37 year old Stu is an IT Infrastructure Technician with leading new homebuilder Redrow. Based in the company’s Ewloe head office, he plays wheelchair rugby league for the North Wales Crusaders and is one of 600,000 people in the UK with a known diagnosis of epilepsy.
Stu first took up wheelchair rugby league in 2013 having pushed himself in a wheelchair from Edinburgh to Land’s End in aid of Whizz-Kidz, the charity whose vision is a society in which every young wheelchair user is mobile, enabled and included.
Stu explains: “Fundraising for Whizz-Kidz opened my eyes to the need for inclusive sports. Wheelchair Rugby League is unique in that it offers both disabled and non-disabled players of all genders the opportunity to compete both with and against each other on a level playing field.
“The sport is faithful to the rules of the game with tries, conversions and all the other familiar aspects of the game which makes it instantly recognisable as distinctly Rugby League. It’s now a really important part of my life as I have captained the Welsh team for the last four seasons and I was very proud to be named in the team of the tournament for the World Cup this year.
“We might not have won but we gave the tournament everything we’ve got and kept fighting until the final whistle. As a team sport, it is a great lesson for life and I’m very grateful to Redrow as my employer for their support and encouragement.”
Karen Jones, Human Resources Director at Redrow said: “The well-being of our people is our top priority because we know that they can only be their best when they are at their best.
“Stu is a great ambassador for wheelchair rugby league and Redrow. His passion, skill and determination makes him a real asset to any team including Redrow which is why we enjoy supporting him.”
