Harrogate Businessman Aces Inclusive Padel Tournament
Harrogate businessman and Disability Action Yorkshire trustee Andrew Simister has just aced an international inclusive padel tournament in Italy, featuring doubles teams comprising one player with a disability and one without.
Andrew, together with his son Max as his partner competed for the first time at the Inclusive Padel Tour tournament in Milan in January. This came just a few months after finding out about the existence of the tournament through Instagram and then contacting the organiser, who happened to be seeking competitors.
Andrew said “It was a fantastic weekend. It was incredible to be with so many other players ranging from amputees to wheelchair users; it’s the first time I’ve felt part of a community since my accident, and there’s a real sense of family and inclusion. Unfortunately, we didn't get out of the group stages this time as the standard was really good. There were 30 teams in total from around the world, and the events are becoming increasingly popular.”
Andrew had his right leg amputated above the knee and suffered a broken back in a car accident in 2022. This changed his sporting life that had included, up to that point, running two New York marathons, coaching a junior Beckwithshaw Saints football team, playing cricket and generally keeping fit.
Given his love of sport and passion for fitness, Andrew was determined not to throw in the towel following the accident and started swimming and exercising as much as possible as he recovered from his injuries.
He also began to understand more about how he could take part in sport and manage with what he describes as his “bionic leg”.
He was introduced to padel tennis by friends and now plays as often as he can at Spa Tennis Club in Harrogate where he sings the praises of coach Carolyn Rothwell for the advice and encouragement that she gives.
He is also quick to acknowledge that as, with many disabilities that alter lives, there are massive consequences for mental as well as physical health.
Andrew says: “Lying there, having my leg amputated, thinking my life was over and then accepting what happened and knowing I could recover. My leg had gone. I wasn't going to die then and I knew it was going to be fine. I liken my situation to having an electric car. The destination is the same, but you have to plan your journey differently.”
He adds: “I've been a victim of an accident, but I wasn't going to be a victim. Recovery, and I spoke a lot of people about it, is 20 per cent physical and 80 per cent mental.”
As a result of the accident, Andrew is the first to acknowledge that he has a new outlook on life and a new mission as a passionate and committed advocate for disability rights. He states: “It's a life that I would never have been involved with it without my accident and I'm a trustee for Disability Action Yorkshire now.
“I have lived experiences both able-bodied and disabled and I can see how disabled people get a terrible time. They can be easily bullied, nobody cares about parking in a blue badge space, ‘it's only the disabled’”, he states, reflecting an attitude of some non-disabled people.
This viewpoint is also informed by his own, sometimes bizarre experiences, including as person in a wheelchair which he used initially after the accident. These include a row with a train passenger who could not see his prosthetic leg, a massive step to negotiate to get into a supposedly “accessible” hotel room in a wheelchair and being offered a wicker chair to sit in under a shower in his hotel room.
However, Andrew is also quick to point out that he has experienced some life enhancing moments too.
He says: “When I go to the gym in York on a Tuesday afternoon, there's a group of kids with learning disabilities rather than physical disabilities, and they see me as one of their own and it's great because they're young adults and they see me and they're all interested in what I'm doing. It's really quite nice.”
And he heaps praise on organisations representing disabled people such as the Limbless Association who, he says, helped him understand the journey from having no leg to having a prosthetic leg and dealing with the challenges that would bring, which include, for Andrew, more surgery, more time in a wheelchair and regular adjustments to the prosthetic leg, which is a sophisticated piece of engineering, equipped with microprocessors and gyroscopes.
Andrew’s passion and commitment both to his own physical and mental wellbeing and to his role as a Disability Action Yorkshire trustee is hugely appreciated by the charity and social enterprise which was established in 1937 and provides services that create opportunities for disabled people to live the lifestyle of their choosing and achieve their life aspirations.
Chief Executive Jackie Snape says: “Andrew is a vital trustee for us as he gives 100 per cent to Disability Action Yorkshire and to helping ensure the needs, wants and desires of disabled people is heard in the right places. We are committed to the development of new services where there is a need, and where we believe that we have the ability and resources to meet that need.”
Andrew is planning on travelling to all the remaining Inclusive Padel Tour tournaments this year, with the final two being in Dubai and Nairobi. He will also be working hard to advocate for disabled people as a Disability Action Yorkshire trustee.
For more information about the Inclusive Padel Tour, visit the website at https://www.inclusivepadeltour.com/
For more information on Disability Action Yorkshire, visit the website at https://www.disabilityactionyorkshire.org.uk
