“Your body can stand almost anything. It’s your mind that you have to convince”
“Try and smile for me,” asked Georgia Hanson’s mum when she complained of a severe headache after waking up feeling unwell in October 2021.
Knowing something “wasn’t quite right”, Miss Hanson, who was 19 at the time, recalls her vision was blurred and she suffered a sudden loss of sensation in the right side of her face and right arm.
Her mum was using the FAST test to work out if she was showing signs of a stroke.
“I knew what she was thinking. When I couldn’t smile, we both knew exactly what was happening,” said Miss Hanson, a student at Sheffield Hallam University.
The acronym consists of four parts; (F) Facial weakness, (A) Arm Weakness, (S) Speech problems, with the final letter instructing sufferers; “Time to call 999” if they are showing any of the above symptoms.
Miss Hanson’s mum called an ambulance, which arrived approximately 40 minutes later.
Although Miss Hanson, now 20, presented more than one of these symptoms, a doctor at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, told her they were 99% sure it was “just a migraine” and that she’d “got a bad cold and to go home and rest”.
“I don’t think I was taken seriously at all. The staff in A&E pretty much ruled out a stroke simply because of my age,” said Miss Hanson.
“I was placed in a side room by myself which was so scary. I wasn’t even offered any pain relief,” said the student.
She was discharged later that evening and told the Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) clinic would be in contact the following day.
After a follow up discussion with specialists, she was sent for an MRI two days after she was taken to A&E, and was told this was to rule out a stroke.
Unfortunately the specialist scan confirmed Miss Hanson had suffered from an Ischaemic stroke, where the blood supply to the brain is temporarily interrupted.
Miss Hanson was initially refused physiotherapy as she hadn’t been admitted to hospital for her stroke.
She claims the consultant also made it clear the waiting list for the treatment would be long, and because of the pandemic, a lot of outpatients wouldn’t actually be seen.
Miss Hanson was told by her GP she needed a specialist in Neuro-physio rather than just Musculoskeletal (MSK) physio.
“I was concerned that the issue with my hand was starting to get worse quite rapidly,” the Sheffield Hallam student said.
Worried, she booked to see a private physiotherapist who was able to see her a week later and began a programme of treatment.
The stroke left Miss Hanson unable to drive, with limited mobility in her right hand and has dealt with bladder incontinence issues, alongside general fatigue.
She said: “Recovery has been and continues to be very difficult. I’m always tired, regardless of how much rest and sleep I get.”
In October 2021, Miss Hanson sought out help from the charity, Different Strokes, which aims to help young stroke survivors.
Support workers explained exactly what a stroke was and what can cause them.
Miss Hanson said: “From the first day I contacted them, they have been amazing
“This was really beneficial to me because often at the hospital there are a lot of medical terms used which make it hard to understand.”
The charity encouraged survivors to talk openly about what has happened to them, highlighting they should never fear asking for help.
Miss Hanson said: “Mentally, it’s been challenging. Initially, when I had the stroke, I didn’t really understand the enormity of it. I thought if I could think positively, I’d be fine.
“Unfortunately, in reality, this wasn’t the case. A stroke is a big thing to go through and to come to terms with.
“My physiotherapist told me, ‘Your body can stand almost anything, it’s your mind you have to convince’.”
She is now having regular physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and neuropsychology and feels she is at a good point as she waits for plastic surgery on her hand.
“I’d rather take one day at a time, try my best everyday in everything I do and with the support of the majority of my family and friends I’m hopeful for a bright future,” said Miss Hanson, who is now in the final year of her degree.
Miss Hanson wants other stroke survivors to understand rehabilitation can be challenging, but believes realistic targets, candid conversations with professionals, and trusting the process, will help.
She said: “Having a stroke has taught me a lot about myself. I’m stronger than I thought I was and I have now been given an opportunity to raise awareness of young strokes by telling my story and making people aware of the signs/symptoms of a stroke which for me is something to be proud of.”
If you are a young person who has suffered from a stroke or know someone who has, do not hesitate to get in touch with Different Strokes for support and recovery in reclaiming lives.
Accessibility in Sheffield: ‘How I’ve learned to navigate the city as a blind pedestrian’
After losing her sight five years ago, Janiece Wallace has had the unimaginable challenge of learning how to navigate Sheffield as a blind person.
Everyday tasks such as crossing the road and accessing public transport have become barriers she has had to overcome.
Walking through Sheffield city centre, Mrs Wallace told us of some of the difficulties and shared the measures that have been put in place to help people with sight issues.
Mrs Wallace makes use of tactiles, ridged paving which can be picked up by her white stick and alert her to things such as crossing points and tram stops.
“Nobody knows about it, I didn’t know what it was for before,” she said of the tactiles.
Mrs Wallace can also make use of aids on everyday objects in public, such as a small cone underneath the boxes at pedestrian crossings. When the traffic light goes red, the cone starts spinning, which she can feel to know it’s safe to cross.
A recent addition are speakers at bus stops, which let blind people know that a bus is coming.
“I think that they’re great,” Mrs Wallace said.
“Most bus drivers are trained to stop when they see you with a white cane. But sometimes if no one else is at the bus stop, because you don’t put your hand out, the driver might just go straight past you.
“So it’s good to know that, if I’m getting on an 82 bus, I know it’s coming in two minutes!”
Video created by Rachel Flynn.
Mrs Wallace is a member of the Access Liaison Group, part of Disability Sheffield, which is consulted by the council when major changes take place in the city.
However, she has still faced difficulties making her way around the city.
Mrs Wallace recalled a time when she was on a tram and asked a young boy if she could have his seat in the disabled area.
A man then stood up and started shouting at her.
“He started hurling abuse at me, saying ‘you can see, you looked at me, I know you can see’.”
Thankfully, these incidents are uncommon. When they do happen, Mrs Wallace said: “I can deal with them myself. I’m not scared of anybody.”
But she admitted that there are regular problems, especially when walking down the street.
“People on their phones, people on bicycles, people on e-scooters.
“I had an incident once where I was standing at the tram stop at Shalesmoor and somebody went past me on an e-scooter.
“I jumped because I didn’t hear it coming and fell off the platform onto the track. Luckily for me, nothing was coming!”
In these cases, Mrs Wallace said awareness is the main problem. E-scooters are legal to own, but should not be used on roads and streets in Sheffield.
As for cyclists, she said: “Ring your bell!
“If you ring a bell, I’ll just stop so you can get past me. If I want to get past somebody I’ll just say, ‘excuse me’.
“Have a bit of decency so people know you’re coming.”
Despite these problems, Mrs Wallace said there is support for the visually impaired in Sheffield.
When she lost her sight, she was directed by the Royal Hallamshire Hospital to the Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind (SRSB), who got her back on her feet.
She said: “I went from having a job where I went to work every day, driving a car every day, to not being able to switch on a computer or use my phone, because I just didn’t know how to do these things with a visual impairment.
“SRSB were the ones that saved the day.”
Jane Peach is the Marketing Manager at SRSB. She said their role is to make sure blind people are not held back by their condition.
“We help them to achieve whatever they wish to do and whatever they aspire to be,” Ms Peach said.
The charity offers a range of services, including emotional and mental health support and activities for the blind.
“They support us, they organise fabulous activities,” Mrs Wallace said. “There’s horse riding, shooting, swimming, cycling. Loads and loads of different activities.
“I actually run the tennis club.”
Mrs Wallace began South Yorkshire VI Tennis Club 18 months ago, which now has around 25 members and has been recognised at this year’s Yorkshire LTA Awards.
The club uses ‘sound balls’, bigger than normal tennis balls which make a noise to help those playing to locate it.
She said: “With anything in life, things just need to be slightly adapted.
“It’s a great little social as well, we all sit in the clubhouse and have a cup of tea and catch up. We’ve all become great friends in the last year or so.”
Mrs Wallace’s club is also heading to Newcastle this weekend for a tournament.
On the whole, she is optimistic: “I’ve realised that life isn’t over, you can do the things you’ve done before, just a bit differently.”
Young stroke survivors call for BE-FAST to help with diagnosis
Young stroke survivors are calling the FAST diagnosis into question after being turned away for not fitting the specified symptoms.
The acronym refers to symptoms commonly experienced by stroke victims and stands for face, arms, speech, and time, but can lead to misdiagnosis for patients who don’t always display these symptoms.
Survivors are instead asking for the abbreviation to be changed to BE-FAST, to include balance and eyes; symptoms more commonly associated with younger people who have strokes.
Lili Vachon, a 27-year-old stroke survivor and teacher, said: “I absolutely support the BE-FAST acronym. We’re constantly told about the FAST symptoms, but it was my balance and eyesight that were the huge signs that I was having a stroke.
“Adding those two factors to the acronym could be the difference between someone making a recovery and someone dying or being left with a disability.”
How can BE-FAST help
Strokes occur when a blockage or a bleed stops blood getting to your brain and the organ starts to die, which is why response times are vital to minimise damage.
Dr Deb Lowe, the NHS National Clinical Director for Stroke, said: “It’s very concerning that so many people might not realise that stroke is a medical emergency and that even less people say they don’t feel confident they could recognise if someone was having a stroke.”
While the NHS continues to rely on the FAST diagnostic criteria, they do acknowledge other stroke symptoms, including:
- Sudden loss of vision or blurred vision in one or both eyes
- Sudden weakness or numbness on one side of your body (including in your leg)
- Sudden memory loss or confusion
- Sudden dizziness, unsteadiness or a sudden fall, especially with any of the other signs
Graphic: The Stroke Association
Why is BE-FAST not used in the UK?
While some young stroke survivors would like more awareness to be brought to the less common signs of stroke, experts in the UK are reluctant to implement the BE-FAST acronym.
Dr Christopher Price, a professor of Stroke and Applied Health Research at Newcastle University, said: “The majority of people who have the ‘B’ and the ‘E’ symptoms also have ‘FAST’ symptoms. So actually, there’s very little to gain in adding in the B and the E.
“The additional value of adding the B and the E in is really quite small compared to the additional training you’d have to put the ambulance staff through and the complexity it adds to a public awareness campaign, which is always best to keep as simple as possible.”
Despite this, some young stroke survivors still believe there are benefits to using more all-encompassing acronyms.
Bridie Kirsopp, 29, from Leeds, had a stroke when she was 17. After showing symptoms including a severe headache, vomiting, blurred vision, and loss of balance, she was diagnosed with a stroke.
She said: “So many survivors are misdiagnosed or dismissed because they’re not showing classic symptoms. It happened to me 12 years ago and is still happening now.
“For me, the BE FAST model is a more modernised, inclusive criteria. It could be very beneficial and save a lot of lives.”
Why is it important to recognise a stroke
Response time and recognition of what a stroke is, regardless of the acronym used, is key according to experts.
Julia, a social media representative for the American Stroke Association, said: “We acknowledge that FAST does not account for all stroke warning signs, but it includes the most common warning signs and is widely regarded as the simplest to remember for the public.
“Whether it’s “The Suddens”, “FAST”, “BE-FAST." or "BE-FASTER" or something else, all stroke warning sign mnemonics have value. Stroke advocates are welcome to use the one they prefer, because the best memory aid is the one you’ll remember.”
Cambridge University sees a 500 per cent increase in student suicides
The University of Cambridge has come under fire from its Student Union in the past year after the increase in the number of recorded suicides at its colleges.
Our Freedom of Information request has revealed the university recorded six deaths by suicide in 2022 - in stark contrast to the data in 2021, where the University only recorded one death by suicide.
This is an increase of 500 per cent in the students taking their own lives at the institution which has an average student population of 20,000.
The six students who took their own lives died within four months of each other, which has pressured the university to take action.
According to the Telegraph, one of the students, Anup Debnath, 20, who died on June 12 said he had told his GP he had lost a friend to suicide weeks before and promised to not harm himself. This loss had increased suicidal thoughts for Debnath.
Cambridge’s Student Union said: “It’s wrong to speculate on the circumstances surrounding each student’s death, but we should not shy away from the fact that there is a student mental health crisis at Cambridge.
“Let us be frank - one student death is too many, but the numbers we have seen in the past few months are especially troubling.”
The University launched a Suicide Prevention Plan in the summer of 2021, but the Union was alarmed by the concerns raised by certain colleges within the institution.
They added: “Senior leaders in some colleges, particularly Trinity, pushed back against the idea that the colleges have or should have a responsibility to try to prevent suicide. Their interventions contorted the policy into a shamefully unambitious ‘Suicide-Safer Strategy’, which has been diluted beyond recognition.
“Crucially, colleges had the aim of preventing suicides removed from the plan, along with a range of active measures the University and colleges would have implemented to prevent suicide.”
The Union want the plan rectified to fully promote student support and a set of detailed preventative measures for suicide.
“Aiming for a world in which every single suicide is prevented is ambitious. But it always, always worthwhile, even if it saves the life of just one student.”
Cambridge Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, Professor Graham Virgo, said the university was “shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of these students at the University.”
Professor Virgo said that it had pledged to invest £5 million into mental health support and student well-being, launching a new detailed plan to help students get the advice they need.
A spokesperson for Cambridge University said: “Nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our students and so we have recently launched a new Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan which includes swifter access to counselling, increased capacity in our support services and our Reach Out campaign to ensure students know where to find help.”
The plan is to be fully implemented by 2025 and states that the University will increase access to counselling and build on ongoing work with staff to support students. There will also be a partnership with local NHS organisations to improve students' pathways to mental health services.
Professor Virgo added: “This plan targets areas in which we believe we can see the greatest impact, and these recent tragic deaths show how vital this work is.”
ProtectED? Exploring the duty of care universities hold towards their students
An estimated 100 students die after taking their own lives every year, but as there is no legal statutory duty of care, grieving parents have no legal power to hold universities to account.
Today marks the first step for campaigners seeking a new law to change this, with MPs hearing evidence from charities such as Papyrus and Student Minds.
The Petitions Committee - a group of 11 MPs from several political parties - are currently holding an evidence session which began at 3:30pm BST, and can be viewed by the public as a broadcast from Parliament Live TV.
This session is being held ahead of a full Parliamentary debate set for June 5.
A legal duty of care could ensure all students receive the same level of safeguarding and protection, if put in place by Parliament.
Without it, the standard of care and support offered to students varies from university to university, according to Dr Mark Shanahan, whose son Rory took his own life in 2018.
“What we are asking for is something that sets what is actually a relatively low bar for a standard of support for students that is consistent across the over 200 higher education institutions in the country,” he said.
In the Government’s response to a petition by campaign group #forthe100, they stated: “Higher education providers already have a general duty of care not to cause harm to their students through their own actions”, and that a statutory duty of care would be “a disproportionate response”, as student suicide rates are generally lower than the wider UK population.
“Students should not be left in this precarious situation, not knowing whether they can rely on their university,” said barrister Georgina Calvert-Lee, who publicly supports the campaign. “They have to take reasonable steps to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm.
“It’s absolutely consistent with what employers do already, and with what many of us thought already existed for universities - even a lot of university lawyers.”
So what would a new law entail for universities and students?
Lisa Ravenscroft works for ProtectED, a non-profit organisation that aids universities working to improve and protect students’ safety and wellbeing.
She supports the campaign for a legal duty of care, as ProtectED too had noticed universities were not held accountable in some situations; she said: “There was no bar that they had to hit, they could do whatever they wanted, good or bad. And we realised that’s not a good thing.”
Universities must prove they adhere to all ProtectEd ‘codes of standard’ to receive official accreditation. Seven UK universities are currently registered on its scheme, with another three in the process of joining.
She explained that one step towards a more functional duty of care could be asking students who have mental health issues to inform the university beforehand - “because then the university can be prepared and get everything in place,” Ms Ravenscroft said. “We know that a lot of students don’t, because they’re worried there’s a stigma and people aren’t going to understand.”
Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Harrogate and Knaresborough, acknowledged that existing guidance from initiatives such as Universities UK asks educators to contact key family members, carers or friends if they have serious concerns about a student’s mental health.
However, he said: “I do agree that there is a case to strengthen the law to make institutions more accountable following the sad number of students who have taken their lives themselves at university.”
Ms Ravenscroft stressed the importance of students who need extra help and support getting access to it as soon as possible, but also considered other potential impacts. “It’s about the mental health support that everyone else is getting - friends, family, other students, to make sure it doesn’t cascade out.”
The amount of money each university spends on pastoral care and mental health services is vastly different. Aston University spent a total of £82.30 per student on these services, the highest of the universities that responded to our Freedom of Information request, while the lowest, Bath Spa, spent £17.
Waiting times for students who have requested access to these services also varies. At the University of Aberdeen, students wait an average of one to two days, while at Bath Spa, it takes six to eight weeks. This is one area of university services that will be covered in a Parliamentary debate on June 5.
If this debate leads to a new law being created or current legislation being changed, it can be expected that it won’t come into force immediately. Ms Calvert-Lee describes a “lag” after enacting legislation, to give organisations “a chance to get their act together”.
“I do think a couple of years might be a realistic timetable. You always want to base new laws on the way old laws are done, so you're not completely reinventing the wheel.”
A statutory duty of care would not require universities to be a “mental health service provider”; it would simply be mandatory for them to follow any guidance put out by the regulators or sector.
Ms Calvert-Lee said, “Staff commonly do want to help, and don't know whether they should. It would be reasonable for the university to train everyone so that they knew exactly what to do, which would take away the stress for individuals.”
She believes that staff should know that they are allowed to intervene and actively be encouraged to, having had sufficient training beforehand.
Each university could be expected to look at their own situation and students’ needs across all departments. She stressed that any law should not enforce a ‘checklist’, and should encourage universities to consider each situation.
However, a crucial element would be prevention, requiring universities to look at past cases of student suicide and review any risks or failings that had been missed.
In a snapshot survey of 31 universities, only 10 provided the number of students who had died by suicide in the academic years 2018/19 to 2021/22.
There is no legal requirement for institutions to hold this data, making it more difficult to hold universities who may have high suicide rates to account.
Ms Calvert-Lee said that although the duty of care could be one simple line of legislation, behind that line will be a whole approach that covers training, prevention, intervention, and circumspection - after the event. This should include keeping a record of how many deaths by suicide they’ve had, and learning from that through analysis and review.
Joy and challenge: Why do girls want to play football?
The number of girls playing football is at an all-time high.
Fuelled by a combination of excitement around the Lionesses’ Euros victory, greater access to sports, and an increase in equal opportunities - there are now more girls than ever participating in football outside of school hours.
However, not all girls aspire to be the next Lioness or compete for the Conti Cup in a top-league team. Some girls simply want to create a community for themselves and relish the fun of the game.
“I’ve always liked watching football, so it made sense to also start playing it. I love watching women’s football, and I was looking into starting a new sport,” said 17-year-old Phoebe Rogers, who plays for her local team Stoneham FC in Hampshire and took up football after falling out of love with dancing competitively.
Poppy Gaten, 13, who plays for a local team in North Norfolk, also recently started playing outside of school in the past year. “I thought it would be fun to try something new and work out what I’m good at and football was one of the things I really enjoyed at school,” she said.
Phoebe and Poppy are one of the many girls nationally who play football. Data from Sport England, which pre-dates the Euros victory, showed 669,000 girls participated in organised football in 2017-18, but by the end of the school year 2020-2021, that figure had risen to 777,000.
Additionally, there was also a 200,000 increase in the number of girls participating in football in informal settings, such as a park kickabout with friends. This trend is visible beyond just England as, according to FIFA, there are now 29 million women and girls playing football globally, with the goal of increasing to 60 million by 2026.
Phoebe needed a new outlet and described herself as an athletic person.
For her, much of the enjoyment surrounding football comes from the sheer joy of just participating in the sport. Playing gives them the opportunity to switch off and just focus on the pitch - providing some much-needed relief from school and life stress.
“I love the feeling of chasing for the ball, being able to beat someone to the ball, and just playing a game and having a good time,” says Phoebe. “Especially now that I’m doing my exams and will be going to university soon, I like having a hobby I enjoy.”
Poppy agrees with this statement but also says that the challenges with the game give her something to enjoy and focus on. “You have to be very brave when you're shooting or tackling but if you're down at the back in defence you have to be a bit more brave because you have to stop someone getting past and scoring,” she said.
Dr Sheryl Clark, a girls' sports researcher at Goldsmiths University, explained that encouraging fun-led play is crucial to keeping girls in the game. “The structure of football itself needs to change if we want to change who can play it and who feels comfortable,” she said.
“Some coaching, which is bad coaching in my opinion, reinforces ideas of hierarchy. Whereas if a collaborative and peaceful setting is set up where kids are helping each other and enjoying the sport it would be more beneficial than setting it up as it being about who can dominate it and who can’t.”
Poppy explained she plays with only girls because the boys in her cohort can often exclude the girls from the game. “My team is just girls because the boys usually just pass between themselves leaving the girls out,” she said.
“Sometimes it can be challenging and hard but that’s the best part because I like to push myself into doing my best.”
However, Phoebe had a different experience and found that her male peers were encouraging her football endeavours. “I hadn’t kicked a ball in a while before I joined my team,” she said.
“But I had a kickabout with the boys that I’m friends with in the park, and it helped me increase my confidence. Luckily, they were really nice and gave me tips and it made me feel better ahead of my first training session.”
For these two girls, football is a new venture - and one that they want to continue. It’s something for them to sink their teeth into while having fun and keeping fit. Phoebe is starting university in September and says she wants to try out for the campus team and use it as a way to make friends and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Poppy wants to continue to play throughout her secondary school life. “I definitely want to keep playing football, because I would love to play against a lot more people and make loads more new friends, and just have fun,” she said.
Wheelchair rugby league: The ‘most accessible sport’ in Sheffield
Wheelchair rugby is the most accessible sport in Sheffield according to its players - and if you experience one of the Eagles’ training sessions on a Wednesday night, you’ll see what they mean.
As well as the familiar sporting sound of shouts of players’ names and calls for the ball, you will hear the crash of metal on metal as the chairs collide and meet a range of people - old and young, disabled and non-disabled, male and female.
The wheelchair team is organised under the Eagles Foundation, which also looks after the women’s team and others.
David Butler, Chair of the foundation and a director of the club broadly, said that values like promoting accessibility and providing a space for everyone to play definitely trumps winning.
He said: “That is probably personified by the fact that our wheelchair team didn’t win a single game last year.”
“But as a result of our approach to development, we were one of the largest clubs in the country… and we consistently fielded a full squad of 10 players for each of our games.
“Our whole driver is to give people an opportunity to play rugby league, in a form that is suitable for them to play,” he added.
At their midweek training session, this seems to be the ethos of the players. It is about providing a space for everyone to play and grow and get better, rather than winning - although results are certainly picking up this season.
Vicky Brook, one of the players, is a former running rugby player, and said that at the age of 45, with “dodgy hips, knees, shoulders”, this is a “really good way of connecting with the sport”.
A big part of joining the team was due to her son Will, who has a lower limb condition and just got a grant for a chair.
She also joined with her daughter, who is not disabled but prefers wheelchair rugby to the running game.
Brooks said it was “brilliant” that the Eagles had taken them on board and added that it had worked out perfectly for the family.
She said: “It’s all inclusive and it doesn’t matter who you are, whether you’re non-disabled or you’ve got a disability of any kind.”
“Everybody is on the same level pegging, everyone can participate, and that’s just the beauty of wheelchair rugby league. It’s just amazing to think that anybody can have a go.”
This sentiment was repeated by Shaun Orton, the team manager and a player, who sees it as the “most inclusive” sport he’s aware of.
He said: “One thing I love about this sport, which you don’t get in any other sport that I’m aware of, is the fact that it’s mixed gender, it’s mixed age, it’s mixed ability.
“We’ve got non-disabled parents playing with disabled children, and disabled parents playing with non-disabled children, and what we’re not doing as a sport is saying to children, ‘you’re disabled, your friend is not disabled, you can’t play together’.”
This can also be seen with the sheer range of people on the Eagles team; people with injuries that prevent them from playing running rugby, people with disabilities that prevent them playing running rugby, and people who use wheelchairs full-time are all on the team.
Sheffield Eagles training session (Image: Joshua Thory-Rao)
Jack Johnson is a huge rugby fan, and attended the semi-final double-header for the wheelchair rugby world cup in Sheffield last year. He has cerebral palsy and loves the sport because it allows him to play rugby.
He said: “I just really enjoy playing.”
He added that it was really good to see the sport he played grow, referring to the buzz around the World Cup last year.
Chris Haynes used to do lots of running, biking, cricket and rugby but was in a biking accident a few years ago which stopped him doing sport.
He said: “Having found wheelchair rugby league it’s perfect, because it just gives you that chance to get some exercise.
“Sometimes it does hurt my knee. It’s definitely worth it, I really enjoy it.”
The sport also transcends age barriers. Stuart Wilkinson is 66 and the team’s oldest player, and started playing at the start of this year.
With club feet and atrophy of the leg muscles, he is not able to walk far and cannot run.
Wilkinson said he’d “always enjoyed team sports”, so wheelchair rugby league was “an ideal thing”.
Out of the four games played, the Eagles have won two, including their season opener. By two games in they had already scored more points than in the whole 2022 season.
Orton described the growth of the team during and since the 2022 season.
He said: “The team that we were at the end of the year was very different to the team that we were at the beginning.
“There’s some matches where we came a lot closer to winning than we would have at the start.
“In the off-season, we got our first draw, against Wigan…and then we got our second draw against Hull at the start of this year, before the season started.”
The team hopes to be in a position to apply for promotion to the Super League, the top division, in a few years time. Whether they will be good enough to compete at that level then, many players are positive.
Brooks said: “We’re only going to get better from here on in…in a few years time I think we’ll be a cracking team.”
The sport is seen as perfect for many people in many ways. For traditional rugby fans who cannot play due to disability or injury, it provides a way for them to take part.
For people who weren’t necessarily fans but want to be part of a team and get some exercise, it is also ideal.
Families can play together, and there’s the added bonus of a string of good results for the team.
For people with disabilities in Sheffield, playing wheelchair rugby league is a perfect option - and players and supporters say it is a great way to spend a Wednesday night.
Lionesses success has inspired the growth of grassroots football for girls in South Yorkshire but challenges remain
Although the national side has experienced unprecedented success and more girls are playing football than ever before, some still say girls football is treated as an ‘afterthought’.
The number of under 18s sides in South Yorkshire has tripled in recent years and grassroots coaches say the boom in popularity comes on the back of the national side’s success.
Liam Christopher, 29, acting chairman of Steel City Wanderers and primary school teacher said: “I think in recent years, the success of the Lionesses has been a real positive for the women's game. You're seeing more and more girls wanting to be footballers.
“It's massively growing in popularity. We now don’t struggle in terms of bringing a new team through, we always know we're going to get enough for a squad.”
This growth has been seen at all age groups and nationally a study from Sport England found over 100,000 more girls were playing football in 2021 compared with 2017.
Mr Christopher said: “If you were to look at the Sheffield and Hallamshire Girls’ and Women's League on its own, each year, there's an abundance of teams that pop up and looking at the under 18s league for the girls a couple of seasons ago, there was one league with seven teams in it.
“This season we've had three leagues with eight to 10 teams in each league. So that's nearly 30 teams playing under 18s, which is for girls at 16, 17 and 18, where the drop-off usually happens.”
The secretary of Sheffield and Hallamshire Girls’ and Women’s League, Julie Higgins, 58, said the league has 14 new clubs competing in it this season.
Mrs Higgins said: “The Euros have really helped and the World Cup is coming up and that’ll really help as well. The league’s growing really rapidly.
“We’re wanting to increase their opportunities to play so they've got the exact same opportunity as the boys.”
However whether girls have the same opportunities as boys at grassroots level is up for debate.
Many girls still face challenges with participating in the sport.
Lucy Burdett, 20, studies maths at the University of Sheffield, and has played grassroots football her whole life.
She said: “Girls’ football is pitiful in comparison with the boys. It's like an afterthought. Even now, we always get the worst pitches, left without referees at times and there just aren’t enough local leagues.
“Once I turned 12, to be able to play 11-a-side, we had to travel more than an hour each way just to play, which is unfortunate because the local boys league plays 11-a-side from the age of 10.
“If you have parents that aren’t able or can’t afford to travel that far, it’s not fair on them.”
This is a sentiment echoed by Dr Sheryl Clark, 45, girls’ sport researcher at Goldsmiths University of London.
Dr Clark said: “I found that it wasn’t all girls who were dropping out of sport. It was easier for middle-class girls who had the resources and the money, and had parents to drive them around. So that access was a key factor in who dropped out and who didn’t.”
The researcher also spoke about why girls may not feel as comfortable on the pitch as boys.
“There’s a gender imbalance in football, partially because it’s always been seen as a masculine sport. Girls don’t have the confidence to take up space and take chances in the same way that boys are actively encouraged to.
“Girls may feel like they don’t fully belong on the pitch, and in my research, I found that in some cases they were reluctant to go after the ball or take big chances. The boys felt as if they could take risks in the games, whereas the girls would often play it safe.”
Another major challenge facing girls football is poor facilities.
Barnsley Ladies Chairman, Brett Hawke, 42, said: “Facilities at the moment are shocking, when I used to play junior football we used to be able to play in school for free.
“I asked a school last year how much it charges a year to play on the pitch and it was £9,000.
“Boys teams have a monopoly over the facilities, we ask if we can play on the pitches on Saturdays because the boys play on Sunday, and we get told we can’t as they’re boys pitches.”
Mr Hawke also spoke about the negative role social media can play in putting girls off playing football.
He added: “I run our women's account, and whenever I post something, there's always somebody who makes a sexist comment
“It's the same when England played at the Euros, I’d go on social media after and people were laughing and joking saying it’s rubbish and it’s not even football.”
However attitudes amongst the younger generations are starting to change.
Mr Christopher said: “I think a big reason girls don't want to play football is because there's a stigma attached to it that girls shouldn't play football from the boys point of view.
“On the other hand, you are seeing a lot of boys now saying, look what the England Lionesses are doing, so the boys are taking note of the women's team and that’s a massive positive from my point of view.
He added: “In terms of the challenges girls face, I think they’re starting to become minimal, because you see more female star athletes that are influencing younger girls.
“I think those challenges are starting to fade away.”
UK university opportunities for women footballers lagging behind the US, says leading UK-US scholarship group
The director of a sports scholarship consultancy has hailed the progression of the US college system for women’s soccer, saying the UK has ‘nowhere near the same kind of structure.’
David Fletcher, the founder and director of Athleticademix, explained that the UK has a long way to go to match the progression of US women’s college soccer. He estimates that around 80-85% of his client base are women's footballers.
Fletcher said: “With women's football in particular, there is just nowhere near the same kind of structure or competitive level across the board.
“There are some that have done very well in developing the women’s programmes at university here in England and Wales, but it sort of pales in significance to the US where they have several hundred.
“It largely comes down to funding, which is probably the most obvious factor.”
US colleges have approximately 1,700 women’s football programmes. The 1972 ‘Title Nine’ order, which established equality among the sexes in federally-funded US education programmes, has seen US soccer develop a structural foundation that continues to eclipse the UK structure.
Fletcher has worked with a number of young UK stars including former Tottenham academy player Izzy Lane and current England Under 19 international Emily Brough, who attends Clemson University, South Carolina.
Fletcher spent his university life in the US college system, having had a four-year college soccer career at Florida Southern College. The former graduate assistant coach at St John’s University spoke of the failures of the UK university sports structures.
He said: “We've obviously got some of the world's best universities, academically.
“But where it does fall short is probably marrying up the two in allowing athletes to pursue their sports to the next level, and also maintain the kind of degree studies at the right standard and not have to compromise on either.”
According to Fletcher, for women that want to play football at the next level, opportunities in the UK are limited.
Leading expert believes reliance on men’s football clubs is hampering the progress of the women’s game
A leading expert has criticised the model of women’s teams being largely owned or reliant on men’s clubs, claiming they give a false sense of “being progressive and all about women”.
Professor Jean Williams, 59, is a world leading scholar of women’s football and its history. She feels the support offered by clubs to their women’s teams can be superficial.
She said: “You've got a lot of this sports-washing going on where there is a cosmetic veneer of being progressive and all about women. But actually fundamentally the way that the systems are organised, it's not.
“A lot of it came about because of football in the community. When those kinds of schemes were launched, it allowed premiership clubs and championship clubs to draw in funding through women's football that they couldn't have otherwise obtained.
“So it became this kind of revenue stream of its own, but it's very much allied with corporate social responsibility, rather than about sporting performance.”
The structure of the relationship between women’s and men’s teams can sometimes be unclear, and often varies in practice.
While some, particularly in the WSL, are a fully fledged part of the organisation whose name they bear - for others this link is merely the right to use name and kit.
This means they are solely reliant on their own fundraising to be able to play games and fulfil the role of a functioning football club.
Tensions can occur when the women’s side is treated as low priority. There was controversy earlier this month for instance after Colney Heath Ladies FC had a game called off due to a bouncy castle being booked by the club on the same pitch they were supposed to play on.
Barnsley Women's Football Club are an independent side who have no association with Barnsley FC mens, and currently play in the fourth tier.
CEO Steve Maddock believes the lack of facilities for women’s clubs have led to a reliance on men’s clubs to be able to play.
He said: “We wish all teams that are associated with men's teams well, but for years women footballers have had to accept the crumbs that have been offered to them by men's clubs.
“Facilities are scarce, predominantly due to women's football being banned for 50 years prior to 1972. This is the main factor as to why there are few independent women's professional teams.”
There are arguments that being associated with a men’s team can bring in fans who already support the team, helping to boost attendances. The Women’s 2023 FA Cup Final is set to break records with Wembley likely to be sold out for the occasion.
But Professor Williams feels there are alternative models we can look to.
She said: “There are different models like Angel City in Los Angeles, which is female-owned, female-led, they've got their own investment, they're not reliant upon any men's club. They've got their own branding.
“I would question the current model that we've got.”
Rotherham United Women FC take a historic step as they beat league rivals to win #HerGameToo shield
Rotherham United Women Football Club marked their debut performance at the New York Stadium with a cup success which sealed a “celebration of women’s football”.
A jubilant crowd of 1,124 attended the AESSEAL New York Stadium to watch the Millers beat Mansfield Town Ladies 4-3 on penalties after a goalless 90 minutes.
Pete Jarvis, first team manager, was overjoyed at winning the #HerGameToo Shield 2023.
He said: “It was a fantastic occasion. Thanks so much to the fans for coming out, they were absolutely brilliant tonight.”
The game was part of the #HerGameToo campaign, which focuses on raising awareness of sexism in sport.
Hannah Crossley, a Rotherham United #HerGameToo ambassador, explained the importance of the occasion.
Hannah said: “It was a celebration of women’s football and women’s sport in general and how far the women’s game has come.
“We hope this will become a signal event and the start of even more great things to come here at Rotherham United and #HerGameToo.”
Lori-Anne Tart, the captain and figurehead of the Rotherham side, said the campaign will open up new opportunities for girls getting into football.
“#HerGameToo is such a massive campaign and it’s so nice to see that young girls can come and see things like this.
Lori-Anne said: “I started off at such a young age and there was nothing for girls, there were no opportunities whatsoever outside of a boys’ team.
“Hopefully we can get some more games here next season.”
The team play in the East Midlands Womens Regional Football League Premier Division, which is a tier six division. They finished sixth out of the nine teams, winning five games.
Jarvis joined the club last February and has witnessed the team’s growth first-hand. The team usually plays at Roundwood Sports Complex.
He said: “When I came into the team, we were training once a week on a seven-a-side pitch.
“Being honest, it was a challenge in the first few months just to get a team out of 11 players to fulfil the fixtures and get to the end of the season.
“This has been the first season where our players haven’t had to pay to play because we’ve had the sponsorship to cover it and a lot of support from the Community Trust.”
The Rotherham United Community Sports Trust is the ‘charitable arm’ of the women’s team that helps delivers initiatives across the Rotherham community.
With the help of the trust, the club staff has increased from three members to nine. This has included the hiring of a new video analyst and a strength and conditioning coach.
With 22 players currently on the books, RUWFC will be able to establish a reserve team for next season for the first time.
Jamie Noble, head of community, spoke before the game about the continued growth of the club.
He said: “We obviously have had a fantastic season with an increased matchday crowd off the back of the women's Euros.
“We really hope that people come down, obviously support the women's team, but not just support the women's team but support the women's game because we really, really want to grow the game in Rotherham.
“This is the start of lots and lots of new initiatives and lots and lots of new opportunities for the women to inspire the next generation.”
You can get involved with the #HerGameToo campaign here.
A guide to women’s football clubs in South Yorkshire
Despite being home to one of the most successful clubs in women’s football, Doncaster Belles, the region currently has no representation in the Women's Super League (WSL), the highest level of women's football.
Sheffield United Women are the highest ranked side in the county and currently play in the second tier with the rest of the region’s main clubs playing in the fourth tier and below.
As interest in the women’s game grows across the board, the clubs face the difficult challenge of meeting demand with limited funding available at the bottom end of the pyramid.
Sheffield United Women - Competing with the pros
Sheffield United Women are currently the highest ranked team in Yorkshire, playing in the second tier, the Women’s Championship.
The club have been making huge strides in recent years to increase the reputation of their women’s team.
Last season they announced that all of the Women’s league and FA Cup games would be played at Bramall Lane, the same as the men’s team.
And in February the Blades announced they had hired their first full-time women’s coach, Jonathan Morgan.
Speaking to the club media at the time, the club’s CEO Stephen Bettis highlighted how important it was for the Blades to make the appointment.
Mr Bettis said: “The fact that he’s our first full-time head coach affirms our commitment to women’s football at a very exciting time as Sheffield United look to enhance the club’s name within the women’s game.”
One of the main challenges facing the club as they look to become Yorkshire’s only WSL side is the fact that many clubs in the league train full-time, whereas the Blades currently operate on a part-time basis.
Sheffield United Women’s player Bex Rayner, said the uphill battle has galvanised the team.
Rayner said: “It’s not easy being a part-time team in a predominantly full-time league. It’s tiring having to fit everything in and still make sure you maintain focus, fitness and quality when you get to football.”
Doncaster Belles - Reclaiming former glory
Doncaster Belles have won six FA Cups, two first division titles and were founding members of the first national women’s league in 1991.
Controversially, they were relegated to the second tier in 2013 as part of a shake-up to the league system, and the introduction of the WSL.
The then Belles manager John Buckley described the relegation as ‘the most farcical thing I’ve ever heard’.
A series of financial issues off the pitch has left the former champions of England playing in the FA Women's National League Division One Midlands, the fourth tier of football.
Nick Buxton, a former professional goalkeeper for Scarborough and Halifax Town, spent time as a coach at the Belles before becoming manager of the first team last September.
Buxton said: “They just don’t get the recognition they deserve. People just see it as a Sunday morning, they just think it's a lower league.
“But if you look at it from a football pyramid, if you work the women’s league to the equivalent of the men’s, we’re in the same league as the men (Doncaster Rovers).”
Despite finishing second this season, only the top team is promoted to the first division leaving the Belles facing a fifth consecutive season in the fourth tier.
One of the shining lights for The Belles in recent years has been the top talent that continues to be produced by the club.
WSL stars and Euro 2022 winners Beth England and Millie Bright both came through the youth ranks at Doncaster.
Barnsley Women’s FC - Going it alone
After originally being founded in 1982, Barnsley Women’s FC is an independent women’s football club based out of Barnsley.
Their first team currently plays in the FA Women’s National League Division One North in tier four, and their girls’ teams play in the Sheffield & Hallamshire Women & Girls League.
“We are an independent women's football club who have the best interests for women and girls’ players at heart,” said Steve Maddock, the club’s chief executive officer.
“Facilities are scarce for women's clubs, predominantly due to women's football being banned for 50 years prior to 1972. This is the main factor as to why there are few independent women's professional teams.”
The club proudly boasts one of only 60 Nationwide licences by the FA to operate an Emerging Talent Centre (ETC) to develop girls from the ages of 10-16yrs.
The club operated under the name of Barnsley Ladies FC for 34 years, until the end of the 2016/2017 season. Then they changed to Barnsley FC Ladies until becoming Barnsley Women’s FC for the 2019/2020 season.
The club’s first team home matches are played at the Recreation Ground in Wombwell, normally on a Sunday at 2pm, and are trying to find a venue for all their other teams in Barnsley.
The first team has had huge successes, and in November 2022 they played in front of a crowd of 28,585 against Newcastle Women at St James' Park in the second round of the Women's FA Cup.
Rotherham United Women - A club on the rise
After starting out as a youth side in the 1960s known as Kilnhurst Shooting Stars, Rotherham were brought under the same banner as the men’s team in 2003.
They now play in the fifth tier of English football, The East Midlands Regional Women's Football League.
First team manager Pete Jarvis said the club had developed drastically since he joined in February 2021.
Jarvis said: “We’ve gone from a backroom team of three staff to a backroom team now of myself, an assistant manager, a first team coach, a video analyst, a secretary, two goalkeeping coaches, a social media manager, a strength and conditioning coach.
“We've grown massively on and off the pitch.”
Last year Jarvis said the team would struggle to field a team, and trained just once a week on a five-a-side pitch.
But by utilising the clubs’ connection with the Rotherham United Community Trust, they have managed to attract more players.
Jarvis said: “We’ve got around 22 players on our books now and we’re establishing a reserve team for next season and I’m pretty confident that we have the demand to do that now.”
The national team's success in Euro 2022 – during which Rotherham hosted four games – coupled with the financial support from the Community Trust, the club now has the funding and the interest to grow.
Rotherham Women have now been invited to the club’s end of season awards ceremony, and the Women’s team played at Rotherham United’s New York Stadium for the first time on Thursday May 11.
Barnsley FC Ladies - Expanding the outreach
Barnsley FC Ladies are the official women’s team of Barnsley FC after establishing a partnership in 2015.
The club operates 12 junior teams from under 8s up, and a first team which plays in the North East Regional Women’s Football League which is in tier six.
Chairman Brett Hawke said the connection with the club had helped increase the stature of the team.
He said: “The relationship we've got with the club is absolutely brilliant. They give us free tickets to every home game and we get to use the indoor facilities at the Academy.”
Similar to other clubs in South Yorkshire, Barnsley Ladies have seen a growing interest during the past few years.
One of the new developments at the club will see the introduction of a second open age team which will play more recreationally for those looking to enjoy the game.
“It’s just for people basically who want to enjoy it or for maybe girls who want to continue beyond their junior football, but don't quite get to the level of our first teams.”
Sheffield Wednesday Ladies - Dreaming of the fourth tier
Sheffield Wednesday Ladies FC currently operate the largest women’s and girls’ football club in South Yorkshire.
Run by husband and wife duo Dave and Julie Higgins, the club’s chairman and secretary, SWLFC field teams from the under 8s level up to senior football, encompassing over 200 women and girls.
Mr Higgins said: “We've steadily been growing for the last 10 years. But certainly in the last two to three years, since England started being successful, the uptake has been massive.”
The Sheffield Wednesday Ladies first team currently play in the seventh tier, after being relegated from regional to local level this year.
“We've been playing regional level for the last 10 years up until unfortunately, this season, when we just had a lot of quality players retire prior to last season. So we were playing with a lot of youngsters and reserves, and it was a tough year for them.”
The team are officially connected to Sheffield Wednesday, but operate separately from the men’s club and have to raise the £40,000-a-year it takes to run the club by themselves.
Mr Higgins said: “Sheffield Wednesday allow us to use the badge, the name, they help us with kit supply with discounts. But basically we are run separately and we are self-funded solely by subs and fundraising.”
Mr Higgins claimed that a dream for him would be to see the team reach the national level (tier 4) and play games at Hillsborough, but admitted that rising through the divisions is difficult without funding.
“It can cost in the region of about £150,000 just to compete in the top two divisions, that's before you start paying players.”
For Wednesday, one of the key focuses is on the youth structure, and the club are preparing to add an under 8s team to their ranks.
“We pride ourselves on the fact that we've always offered girls a pathway through to senior football. We’ve got players playing in the first team at the minute who joined the club under nine from the junior ranks and got to the first team,” Mr Higgins said.