Rick Rodgers

he/him
Disability Sport Movement and Physical Activity Specialist, and an international sportsperson.
ParaCheer International CIO, and British Fencing

Award category:

Sports, Health and Wellbeing

Having become a wheelchair user 15 years ago after an accident working as an acrobat, I’ve seen the difference in opportunities given to someone with and without a disability. I have since focused my energy on breaking down barriers Disabled people face in society, through sport, movement and physical activity.

In 2012 I had the honour of performing as an aerialist in the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympics and carried the Paralympic torch. Since then, I have supported the lighting of each summer Paralympic torch by performing in the ceremonies as both a Dancer and Cheerleader.

I spear headed the development of disability inclusive cheerleading, around the world, and working with the Cheerleading international governing body (ICU) created the World Championship divisions where I also became a 3x Gold medallist after bringing the first ever disability inclusive Team England. Since then, I have helped more than 18 countries build their own disability-inclusive cheerleading teams, and enabled Disabled people to participate in a sport they were historically not given access. My partner and I have competed against non-disabled athletes and reached the podium, becoming UK national partner stunt champions in 2018 and a video of our 2019 routine recently reached over 26 million views on Instagram.

I am also a national player for Ireland in Wheelchair Rugby League, having competed at the recent world cup in London, and the Captain of Bedford Tigers Wheelchair Rugby League, supporting the fledgling teams growth.

There are many athletes, like myself who are not classifiable under the Paralympics, and often do not have a space to participate in sport, so with my work, I hope to change this and increase more opportunities for all Disabled people, from grassroots to elite level.

I am now helping other sports become more inclusive of Disabled people, recently I have been working with British Fencing where I have increased seated fencing membership by more than 5 times, reduced barriers to participation through reducing the high costs of the equipment, and wrote the disability inclusion strategy, focusing on encouraging people to showcase, educate, advocate and support Disabled members.

It’s an honour to be included in this years Disability Power 100 list, and to have the work I’m doing recognised by the community. I’ve followed Disability Power for many years reading about all the incredible things people on the lists before me have done and it just shows that with determination, the right support, and a bit of luck we can make a huge difference to the world and unbelievable things become possible.

Q&A

Rick Rodgers
You’re going to face a lot of barriers and discrimination in your career, don’t let people stop you from pushing towards your goals, ask for forgiveness rather than permission.
I have given disabled people the opportunity to participate in cheerleading sport which historically had been denied to them. Through my performances and social media videos I have shown non-disabled people that disabled people can do great things, and educated influential individuals in sport how to better support disabled participants and that they deserve a right to enjoy these activities too. More recently I have increased opportunities for disabled people to participate in para fencing by creating an equipment loan scheme, and with the help of RMA Sport developing a significantly cheaper fencing specific wheelchair. This and my other projects within the organisation has so far led to a 5 times increase in wheelchair users as members of British Fencing.
I am working with a university engineering team to even more significantly reduce the cost of participation in seated fencing by redesigning the equipment used lowering the cost by 98%, which we hope will not only significantly increase participation here in the UK but also support those in developing countries where access to the high-cost equipment is entirely unavailable. I want to continue to increase opportunities for Disabled people across all sport, movement, and physical activity, one sport at a time if I have to!
I still practice cheerleading with my flyer and life partner Chantal Epp, I captain a local Wheelchair Rugby League team and help the new participants develop their skills, and I love taking my toddler swimming and to the swings at the local park.
My partner Chantal, my daughter Sky, and to see the destruction of barriers to Disabled people’s participation in society.
That’s a hard choice, dogs are better behaved when trained well and are often more fun to play with, but cats look after themselves and I appreciate that independence especially with such a busy life.
I’d like to see a clearer definition of “reasonable” within the term “reasonable adjustment” in the Equality Act 2010 as it currently gives too much wiggle room. I’d also like to see better enforcement of the Act where it comes to accessibility in public spaces. A great example is in supermarkets’ self-checkouts and the electric car charging stations, both have become common place since well after the Act came into force but neither have anywhere near the appropriate adaptations or accommodations for disability access that they should have.
There are so many barriers still that it’s impossible to list them all, the Activity Alliance says that the biggest barriers come down to three categories, logistical, physical, and psychological, of which psychological is the biggest. That psychological barrier is people’s perceptions, understandings, and willingness to be open and make changes, if we could remove the stigma and the psychological barriers so people understand better how they can include Disabled people I think the world would be a much better place.
"A wheelchair user in a white and blue tight cheerleading uniform holds a woman in a matching uniform above his head in one hand, the woman is standing on one leg and has her arms stretched to the sky. Two men look on protectively one from each side ready to support if something goes wrong."

Areas of expertise

Accessibility, Charity, social enterprise, Disability Advocacy, Equality, Health and wellbeing, Performing arts, Sport, Transport, travel

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Image credits: Den Pollit on behalf of British Fencing, Rick Rodgers
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