Blind tennis has served Stuart well and given him a life beyond what he thought
was possible..
Born with a sight loss condition, Stuart Haxell courted many sports until he
found the game he not only loved but was ace at
News@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
28 Oct 2021
Born blind was not going to get in the way of one manâs ambition to prove
that sport can help give you the life of your dreams. Sligo native Stuart
Haxell was born with the debilitating sight loss condition, âretinol
dystrophyâ, where he can only make out vague shapes, but his passion for
tennis has âvalidatedâ his existence.
The 27-year-old is number one in Ireland in his category and explained how
despite not having his sight, tennis has given him the power back to live a
life beyond his imagination.
Stuart told the Irish Mirror: âThis sport has validated me in a way that
other sports havenât, itâs shown that I can succeed in whatever I put my
mind to, if I try hard enough.
âEven though I completed college, tennis is something I latched on to very
quickly. To get success out of it is fantastic.â
Tennis pretty much âsnuck up on meâ, he said.
After a taster session in IT Sligo, he was hooked.
Stuart added: âAs soon as I picked up the racket, I could tell this was a
sport that would work for me.
âI pretty much have become obsessed with it.
âIn comparison to any other sport thatâs been adapted for the blind you
have a lot more freedom.â
After trying a wide range of sports including karate, jujitsu and tandem
cycling, tennis was the winner when it came to satisfaction.
He explained: âSay in athletics, youâre tied to someone with a wrist band,
with tandem cycling youâre on a bike with someone else.
âBut with blind tennis youâre put out on your own with minimal help and
itâs up to your training and senses.
âOther than that once the game starts, youâre out on your own.â
Stuart started tennis in his last year of college, adding: â[It] really
helped me get through my thesis and other projects, it was something that
helped me get my mind off college.
âIt has given me a life beyond what I thought was possible.
GREAT OUTDOORS Stuart at one with nature
âItâs something that I never could have seen myself doing or excelling
in.â
Explaining the various categories and how he must wear a blindfold, he said:
âThere are five different categories depending on your vision level, the
lowest is B1, which Iâm number one in.
SMASHING PLAYER Stuart Haxell is tops at the level he plays
âFor this level all of us must wear blindfolds because the sight level varies
a bit.
âSome people have tunnel vision others, can maybe see out the side of their
eyes.
âSo for equal opportunities we all must wear blindfolds.â
The ambitious business graduate who also has a marketing masters now wants to
compete in the World Championships next year.
He said: âIâd love to see tennis for the blind as a Paralympic Sport too.
âIn order for it to happen, it needs to be played in a minimum of 32
countries and it hasnât reached that level yet.â The game itself is
modified for the blind. He said: âThe court is smaller, roughly the size of a
badminton court, there are tactile lines put down on the ground, so that
players can feel them with their feet.
âThe rackets are shorter, because the players have to go
In comparison to any other sport thatâs been adapted for the blind you have a
lot more freedom
down lower and you have to listen for at least three bounces, by the time it
gets to the third bounce, itâs fairly low down at that point.
âAll categories get the lines no matter their sight level, the ball is
different, itâs spongie with beads inside.â
Stuart heaped praise on Fighting Blindness, who were
his rock through Covid.
He said: âI got through the last 18 months with the help of Fighting
Blindness.
âThey have been invaluable, organising Zoom meetings and theyâve put me
through a few courses for living with sight loss.
âTheyâve been so willing to help me with self improvement.â
Stuart admits itâs normal for people to treat him differently but he
understands and tries to walk in their shoes.
He said: âIn some instances people can treat me differently, but I try to put
myself in their shoes.
âThey donât understand blindness and they donât have as much knowledge as
I might have or people Iâd usually talk to might have.
âThe best way is to try my best to teach them because you donât know what
people know.â
His advice to other blind people is to put all youâve got into finding your
passion.
He said: âIf there are any blind people who are feeling down or that they
feel thereâs no path forward, they should try to think of positive things in
their life.
âThey should try not to focus on the negative.
âMy advice is try everything that comes your way, if it doesnât work, it
doesnât work but if you find something, put 110% into it.
âMy goal is to get blind tennis as far as I possibly can.â
Sent from my iPhone
On 30 Oct 2021, at 18:38, Dominique Farrell <dominiqueafarrell@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Stuart my young good friend, there was no text in your e-mail, only two
equals before the footer.
-----Original Message-----
From: fb-exchange-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <fb-exchange-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf Of Stuart Haxell ("stuhax")
Sent: 30 October 2021 5:29 pm
To: fb-exchange@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [fb-exchange] word document of article
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
The fb-exchange mailing list
Manage account,
List Page: https://www.freelists.org/list/fb-exchange
Subscribe: mailto:fb-exchange-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subjectÿbscribe
Unsubscribe: mailto:fb-exchange-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subjectÿsubscribe
Archive: https://www.freelists.org/archive/fb-exchange
Administrative contact: insight@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
The fb-exchange mailing list
Manage account,
List Page: https://www.freelists.org/list/fb-exchange
Subscribe: mailto:fb-exchange-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subjectÿbscribe
Unsubscribe: mailto:fb-exchange-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subjectÿsubscribe
Archive: https://www.freelists.org/archive/fb-exchange
Administrative contact: insight@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ