The GUV Dillon Foundation and Love 21

The Guv Dillon Foundation and Love 21 launched their hockey programme for those living with Downs Syndrome and Autism on the 26th October. The sessions are to occur going forward on Monday evenings at the fantastic Love 21 centre in Diamond Hill.

The programme has been designed by Kit Studholme-Wilson, Anna Aiello and Felix Studholme-Wilson under the expert guidance of Ken Tsang. The objective of the programme is to help improve health through physical activity, to introduce to the kids at Love 21 to a new sport and to create a platform to allow the younger members of the HKFC Hockey Section to make their contribution to the broader community.

In designing the programme, the coaches had to consider the size of the space, varying levels of capabilities and of course safety. It was decided that floor hockey using aluminum sticks with plastic heads and plastic balls was the most suitable format - and by the way it is also a lot of fun – my sitting room bears a few scars from testing the equipment!

A key objective of both Guv Dillon Foundation and Love 21 is to help overcome the stereotyping of those with Downs Syndrome and Autism, by demonstrating their capabilities, so it was pleasing to hear that the coaches were surprised by how good the kids were at their first go at hockey. The initial sessions started off with a focus on drills, but the competitive instincts of the kids and their desire to score goals, quickly took hold so we have moved to more of a games format.

This is the start of what we hope will be a long term programme and we look to draw in more volunteers to drive it forward.

Finally, a big thanks to all those who have supported the Guv Dillon Foundation - none of this can happen without you.