Latest news with #visuallyImpaired
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'I'm completely blind but I'll play at Wimbledon'
For those unfamiliar with parasports, it might be hard to believe that someone with no eyesight whatsoever would be able to play is a common misconception that Gavin Griffiths for the third year running, the 52-year-old is due to play at Wimbledon in August as part of a national competition for visually impaired competitors."You get some people that are totally awestruck by it, other people don't believe a word you're saying. All I can tell them is go look it up on YouTube, said Mr Griffiths, from Nottingham. His third year at the legendary venue will see him compete in the Vodafone Play Your Way to Wimbledon national finals."To know you're walking and playing where people like my heroes Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Raducanu, other players like that have walked and played... you feel it in the ground," he said."It's awe-inspiring for us as visually impaired players to know that we are being taken seriously and that we're given the chance to show our skills." Mr Griffiths was not born blind. At the age of two he had to have both eyes removed to stop the spread of a rare cancer called has been "totally blind" since the procedure but the setback has not stopped him from living a fulfilling he played international visually impaired cricket, representing England, as well as football."Life wasn't ever going to deal its cards to me. I deal my cards to it, and if it likes to send them back then I'll deal with them that way," he said. "That was always me and it still is me."He said he picked up tennis in 2019 because he "fancied a sport where you're on your own", which provided him with a change of pace from the other sports he played."Instead of being part of a team and part of a cog in a machine, I wanted a sport that was down to me. If [I make] a bad decision, it's my problem to deal with," he added. How is tennis adapted? The LTA, the governing body of tennis in Great Britain, recognises five categories of visual impairment, from B1 (no sight), down to B5 (the most partial sight).For B1 players such as Mr Griffiths, the court of play is significantly reduced in size, the net is lowered, and the ball is allowed to bounce up to three the ball itself is also altered to make noise when it is hit and when it Griffiths said that despite being completely blind, it was standard procedure to play with a blindfold shade regardless, to stop anyone with a degree of light perception from having an advantage. Looking ahead, Mr Griffiths hopes other people with visual impairments will be inspired to take up tennis as a sport, whether young or said that anyone who wanted to find out more information about getting involved could visit the LTA website or the British Blind Sport website."They'll get you in touch with the nearest [visually impaired] tennis club. There's not loads of them, but if you can it's worth finding the nearest," he said."All I can say is come and have a go, because once you've tried it, you won't be able to let go."
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Plymouth entrepreneur honoured by King for braille business
A blind entrepreneur from Devon has described the pride of being honoured by the King as feeling like "a lion raised its head and roared on his chest".Brandon Hulcoop, who started his firm making braille greetings cards from his mum's kitchen table, scooped the NatWest/Kings Trust Enterprise award - attending a reception at Buckingham Palace where he met HRH King Hulcoop, 23, from Plymouth, told the BBC: "I never really understood I was making such a difference."Then I go to the awards ceremony and get people coming up and saying it's a wonderful thing." He added: "It's all been a bit of a surprise, it all happened because I was unemployed for so long, I went to the job centre and said 'all I need is one piece of kit so I can set up my own business'."He said one phone call from the advisor later and he was in touch with the King's Trust (formerly the Prince's Trust), who helped him get set said his business All Things Dotty was about helping visually impaired people to "see the world with their fingers"."It's opened a whole new world for visually impaired people," he added. He said he was inspired initially by his own challenges reading greetings cards."I got would get me birthday and Christmas cards and I couldn't read them."I'd be hovering my phone over it to try and read it and in the end family would read them to me which was great, but I could only read them that once."After searching for a solution, he found a gap in the market, and started to produce "tactile artwork".Describing "big A4 things folded in half", he said the business had since been finessed, with personalised braille greetings cards featuring a range of designs now on sale, as well as colouring books, artwork, menus, and braille tuition. 'Support is magical' Mr Hulcoop said he started using an embosser at home to create the cards, but he now has an said he had also completed a business diploma at a residential college "geared up" for visually impaired students."Look at me now compared to five years ago," he added."I always knew I wanted to be a braille teacher or do something in braille. I was led to believe the market was too small but now I know it's very very big," he added. "I just want people to recognise the importance of braille."Having a braille menu promotes that independence, you can say to people 'you're welcome here'. Thanking the customers and restaurants in Plymouth who supported him in the early days, he added: "Still getting support is magical for me as a person."Mike Hogan, from Plymouth, who is a mentor with the King's Trust, said: "Brandon is so inspirational in that if he comes up against an obstacle he will always try to find ways around that obstacle to complete things himself before asking for help."Sometimes he does ask and I'm only too pleased to help. He's always treated his disability as an ability in that it's not holding him back at all."He likes to show other people if he can achieve this why can't they and he's all about accessibility and inclusion."
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Cost of Pinstone Street pedestrianisation project doubles
The cost of pedestrianizing part of Sheffield city centre has almost doubled since work began, having gone over budget for a second to Pinstone Street, including adding cycle paths, were originally expected to cost £14m when outlined in that cost had risen to £21m by October 2024 and required additional funding from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to plug the a council report said the work was expected to cost £27m after "a number of setbacks" had led to "increasing costs". The scheme has attracted a number of criticisms, including from visually impaired people who said the plans, which would see cyclists ride alongside pedestrians, were passengers and local businesses also complained about the removal of busses from the council, however, said relocating buses from Pinstone Street had created a pedestrian friendly environment with "high-quality transport hubs" on Rockingham Street and Arundel Gate to reflect the changing nature of the city report added: "The proposals included a number of bus priority measures, including bus gates, to reduce through traffic. This will ultimately provide benefits for bus operators and users."The council admitted that support for the projected had flatlined, saying: "In 2021 there was significantly stronger support for the project with 63% of responses positive compared against 27%."However, updated results from 2024 show the feedback from public consultation is mixed with 71% of businesses providing neutral, or did not provide, feedback." Meanwhile, plastic fences and bollards have reappeared on nearby Fargate – two months after a renovation scheme was finally completed following lengthy council said the subterranean bins needed "bespoke guard rails" before they can be used and said they would be installed before the end of the Miskell, chair of the regeneration committee, said: "The new bins have been installed to rid Fargate of those unsightly industrial bins that used to be dotted across the street. The Fargate redevelopment has really given the area the breath of fresh air it needed." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
CBS News
27-06-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
How VisAbility Pittsburgh and a rattling ball have made tennis possible for athletes with vision loss
Sharing a story about strength and the power of purpose on and off the court Sharing a story about strength and the power of purpose on and off the court Sharing a story about strength and the power of purpose on and off the court VisAbility Pittsburgh is a place where people who have lost their vision, or never had vision, learn life skills. The low vision tennis court in Highland Park. (Photo Credit: KDKA) Over the years, it's turned the impossible into the possible for people who are visually impaired. One of those possibles is sports, and a Dormont man has learned that firsthand. At first glance, it looks like any other tennis court, but if you listen closely during matches, there is something very different about this place in Highland Park. Serve the ball and listen to it rattle. It helps Chuch Gottus, of Dormont, find it during play. Gottus was diagnosed at a young age with a genetic disorder called retinitis pigmentosa. It caused him to slowly lose his sight. These days, all he can really see is shadows. "I have very little useable vision," Gottus. "I feel like I'm an athlete at heart, and when my vision took a pretty-hard dive, I thought sports were done for me. I'll admit I was skeptical at first, but wow. It just opened up a whole new set of windows for me." The ball they use is a little bigger than a regular tennis ball. It's made of foam, and inside it has a plastic golf ball, then inside that are three ball bearings. So when the player hit it, it rattles. This kind of tennis was pioneered Japan. Here in Pittsburgh, Dana Costa founded the Highland Park Tennis Club Blind and Low Vision Tennis Clinic six years ago. Her inspiration is her daughter who was born with a visual impairment. "Chuck, my daughter, other players I've come across over the years, they're the drive," Costa said. Gottus said when he takes the court, he feels invigorated. "The freedom of being on a court like this, being able to run around, which is not something I get to do anymore, is incredible," he added. Chuck is in pretty incredible, too. Off the court, he gets around with his guide dog, Beckett. "He helps my confidence a lot," Gottus said. "The bond is just incredible. I never thought I was a dog person until now." Gottus works at VisAbility Pittsburgh. Their mission is to help people find a way to do things they used to do with their eyes in different ways. "Just because you've lost your vision does not mean that your life is over," Erika Petach, the president of VisAbility Pittsburgh, said. "We exist to help people not just survive vision loss but thrive, live their best life and achieve their hopes and dreams." When Gottus lost his sight, he had to quit his job in retail, but now he's been hired by VisAbility to help make road signs. It's just one of things they manufacture there. "I was pretty intimidated at first," he said. "I hadn't done anything like that before, but, man, it was great. It's been terrific for me." Gottus says his loving wife, his guide dog, the sport of tennis and VisAbility Pittsburgh has made a huge difference in his life. "You can do anything that you set your mind to," he said. "Just like anything, you might bumble along the way, but you've got to get out there and try it. For more information on VisAbility Pittsburgh, visit their website here.
CBC
22-06-2025
- CBC
Halifax hikers get crash course in assisting blind and partially sighted hikers
Hiking is a great activity, no matter the season. But for people who are visually impaired, it can be a minefield. A group of hikers in Halifax got a crash course this weekend on how to best support blind and partially sighted people on the trail.
