England para squads head to Tenerife and SGP

Six of England’s para teams will get together this week for a training camp in both Tenerife and at St. George’s Park.

Players from the blind men’s and women’s, deaf men’s and women’s and the cerebral palsy squads will head to Tenerife on Monday for a five-day trip to focus on fitness and technical sessions. Meanwhile the Powerchair squad will be together at St. George’s Park.

It promises to be a busy year for England’s para teams, starting with the deaf women who are preparing for the European Championships in March.

The blind men’s European Championship then takes place in August before the blind women’s European Championship, Powerchair World Championship and cerebral palsy World Championship are all scheduled in the autumn.

While a ten-strong deaf men’s squad will head out to Tenerife on Monday, they will also had a training day at St. George’s Park on Sunday featuring a longer squad of 25 players.

Speaking about the camp, our head of para performance Catherine Gilby, said: “We find this camp is really beneficial for a number of reasons. There's lots of evidence to indicate why training in warm weather in the depths of the English winter is really important, but what we find is that it really shapes the start of the year and the rest of the season.

“And what we're also doing this year is running a home version of the camp at the same time to ensure the specific requirements of each team are met whether that be from a technical and tactical perspective or physiological development.

“For example, our Powerchair squad will have a couple of days back at St. George's Park, where obviously the facilities and the setup is much more suitable and appropriate for what they need to achieve.

“That's really positive and we're going to connect the two camps at some point to just share how it's going and all of those things.

“It all really sets us up well for 2026, when we've got the deaf women’s team competing at the Euros in March so for Steve Daley as the head coach, it gives him a real opportunity to have some concentrated time with his players to really set them up for that competition.

“In August, we've got the blind men's European Championships and in October we've got the blind women's European Championships and the Powerchair World Championship, so it’s going to be another busy year and one we’re all looking forward to.”

Blind men
Head coach: Adam Bendall

Squad: Azeem Amir, Oliver Johnson, Owen Locke, Sam Meisel, Toby Addison

Blind women
Head coach: Tony Larkin

Squad: Alice Hopkins, Alicia Grimmond, Amelie Ford, Katie Christopher, Lucja Wyrwantowicz, Maria Slade, Megan Smithson-Booth, Samantha Gough, Selina Prieto

Cerebral palsy
Head coach: Jack Rutter

Squad: Cailen Beckford, Harry Baker, James Blackwell, Liam Irons, Matthew Robinson, Reegan McMillin, Sam Dewhirst

Deaf men
Head coach: Sam Sharman

Squad: Abdou Jobe, Cole Neil, Ellis McLean, Harry Boorman, Jamie Clarke, Joe Dixon, Kemahti Anderson, Matt Frewer, Wilf Jenkins, Will Palmer

Deaf men (for St. George’s Park training): Abdou Jobe, Cavell Donaldson, Charlie Parker-Fairbairn, Cole Neil, Drew Rowley, Dylan Cross, Ellis McLean, Gino King, Harry Boorman, Harry Storry, Hashim Mahmood, Harvey Norman, Henry Bowe, Jamie Clarke, Joe Dixon, Kemahti Anderson, Matt Frewer, Matt McQueeney, Matt Oaten, Oliver Manoochehri, Rhyan Evans, Rylan Casey, Sam Edwards, Wilf Jenkins, Will Palmer

Deaf women
Head coach: Steve Daley

Squad: Danielle Evans, Ellie Betteridge, Emma Brown, Faye Williams, Kate Bowers, Louise Hogan, Lucindha Lawson, Lucy Scholes, Macie White, Maisie O'Shea, Natasha Hamm, Sophie Mernagh, Zara Musker

Powerchair (SGP)
Head coach: Adam McEvoy

Squad: Chris Gordon, Dan McLellan, Dylan Kelsall, Ed Common, Ethan Fisher, Jon Bolding, Marcus Harrison, Tyler Reeve