[Archived] Blackburn Rovers Disabled Supporters Club Reformed

[Brfcrule1]

Hi All,

I can now confirm the blackburn rovers disabled supporters club has now been fully reformed and last night we had our launch night which turned out to be a success. For our launch night we had a question & answer session with former rovers legends John Kenyon, Stuart Metcalfe & Paul Round and it was a very successful evening. All 3 talked about their best and worse moments @ Rovers and all 3 talking about how football has changed in terms of finances, agents and discussing the performance of GB. It was very interesting as all 3 stated they had attended most matches at Ewood and one thing they all said. GB's subs at times were baffling to say the least and although he should be thanked for assembling a squad good enough to make the top 6. They all believed GB was not getting the best out of his team. I hope the LET do a big piece on the evening and publish the questions and answers as it was a very eye opening night.

[Ben-2000]

Sounds like it was an enjoyable evening, interesting views on Bowyer there too!

[Brfcrule1]

Hi All, just to let everyone know I unfortunately I missed the player of the year party this year due to illness but things have progressed since before I was fortunate enough to have a photo in the LET at the relaunch night of the disabled supporters club with the rest of our committee and now the club is doing well if anyone is interested in joining the club they are more than welcome with our new twitter & facebook pages having details of events we are hoping to soon organise a trip to Blackpool & other events inc more Q&A sessions with former players! If anyone wants to see the photo in the LET of our new committee pls ask & can upload it on here.

[Oldgregg86]

Hi i was wondering if anybody could help me with some information regarding disabled supporters. I currently support a gentleman who uses a wheelchair at all times and needs two members of a support team with him at all times aswell. He currently goes watching Wigan athletic as they have a concourse where he can see the game and they let this gentleman purchase a ticket for himself and his two support go in free. Leigh sports village send free tickets so he can watch rovers u21s and he would like to watch blackburn play at ewood when Wigan are away. I was wondering if blackburn had something similar regarding tickets as he would need to purchase 3 adult tickets which is to expensive to do. Any info would be appreciated

[Paul]

My son Is disabled and he, well I pay for it, has to buy an ST. As his carer I receive a free ticket to support him. Rovers have done this for many years.

If you contact the club they will send details. Be aware it is not the disability which counts but the support and assistance the disabled person requires to access or exit the ground. The application form gives good detail and you will need a supporting letter from the gentleman's GP.

If Rovers provide the assistant ticket the gentleman then qualifies for the same deal at away matches.

Rovers wheelchair facilities are nowhere near as good as Wigan's but you probably know that already.

I don't know if you would get two assistant tickets.

[Oldgregg86]

Thanks paul. Yeah sounds identical to what I needed to do at Wigan. Wer doing a tour of ewood stadium in June so it shall go to the ticket office and enquire just wanted to see if blackburn did something similar. You have been most helpful. All the best

[Brfcrule1]

Paul just to make you aware according to LPF Blackburn rovers have one of the most accessible grounds and in terms of accomodating disabled people is given very good reviews on the LPF site and the club has also been applauded by the blind society Galloways in Preston as at the recent home match 2 blind chaps with their dogs attended the game and they were very complimentary about the facilities, help stewards and the access to the stadium. shame about the result that day otherwise they were very complimentary about the disabled facilities.

[Stuart]

Don't know if you've been to Wigan, Savio, but their accommodation for disabled people is superior to Rovers on account of the sections higher up in the stands.

[Oldgregg86]

Wigan is miles better and Leigh sports village is better than both

Purely from a viewing and comfort perspective

[Paul]

Savio I don't know what LPF is but I would certainly agree Rovers policy and assistance to the disabled is first class.

However the wheelchair facilities at Wigan are far superior being platforms set in to the stands at roughly halfway up the stand. The view is excellent. Compare this with the wheelchair users at Ewood who are parked on the concrete concourse between and the perimeter advertising hoardings in front of the JWL. When it rains these people sit in the wet for 90 minutes.

Rovers do a great job for the disabled but the wheelchair facilities bear no comparison with Wigan's.

[Brfcrule1]

Sorry all I have never been to Wigan's ground so I don't know how it compares to our ground however the point I was trying to make even though Wigan's facilities may be better the disabled access at Rovers is very good and hopefully from next season more improvements will be made Paul the above post sums up my opinion the rovers policy for disabled supporters is first class and LPF=Level Playing Field they are on twitter etc... Paul thanks for bringing up about the wheelchair access in JWL I never knew that being on the committee these are all good points to bring up with the powers that be!.

[Paul]

When you discuss this I think you need to be careful about the words you use. My son doesn't use a wheelchair but we happen to sit near many who do. I think it's worth noting this:

Wheelchair "access" is excellent. Users enter and exit through the large steel gates between the corner of the BBE and JWL. We usual exit that way, everyone is always helpful.

Wheelchair "facilities" on the other hand are, in my opinion, poor. I don't think sitting in front of the first row of JWL seats peering over the perimeter advertising is very good. I suspect seeing the far side of the pitch is difficult. In bad weather these fans have no shelter. There is no wheelchair access to the concourse that I know of. Is it possible for a wheelchair user to access shelter, food or toilets? I'm not sure it is. This probably should have been considered when the stadium was rebuilt and I doubt it can be improved now.

Rovers "policy" is first class. My main experience is having the free carer's ST which is s very significant benefit for the disabled. My other experience is with the ticket office staff - who are fantastic in every way and have been for decades.

For any game our ideal situation is to have seats on the row end next to steps. My son is quite short and at away games needs to be near the front as with the majority of fans standing he can't see.

If I call the the TO and explain I need two seats, row end, near the front at an away ground the TO staff put in the time and effort to organise this for us. 9 times out of 10 they are successful and on the tenth time I usually find stewards at away grounds happy to move us to better seats.

So I agree Rovers do a fantastic job but just be careful over the distinction between words and their meaning.

[Brfcrule1]

Thanks Paul I will bring this up at the next disabled supporters meeting.

if any of you are interested in joining our club let me know and will get more info.

[Paul]

Thanks Paul I will bring this up at the next disabled supporters meeting.

if any of you are interested in joining our club let me know and will get more info.

Thanks for the offer.

It's not really Tom's thing. His speech is very limited and he can be reluctant to join in with others so wouldn't take much benefit. I've been aware of the club for years and did go to one or two evening events but it didn't really suit Tom