How a Sunderland veteran is aiming to make the Highland Games more inclusive

Jim Holburn, who was medically discharged from the army after a parachute accident, enjoyed competing in the games so much last year with athletes from the Help the Heroes military charity that he became a coach and formed his own Wounded Highlanders team.

He is also working behind the scenes with organisers of individual events so that more disabled competitors can take part when the games resume across the Highlands in 2021.

Father-of-two Jim, 39, who is originally from the Downhill area of the city, joined the Parachute Regiment as a teenager after leaving Red House Comprehensive School and served in Iraq at the start of the second Gulf conflict in 2003.

But a leg injury, sustained a year earlier, failed to completely heal and he was also diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after returning to Sunderland when he was eventually discharged.

After taking part in the 2019 Mey Games, in Caithness, which is the only Highland Games to currently include disabled competitors, Jim was looking forward to returning this year until the pandemic struck.

He said: “I want them to open their doors and let disabled athletes in.

"It is a shame that this year’s games had to be cancelled but it gives the organisers time to get organised for next year.

"It would give new life and more exposure to the Highland Games.

"Amputees, people with brain injuries and others with mental health issues all took part in the Mey Games and we smashed several games records.”

Charlie Murray, the vice president of the Scottish Highland Games Association, is hopeful discussions about increased disabled participation will succeed.

He said: “Being part of a team is so important to those who have served in the military and being part of the Highland Games family is a way of getting that feeling back.”

Jim, who begins training to become a barber in September, has also launched a £6,000 campaign to buy adaptive equipment to train his Wounded Highlanders and to fund travel costs.

It can be supported by searching for Throw for Wounded Heroes at www.gofundme.com

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