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The members of UNC Rugby are some of the most active students on campus when it comes to charity and service to the Chapel Hill community, North Carolina, and beyond. We highlight this service in this weekly feature.
by Ed Perkins
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The UNC rugby team participated in a community event that highlighted the world of disabled sports. Even though the event took place during fall break, the positive response from the members of the rugby club was fantastic and nine of the team journeyed over to Durham to help out.
Held at the Campus Herald Recreation Center in Durham, the event consisted of stalls, live musical performances and several demonstrations of sports played by local disabled people.
At first, we worked alongside the agency that had organized the event: ‘Bridge2sports’. After helping to move boxes of equipment and set up the relevant tables and stalls, the team was fortunate enough to participate in the sports demonstrations. Challenged to a game of wheelchair basketball by a local men’s side, our boys bravely climbed into wheelchairs and practiced moving around. While for many of us basketball is hard enough on our feet, the extra challenge of having to use our arms to move the wheelchair proved just too much. The men’s basketball team we played against were not only fantastic players, but were also fantastic sports, scoring more than enough points against us to ensure victory while generously allowing us a few consolation baskets!
While half of the team played, the other half was free to explore the event, offering assistance and help wherever possible. What was immediately noticeable was the enormous generosity and kindness of everyone involved in the event, always keen to answer the many questions the team had and genuinely thankful for the help the team gave. The sense of strong community and goodwill was something extremely special and it was a privilege to be a small part of it.
The next demonstration saw the UNCFRC boys make history by reportedly being the first ever side to play ‘wheelchair soccer’ in manual, un-powered wheelchairs. The team played a mixed game, alongside two young wheelchair soccer experts, who were not only much quicker than us but had also mastered a deadly spinning kick which several of the team tried, and completely failed, to use properly. Meeting a young player named Sam, who was probably only 7 years old, was a highlight of the day. Quite happy to laugh at the team’s complete inability to control the wheelchairs, he would whiz around the court with the ball, leaving us in his wake, before bashing into the side of one of us!
The day ended with the team helping some more young kids get in and out of the new ‘speed-wheelchairs’, offering our much sought-after advice on the best way to get as much speed as possible without crashing into the walls. The rapport between the young kids and the players was fantastic. Every member of UNCRFC was willing to get involved or help out in any way and all acted as fantastic ambassadors for the club. I thank them all for their commitment and support.
The day was an immensely humbling experience, enjoyed by all, and was an important reminder to the whole team that even though recent times have been tough for the club, we are all extremely fortunate to be able to play the game as we do.
Created Oct 24, 2007. 09:30 pm
Modified Dec 17, 2009. 09:52 pm
UNCRFC Volunteers at Community Sports Event
View Photo Gallery
The UNC rugby team participated in a community event that highlighted the world of disabled sports. Even though the event took place during fall break, the positive response from the members of the rugby club was fantastic and nine of the team journeyed over to Durham to help out.
Held at the Campus Herald Recreation Center in Durham, the event consisted of stalls, live musical performances and several demonstrations of sports played by local disabled people.
At first, we worked alongside the agency that had organized the event: ‘Bridge2sports’. After helping to move boxes of equipment and set up the relevant tables and stalls, the team was fortunate enough to participate in the sports demonstrations. Challenged to a game of wheelchair basketball by a local men’s side, our boys bravely climbed into wheelchairs and practiced moving around. While for many of us basketball is hard enough on our feet, the extra challenge of having to use our arms to move the wheelchair proved just too much. The men’s basketball team we played against were not only fantastic players, but were also fantastic sports, scoring more than enough points against us to ensure victory while generously allowing us a few consolation baskets!
While half of the team played, the other half was free to explore the event, offering assistance and help wherever possible. What was immediately noticeable was the enormous generosity and kindness of everyone involved in the event, always keen to answer the many questions the team had and genuinely thankful for the help the team gave. The sense of strong community and goodwill was something extremely special and it was a privilege to be a small part of it.
The next demonstration saw the UNCFRC boys make history by reportedly being the first ever side to play ‘wheelchair soccer’ in manual, un-powered wheelchairs. The team played a mixed game, alongside two young wheelchair soccer experts, who were not only much quicker than us but had also mastered a deadly spinning kick which several of the team tried, and completely failed, to use properly. Meeting a young player named Sam, who was probably only 7 years old, was a highlight of the day. Quite happy to laugh at the team’s complete inability to control the wheelchairs, he would whiz around the court with the ball, leaving us in his wake, before bashing into the side of one of us!
The day ended with the team helping some more young kids get in and out of the new ‘speed-wheelchairs’, offering our much sought-after advice on the best way to get as much speed as possible without crashing into the walls. The rapport between the young kids and the players was fantastic. Every member of UNCRFC was willing to get involved or help out in any way and all acted as fantastic ambassadors for the club. I thank them all for their commitment and support.
The day was an immensely humbling experience, enjoyed by all, and was an important reminder to the whole team that even though recent times have been tough for the club, we are all extremely fortunate to be able to play the game as we do.
Created Oct 24, 2007. 09:30 pm
Modified Dec 17, 2009. 09:52 pm