Free multi-sport event this weekend

1 August 2024

The founder of an organisation set up to allow police officers to play adaptive and disabled sports hopes a free multi-sport taster event this weekend (3 and 4 August) will be the first of many.

Police Federation member Gary Callier set up Police UK Disability Sport (PUKDS) last year after finding there was no disability sports program in policing.

He has organised a multi-sport event in Nottingham at David Ross Sports Village at the University of Nottingham this Saturday and Sunday (10am to 6pm) – and is inviting Nottinghamshire Police Federation members to try out what PUKDS has to offer.

It will include coaching sessions in badminton, sitting volleyball, table tennis, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.

Fully inclusive

Gary said: “It’s an open door for everyone. It’s fully inclusive and everyone is welcome.

“We’d love to see as many people as possible come along to see what we have to offer and to try it out.”

Gary was a former lance corporal with the Royal Engineers in the British Army until he was medically discharged in 2015.

He is now an officer with the British Transport Police out of King’s Cross Station in London.

He competed at the Invictus Games in the Hague in 2022 before turning to adaptive sports, and launching PUKDS to give police officers the chance to play adaptive sports and aid their recovery.

Now PUKDS’s first multi-sport event is on the horizon and he hopes to roll it out across the country in the future.

“I’m as excited about the event as I am nervous,” he said. “I hope it’s something we can grow into a national police health and wellbeing event.

“It’s not just the sports recovery side that we’re focusing on, but it’s an opportunity for all the police charities, and not-for-profit organisations, Federations, associations, to come together and show the support services they provide the police community.”

Anxiety

Gary said that PUKDS and organising the event, which is supported by Metfriendly, Lightweight Mobility and Seating, and Recipero, was helping him in his own recovery.

“My journey is still ongoing,” he said.

“Physically, I’m not fully recovered, and there’s also the mental health side and dealing with anxiety and things like that.

“Setting this up has helped me deal with my own anxiety in terms of presenting things to people and speaking to the media to promote what we’re doing.

“I’m excited to see how the first one does and, hopefully, we can build up the profile and the organisations that are attending so we can make it even bigger next year.”

READ MORE: Branch secretary reflects on 'emotional' Police Unity Tour.