Pupils from Perth and Kinross schools were offered skiing delivered by Disability Snowsport Scotland (DSS), Glenshee who are all volunteer instructors. This project was made possible by funding secured by Live Active Leisure (LAL) from the Short Breaks Fund (supported by the Scottish Government and distributed by Shared Care Scotland).

Caroline Lawrie, Active Schools Coordinator for the Blairgowrie High School Cluster had identified through consultation with pupils and parents that many young people had never experienced skiing or considered it something they could do. The funding was used to give eight pupils who hav enever had the opportunity to ski, the opportunity to experience a new sport.  All pupils were given 1:1 instruction which was a valuable experience for their first time on snow.

All families were encouraged to attend the sessions in the hope that this would encourage parents to take their child up the slopes. All pupils have benefited from this experience not only from skiing but also getting to the top of the mountain.

Since this project has finished the positive feedback from parents has been amazing.

“My son sometimes struggles with sports activities and has low confidence to the point that he nearly backed out however, he decided to go for it and everyone was so encouraging and positive, putting him at ease and engaging with him.”

“At the beginning of this adventure we were a little afraid of how Wiktoria would get to the top and how she would manage. It was amazing for us how they put Wiktoria with this monoski on the chairlift and everything went very well. The instructors did everything very cleverly and you could see that they have a lot of experience in what they do. Wiktoria had a very good time and she would like to repeat it. For the next week she was still talking about it.  We would like to see her to do this again.”

Wiktoria’s feelings- one of the pupils: “I really enjoyed skiing the last Saturday. I was a little scared at first because I never skied before. As soon as I got geared up and in the mono ski I know that it was going to be a lot of fun. I loved every moment of my lessons.  I got to experience the chair lift and ski down the hill at high speed that I have never experience.  I got to practice same simple turns. I was very happy because I was going very fast. I had a lot falls but even when I felt I was very happy. I hope to come back soon.”

Gill McShea from LAL said: “This project illustrates how working in partnership we can come up with new ways to support young people improve their confidence; their physical and mental health; and achieve their potential through sport.  The backing of the Short Breaks fund has made this pilot possible and allows us to now explore way to create more opportunities for pupils to access snow and other outdoor sports.”

Skiing 2018 Pupils attended:

Group 1	Lee Mudie
	Brandon Knight
	Lewis Acford
Group 2	Cameron Nicoll
Group 3	Harrison Turner
Group 4	Wiktoria Mucha

Next: heading to Snow Factory centre on 30 May…

 

 

Forth Carriage Driving Group for the Disabled have been busy fundraising and partying!

A terrific night was enjoyed by over 100 party people at our ceilidh on Saturday 21 April in the the Victoria Halls, Dunblane, where over £1200 was raised.  The evening was made by the music and dancing to the Fraser MacKinnon Band who kept everyone on their feet (just) and we were even praised for our performance of an Eightsome Reel by the musicians.  Our grateful thanks go to them and our trustee, Penny Goddard, for organising a very successful evening.

The raffle was well supported by individuals and local businesses and our thanks to all who participated as this adds a significant amount to the total figure raised.  Even the ‘shove ha’penny’ was popular and brought the crowd together before finishing with a rendering of Auld Lang Syne.

Our stalwart trustee, Lorraine Hepburn, has been busy spreading the word of our activities and organised a day for local youngsters to meet her ponies and learn about RDA.  Forth Driving Group has since been fortunate to receive donations from Morrisons Supermarket in Airdrie whose staff and customers donated £500 from their Christmas bag-packing activities.  The Airdrie and Coatbridge Round Table ran a Santa Sledge enabling a donation of a further £350 plus an individual donation of £100.  We are hugely grateful to them all for choosing our charity and to Lorraine, for making this happen.

Finally and most recently, thanks go to the ASDA Foundation who donated £200 from their Green Token Scheme over the last three months in the Stenhousemuir store.  The enthusiasm and encouragement from their Community Champion, Leigh-Anne Bridgeman, and the Store Manager Stephen McGowan, made this a worthwhile and enjoyable development to our links with local business.

We are also hugely grateful to others who have contributed recently to our funds.  It costs approximately £150 to run our weekly session and we are working towards the purchase of a new carriage, which will cost close to £10,000.  Thank you again to all our funders and volunteers for your support.

For further information on Forth Driving Group please contact our Chairperson Patsy Muir-Simpson, tel 01786 870351 / email: patsyms@gmail.com

 

The Davidson family have contributed so much since they joined Disability Sport Fife. Mum Hailey and children Skye and Finlay are fully involved in DSF run, jump and throws sessions and in the last year have become regulars at badminton and short tennis. Both children are also progressing well in swimming.

Mum is an inspiration and I was not surprised to hear that she has recently been appointed vice chair of the Dwarf Sports Association in the UK. This will increase her involvement in an organisation that she already contributes to greatly. Congratulations and well done Hailey. If your impact in Scotland is a measure of your potential then you are destined to add so much to the UK Association. DSF recognises the Davidson family as fully committed and active family members.

The Davidson family have just enjoyed their most successful performances at the UK Dwarf Games where 217 participants took part including 17 from Scotland. Finlay won 2 silver medals for cycling and football and 2 bronze medals for discus and hockey. Skye won 3 golds for 60m, 40m, and football plus 5 silver medals for shot putt, discus, javelin and swimming. To round off her weekend she won bronze for basketball. Mum Hailey, not to be out done, kept up family standards by winning 3 golds for discus, javelin and cycling. Hailey also won silver for shot putt and a bronze in air rifle shooting.

For Skye and Finlay it was particularly pleasing because they both moved up age categories. Skye has now progressed to the under 11’s and Finlay is now in the under 15’s. Hailey believes that the competition overall is much tougher and she is grateful to the Disability Sport Fife coaches for all the support they have provided for the family over the past year.

Over the weekend husband Scott and Hailey worked as volunteers for the first time. They enjoyed their experience as swimming officials, as well as assisting with team sports and throwing events. This offered Skye and Finlay the opportunity to be more independent of their parents and they rose to the challenge admirably. Excellent example of the benefits of sport in creating confident, reliable and independent young people.

At the weekend the DSAUK launched an excellent publication with the title “At Every Stage”. The new booklet is an inclusion guide for all nurseries, primary schools, secondary schools, further education colleges etc. It is full of useful positive advice especially for physical education staff and others who deliver physical activity including sport. The cost is £5 and Hailey has already purchased one for her local Primary School and for the DSF coaches to look over.

Hailey believes the resource will be useful for Finlay who has selected PE as one of his third year subjects. This of course is no surprise. Hailey has informed me that ‘ when a student with Dwarfism elects to study PE as one of their exam grade choices, DSAUK events and competitions offer the opportunity to gather video evidence of the pupil participating among similar statured people. This allows the pupils skills to be fairly judged and graded’. This undoubtedly will assist Finlay with his studies – well done DSAUK.

Not surprisingly the highly energetic new vice chair of DSAUK aims to try and get at least one publication into every school in Scotland that has a pupil with dwarfism. Hailey recognises that not all schools are as inclusive as Inverkeithing Primary and Inverkeithing HS. There is evidence she believes of young people with dwarfism struggling and perhaps not being encouraged to be active.

Congratulations to all four members of the Davidson family. Physical activity including sport is a way of life in the Davidson family and DSF is proud to have them as active members.

Richard Brickley MBE – President Disability Sport Fife

 

Recruiting body: Perth & Kinross Disability Sport

Closing date: 21^st June 2018

Perth & Kinross Disability Sport (PKDS) is a voluntary sport group where the main aim is to lead in the development of sport for people with physical, sensory or learning disabilities in partnership with key local agencies in Perth & Kinross. PKDS is a member branch of Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) who are the governing body of sport for athletes and players with a physical, sensory or learning disability. PKDS achieved SDS Minimum Operating Requirements (MOR) which ensures all governance is up to date and appropriate. The Board of PKDS now wishes to appoint a new Treasurer. No previous experience required in disability sport.

Role Title – Treasurer (voluntary)

Organisation – Perth & Kinross Disability Sport (PKDS)

Responsible to – Perth & Kinross Disability Sport Board

Location – Perth

Contract – This is a voluntary position but all reasonable expenses will be paid. The Treasurer is expected to attend branch meetings held 6-8 times per year. The level of time commitment is flexible and can be tailored to suit the applicant’s current commitments and the needs of the branch.

Term – At each AGM, all Trustees must retire from office but may then be re-elected

SKILLS REQUIRED:

Well organised Able to keep records Prepared to make a regular time commitment Confident about handling figures and money

MAIN DUTIES:

• Responsible for Charity finances
• Complete a Trustee’s Declaration and meet both the general and specific duties (further information from http://www.oscr.org.uk/charities/managing-your-charity/trustee-duties)
• Deal efficiently and effectively with all invoices and issue receipts as required.
• Keep up to date records of all the financial transactions.
• Ensure that funds are spent properly and produce reports to funding bodies if required
• Attend committee meetings and present the budget report
• Prepare the end of year accounts
• Monitor the budget throughout the year
• Ensure any branch reserves are maintained
• To act as a counter-signatory for financial transactions.

Interviews
By arrangement

Applications
All applicants should send a note of interest by 21^st June 2018 to enquiries@perthandkinrossdisabilitysport.com detailing why you are interested in the role and outlining any relevant skills and experience.

If you have any questions or would like more information please contact Stephane on the above email or phone 07716628454.  More information on the branch can be found at www.perthandkinrossdisabilitysport.com or at the PKDS Facebook page

Red Star Athletics Club and Victoria Park Athletics Club in Glasgow, are holding come and try sessions in the month of May for any aspiring young athletes.

Both clubs are open to people with physical, learning and sensory impairments and cover a range of athletics disciplines.  If you are just wishing to keep fit, or you have more of an aspiration to perform at a high level, the experienced coaches of both clubs will support you.

If you are interested, or know of anyone who might be, please see the flyers attached for further details.

VP come and Try Flyer

Red Star Come and Try Flyer

Forth Valley ‘Right on Target’ Boccia Club would like to extend a warm invitation to clubs, squads and individuals to enter the clubs open Boccia Championships on Saturday 2^nd June 2018.

Venue: The Peak, Stirling Sports Village, Forthside, Stirling FK8 1QZ

Date: Saturday 2nd june 2018

Time: 10.00 am to 4.30 pm (registration 9.30am)

Catering: There are catering facilities at the venue though  individuals can bring along their own packed lunches and drinks.

Entry Free: £5.00 per entry (Cheques to be made payable to Right on Target Boccia Club)

Closing Date: Entries should be returned no later than Friday 25th May 2018 (entries after this date will not be accepted)

Entries: Return to Jean Duncan, C/O Forth Valley Disability Sport, Central Sporting Partnership Office, Gannochy Sports Centre, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA

Right on Target Open Boccia Champs Entry Form 2018