England Squash News
James Willstrop Backs England Squash Link With CADS
Manchester squash star James Willstrop, the 21-year-old world No8, will be supporting the England Squash link with the Children’s Able & Disabled Sports (CADS) Week with an appearance tomorrow (Friday, at around midday) at Cheadle Hulme in Cheshire.
CADS Week at the Royal School for the Deaf & Communication Disorders at Cheadle Hulme is one of the only fully-inclusive sports events anywhere in the country for young people aged between 5 and 16. It gives young able and disabled people, whatever their level of ability, an opportunity to try their hand at 16 different sports - including squash, climbing, lacrosse and disc golf. The youngsters are divided up by age (not ability) into groups of around 20.
The event has recruited an incredible 100 volunteers to support the young people. Thus, each group will have a minimum of ten volunteers in addition to the qualified coaches. Anyone requiring one-to-one support has negotiated this with their own authority. Everyone involved, from coaches to volunteers, have been CRB-checked, and all volunteers have attended an induction programme.
Willstrop, a former world junior champion from Pontefract who represents Manchester/Pontefract in the National League, will present prizes, and also play on court with the youngsters on the “Unsquashable Minisquash Rebound Wall”.
Now in its third year, the event has attracted a record 260 young people this year, around 40% of whom have special needs.
Earlier in the year, CADS received a national award from the Wavemakers Charity in recognition of its innovative approach to inclusive sport. This year CADS is being funded by Sport England’s Active England programme, through the Big Lottery Fund.
James Willstrop represented in last month’s World Games in, where he won a bronze medal in the squash event. Within a week, he was in Karachifor the Pakistan Open where he made it through to the quarter-finals.