The British Sledge Hockey Association (BSHA) is proud to announce that their chairman, retried GB player and Paralympian, Matt Lloyd, has been nominated to carry the Olympic Torch by Sport England. Additionally up and coming Kingston Kestrels and GB squad member Matthew Woollias has been nominated for his work in raising awareness of teenage cancer.
Lloyd made his debut for GB Ice Sledge Hockey in the Turin qualification tournament in 2005 and then went on to represent Great Britain at every event in which they have participated in since. Additionally he played Sitting Volleyball for Great Britain at international level including featuring as part of the team that participated in the 2007 IPC European Sitting Volleyball Championships.
Lloyd said, “It’s a great honour to be nominated and I know that Birmingham Sport and Physical Activity Partnership were the organisation really pushing for recognition of the work I’ve done to provide inclusive sport opportunities. I lived a pretty nomadic life and so it is a real honour that the people of Birmingham wish to claim me as one of their own. Sport is a great catalyst for change and I hope that I can contribute in some small way by providing people with the opportunity to chance their lives for the better. I find it rewarding that Matt Woollias has also been selected to carry the torch as I remember introducing him to the sport of Sledge Hockey through a British Paralympic Association Talent ID day in Guildford last year”.
Woolias was diagnosed with a rare case of bone cancer in May 2009 in his second year at University. His treatment involved not only chemotherapy but also the impossible decision to have his leg amputated below his knee to facilitate his recovery further. Whilst undergoing his chemotherapy Matt began fundraising for the Teenage Cancer Trust and has so far organised local fundraising events and presented at national conferences.
Woolias made his sledge hockey debut playing as part of the league winning Kingston Kestrels and is about to take part in his first European event, the Sportlife Open in Eindhoven.
GB Head Coach, Andy Linton said, “Matthew (Woollias) is a promising young player who has made the step up from league player to being part of the GB squad in a relatively short space of time. If he continues to develop both on and off the ice then I have no doubt that he will soon represent GB at the highest levels of the sport”.
