Liverpool’s contribution to disability sport will be celebrated at this year’s Variety Disability Sports Awards, with Roy Turnham and Peter Wyman both shortlisted.
Roy is nominated for the Inspiration Award for his achievements across multiple sports, while Peter, also known as Pete, is in the running for the Unsung Hero Award for his work in power hockey, power football and wheelchair racing.
Their nominations recognise two different but closely connected contributions: performing at the highest level and creating the opportunities that enable others to participate.
Roy grew up in Wavertree, where his childhood included football, cricket, judo and swimming. He went on to represent Great Britain in blind football at the London 2012 Paralympics, having begun playing competitively for Everton in 2008.
His sporting success extends to tennis. He won the men’s B1 singles title at the 2017 National Visually Impaired Tennis Championships and regained the title in 2019.
Roy has also used his experience to help others access sport. In 2026, he delivered a workshop with Liverpool City Council’s Sensory Service and British Blind Sport, equipping teachers with approaches to support visually impaired children and make school sport more inclusive.
Peter’s work has similarly helped widen participation, combining decades of disability sport development with coaching and specialist equipment.
He has worked at Liverpool’s Greenbank Sports Academy since 2009 and coaches wheelchair racers at national-team level, with his work taking him to the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
As managing director of Powersport Engineering, based in Aintree, he also helps provide specialist chairs for power football and power hockey. The not-for-profit company aims to make sports wheelchairs affordable while enabling players to compete at a high level.
That work has a particularly strong Liverpool connection: power hockey began at Greenbank Sports Academy in 2000. The sport uses powered wheelchairs to give people with a wide range of disabilities the opportunity to play.
Roy and Peter will join athletes, coaches, volunteers, schools and organisations from across the UK at the awards on Monday, 12th October at London’s @sohoplace. Hosted by BBC Morning Live’s Dr Oscar Duke, the ceremony celebrates achievements from grassroots participation to elite competition.
For organiser Variety, the Children’s Charity, the event also raises funds for practical support for disabled and disadvantaged children and young people.
Laurence Guinness, Variety’s CEO, said:
Every child deserves the chance to play, compete and belong.
Variety funds sports wheelchairs and specialist equipment, while its Sunshine Coaches provide accessible transport to sporting facilities. For families facing financial hardship, that support can remove barriers that would otherwise prevent a child from joining in. Funds raised through the awards will help the charity continue providing the equipment, transport and opportunities on which meaningful access to sport depends.
