What made Caitlin come to the foundation? What challenges has she faced in the past?

Caitlin really likes sport but has struggled to be included in her favourite sport rugby when she was in New Zealand as teams there are very performance focussed and with Caitlin having both dyspraxia (affecting coordination) and a spinal condition (that gives Caitlin much more fatigue than most people) she found it hard to be included. 

Caitlin’s spinal condition means that physical tasks are challenging and tiring. Her dyspraxia had made accessing mainstream education challenging. As a result, Caitlin was isolated from society and looking for someone who could include her.

Caitlin found access to the foundation through our Hi5! Inclusive sport programme.  From there she began to play mixed ability rugby at Walcott Warriors and now plays for Bath ladies Trojans.  As if this wasn’t enough to achieve from her starting point Caitlin wanted to see if she could build more mental resilience and so took on the challenge of training and completing (which she did) a 250m off-road bike ride through the Andes Mountains in Chile in just 5 days.

How has the foundation programme helped Caitlin?

Caitlin’s journey began with gaining her confidence and making a friendship group.  From there Caitlin felt ready to step out and push herself further gaining coaching skills and public speaking increasing her confidence further. Eventually Caitlin decided it was time to take the big step of moving into the world of work, however she has currently been unsuccessful to date and unable to find employment.

What are they key things the Bath Rugby Foundation has learnt about Caitlin?

Something that has amazed us throughout Caitlin’s journey is the way that she has not just learned the joy of challenging herself but has developed the ability to manage her challenges so she can be resilient. From mixed sports to contact Rugby to mastering the Andes on a bike Caitlin has never let her journey slow down!