Billesley Hosts IBSA World Games
The IBSA World Games took place in Birmingham throughout the month of August and Billesley Tennis & Fitness Centre was chosen to host Tennis.
The IBSA (International Blind Sports Association) Games are a competition for blind and visually impaired athletes to compete against the best in the world.
Billesley joined venues like the University of Birmingham, University of Wolverhampton, CBS Arena Coventry and Edgbaston Stadium in hosting the games which ran from the 14th to the 27th August.
Athletes from around the world descended on Billesley Tennis and Fitness Centre to enjoy the five-day event and a festival of disability sport.
Moir Ferguson, Volunteer for the IBSA Games, said: “You just have so much admiration for the athletes here. Life has dealt them a challenging hand, but they’ve got themselves in a position where they’re representing their country – and in tennis!
“It gives those athletes a social life, gets them exercising and provides the self-esteem they can take into everyday life. These are athletes that have had so much adversity in their life so for them to feel like everybody else is so humbling to see.”
Sophie Hall, Event Organiser, said: “Billesley Tennis and Fitness Centre have been fantastic, and everybody has been so helpful. The fact they’ve been able to offer us all six-courts means that events like this can happen because not every facility is as accommodating.
“The courts are excellent, but the staff have really gone above and beyond, making sure the courts are professionally cleaned, and I know that is really appreciated by the players.
“In visually impaired tennis, we use a brightly coloured sponge ball as it's easier for players to track, so we need to make sure the court is as clean as possible. The fact they’ve offered this facility really means the IBSA World Games is getting the respect it deserves.”
Stuart Seery, Tennis head-coach at Billesley, said: “We were thrilled that Billesley Indoor Tennis & Fitness Centre was selected to host the tennis tournament at this year’s IBSA World Games. It was a remarkable opportunity to not only highlight our commitment to inclusive and diverse sporting events, but also offer out state-of-the-art facilities to blind athletes, and allow them to showcase their skills and compete on an international platform.
“It was a great success, and it was an honour to welcome participants and spectators – witnessing the incredible spirit and sportsmanship of the world’s top blind tennis players at our venue.”