Chris announced in January that he will be looking to hand cycle his way the distance equal to that of travelling from The Hawthorns to Geneva Stadium – a total of 750 miles.
The past 12 months have been challenging for all of us but in particular our Powerchair Football players who were not able to train for over 12 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic with many of our players having to shield for the duration of that time.
Step up Chris Gordon, Captain and Coach of WBA PFC who has been embarking on a remarkable virtual challenge over the past several months and he is now looking for one big final push to complete it.
Chris’s squad were due to travel to Geneva in August 2020 for the EPFA Champions Cup, the Powerchair version of the Champions League but this was cancelled due to the pandemic and it being against advice to travel with the tournament being put back 12 months to August 2021. Due to Covid-19, preparations have been severely effected with the whole sport coming to a stand-still for over 12 months, meaning it has also been difficult to fundraise in the normal way.
Chris’s aim is to raise some much needed funds for WBA Powerchair and to assist his team in their journey to the competition with the hope of being the first English side to lift the trophy. This will be the fourth Champions Cup qualification for WBA PFC after trips to Paris in France and Aarhus in Denmark in the last five years.
“The Foundation has been instrumental in their support of us a team, enabling us to win the National League Premiership Division three years in a row which has led us to qualifying for the tournament in Geneva. This may not seem like a big challenge for most people, but as a full time wheelchair user with a muscle wasting condition who can’t lift his arms above his head, I can assure you this will push me to my limits”, said Chris.
Chris is about half way through his challenge as he covers around 7-14 miles a week and will even be crossing the French Alps towards the end of his journey – virtually of course!
Sadly, it was announced that the delayed competition scheduled for August 2021, has also had to be cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic and a new date is yet to be scheduled. Needless to say we hope that an announcement is made shortly. Funds raised in the meantime will go towards the ongoing running costs for the WBA Powerchair setup.
Thankfully all of our Powerchair players and teams have now returned to training within the last six weeks and everyone is delighted to be back – our teams are looking to pick up where they left off once competitive fixtures resume.
To help support Chris and reach his target please click on the following link;