We spoke to 16-year-old Liv about her impressive sporting abilities and how she overcomes issues with depth perception.
I started Tae Kwon Do when i was 7 years old. I wanted to try martial arts and liked it and me and my mum do it together, she is a 3rd Dan black belt. My favourite thing about Tae Kwon Do is breaking boards. Gaining my Black Belt 1st Dan in 2021 has been my greatest achievement so far, and I am currently due to take my 3rd Dan in June.
I also started Archery last September. I am 16, just over 6 months ago. I tried Archery a few years ago at a sports event and really enjoyed it and always wanted to do it. My Favourite thing about Archery is when I score – I took part in my first Archery competition a few weeks ago and was awarded a silver medal in my age category. Sometimes having had retinoblastoma affects my hobbies.
I had bilateral retinoblastoma and had an enucleation at 6 months, because of this I have no depth perception and when sparring I am sometimes not able to judge how close someone is to me. I have to break boards using my non-dominant hand and foot as I cannot see if I stand with my red side forward as that is where my blind side is. If people approach me from the right side I do not see them so I have to be more aware when I am sparring. In Archery I have had to learn to bow as a left handed person although I am right handed so that has been a challenge at the start. I’m looking forward to taking part in more competitions and gaining some higher Archery Award Levels as i progress.
