Incredible 22-mile swimming challenge for sign language lessons completed

It was pitch black and 10pm when the Nene Channel Challenge came to an end. Greeted by jubilant friends, family and supporters, Julie Longland and Lisa Ryan emerged from the chilly river after a swim that had covered 22-miles in 16 hours.

The challenge is the equivalent of swimming the English Channel between Dover and Calais and took Julie and Lisa along the winding course of the Nene from Oundle in Northamptonshire to Peterborough's Ferry Meadow's Park and the iconic Milton Ferry Bridge. 

It was an incredible effort which left everyone who witnessed it humbled and in awe of the pure physical and psychological mettle of the courageous swimmers. The total raised so far, including gift aid, is £669 of a target of £2,000. The money raised will be used to teach sports and swimming instructors sign language to make swimming classes accessible to deaf children. If you haven't donated but would like to acknowledge their impressive feat and the noble cause it supports, you can donate here.

Lisa and Julie are both swimming instructors who currently help deliver the PDDCS Deaf-friendly swimming sessions and were presented with a certificate at the end of the swim by PDDCS Chairman, Andy Palmer.

Andy said: "It's hard to put into words just how incredible this challenge was. Lisa and Julie impressed us all with the pure dedication, physical and mental strength that they have. I'm still in wonder at what they achieved and grateful, on behalf of all the children who access our deaf-friendly swimming lessons, they chose to further support our cause."

See some pictures of the day below:

Adrian Fisher, parent of Jack who visits the deaf-friendly sessions, joins in for a mile or so

Julie and Lisa slice through the Nene's waters

The challenge started at 6:30am

There are some locks along the River, at each one, the swimmers had to climb out and start again with the occasional cookie break. 

Still smiling for the cameras

Jack Fisher watches his swimming teachers lead by example

Half-way and already further than either had ever swum before

One arm after the other .. for sixteen hours

The misty morning departure from Upper Barnwell near Oundle and the promise of an incredible day ahead

The swimmers emerge from the inky-black and chilly river to a rapturous welcome

Andy Palmer, PDDCS Chairman, presents Julie and Lisa with a certificate of appreciation

The certificates of appreciation

The donation page is still open. If you think this feat of extreme mental and physical challenge and the cause of providing accessible swimming lessons for deaf children deserves acknowledgement in the form of a donation, please click here. 

Wembley Stadium Deaf-Friendly Football Day Pictures

Peterborough United's Deaf Youth football team went to Wembley Stadium on Sunday 27th July to take part in football training and matches against teams from Kent Deaf Children's Society and Brentford FC.

With the impressive stadium looming magnificently in the background, players aged 4-14 joined in with some drills then some five-a-side matches with mixed teams. At the end, Peterborough United took on Brentford and Kent and won the match. Well done to the players from all the teams who took part.

Following the football, the children and parents were taken on a tour of Wembley Stadium with BSL interpretation.

PDDCS would like to thank Louise Henley from KDCS for her help in the organisation; the Skills and Drill Coaches, Ben Lampert and Tash Applegate for coaching the kids; Peterborough United for provision of kits and the minibus; Powerleague for the use of the pitches, Anna Baker for interpreting and Wembley for the tour. PDDCS would also like to extend thanks to all parents and carers for bringing the children and the children themselves for demonstrating their abilities and enthusiasm.

In the picture above, all the people taking part in one of the tours are seen with the FA Cup. Our goalkeeper Harry Bidwell's Father holding the cup.

Check out the pictures below. If you would like to find out more about deaf-friendly football or any deaf sports with PDDCS, please click here

Daniyaal, William and Aaron in England's changing room

Some of Peterborough United Deaf Youth FC's boys in the hotseats 

Ava, Coach Tash Applegate, Daniyaal and Ryan before the matches

Ava enjoying the atmosphere of the changing rooms at Wembley

Boys and girls from Brentford, Kent Deaf Children's Society and Peterborough United took part in training together

Anna Baker, BSL interpreter, with Michael the knowledgeable and deaf-aware tour guide.

Brentford's Ben Lampert puts the players through their paces in the shadow of Wembley's arch. Ava shooting from long range.

This is Ava. She loves our deaf-friendly football

Here's Ava at our deaf friendly football training in association with Peterborough United. She's loves coming along and is the captain of one of our teams.
Deaf friendly football is for all ages, all abilities, boys and girls and accessible. The way it should be.
If you want to bring your child along or get involved. Click here for details.

Peterborough Deaf Friendly Boxfit May update

Earlier this year, ABC Peterborough Boxfit group offered to deliver discounted blocks of deaf-friendly sessions to PDDCS members as they were aware of the lack of adequate sporting services in the local area. The first 6 week block started alongside National Deaf Awareness week. From the deaf children and adults perspective the mainstream sessions are proving to be a great success.

"amazing seeing a group of kids having fun and exercising together. Even more amazing being a mix of deaf and hearing fully integrated, no access or communication problems thanks to the fantastic support of all at the club." Deaf adult.

The sessions, which run Fridays 6-7pm at Jack Hunt School,  consist of cross training, boxing moves and much fun.

For further details contact  Sam Stockwell - Instructor: Email: stockwell328@btinternet.com
or PDDCS link Teresa Quail  tquail@jackhunt.net

 

Good hook!!

A beaming smile

Great punch

Lovely hook

Volunteer role model

good punch

Everyone training as they watch the pad work

One to the side



Peg time



Ouch, that peg pinched



Ready, steady ...



Go!!  The one with the most pegs is the winner but you have to catch him first

Handfuls of pegs, hall full of fun.

Awesome Asda in Peterborough donate £100 to PDDCS

Jo Frost, Community Champion hands William Palmer, member of PDDCS, the cheque for £100

Shoppers in Asda Living's store in Peterborough chose PDDCS as the charity to support, voting to donate £100. 

One of our members, 12 year old William, went to meet Jo Frost, Community Champion to receive the cheque from the Asda foundation. 

Andy Palmer, Chairman of PDDCS said: "A big thanks to both Asda and their shoppers for this donation. It'll help pay for hours of football coaching or weeks of toddler group sessions for our smallest deaf kids. 

"Asda have been so kind and welcoming, I'm really looking forward to working with Jo and the store in future."

A huge thank you to RAF Wittering and Rachel Mawdsley

Rachel (centre) and Maris (right)  with husband Gareth and daughter Izzy

Rachel Mawdsley from RAF Wittering raised an amazing £362 for PDDCS by running the Grantham half-marathon. Her daughter Izzy and husband Gareth also ran the 3km run.

A big thanks to them for their amazing efforts. Rachel was also at RAF Wittering when they generously hosted PDDCS for an amazing day of fun around the huge airbase last month.

The children and families had a go on the fire engines, the firing range and could climb aboard the impressive collection of vehicles stationed at the base. The families also had a guided tour of the Harrier museum and a hearty lunch! Take a look at the pictures below!

Rachel said: "It was a lovely day running the marathon, really sunny and 500 people completed the Grantham Half Marathon. Maris and I ran in 1 hr 57 minutes which we were really pleased with and faster than we thought – training obviously paid off!

"The route was a mixture of flat by the tow path and 2 big hills that were quite a challenge! The event started and finished at the South Kesteven Sports Stadium in Grantham and the finish on the running track was a nice touch."

Andy Palmer, committee member of PDDCS said:

"We just want to say a huge thanks to Rachel and her family. It was lovely to meet them on our day at the very impressive Wittering base. The money she raised will go directly on the events we run for deaf children and their families all year round. If it were not for people like Rachel, we wouldn't be here for the over 100 deaf children in the city.

"I also want to thank Station Commander Group Captain Damian Alexander for his generosity, warmth and hospitality to PDDCS and to Ed Palmer and all the staff from Wittering for putting on such an amazing day for our families. It was one of the best events we've done."

You can find out more about RAF Wittering on their Facebook page and see what PDDCS have going on this year on our events page. If you would like to fund raise for us, please get in touch.

Photos

Young Deaf Footballers Honoured by Fans at Peterborough United

Some members of Peterborough United's Deaf Youth football team were at London Road stadium on Saturday to parade the winners trophy won at the National Deaf Youth Tournament and celebrate the achievements of all three teams in reaching at least the semi-finals.

Coaches Qadeer Hussain, Tash Applegate and Rob Neal were also present to take the applause from the crowd during a lap of honour at the match against Crewe. 

Here are the photos taken by offical photographer Joe Dent. Find out more about Deaf Friendly Football with Peterborough United and PDDCS. 

Line up: All three teams made it to at least the semi-finals

Harry William Palmer and Aaron Osker take the applause

On the pitch!

Harry, Michael, and Qadeer

Peterborough United Deaf Teams bring home a trophy from National Deaf Youth Football Tournament

The whole squad as mascot celebrate at the end of the tournament

Players, coaches, parents and administrators of the Peterborough United Deaf Youth teams returned from the NDCS National tournament on Sunday with smiles on their faces after impressive performances from all the Posh teams involved.

The two under-12 teams, White and Blue, dominated their respective groups and met in the semi-final. White progressed from that match to the final and won the tournament after beating Brentford 6-0.

The under-16 teams also got to the semi-final where they also lost to the eventual winners, Hamilton Lodge School 6-3.

All the teams performed very well and received praise from the tournament organisers who heralded the Peterborough teams as among the most technically able they had seen in years. Tom Lyons of NDCS said:

"I am incredibly impressed with how quickly you have grown and established the Peterborough team in little over a year. I didn’t get to watch too much of the tournament, but I must say I think the standard of the U12’s and U16’s teams generally was higher than I have seen before.

"The Peterborough U12 team was almost certainly the strongest team I’ve seen over the past few years in terms of technical ability. The attitude and endeavour also appeared fantastic!"

Peterborough United Chairman Darragh McAnthony retweeted news of the teams reaching the semi-final stages and sent this tweet once the final whistle had blown in the under-12's final.

@PDDCS @theposhdotcom @nickysheppy Wow what an incredible effort. Well done & congrats
— Darragh MacAnthony (@DMAC102) March 2, 2014

Andy Palmer, PDDCS committee member who oversees the deaf football project, said: "The main thing about playing football is having fun and it was good to see all the players and their families enjoying the day."

Under 12 White Celebrate

"It is a real bonus and quite an achievement for us to have come this far in only a year. That year has seen us become part of the Peterborough United family, hold weekly sessions and help many players develop their football and social skills. To have three teams and 40 people on the coach to Reading was also very encouraging for the future of deaf football in our area."

"I would like to thank our coaches; Qadeer Hussain, Tash Applegate and Rob Neal for all their input and the knowledge of the game that they have imparted to our players."

"I would also like to thank Jack Hunt School for their continued and valuable support in allowing us to use their facilities. Finally I want to thank both the players for their effort, the fun and pride they bring into our lives and their parents for their fantastic support."

Anyone 18-years-old or under is welcome to come to the deaf friendly football sessions which are held every Monday in term-time at Jack Hunt School (please check first).  Below are the tournament results:

Under 16 Team

Group B matches

Blanche Neville 3-1 Posh
Charlton B 0-4 Posh
Posh 10-0 Maidstone United 

Posh 1-1 Bedfordshire
Cardiff City 1-8 Posh

Group B Table
1st Blanche Neville 12 points
2nd Posh 10 points 24 goals 

3rd Bedfordshire 10 points 23 goals

Through to semi-final on goal difference
Semi Final: Hamilton Lodge 6-3 Posh

Hamilton Lodge won 3-0 in the final against Blanche Neville School

Overall Goals

Michael 14

Josh 6

Joe 4

Vitor 2

Husnayn 1

Under 12 Blue

Group A matches

Peterborough 7 v Derby 1
Alfie 7

Bristol 2 v Peterborough 7
Alfie 5 Jack, Ryan

Blanche Neville 3 v Peterborough 3
Alfie 3

Brentford 0 v Peterborough 4
Alfie 2, Ava 2 

Finished second in their group and through to semi-final

Semi Final
Posh White 9 v Posh Blue 1
Alfie

Under 12 White

To follow

2014 Peterborough United Deaf Youth Team Photos

Here are the official photos of the Peterborough United deaf teams that will be playing at the NDCS National Tournament in Reading on Sunday. We have three teams: Under 12 Blue, Under 12 White and Under 16. The pictures were taken at Peterborough's famous London Road Stadium on Tuesday. Good luck in the tournament to all players and UP THE POSH!

Peterborough United Deaf Youth Squad

Back Row: Josh, Aaron, Vitor, Ben, Jack, Calum, Husnayn, Michael, Kefasi, Joe and Coach Qadeer Hussain
Front Row: Coach Tash Applegate, Calum, William, Daniyaal, Hazza, Ryan, Ava, Alfie

Peterborough United Deaf Youth Under 12's Blue

Aaron, Harry, William, Calum and Coach Rob Neal

Peterborough United Deaf Youth Under 12's White

Coach Tash Applegate, Jack, Danyiall, Alfie, Hazza, Ben, Alfie, Ava

Peterborough United Deaf Youth Under 16's

Joe, Josh, Vitor, Husnayn, Kefasi, Michael, Coach Qadeer Hussain

You can financially support our deaf friendly coaching here.