“Who says I can’t hit for big runs?” Freya’s story
An exciting campaign from Activity Alliance is calling time on negative perceptions about disability, inclusion and sport and asks – who says?
We speak to cricketer Freya, who features in the campaign films.
For far too long disabled people have faced misconceptions and presumptions on what is and isn’t possible, including in sport. Activity Alliance wants to move the conversations on, open people’s minds and shift out-dated views on disability.
Who says? gives positive evidence, resources and guidance to replace these negative ideas. The campaign films focus on six key perceptions from the charity's recent research. Each film provides upbeat insight from a mixture of disabled and non-disabled people.
Over the course of the six-week campaign, we will be hearing from some of our film contributors. We begin with teenage cricket player, Freya, who tells us - "who says I can’t hit for big runs?"
Freya's story
Who says I can't hit for big runs?
Hey! I’m Freya and I have been playing visually impaired (VI) cricket for a year and a half now.
Before I lost my sight, I played a lot of football. As my sight started to deteriorate, I was looking to get back into sport and seeing where the most accessible place was for me to get to. My mum and I found about the Lancashire Lions visually impaired (VI) cricket club online. We contacted them and I have been playing VI cricket there ever since.
I get on really well with all my teammates. We all have a passion to play sport and to do well in it. We’re all pretty competitive and we would rather be competitive and play, than not play.
I really enjoy the atmosphere when playing cricket. I also like that it is a sport that’s inclusive for all visually impaired people. Now I have no sight, I still have the ability to play and that’s really important to me.
I do feel there can be a negative attitude towards VI cricket. I feel some people think it is not a proper sport because we don’t play full innings. I also feel some people see it as it’s something we just have a go at. But actually we are playing it properly – it’s just an adapted version. It is a proper game and it can be played at a high level – at the end of the day it’s a game of cricket.
Changing perceptions is really important. If we change perceptions, more disabled people will go out and find places to play to sport. And also, get the support they need in finding or playing that sport.
Activity Alliance's who says? campaign launched on Monday 15 July. It was created in response to the charity’s recent research, which explored non-disabled people’s attitudes on inclusive activity. Who says? empowers people, on and off the field of play, to challenge their own and others’ perceptions.
We can't challenge perceptions and change the reality of disability, inclusion and sport. Who says?!
