This Girl Can: Emma's story
Television adverts, social media posts and billboards across the land have advertised Sport England’s latest campaign This Girl Can. It’s a sassy celebration of women everywhere no matter how they exercise, how they look, or how sweaty they get.
The national charity, the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) is supporting This Girl Can to ensure more disabled women can get involved in the campaign.
In January, Sport England’s latest Active People Survey was published. It showed that 121,700 fewer disabled people and 125,000 fewer women are regularly taking part in sport. EFDS believes that the results reinforce the importance of understanding and responding to disabled people’s needs and preferences much more effectively.
Campaigns like This Girl Can will play an important role in increasing the numbers of all active women, especially those living with impairments and health conditions.
Emma Wiggs,34, lives in Nottingham. She trains at the National Watersports centre near to her home and works also work as a Youth Sport Trust Athlete Mentor. Here, Emma tells her story about going from a once ordinary lifestyle to an extraordinary double World Champion in the space of five years.
Putting the EXTRA into an ORDINARY women!
As I sit and write this I’m reminded that three years ago I was preparing to be part of the greatest sporting event the world had ever seen. Now, in little over a year I shall be competing hard in selection races against my teammates for a place on a Rio bound plane to be part of the next Paralympic Games!
I acquired my impairment aged 18 while on a gap year in Australia. I went from chasing sheep up and down hills one day to paralysed the next, following a virus that attacked my nervous system.
Rather than dwell on my situation I did what I believe anyone would do….I looked for the next challenge and the next opportunity to make the best of myself.
"Ordinary" is probably the best word to describe me pre-2010….an ordinary teacher in an ordinary school living a very ordinary life. Then a British Paralympic Association Talent Identification day changed my life forever.
You may be reading this because you are either involved in sport or have a love of sport, so I don’t need to tell you how powerful and incredible sport is. It can offer up opportunities to not only change your life for the better but to enhance it and turn it into something you could never have imagined.
My first journey saw me as part of GB Sitting Volleyball team who competed at London 2012.
It may sound cheesy but the journey towards London and participating in it was life changing and gave me a hunger to achieve that I had no idea was inside me.
So after the Games I embarked on a mission to find a sport that would give me a chance to be the best I could be. I wanted the chance to spend every day looking for the ‘extra’ that I could put into the ‘ordinary’ and a sport that would be professional and performance driven towards excelling on the world stage in Rio 2016.
British Canoeing was the answer!
Since my selection in March 2013 it was been the most incredible experience. I've been training at the High Performance Centre in Nottingham, working with the dedicated and professional staff team. Pushing my body to limits I never knew it could reach has meant that I’m sitting here as a double World Champion and part of the greatest Paracanoe team in the World.
I loved my ‘ordinary’ life as a teacher despite it being pretty hectic and hard with long hours. Working with young people meant I could use the power of sport to hopefully have some sort of impact on their lives.
I feel the same passion and the same drive to be the best I can be as an athlete. Becoming part of the British Canoeing team has given me an unbelievable opportunity to make the best of the two thirds of me that works! I want to push myself to ever increasing heights!
I’ve learned more in the last 18 months than I could have imagined. For example, I now know the importance of recovery, the crucial need for planning and preparation, the vital part that sports science and psychology can play in achieving the ultimate PB performance and the endless need for Tupperware!
It may seem odd to use the word "team" for an individual sport but I make no apology for that. It is indeed the greatest team in the world and as athletes we are incredibly lucky to be supported by UKSport and our hugely talented staff team. They work every hour of every day to make us faster whether it be one percent gain or big strategic decisions. Everything is focused on getting the best out of each and every one of us.
In return I’ve swapped the classroom for the lake and train six days a week every week. There really is nothing special about me, no secret to the success I’ve experienced and no special powers to help me go faster on the water.
It really is quite simple. I've used the body I have, the determination that I believe we all have and grabbed the opportunity that the amazing and all empowering world of ‘sport’ has offered me.
Do I regret my hectic and at times exhausting life? No absolutely not! I love going to bed every night thinking what ‘extra’ have I given today to ensure this ‘ordinary’ person will be better tomorrow?
