Physical Activity Advisor – Stoke Mandeville
Ella is one of the two Physical Activity Advisors working alongside the physiotherapy rehabilitation teams at the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. She provides support and advice for newly spinal cord injured individuals on a varied range of life and fitness skills, and regularly hosts exercise sessions with the patients.
Local resident Ella Archer is a former GB Wheelchair Basketball Under 25 Women’s European Championships silver medalist with a passionate advocate for wheelchair sport. Ella has a long association with WheelPower since childhood when she would attend various sports camps and events at Stoke Mandeville Stadium. Ella is a member of the Stoke Mandeville Maulers (wheelchair rugby) and the Aces Wheelchair Basketball team. In 2022 she played for the Cardiff Met Archers Wheelchair Basketball team in the inaugural BWB women’s premier league, the first para-sport professional league in the UK, and the first of its kind for women’s wheelchair basketball in the world.
During the Covid-19 pandemic Ella supported WheelPower with the creation of online exercise resources for disabled people looking to stay active from home. She continues to produce her own workouts through her channel ‘Ella’s Wheelchair Workout’ and hosts a weekly WheelPower Workout every Tuesday morning at 11am. Ella’s friendly, engaging and knowledgeable style has made her a firm favourite with the disabled community throughout the UK. In May 2021 her story and that of the Online Classes was featured on the BBC One Show, showcasing the importance of these classes for many thousands of disabled people.
Outside of the sporting sphere, Ella is an experienced television researcher. She has worked for host broadcasters at multiple Paralympics, and Commonwealth Games and has been credited on numerous documentaries, features and TV shows, including the wonderful Rising Phoenix Netflix film which documents the history of the Paralympics to the present day.
Contact
Email: ella.archer@wheelpower.org.uk
