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Deaf basketballer Lucy wins new funding

DEAF basketball player Lucy Buxton
Lucy Buxton

DEAF basketball player Lucy Buxton has won a funding award from the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme.

Lucy, 17 from Harrogate,  plays in England’s team and has been awarded  funding on the back of her outstanding performance in the European Championships last year.

Profoundly deaf from birth, Lucy has grown up using both oral communication and lip-reading.

She also had two major operations on her leg at just two years old, after being diagnosed with pseudoathrosis, which meant that the fibula in her leg had grown as cartilage instead of bone and required two major surgical operations.

Lucy also delivers talks and helps out at coHearentVision and Leeds Deaf Children’s Society in her spare time, inspiring other budding athletes with a sensory loss.

Lucy said: “Basketball is my life and my parents have always supported and encouraged me to be whatever I want to be. I’m so pleased that I have been awarded my scholarship, as it means that I can really pursue my dreams. I’ve been working really hard and fingers crossed I will make it to Romania.

“My hearing has never really held me back, and certainly doesn’t now. It can be difficult to cope with at times, particularly on a noisy court, but my hearing team mates have learned how to signal with hand gestures as well as shouting, which is beneficial for everyone. And my leg – that doesn’t cause me any problems, it’s almost like it never happened.”

Barbara Fraher, Youth Development Officer at coHearentVision, said: “Lucy is a true inspiration to all of us. She is living proof that hearing loss doesn’t have to hold you back and there’s no reason why deaf or hard-of-hearing children and young people shouldn’t achieve as much as their hearing peers.”

The TASS award provides Lucy with access to support and services such as physiotherapy, strength and conditioning coaching, lifestyle support advice and athlete expenses, all administered through the Leeds Metropolitan University TASS hub.

www.cohearentvision.org.uk

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