Wheelchair rugby star Chris is such a good sport

Like most 19-year-olds Chris Ryan loves playing sport and driving a nice car.

Chris plays rugby and gets around in a new Audi A4 Avant. Chris, from Panshanger, Welwyn Garden City, is also a wheelchair user after being involved in a road accident as a passenger in November 2008.

Now, thanks to the support of his family and help from HAD’s Mobility Centre, he’s gained his independence and is on the fringe of the GB Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby squad.

After Mobility Centre Manager David Wooder gave Chris an initial assessment in late 2009, driving lessons started last spring. Chris passed his test last summer and has since taken the Pass Plus additional driving course with David.

“This covers night and town driving, motorways, dual carriageways, country roads and poor weather,” David explained.

A key part of David’s input involved the personal adaptations Chris needed for his car. These included electric seats, keyless entry and start-up button, electric handbrake and automatic headlights and wash/wipe.

Chris’s Audi also has push-pull hand controls instead of pedals and tetra-grip steering, both supplied by local adaptation specialists Brig-Ayd.

So now Chris can travel to and from the London Wheelchair Rugby Club in Stanmore where he plays the four-a-side sport on a basketball court and trains six days a week.

“I’ve been playing wheelchair rugby for 18 months now and it’s fantastic,” Chris explained. “It’s really tactical and physically demanding. My specially adapted wheelchair takes quite a beating and has a shelf-life of up to two years.”

Although Chris is not quite ready to represent Great Britain in next year’s Paralympics, he’s setting his sights on 2016 and has several national, European and World championships to look forward to in the meantime.