History was made last week as the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) hosted the First of its kind Fitness Inclusion Games.
Gym-goers from across Dublin and beyond were among over 120 people with disabilities competing in an event inspired by CrossFit and Hyrox.
The workouts are adapted for people with disabilities, and the competition took place at the home of sport in Sport Ireland’s National Indoor Arena in Dublin.
The origins of IWA began with sport, as Dr. Oliver Murphy, a founding member of IWA, is himself a Paralympic athlete who competed in the first Paralympic Games in Paris, in Para Powerlifting.
Dr. Murphy officially opened the Fitness Inclusion Games, commenting that “All we ever wanted was to take part in sport alongside able-bodied people, we were always striving for inclusion, so to be up here on the Sports Campus, in a fantastic venue like this, is unreal. I wish the other founding members were still alive to see this day.”
Irish Wheelchair Association members from Dublin, Longford, Portlaoise, Navan, Galway, Dundalk, Drogheda, and Balbriggan Community Centres have been training in the gym for the past few months to compete at the games and travelled to Dublin to take part.
The event was organised through IWA’s Fitness Inclusion Project, which encourages and supports people with disabilities and mobility issues to begin gym-based exercise programmes to increase fitness and improve coordination.
Ashleigh Murphy from Clontarf IWA was buzzing to be part of the day. “I am absolutely loving today and am also really enjoying going to the Insanity Gym as part of the Project.”
“I can’t do my transfers out of my chair on my own anymore, and my goal is to improve my upper body strength, and I can see the difference going to the gym is making.”
Drogheda-based Sean Carroll has been doing the Fitness Inclusion Programme for over a year and is reaping the rewards both physically and mentally. “I absolutely love it,” he told Spoke Out. “It puts your mind in a very good place.”
Improving his upper body strength is paying dividends. “It helps me so much with my transferring in and out of my wheelchair and helps me to be able to push myself in the wheelchair up hills; it has given me better control over my wheelchair.” He added: “It has been great. Everybody is so supportive and encouraging and we have great craic.”
Conor Dillon from Balbriggan IWA who does his training in Drogheda, had “never been in a gym in my life” before joining IWA’s Fitness Inclusion Project.
“It was something I never thought wheelchair users could do. I love it. I am finding it hugely beneficial, like I didn’t have any upper body strength before and now I am finding that I am getting upper body strength, so it’s very good.”
Conor added: “It is also good for your mental wellbeing. It kind of makes sure that your mental health keeps in good condition and all that stuff. I’ll be staying at the gym, there will be no slacking,” he quipped
The inaugural Fitness Inclusion Games are the inclusive equivalent to the popular CrossFit and Hyrox gym competitions which have sprung up globally for gym users around the world.
IWA’s Fitness Inclusion Project was initiated following a 100km fundraising challenge in 2022 by IWA Area Manager Declan Hamilton, who is also a lifelong fitness enthusiast.
The response from IWA members during that event laid the foundation for the pilot programme in Drogheda. “Many of the young adults who came to support me had never been inside a gym before,” said Declan. “They absolutely loved it. That’s when I knew we had something special.”
Declan approached a local CrossFit gym in Louth, which embraced the opportunity to learn and adapt workouts for people with disabilities—and the Fitness Inclusion Project was born.
From just eight participants in the original pilot, the programme now includes members of all ages in locations such as Longford, Galway, Dublin and the greater Northeast area. Even IWA staff have joined in, enjoying the physical and mental health benefits.
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