Iona Harrison grew up in Forest Hall, a quiet town on the outskirts of North Tyneside, where football pitches were a familiar sight but a place where she often felt invisible.
At sixteen, a chance invitation from Power Through Sport opened a door to a different kind of sport — roller‑skating hockey — that would change the trajectory of her life.
A New Rink, A New Community
Representing Great Britain at the Ball Hockey World Championship in the Czech Republic, Harrison discovered a community that celebrated her talent and her unique style on the rink.
The organization, founded to bring alternative and minority sports to young people in low‑income neighborhoods, has a reach that stretches across roughly one hundred miles of the North East, from Durham to Teesside.
Johnny Tulip, the managing director of Power Through Sport, recalls watching Harrison flourish the moment she stepped onto the skates, a moment he says encapsulates the power of finding something different.
Now a full‑time hockey coach with the same organization, Harrison spends her days teaching the next generation, urging them to seize opportunities rather than walk away from them.
Her story is not just about personal triumph; it is a testament to how targeted programs can combat health inequalities by giving young people a sense of belonging and purpose.