When the new Charnwood Leisure Centre was built in the 1975 the Council (to their credit) set aside 6 to 7pm on a Sunday night for the use of disabled swimmers. Two of their lifeguards, Mary Butler and Colin Noronha, took a special interest in the session and decided to attend as volunteers. The group continued on this basis for several years until the vision of one of the disabled members, Ken Roberts, saw the drawing up of a constitution and the formation of Charnwood Sports Club for the Disabled, to be nicknamed 'The Foxes'.
The decision to call it a sports club and not a swimming club enabled the setting up of a 'dry sports section' which met on Monday evenings at the site of the old swimming baths in Granby Street which had by then been turned into a sports hall. Sports included badminton, indoor bowls, boccia and archery. When the council changed these premises into the Museum the transfer of the dry sports to Charnwood Leisure Centre proved unpopular and this side of the club came to an end.
Swimming continued to be popular and the volunteer team had been strengthened by the addition of Ruth Morris. The turn of the millennium saw new challenges for the club. Colin and, a few years later, Ruth decided to retire from the club after many years of loyal service. The members were not going to let that be an end to CSCD and a rota of 6 members was organised by Rachel Bazire with a duty to be on the side of the pool to greet members on a Sunday evening. This format continues successfully to this day.
