Physio's 'incredible' Commonwealth Games experience

A physiotherapist who was part of the Team England backroom staff at the Commonwealth Games has described the "incredible experience" of being part of the games in Glasgow.

Laura Scarlett-McAllister, from Bicester, worked with the English wheelchair basketball teams during the games which ended on 2 August.

The men's team won the silver medal, whilst the women's team claimed gold.

Scarlett-McAllister had a more roundabout way of making it to the games than most, only retraining to become a physio in her 40s.

"I did a lot of sport myself, had a few injuries, and saw the physio quite a lot - so I was interested in physio, but didn't really get into it until later in life," the 55-year-old said.

"After getting divorced, I decided to go back to uni and qualified about 13 years ago."

"I really did it the hard way, whilst having children at home."

Scarlett-McAllister was asked last year by Team England's wheelchair basketball sides if she would work for them at this summer's games.

"Of course I said 'yes'," she said.

Fast forward 10 months and she was walking out alongside the rest of Team England at the opening ceremony at Glasgow's Hydro arena.

"It was amazing - just lining up with the team and going in for the opening ceremony," she said.

"Then supporting the athletes throughout the competition was an incredible experience."

She explained that her job with the wheelchair basketball teams had been to "look after" the athletes and "ensure they're in the best physical shape".

"They're very resilient actually," she said of the players.

"They do fall out of their wheelchair quite frequently, but they tend to bounce back up again."

"They don't roll on the floor for 10 minutes like the footballers."

With Scarlett-McAllister's help, the men's team won the silver medal, whilst the women's team claimed gold.

But she has no time to rest on her successes.

"[I'm] potentially going to India with basketball, but my next event is a Lawn Tennis Association event at Roehampton."

"It's quite busy," she said.