Wheelchair dance group in Witney raise money for Children In Need and aiming for world record

The West Oxfordshire Wheelchair Dance team (WOWD) joined the ‘tapathon’ on Sunday and helped raise nearly £100 for Children In Need.

They played their part in the Guinness World Record attempt at the Windrush Leisure Centre.

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Lizzie Large, 40, from Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, coordinated the team.

Miss Large, who is an occupational therapist, teaches wheelchair dance of various genres to all abilities.

On Sunday she had to ensure her dancers stayed in sync with the rest of the country for a routine which lasted six minutes.

She said: “There was a lot of nerves going around but I’m so proud of each and everyone who took part.

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“This is something I never thought little old me and a group from Witney would ever do.”

Organisers will now have to spend up to two weeks collating information before the record can be confirmed.

Miss Large added: “Whether we get the record or not, it was all about making money for Children In Need and we’re still proud of ourselves and what we’ve achieved.

“Everyone has worked so hard to get here through varying challenges.”

The current world record for the largest tap dance held simultaneously is 7,596.

Ambitious organisers hoped this year to break the 10,000 mark.

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In Witney there were four wheelchair users from WOWD who took part in the routine with some more able bodied dancers taking the overall total to ten.

Two independent adjudicators were present to sign and prove that WOWD took part in the record attempt.

Children In Need have previously raised funds through the tapathon event and this year, Miss Large and her group decided to get involved.

She explained: “We’ve been hugely inspired by one of our dancers who had a stroke but used to tap dance.

“She missed it so we decided to start tapping and the tapathon was something we wanted to do.

“We started rehearsing in August with the November Children In Need date in mind.

“Learning routines has been difficult but extremely rewarding.

“We weren’t tapping before this and I believe we were the only wheelchair tap dancers who took part in this record attempt.

Due to the difference in abilities, there were up to six routines going on at any one time within the group, something that Miss Large recognised was difficult to lead.

As if attempting to break a world record wasn’t daunting enough, the routine was also the group’s first public performance, with friends and family turning out to give their support.

The world record attempt capped off quite the weekend for the group, who were named the disability sport group of the year for Oxfordshire on Friday.

Miss Large said: “We were up against two other very worthy causes so to win was very special. It hasn’t sunk in yet.”