In the dark ages or so it seems
now although it was only 1973, Peter Haslam and David Foden decided that they
would set up a sports club in the Oldham area. Plans were set in motion and
along with a handful of other disabled people and able-bodied helpers and
Oldham Council, Oldham Owls Disabled Sports Club was for
med on the 3rd
October 1974 at New Vale House.
In those early fledgling days the club held once a week meetings on
Sunday afternoons in the Holy Family Church on Lord Lane in Failsworth. With
it only being a small hall the type and range of sports that members could
participate in were restricted and we spilled out to an outside play area.
On the 16th March 1975
with the invaluable assistance of Oldham Council Legal Department the Owls
gained charitable status. This enabled the club to go forward into
fund-raising ventures, as we were and still are a self-supporting organisation
this was an essential direction to take.
Fifteen months after
its formation the club’s membership had increased to such an extent that for
it to continue flourishing a new venue had to be found.
An approach to Oldham
Council was made and once again they came to our aid helping the Owls
re-locate to Counthill School. Not the friendliest of places during the winter
months. The Council also helped by providing us with the necessary transport
for those members who had none of their own, to attend.
Here the club had
access to a sports hall, gymnasium & playing fields and tennis courts.
This provided a whole
range of facilities for all sorts of activities both indoors and out. With
Club Meetings every Sunday afternoon, the Owls expanded further with the
warmth and enthusiasm of its members and its loyal band of helpers.
The range of sports,
recreational and leisure activities that were offered at that time for all
disabled and able-bodied members, families and friends has never been equalled
since.
It meant that any
Sunday meeting could boast between fifty to a hundred people
actively engaged
in enjoying themselves, no matter what their disability, if any, severe or
minor, whether they were serious athletes or involved purely for the fun and
social side.
It is no exaggeration
that all the members felt part of an extended family called the ‘Owls’. The
club’s executive committee felt that we were fulfilling our ambitions of
‘integrating the disabled into society not only from a sporting context but
socially as well’.
The club was attracting
individuals, groups and families to join in with the activities on offer and
just not for the person who was disabled, this at a time when people enjoyed
the interaction and integration and a thriving group, a growing membership and
a happy band of ‘Owlers’.
This was also during
the period when disabled sports, as a movement nationally, was growing from
fundamental developments at Stoke Mandeville, to the likes of what some of you
may have viewed on your television screens of the Paralympic Games and
Wheelchair Basketball.
With the move to
Counthill, Oldham Owls started to spread their wings, forming their own
fishing section and creating partnerships with other clubs to increase the
number of opportunities available to members.
With the pending
opening of Oldham Sports Centre in 1985, we were moved from Counthill School
with the promise that we would be the envy of every sports club for the
disabled. We were excited at the prospects of further enlarging the Owls and
being able to offer more facilities and experiences for our members.
However, the club had
to move initially to Hathershaw Community Centre which was being renovated at
the time. Although we were welcomed with open arms the facilities there were
severely restricted. Have you ever tried to play any sport
on a building site?
By the end of our club nights we were covered in that much dust we looked like
parts of the furniture that were in Miss Haversham’s House in Dickens Great
Expectations. We've never worked in a coal mine but our appearances made us
look like we had.
By the time that Oldham
Sports Centre opened we had lost a large number of our members along with our
invaluable helpers. To compound matters the Centre could now only allow us
restricted facilities and half the sports hall which proved to be inadequate
and a further decline in members followed as the more popular sport of
basketball took precedent.
The club fought for
additional facilities but were unsuccessful due to the great demand in
general. Administration became more and more difficult without our base at
Counthill. Further discussions were entered into with Oldham Council who have
always supported the club but they stated that for the club to command more
facilities it must become "more successful". We were at a lost on how to
become more successful, obviously the achievements of a person who is disabled
does not rank alongside that of an able-bodied person or so it seemed to us.
What appeared to be implied, was to make our basketball team more successful
as this was really the only spectator sport.
Even through these
difficult times the Owls continued to support archery, swimming, table tennis,
bowls, field and track events among other activities.
Members have competed
at all levels including every Paralympic Games since the club’s inauguration.
We boast amongst them, one of the World’s Top Shot Putt champions, one of the
World’s Top Ranked Water Skiers, several Basketball, Archery, Fencing,
Snooker, Table Tennis, Track and Field Internationals. Look at our own hall of
fame to see just a few of them.
There is no denying
that the Owls are "one of the most successful disabled sports clubs" that
Great Britain has ever seen.
Our roll of honour for
basketball has few equals, as the array of cups, trophies and medals that are
displayed at our base shows and our continuing success from 1996 to present
day testify to that. It is no coincidence that the sponsorship from Granada
Learning Semerc over the last four years has greatly contributed to that
success.
After years of limited
facilities favourable negotiations with Oldham Council for the launch of a
Sunday Club was planned for the summer of 1995. Unfortunately the fire at
Oldham Sports Centre put paid to that and along with many users found
ourselves struggling to find alternative facilities while the Centre was
rebuilt.
For the next two years
we used Failsworth Sports Centre and we would like to go on public record to
thank the management and staff at Failsworth for the welcome, help and support
during that time. With the sponsorship and help of Slumberland the Sunday Club
was eventually launched with limited success. Part of the reason was the
location and possibly a change in social attitudes.
Realisation that a sports centre specifically designed for people with
disabilities in mind but for the whole community was not to be built in the
foreseeable future the Owls executive committee made the bold decision to
launch an appeal to improve the current facilities, and allow the Owls to be
at the forefront of putting plans into motion for the greater involvement of
disabled in our local sports and leisure scene.
