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Sitting Volleyball Grand Prix round 4 preview - Natalie Lewis (Invictus)

Sitting Volleyball Grand Prix round 4 preview - Natalie Lewis (Invictus)

With the Invictus Games in Canada just a few short weeks away, members of Team UK who will be representing their country out in Vancouver (8th to 16th February) will be competing in this weekend’s Sitting Grand Prix to give them some welcome matc

And, having already played in Volleyball England’s domestic competition for Sitting Bucks, Natalie Lewis can vouch that it will be the ideal preparation for their matches out in North America, which are part the global adaptive sports event. 

The 42-year-old, who grew up in Glasgow before moving to England as a teenager, has been selected as part of the Invictus sitting squad that will be led into action by GB coach Richard Osborne. 

Sitting Orange LogoThe team will be among around 550 competitors from up to 25 nations to contest a range of sports, with winter events such as alpine skiing and snowboard, Nordic skiing, biathlon, skeleton and wheelchair curling taking place in Whistler. 

Core Invictus Games sports of indoor rowing, swimming, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball will be staged in Vancouver, with the sitting volleyball to be staged on Saturday 15th February. 

Natalie can’t wait to get involved in the action in Canada after being encouraged to apply for the Invictus Games team last year. 

She has since been training hard both with the squad, and with Sitting Bucks, to ensure she is ready, and this weekend’s nine-team fourth Grand Prix of the season at the National Volleyball Centre in Kettering is the latest stage in that process. 

“When I applied to be part of Invictus, sitting volleyball was the sport that I was really drawn to,” Natalie said. “I used to play standing volleyball, which I really enjoyed, but I can’t really jump now because of my knees, nor do the other sports I used to. 

“I was selected by Richard for Invictus, but before that I went along to Sitting Bucks sessions and what I really loved was being able to be part of a team environment again. 

“It has lit a fire in me and given me something to get my teeth into moving forward. 

“It is not just the competition that I enjoy, but being part of a team where you are relying on others and they are relying on you. 

“We have been training every month with the Invictus team and then I have been training every Tuesday with Sitting Bucks as well, and it’s going to be an amazing experience to be part of Team UK in Canada.” 

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Natalie is in her 23rd year of military service with the RAF and currently gives leadership and management training to senior staff. 

It is in her former role driving vehicles that she was diagnosed with injury-induced arthritis that limited her ability to play the team sports she previously had. 

She has found sitting volleyball the perfect way to reignite her love for competing. 

Natalie added: “Being in the military, and being so active, you can frequently end up with bad knees, bad ankles, a bad back or bad hips.  

“I played to quite a high standard in football, but had to give it up at the age of 26 when I had an operation and then I developed arthritis. 

“I think it was a combination of the high impact team sports together with my work – getting in and out of vehicles every day – that led to things getting worse. 

“There can be a way of thinking that you are too old to try new things, but that is utter nonsense. 

“Now I am training for sitting, of my four children, three of them often come along – they are 16, 13 and 10 – and they throw and even kick balls at me, so I can get used to reacting to spikes. 

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“It has enabled me to introduce them to adaptive sports and show them just how inclusive it is – that you don’t need to have an injury to compete alongside those who do.” 

Natalie will be competing in her second Grand Prix this weekend, having made her debut in the competition in December for Sitting Bucks. 

This time with Invictus, she is looking forward to seeing how the team measures up and where they can improve ahead of flying out to Canada. 

“We have been training hard for nine of 10 months and most of the players have joined sitting clubs,” said Natalie. “Playing in the Grand Prix is fantastic because you can’t replicate matches in training sessions and it will get us ready for what is to come. 

“Playing against experienced GB players will get us used to a high level and help us to get into the right mindset to compete. 

“All the teams are quality sides so you know you have been in the game and come off court saying they were tough to play. 

“Everyone has been really supportive to me as a new Grand Prix player. Because I have ADHD, I can struggle to process information, so it might take me a bit longer to grasp than other people, but everyone has been really patient. 

“It’s a safe place where you can make mistakes. People have also come up and given me feedback and compliments after games, which is really encouraging.” 

 

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A key theme around the Invictus Games is continuing activity once the event has passed and Natalie knows already that sitting volleyball has become a lifetime passion. 

However, that does not mean for one second that she and the rest of the team are not determined to compete hard and do well in Vancouver. 

She said: “I have been following the Games since its inception in 2014. I’ve followed friends who have been involved with the Games and they said why don’t you apply, and I initially felt my injury wasn’t severe enough compared to lots of others. 

“But I have come to realise it is about maintenance pathway as well as recovery, so I started with the programme in late 2023 and I was first selected in May 2024. 

“It’s about creating a pathway after the Games and, for me, I will absolutely be a part of sitting going forward. I want to keep competing as much as I can. 

“The Games are about giving people something to focus on, and it’s not just about the competing, but at the same time, we don’t want to go there to finish in last place. 

“There are a lot of countries likely to play, so we have to be sure that we are physically and mentally prepared to play lots of games in a day. 

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“The matches start at 9am and could go on until 11pm, so we are going to have to make use of all the squad, and take breaks where needed. 

“I am really happy that the sitting is right at the end of the Games because it will give us a chance to get over any jetlag, get in some training and watch a few other sports in the same arena before we are up. 

“Playing practice matches is one thing, but playing in front of 10,000-strong crowds is going to be something else. We want to go there and win – that is the aim – and this weekend going to be good preparation at just the right time.” 


To find out more about Salisbuy Spitfires Sitting Volleyball Club, click here.

Find out more about the Sitting Grand Prix Series by clicking here.