turn towards London. However, before diving headlong into 2012, I’ve taken some time to re-charge my batteries and focus on other things as well as Wheelchair Rugby. That said, I’m always busy, so to avoid writing a novel, I’ve just given you a taste of everything that I’ve been up to in the last few weeks… In October I was lucky enough to meet the Queen and Prince Philip at Westminster. I was there as part of Motability’s celebrations to mark the production of their three millionth car. I was presented to Her Majesty along with several other Paralympians including swimmer, Sascha Kindred. It was a great day, which highlighted the importance of the Motability scheme for people with disabilities. Just a couple of weeks later, I attended the IPC World Press Briefing at the Institute of Education in Bloomsbury. I took part in a forum designed to educate the media on the subject of “classification” within Paralympic sport. I and another athlete underwent “mock” classifications to demonstrate the techniques that classifiers use when determining an athlete’s functionality. The forum was a great success and hopefully will help the media explain classification to spectators at next year’s Games.

Aside of the PR, I’ve had time for a break too. Alison and myself managed to have a holiday in New York last month. Our “excuse” was that we were going to watch a friend run in the Marathon, but we obviously got up to much more in the Big Apple. We took in all the sights, visiting Central Park, Times Square, The Financial District and Grand Central Station. We went to the top of the Empire State Building and enjoyed an amazing sunset at the Top of the Rock. Finally, we got to go to Madison Square Garden twice; firstly for the Hockey, where we saw the Rangers beat the Winnipeg Jets and then two days later, we saw Jay-Z and Kanye West perform live on their “Watch The Throne” Tour... An unbelievable gig that was even more special as New York s Jay-Z’s hometown! Overall NYC was a great holiday destination that I’d thoroughly recommend to anyone.

While we’re on the subject of music and leisure, I know you all like to be kept informed (or I like telling you anyway) of what bands/acts I’ve seen lately, so here goes… The Arctic Monkeys came to London in October and lit-up the O2 Arena with great support from The Vaccines. On the electronic side, I got to see Chase and Status at Alexandra Palace last month along with a host of other acts and just last week, Kasabian gave a memorable performance, topping the billing in a show that also included Miles Kane.

Back in the Rugby arena, we’ve appointed a new strength and conditioning coach called “Stewart Bruce-Low”. (You may have seen him shouting at/climbing around on Aaron Phipps in the recent C4 documentary). Stewart is a great addition to the squad and recently introduced a new “testing battery” to gauge our progress towards London. I’ve also been back to Loughborough University to play on the giant treadmill and calculate my current VO2 Max levels and other useful base fitness indicators.

I’m not the only one testing myself lately. Alison has recently completed a challenge for ASPIRE, where she swam the length of the English Channel in stages to raise money for Spinal Cord Injury. Thanks to everyone who donated to a fantastic cause. She also took part in a 10K run in Brighton recently for no reason other than masochism! It looks like I’ll have my work cut out to remain the fittest member in the family in 2012.

Another big part of my life right now is our new house. I’m happy to say that we’re very nearly moved in and I’m very much looking forward to becoming a resident of the (Olympic) borough of Greenwich. With that in mind, I’ve been making a few friends within the borough and seeing what I can do spread the word about Wheelchair Rugby and the Paralympics throughout Greenwich. I’ve featured in a couple of articles in “Greenwich Time” thanks to local journalist, Peter Cordwell. I also attended a Paralympic Inclusion Day where pupils from both Charlton and Charlton Manor schools came together to try out a number of inclusive sports. I had a great time talking to the kids and I hope to be part of many more events like this in Greenwich.

I’m nearing the end of this post now, but if you still want more news and gossip on Wheelchair Rugby, you can catch up with my latest video diary update at: http://paralympics.channel4.com/the-athletes/athleteid=420/index.html#Andy%20Barrow On a more sombre note, I want to pass on my sympathies to the family of a great friend of Wheelchair Rugby and mine. LWRC’s secretary and treasurer, David Hilton passed away unexpectedly this month. He did a huge amount of work for Rugby and disability sport in general and will be greatly missed.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this belated update. All that remains to say is, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you all in 2012!

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