Penrith Pumas Archives - Douglas Bader Foundation

Penrith Pumas need your vote

Posted on 15/05/202315/05/2023

Very exciting news from one of our Bader Grant Recipients! Penrith Pumas need your vote to be in with a chance of securing £60,000 of National Lottery funding…

The PUMA’S (Promoting Unbelievable Mental Attitude) have been shortlisted as one of the 95 organisations across the UK in this year’s The People’s Projects. They now need people to vote for them so they can win the valuable funds which will enable them to buy more equipment (bespoke wheelchairs can cost £3,500 each) and raise awareness of this exciting and beneficial sport.

This is such good news and very well deserved. A huge step from when we first featured them after Gary Pettit had returned home having competed in the 2019 UK Invictus Trials, winning Gold in Wheelchair Rugby. He found that there was no local club where he could continue to train and play so with admirable fighting spirit he developed his own and Penrith Pumas, a new disability sports group, was born! Gary and his wife, Megan, launched the club in January 2020 but the Covid-19 pandemic put plans on hold until May 2021. Since then, in just a couple of years, they have gone from strength to strength, gathering numerous supporters and players and holding regular Rugby 5’s Exhibition Matches and Competitions, which you will have read about in previous posts.

We are extremely proud to have been able to support the Penrith Pumas in a small way at the beginning of their story and wish them the very best of luck and success in securing the lottery funding which will enable this dynamic club to introduce even more people to the exciting sport of Wheelchair Rugby. We will certainly be supporting them again through this vote!

Public Campaign and Voting: Penrith Pumas need your vote!

The public campaign starts today, Monday 15th May and will close on Friday 26th May at 12.00 noon. You can vote online by following this link, which will open in a new tab: PENRITH PUMAS (Promoting, Unbelievable, Mental, Attitude) – The People’s Projects (thepeoplesprojects.org.uk) You can also scan the QR Code, which will take you straight to the page.

Don’t forget: Penrith Pumas need your vote! Results will be announced on Thursday 1st June so don’t forget to vote before the window closes on Friday 26th May!

Check out the Press release and poster which has a QR code for your to scan to visit the page directly.

The Featured Image was taken when ITV filmed the Puma’s back in February.

Further links will be found at the bottom of this post. Be sure to watch the promotional video, which gives a taste of why Wheelchair Rugby is such an exciting sport both to watch and to play!

Penrith Pumas need your vote

QR Code to visit Campaign Page:

Penrith Pumas need your vote

Useful Links: (will open in new tabs)

- ONLINE VOTE: PENRITH PUMAS (Promoting, Unbelievable, Mental, Attitude) – The People’s Projects (thepeoplesprojects.org.uk)
- Penrith Pumas – the beginning (Previous post on DBF Website)
- Penrith Pumas Website
- Promotional Video: https://www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk/projects/view/penrith-pumas-promoting-unbelievable-mental-attitude

DBF Bader Grant Scheme

As you may be aware, following our 40th Anniversary last year, DBF decided to bring more focus to our Bader Grant Scheme. Bader Grants have already supported numerous individuals and groups towards achieving a huge variety of individual goals and we are keen to encourage more people to apply.

Check out our Bader Grants Pages and please apply if a grant might help you to achieve your own goal or dream. We consider all applications so you are limited only by your imagination!

Penrith Pumas Exhibition Match

Posted on 04/02/202207/03/2023

You are invited to a Penrith Pumas Exhibition Match! We introduced you to Penrith Pumas in May of last year (you’ll find a link to the story at the bottom of this post). Since then, they have gone from strength to strength and we have been proud to be able to support their hard work and dedication with a Bader Grant.

Penrith Pumas are passionate about Wheelchair Rugby and keen to spread the word and get more people with disabilities playing the game. They hope that this Exhibition Match will be a way to get new people enthused about and involved with what is undoubtedly a very exciting game.

The Penrith Pumas Exhibition Match, between the Penrith Pumas and the Newcastle Barbarians, will take place on Saturday 12th February at Penrith Leisure Centre from 12-4m. It should be a great event.

Will the Pumas pounce or Barbarians Bite…?

Megan Pettit writes:

To whom this may concern,

My name is Megan Pettit, the Manager for Penrith Pumas Wheelchair Rugby Club. We are the first and only wheelchair rugby club in Cumbria.

We launched the club in January 2020, spent 12 weeks training before the global pandemic hit. After returning to training from Summer 2021 we are now in a position to host our 1^st ever exhibition match with the Newcastle Barbarians.

I would like to formally invite you to attend our exhibition match which is going to be held on Saturday 12^th Feb 2022 at Penrith Leisure Centre 12 – 4pm.

There will be plenty of opportunities to get in a chair to experience the thrill seeking, full contact Paralympic sports which in 2021 Team GB won Gold for the first time ever and all the team have been awarded MBE’s for their hard work.

We will also be running a tombola throughout the day, with the opportunity to sit and watch some competitive matches between Pumas and the Barbarians, will the Puma’s pounce or Barbarians Bite?

This is an open event all afternoon, where we hope to welcome as many people to come along meet the team and discuss how they can get involved. Within the sport of Wheelchair Rugby there are plenty of volunteering opportunities for those who wish not to play.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could share our poster for the event within your networks, print a few copies out to display around the workplace to let everyone know, share across social media and feel free to tag the Puma’s.

We are looking forward to seeing you on the 12^th Feb.

Kind Regards

Megan Pettit

Manager, Penrith Pumas

E: | M: 07399 539 027

Penrith Pumas Wheelchair Rugby Club

Web: www.penrithpumas.co.uk │ Twitter: @pumasWrc │ Facebook: @penrithpumaswrc │ Instagram: @pumaswrc

Penrith PUmas Exhibition Match

Links: (will open in new tabs)

https://www.douglasbaderfoundation.com/penrith-pumas-a-new-disability-sports-group/

Penrith Pumas – a new disability sports group

Posted on 25/05/202107/03/2023

Megan Pettit has contacted us to bring Penrith Pumas to our attention so that we can bring it to yours!

Penrith Pumas – a new all-inclusive disability sports group is based in Penrith, Cumbria. It was set up by Megan’s husband, Gary, to introduce the sport of Wheelchair Rugby into Cumbria. The aim is to enable individuals with a disability, physical impairment or long term chronic condition to access a thrill seeking, full contact, all-inclusive sport.

No matter what level of ability a person has, there is a place for everyone.

The idea for Penrith Pumas came about after Gary had competed in the 2019 UK Invictus Trials, winning Gold in Wheelchair Rugby. On returning home he found that there was no local club where he could continue to train and play so with admirable fighting spirit he developed his own and Penrith Pumas, a new disability sports group, was born!

Wheelchair Rugby is one of the only full-contact disability sports. Originally it was designed for individuals with quadriplegia and has now been developed to provide the opportunity for those with greater functionality than the Paralympic discipline permits to play.

Wheelchair Rugby is open to both men and women, and is one of the only games which allows them to compete on the same team.

Gary and Megan launched the club in January 2020 but sadly, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, have been unable to train until now. Play finally resumed on Tuesday 18^th May 2021 at Penrith Leisure Centre and they would be delighted to welcome more people to the club.

If you’d like to join Penrith Pumas or get some more information, please contact:

Megan Pettit, Manager, Penrith Pumas

E: | M: 07399 539 027

Penrith Pumas Wheelchair Rugby Club

or telephone

Gary Pettit

Head Coach, Penrith Pumas

M: 07907910197

Penrith Pumas Wheelchair Rugby Club

Penrith Pumas is a new all-inclusive disability sports group

It’s always exciting to hear about new facilities for people with disabilities. We were delighted to learn about this great new opportunity for people in Cumbria to get involved in Wheelchair Rugby, a game which is gaining in popularity all the time. It is also inspiring to be reminded what can be achieved by hard work, determination and enterprise. Congratulations to Gary and Megan on their achievement – we hope that Penrith Pumas goes from strength to strength.