Wheels and Walkers Family Sports Group kicked off its sessions on Tuesday after months in the planning.

Organiser Veronica Filby said the first night was small but successful, and it was “amazing how much energy these kids have”.

“When they’re in an accessible environment, they can move just as quickly as other kids,” she said.

Mrs Filby said the group was “all set up and ready to go for 12 months”, every Tuesday during school terms, 5pm-6pm at Tamworth Sports Dome.

“Lions Club of Tamworth came forward with a donation for the [team] shirts and we’re working with a local printing company to get them sorted,” she said.

“The Northcott general manager rang after our ‘come and try’ day [on June 29] to offer a donation to assist with hire of the Sports Dome court for the year, and we received a donation from Landmark Tamworth to assist with insurance.”

Mrs Filby said she’d also had great support from volunteers, especially health sector professionals and students; and teachers, including those in special education.

“Everyone volunteering has just been brilliant,” she said.

“The Sports Dome staff have been ... so accommodating and generous with their time; they’ve just been great for us and we couldn’t have asked for better support.”

She expected the numbers would grow throughout the year as some children saw out their commitments in other sports teams.

“It’s been lovely to hear there are children in wheelchairs and walkers doing mainstream sport in Tamworth, so I have no doubt we’ll grow over the 12-month period,” she said.

Mrs Filby said that, despite the group’s title, it was also open to children who didn’t use wheelchairs or walkers but had difficulty taking part in mainstream sports.

“I’m more than happy for them to get in contact with me so we can talk about how they might be able to get involved in our program,” she said.

“I have had a few inquiries from people who have children with low-energy issues and other struggles; we’ll try to help them out and get them involved.”