ABUS HELMETS HELP ACADEMY RACE SAFER

Young wheelchair athletes can now train and race safely and in style, thanks to new helmets donated by ABUS UK. The helmets were the first step in a partnership between ABUS and the Weir Archer Academy, a wheelchair athletics club in Surrey set up by Paralympian David Weir and his coach Jenny Archer to encourage participation and support young wheelchair users to achieve through sport. 

Olympic gold medallist and eight-time London marathon winner David Weir MBE and his long-time coach, Jenny Archer MBE, set up the Weir Archer Academy in 2009 after noticing a dearth of up-and-coming Team GB wheelchair athletes at the Beijing Paralympics in 2008. The Academy offers a supportive and friendly place for young wheelchair users to learn and train with coaching and expertise across all levels and abilities. As well as the sport, the Weir Archer Academy offers friendship, assistance in work and education, and a safe place for the disabled young people to enjoy sport and socialise. It works with predominately with schools, clubs, and coaches from the Southeast of England including South London, Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire, but also spans UK wide in providing access to the Academy for international development of promising wheelchair athletes. 

“The Weir Archer Academy is not just about wheelchair racing - although we take that really seriously and have a number of athletes that participate at elite level. It’s also about participation and helping these young people with their physical and mental well-being,” says David Weir. “We help support them at school, in getting jobs and provide a valuable support network for parents and carers too. This place is an invaluable resource for the wheelchair athletes and these new helmets from ABUS have given the athletes a real boost and will make it safer for them to race.”

“We are so pleased to be able to help make the young members of the Weir Archer Academy safer at training with helmets that really look the part too,” says Peter Romanov, MD of ABUS UK. “The Academy is a fantastically supportive place for these young people to train, make friends, and at ABUS UK we are really looking forward to working with David, Jenny and the whole team in Kingston going forward.”

The current range of ABUS helmets are made with the highest quality materials, the latest production processes and elite professional design. From helmets for babies and children, through to city helmets for shopping or commuting, to high-end sports helmets, ABUS offers helmets with good ventilation, great comfort and individual adjustment to fit the head.

ABUS is a global manufacturer of high quality, innovative security, access, and safety solutions with a nearly 100 years’ history of innovation. ABUS UK is part of a worldwide group of companies that supplies and distributes a huge range of both electronic and mechanical security products and systems for home, mobile security, and commercial security.