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A Great Britain and England hockey player, Olympic gold and bronze medallist and 2022 Commonwealth gold medal winner will be visiting the island to raise awareness of the dangers of concussion in sport.
Shona McCallin will be supporting a series of events organised by the Guernsey Hockey Club and Headway Guernsey on 10 and 11 September. The midfielder will attend a fundraising dinner and kick off the Guernsey hockey season with morning of fun activities for children at the annual HockeyFest event.
Headway, a charity supporting islanders living with the effects of brain injury, said there was a “growing awareness” of how head injuries in sport can lead to long-term complications. Having experienced a “brutal concussion” herself, Ms McCallin will share her experiences of that trauma as well as talking about her Commonwealth Games and Olympic memories.
Pictured: Shona McCallin was a "key player" in seeing England win a gold medal at the recent Commonwealth Games.
Headway Executive Director, Philippa Stahelin, commented: “At Headway, we have seen the number of referrals to our service for post-concussion syndrome increase. We are learning more all the time about the cognitive, physical and emotional issues that can arise from this type of brain injury.
“Shona’s lived experience will be used as invaluable learning for our island coaches. She will also meet some of our members to talk about the challenges they face living with a long-term brain injury.”
Pictured: Headway Executive Director, Philippa Stahelin said Ms McCallin's "lived experience" of a brain injury would be invaluable to islanders.
Ms McCallin made her international hockey debut on England’s U16 squad, in what would be the first of 85 junior international caps.
At a senior level international, Shona has competed in two Olympic Games, medalling in both. She achieved her 50th combined international appearance for Great Britain and England during the Rio Olympic Final, where the team won Great Britain’s first ever Olympic Gold medal in women’s hockey with over nine million people watching.
She achieved her 100th combined international appearance during the Tokyo Olympic Games where Great Britain went on to win a bronze medal, the third consecutive Olympic medal in women’s hockey. Ms McCallin was also a key player in England’s most recent victory, being a first time Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham last weekend.
Pictured: Shona McCallin was left with a brain injury following a "brutal concussion".
Guernsey Hockey CEO, Ali Le Tocq commented: “Women’s sport is on a high at the moment with the success of England Football’s Lionesses and England Hockey’s gold medal in Birmingham and we are delighted to welcome Shona to Guernsey.
“We are looking forward to hearing more about her hockey career and joining in with our ‘minis’ during Hockeyfest.”
For more information please contact ali@guernseyhockey.com or fundraising@headwayguernsey.org.gg
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