This section will keep you up-to-date with all the latest news from the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport.
Ellie-May Storr, doctoral researcher at the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport, has recently presented her PhD research investigating psychological stress in wheelchair rugby classification across three major conferences during late November and December.
PhD Doctoral Researcher, Thomas Miller, recently presented his PhD research, in poster format, at the Multidisciplinary Association of Spinal Cord Injury (MASCIP) annual conference hosted by Loughborough University.
In November, Peter Harrison Centre (PHC) researcher Owen Tolfrey travelled to Thailand to collect video data at the Asia–Oceania Wheelchair Rugby Championships, further supporting Loughborough University’s ongoing collaboration with World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR).
We are thrilled to announce that Loughborough University has been awarded the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher and Further Education in recognition of our pioneering contributions to Para and disability sport.
The Peter Harrison Centre have marked an important milestone with the new Vice Chancellor ParaFit 2032 Cluster of doctoral researchers starting in October. The new research cluster will be supported by academics from several schools and disciplines to enhance its expertise and advance knowledge in Para sport science and practice.
The PHC was delighted to welcome two new doctors to the centre in September, as Pippa Bailey and Yash Deshpande both successfully defended their PhD theses. Congratulations to them both!
The Peter Harrison Centre would like to congratulate Paralympian Emma Wiggs MBE on receiving her Honorary Doctorate during this years summer graduation programme.
PHC Doctoral Researcher Dan Angus recently presented his PhD research at the 30th Annual Congress for the European College of Sports Sciences (ECSS) in Rimini, Italy, where he was shortlisted for the Young Investigators Award. His study developed a novel, futsal-specific decision-making task for eliciting psychophysiological stress responses. Dan’s research has promising implications for para-football, and he now aims to further explore how stress appraisal can be manipulated to influence performance.
As Wimbledon 2025 begins, The Peter Harrison Centre announces the positive impact of its wheelchair tennis research on grass courts. This research, led by Professor Vicky Tolfrey and Dr Thomas Rietveld, in collaboration with key partners, demonstrates that wheelchair tennis can be safely played on grass with specific wheelchair modifications, ensuring no undue damage to the courts.
Members of the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport (PHC) have taken centre stage in a recent series of episodes from Loughborough University’s ‘Let’s Talk Para’ podcast. The podcast, which launched at the beginning of the academic year, is dedicated to spotlighting para athletes and the world of disability and para sport.
/filters:format(webp)/1x0:1500x843/prod01/lboro-cdn-pxl-media/media/media/research/phc/images/Ellie-May-Conference-Dec-2025-Thumbnail.jpg)
/filters:format(webp)/1x0:1500x843/prod01/lboro-cdn-pxl-media/media/media/research/phc/images/Thomas-Miller-MASCIP-Thumbnail.jpg)
/filters:format(webp)/1x0:1500x843/prod01/lboro-cdn-pxl-media/media/media/research/phc/images/Owen-WWR-Thailand-Thumbnail.jpg)
/filters:format(webp)/1x0:1500x843/prod01/lboro-cdn-pxl-media/media/media/research/phc/images/Equal-Play-Thumbnail.jpg)
/filters:format(webp)/1x0:1500x843/prod01/lboro-cdn-pxl-media/media/media/research/phc/images/ParaFit-cluster-development-day-thumbnail.jpg)
/filters:format(webp)/0x0:480x270/prod01/lboro-cdn-pxl-media/media/media/research/phc/images/Pippa-Yash-Combined-thumbnail.jpg)
/filters:format(webp)/0x0:480x270/prod01/lboro-cdn-pxl-media/media/media/research/phc/images/Emma-Wiggs-1-Thumbnail.png)
/filters:format(webp)/0x0:480x270/prod01/lboro-cdn-pxl-media/media/media/research/phc/images/Dan-Angus-ECSS-Small-squoosh.jpg)
/filters:format(webp)/0x0:480x270/prod01/lboro-cdn-pxl-media/media/media/research/phc/Wheelchair-tennis-Cover-post-card-Cropped-small.jpg)
/filters:format(webp)/0x0:480x270/prod01/lboro-cdn-pxl-media/media/media/research/phc/images/Let's-Talk-Para-Logo-small.jpg){kind=logo}