Matthew Lloyd (born 23 May 1972) is a British

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

who was born with

spina bifida Spina bifida (Latin for 'split spine'; SB) is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. There are three main types: spina bifida occulta, men ...

and two

club feet Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...

. He has competed in

ice sledge hockey at the 2006 Winter Paralympics At the 2006 Winter Paralympics, the ice sledge hockey events were contested at the Torino Esposizioni. Medalists Qualification Team rosters Preliminary round ''All times are local (UTC+1).'' Group A Group B ...

, in Sitting volleyball at the 2007 European Championships, and is credited with inventing the sport of Inline sledge hockey. He was born in Crawley, Sussex but grew up in

Rainhill Rainhill is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 10,853. Historically part of Lancashire, Rainhill was formerly a townsh ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

and later resided in Hollym,

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

. After completing a degree in Business Information Systems, Lloyd worked within the music industry, firstly as a journalist and then within the A&R department of a major record label, before going to work extensively within the sports and leisure sectors. In March 2012 it was announced that Lloyd would be an Olympic torchbearer and would be carrying the Olympic torch through

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

. Lloyd is an alumnus of Gateway College in Leicester and has been honoured by the college who have named an annual community sports award after him. Lloyd has passed his Olympic Torch to the college to inspire students and has a history of supporting grassroots sports as evidenced by his role as Vice Chair of Sport Birmingham, one of the 45 County Sports Partnerships that exist to support sport in England. In 2015 Lloyd married Ruth Harvey on the ice at the ice rink in Widnes, which is believed to be the first ever wedding on an ice rink in England and Wales. It was announced in August 2016 that Lloyd was launching a brand of skating rinks called SK8Z with the first one based in

Gainsborough, Lincolnshire Gainsborough is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town population was 20,842 at the 2011 census, and estimated at 23,243 in 2019. It lies on the east bank of the River Trent ...

and which utilised a type of roller skate which replicated ice skates without the need for ice. It was announced in 2017 that due to a senior manager experiencing health issues the rink would close. Lloyd is currently the Vice Chair of Sport Birmingham and a Director of Greycat Associates. In 2019 Lloyd was added to the board of Drake Music, a national music charity specialising in disability, music and technology.

Sledge hockey

In 2004 Lloyd took up the sport of

sledge hockey Sledge hockey, also known as Sled hockey in American English, and Para ice hockey in international competition, is an adaptation of ice hockey for players who have a physical disability. The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a rehabilitat ...

(a variant of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

and a Paralympic sport) playing for the Kingston Kestrels Sledge hockey team. Lloyd was asked to train with the British Paralympic team early in 2005. In November 2005 Lloyd made his international debut as back-up goalkeeper against Italy in the Paralympic Qualifiers in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Lloyd represented Great Britain at the

2006 Winter Paralympics The 2006 Winter Paralympic Games ( it, Giochi paralimpici invernali del 2006), the ninth Paralympic Winter Games, took place in Turin, Italy from 10 to 19 March 2006. These were the first Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Italy. They were ...

in Turin, the

2009 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships The 5th IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships took place in early 2009. The competition was divided into two tournaments, with Tournament B held from 15 to 21 March in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and Tournament A held from 9 to 16 May in Ostr ...

and the

2011 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey European Championships The 3rd IPC Ice Sledge Hockey European Championships was held between February 12, 2011 and February 20, 2011 aNiphallenin Sollefteå, Sweden. Participating 130 athletes from ten nations: Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, ...

. Lloyd is a founding member of the Grimsby Red Wings Sledge hockey team.

Sitting volleyball

In May 2007 Lloyd was approached to play the sport of Sitting volleyball, a version of traditional volleyball played by athletes with a disability. Due to an injury within the team and Lloyd's Paralympic experience, he made his debut for the Great Britain Sitting volleyball team in an international friendly against the Netherlands in June 2007. Lloyd was selected for the GB Sitting volleyball squad that competed in the European Championships that were held in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

in September 2007.

Inline sledge hockey

In October 2005 Lloyd became chairperson of the British Sledge Hockey Association. Despite a British team competing in the 2006 Winter Paralympics, it was apparent that Ice sledge hockey was on the decline in the United Kingdom. To reverse the trend, Lloyd came up with the idea of Inline sledge hockey: essentially, Ice sledge hockey but played with sledges with wheels instead of skate runners. Although sledges with wheels had been invented by Laurie Howlett of Unique Inventions and used in both Canada and Germany as training aids, Lloyd was the first person to recognise that the equipment could be used to develop a distinct sport. The first "official" game of Inline Sledge Hockey was played in December 2009 in Bisley, Surrey. Inline Sledge Hockey is recognised as a sport by the British Roller Sports Federation and a full set of rules was drawn up in early 2010 by Geoff Gooding based on Inline Puck Hockey rules with the first Inline Sledge Hockey league due to be launched in October 2010 in the UK.

Ice hockey

In May 2013 it was announced that Lloyd had been appointed Chairman of the newly formed

Widnes Wild Widnes Wild are an England, English ice hockey team from the town of Widnes who play at Planet Ice Ice Rink in Widnes. They were formed in 2013. They currently compete in the Moralee Conference of the English Ice Hockey Association National Ice ...

club, which plays in the

English National Hockey League The National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) is a set of professional ice hockey leagues administered by the English Ice Hockey Association. It is currently the second tier of British ice hockey, below the Elite Ice Hockey League. Formerly called the ...

. Lloyd stood down from his role at the Widnes Wild in June 2022 in order to take a role as a Director of the

English Ice Hockey Association The English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA) is the governing body of ice hockey in England and Wales. It was formed in 1982 and featured around 60 teams. EIHA is one of several bodies regulating ice hockey in the United Kingdom, along with Scott ...

where he is responsible for Junior and Recreational ice hockey.

Additional information

Inline Sledge Hockey feature IPC European Championships Article 2011 Peterborough Phantoms Interview 2011 Mashsport Article 2010 Banners on the Wall Article

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Matt 1972 births Living people British sitting volleyball players Men's sitting volleyball players Sportspeople from Crawley Sportspeople from Liverpool People from Hollym, East Riding of Yorkshire Ice sledge hockey players at the 2006 Winter Paralympics People with spina bifida Sportspeople with club feet