“Hundreds of wounded personnel will benefit every year from the
facilities at Lilleshall as part of their recovery, in the same
inspiring environment as many of our top sportsmen and women.”
Richard Lewis, Sport England Chair
Sport will be a key part of the
recovery activities offered to wounded, injured and sick Service
personnel at the new Battle Back Centre that will open fully at
Sport England’s Lilleshall National Sports Centre next year. Pilot
courses at the Centre are currently
underway.
Hundreds of troops will benefit every year
from spending time at the new centre which is being created thanks
to a partnership between The Royal British Legion, the Ministry of
Defence and Sport England.
The centre will give those injured in the line
of duty the confidence and self-esteem to get back into civilian
life or return to active duty. Adaptive sport and adventurous
training activities under the direction of world-class coaches,
principally from the Carnegie Faculty at Leeds Metropolitan
University, will be offered at Lilleshall’s state-of-the-art
sporting facilities, where many of the country’s top athletes
train.
The MoD will provide staff for the centre,
while the running of the centre will be funded by The Royal British
Legion, which is celebrating its 90th Anniversary in 2011.
Chris Simpkins, Director General, The Royal
British Legion, said: “The Battle Back Centre at Lilleshall, which
is supported by The Royal British Legion, is a key part of our
support for the ‘Afghan generation’ of the Armed Forces, many of
whom are returning from conflict with life-changing injuries. The
Centre is about helping them to focus on what they can do, rather
than what they can’t, and helping them to rebuild their confidence
and create a positive future for themselves. The Legion will be
with them all the way.”
“Battle Back is an Adaptive Sport and
Adventurous Training programme for wounded, injured and sick
personnel from across the Armed Forces,” said Lieutenant Colonel
Giles Stibbe, the Battle Back Centre’s Commanding Officer. “Battle
Back programmes are designed to promote confidence and independence
and help accelerate physical, psychological and social recovery
inspiring the wounded, injured and sick to focus on those things
that they are able to achieve. Battle Back is an MOD
initiative delivered in partnership with Help 4 Heroes and The
Royal British Legion.”
The project has received strong backing from
the Minister for Sport and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson, who
himself saw active duty. He said: “Sport can play an integral part
in the recovery process for our servicemen and women who have been
injured on active service. I am delighted that a new Battle Back
Centre is to be opened next year at the Lilleshall National Sports
Centre which will further cement the strong links between sport and
the armed services.”
Sport England is supporting the creation of a
specialist accommodation block by transforming an existing building
at Lilleshall. Chair Richard Lewis, said: “We are very pleased to
be working with the Ministry of Defence and The Royal British
Legion to create the Battle Back Centre at Lilleshall National
Sports Centre. Hundreds of wounded personnel will benefit every
year from the facilities at Lilleshall as part of their recovery,
in the same inspiring environment as many of our top sportsmen and
women.”
The facility is expected to open fully in the
Spring of 2012.