You wouldn’t expect to draw many similarities between lawn bowls and powerlifting but rising star Lottie McGuinness has managed to find some golden nuggets. 

The Loughborough lifter has rapidly risen up the national ranks with very real ambitions of making ParalympicGB’s squad for Paris. 

As a result, McGuinness is one of over 1,000 talented young athletes and aspiring support staff on the Team England Futures programme given the opportunity to attend the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, watch live sporting action and take a first-hand look behind-the-scenes.

And she believes the experience, which has given her exposure to athletes from a range of sporting disciplines, will aid her Paralympic dream. 

“What I've enjoyed most is chatting to different people from different sports,” the 20-year-old said at the futures base in Edgbaston. 

“I visited someone from lawn bowls and obviously each sport is very different. 

“With my sport, for example, I have all these practitioners, psychologists and nutritionists, and they don't have it. 

“So she was interested to find out about that it's just nice to meet people and make new friends, speak to the weightlifters on the Olympic side and see how they're training is going. 

“I’ve really enjoyed meeting new people in different sports and seeing how their journeys have developed.”

Team England Futures seeks to better prepare athletes to deliver medal-winning performances as either Team England, Team GB or ParalympicsGB debutants at future Games, while also giving support staff a first-hand look at the opportunities they could be presented with, as well as challenges they may face, at a multi-sport competition.

Those involved were honoured by a visit from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Princess Charlotte, at the University of Birmingham. 

The Duchess has been the patron of SportsAid since 2013 and she joined in a series of workshops to provide the athletes with some further insight on the mental challenges that lie ahead. 

The Commonwealth Games are one of the only major international events with a fully integrated para sports competition programme. 

For McGuinness, a former swimmer and a huge fan of the friendly games, the growth of para sports coincided perfectly with her own personal development. 

The Loughborough athlete opened up on the difficulties she faced as a youngster, aided only by the encouragement she received by a para sports icon - one Ellie Simmonds. 

She added: “For me, Parasport came in at the right time. 

“It was at 11 or 12 years old that I was learning I wouldn’t be of average height and it got to me a lot. 

“I refused to go to school, I just didn't want to be around many people and it was Ellie Simmonds who actually wrote to me and said ‘look what you can do.’

“For example, we train in Loughborough University’s power base, and we've got a teammate who was 20-years-old and lost his legs. 

“And he's now benching 200 and the reaction you get is incredible”

“[The Commonwealth Games] are going to help massively and will give so much confidence and inspiration to those younger with a disability.” 

Commonwealth Games England has appointed SportsAid to lead on the development, management and operational delivery of Team England Futures at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. You can find out more about the programme by visiting https://www.sportsaid.org.uk/partnerships/team-england-futures/.