Stuart,
What an inspiring story! Congratulations on your achievement.
All the best,
Cearbhall
m +353 (0)833323487 Ph: _353 (0)1-2864623 e: cearbhall.omeadhra@xxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: fb-exchange-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <fb-exchange-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf Of Stuart Haxell ("stuhax")
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2021 7:00 PM
To: fb-exchange@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [fb-exchange] Re: word document of article
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 man’s 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, “retinol
dystrophyâ€, where he can only make out vague shapes, but his passion for
tennis has “validated†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: “This sport has validated me in a way that
other sports haven’t, it’s shown that I can succeed in whatever I put my
mind to, if I try hard enough.
“Even though I completed college, tennis is something I latched on to very
quickly. To get success out of it is fantastic.†Tennis pretty much “snuck
up on meâ€, he said.
After a taster session in IT Sligo, he was hooked.
Stuart added: “As soon as I picked up the racket, I could tell this was a
sport that would work for me.
“I pretty much have become obsessed with it.
“In comparison to any other sport that’s been adapted for the blind you
have a lot more freedom.†After trying a wide range of sports including
karate, jujitsu and tandem cycling, tennis was the winner when it came to
satisfaction.
He explained: “Say in athletics, you’re tied to someone with a wrist band,
with tandem cycling you’re on a bike with someone else.
“But with blind tennis you’re put out on your own with minimal help and
it’s up to your training and senses.
“Other than that once the game starts, you’re out on your own.†Stuart
started tennis in his last year of college, adding: “[It] really helped me
get through my thesis and other projects, it was something that helped me get
my mind off college.
“It has given me a life beyond what I thought was possible.
GREAT OUTDOORS Stuart at one with nature “It’s something that I never could
have seen myself doing or excelling in.†Explaining the various categories
and how he must wear a blindfold, he said: “There are five different
categories depending on your vision level, the lowest is B1, which I’m number
one in.
SMASHING PLAYER Stuart Haxell is tops at the level he plays “For this level
all of us must wear blindfolds because the sight level varies a bit.
“Some people have tunnel vision others, can maybe see out the side of their
eyes.
“So for equal opportunities we all must wear blindfolds.†The ambitious
business graduate who also has a marketing masters now wants to compete in the
World Championships next year.
He said: “I’d love to see tennis for the blind as a Paralympic Sport too.
“In order for it to happen, it needs to be played in a minimum of 32
countries and it hasn’t reached that level yet.†The game itself is
modified for the blind. He said: “The 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.
“The rackets are shorter, because the players have to go In comparison to any
other sport that’s 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, it’s fairly low down at that point.
“All categories get the lines no matter their sight level, the ball is
different, it’s spongie with beads inside.†Stuart heaped praise on
Fighting Blindness, who were his rock through Covid.
He said: “I got through the last 18 months with the help of Fighting
Blindness.
“They have been invaluable, organising Zoom meetings and they’ve put me
through a few courses for living with sight loss.
“They’ve been so willing to help me with self improvement.†Stuart admits
it’s normal for people to treat him differently but he understands and tries
to walk in their shoes.
He said: “In some instances people can treat me differently, but I try to put
myself in their shoes.
“They don’t understand blindness and they don’t have as much knowledge as
I might have or people I’d usually talk to might have.
“The best way is to try my best to teach them because you don’t know what
people know.†His advice to other blind people is to put all you’ve got
into finding your passion.
He said: “If there are any blind people who are feeling down or that they
feel there’s no path forward, they should try to think of positive things in
their life.
“They should try not to focus on the negative.
“My advice is try everything that comes your way, if it doesn’t work, it
doesn’t work but if you find something, put 110% into it.
“My 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
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Sent: 30 October 2021 5:29 pm
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