Speaking at the launch of Front Line to Start Line (FL2SL) during the BT Paralympic World Cup here, Derenalagi (pictured below, with England rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio) told insideworldparasport: "This is a great initiative – it is really going to help.

"It will mean that service personnel who want to get into Paralympic sport will have to wait a lot less time than I did.

"After I had recovered from the injuries I suffered in July 2007 in Helmand Province and was looking to get into sport, I had to wait for several months to find the right kind of support and funding.

"I was knocking on all kinds of doors.

"But this new deal means that those doors will already be open for service personnel who are following the same route I took."

He added: "That is great news, because what I have discovered is that sport is one of the best rehabs an injured soldier can ever have – from a physical, mental and emotional point of view."


The launch saw Martin Colclough, head of the Phoenix Battle Back programme at H4H, and BPA chief executive Tim Hollingsworth sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that outlines how they will collaborate on projects to support wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women – both serving and veteran – make the progression towards representing their country in Paralympic sport or working in the sector.

These are designed to support service personnel participating in the Ministry of Defence's Battle Back programme as they progress in performance sport both on and off the field in the years following the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Speaking at the launch, Hollingsworth (pictured below) said: "The Paralympic Movement started when injured service personnel played competitive sport as part of their rehabilitation programme.

"With less than 100 days to go until a home Paralympic Games, this agreement is about providing support for the crucial next step for those servicemen and women today coming out of rehabilitation, so that any injured service personnel  who has the potential can progress towards representing their country in Paralympic sport.

"To get there takes hard work, talent and determination, and H4H and the BPA are well placed to be able to work with the Ministry of Defence and others to support their ambitions and maximise the opportunity for sport to play a crucial role in their future."

Colclough commented: "It is fitting that we launch this new initiative today at the BT Paralympic World Cup where we have seen Private Derek Derenalagi compete.

"Derek was one of the inspirations behind the founding of H4H when co-founders Bryn and Emma Parry saw him in Selly Oak Hospital.

"To see him now competing at an international event, and with the hope of competing at the Paralympic Games, is brilliant.

"He is an example of what can be achieved with the right support.

"The Front Line to Start Line initiative will help many more service personnel achieve sporting excellence."


Private Derenalagi was funded by H4H to attend, in the summer of 2010, the BPA's Talent Transition programme – the kind of scheme that the FL2SL initiative will support.

He said: "Getting involved in competitive sport and now competing at the elite level has been amazing.

"H4H and the BPA have really helped me to take my sport to the next level and now I'm aiming to compete for ParalympicsGB in London – something that I've dreamed about since watching the Beijing Paralympics from my hospital bed."

Colonel David Norris, chairman of the Combined Services Adaptive Sports Association, said: "Sport can have a fantastic effect on an individual's recovery and return to an active lifestyle.

"Working with the British Paralympic Association, Help for Heroes and others, the Battle Back programme has offered wounded servicemen and women the opportunity to enjoy sport and we have seen some real sporting talent flourish.

"Front Line to Start Line will allow us to continue to develop the programme providing opportunities for sport to meet the individual's needs and aspirations, and nurturing the talent of serving personnel and veterans."

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and Olympics, commented: "As a former serviceman myself, I want to do everything possible to help soldiers injured while on duty rebuild their lives through sport.

"The Paralympics began in this country in 1948 to help servicemen injured in World War Two, so this is a fantastic and appropriate initiative as London prepares to host the Games once again."

The two charities are working on a number of ideas to secure funding for future programmes to ensure that athletes aiming for Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 can get the best possible support.

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