Mersey Rose Recreationals CC is a club that exists to remove barriers to participation. 

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That is true when it comes to disabled people. We recognise that there remain attitudes and prejudices towards disability. 

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People who are disabled are far less likely to participate in sport than non-disabled people. Sometimes sporting facilities can be inaccessible or not suited to meeting the needs of disabled people. Some club personnel (coaches or players) may have unwelcoming attitudes towards disabled people, or perhaps don't understand how to adapt their approaches to ensure disabled players are able to fully take part in enjoyable, fulfilling activity.  Even where sports clubs have disabled members, these people are often invisible.

 

We also understand that there is a huge amount of diversity within "disability". While we are always happy to remove physical barriers to participation and make adjustments to ensure disabled players get the best possible experience,  we also feel it is vital to continually improve awareness and challenge negative attitudes or perceptions around disability..We also appreciate that it is vital to have positive role models of disabled sportspeople - our disabled members play a full role in all aspects of club life.

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We are very proud to have several disabled people on our committee. 
 

We run two teams - a hardball team on Sundays and a midweek softball team - because experience at other clubs suggested that many entry-level disabled players preferred the option of playing softball. This is not something that most clubs are able to offer as most softball teams are female-only, and many clubs offer only league cricket. We found that some disabled people felt that playing with a hard ball was a significant challenge and gave up on cricket altogether - an example of where mainstream sports clubs try to fit disabled people into their established mould rather than change their approach in order to be more inclusive.

 

Disabled members are welcome to play in either our softball or hardball team - or both - but we will never push anyone to play at a level they are uncomfortable with. We will always work with our disabled members rather than for them, ensuring that they are listened to and valued.

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