A second Multi-Skills Award course has been arranged to meet demand. This is primarily aimed at engaging people with disabilities who are looking to get involved or develop their coaching. Those coaching people with disabilities are also welcome to attend.

Date: Saturday 13 October and Saturday 3 November 2018

Time: 9.30am – 5pm

Venue: Clydebank Leisure Centre

Full information can be seen here.

On a day of mixed weather conditions that ranged from glorious sunshine, to thunder and lightning and torrential downpours, Team Scotland delivered seven medals on the track, on the opening day of the CPISRA World Games.

Shelby Watson won the first Scottish medal of the day, which was gold in the T33 800m final. This was swiftly followed by Lewis Clow, who delivered a personal best performance in the T37 Long Jump.  Ewan Waite was up next to compete in his first race of the season after an injury plagued 13 months.  Ewan was happy with his performance and claimed bronze in the T38 800m Final.  A string of fine performances saw Abbie McInally, Ross Paterson, Nathan Blackie and Lewis Clow qualify for finals in the evening session.  Connaire McAlindon competing in the T37 Shot Putt, battled through injury to place seventh in a very competitive field.

The evening session was delayed due to the severe thunder and lightning storm which swept through Sant Cugat.  When events resumed, Nathan Blackie produced a fine performance to come home in second place to claim the silver medal.  World record holder Gavin Drysdale made his first appearance at these Games and stormed to victory in the RR3 100m final, which culminated in a crash, but fortunately Gavin was not hurt and will compete again tomorrow.  Shelby Watson followed her earlier performance by winning her second gold of the competition in the T33 100m final.  Ross Paterson and Lewis Clow raced back to back in the T38 and T37 100m finals.  These races were an excellent advert for CP athletics, as they both ended in blanket finishes, with the Scottish athletes both placing 4^th in their respective events.  The final event of the day saw Abbie McInally, making her debut at the CP World Games, putting in a fine performance to finish in silver medal position in the T37 100m with a personal best time.

Away from the track, the Scottish boccia players were taking part in their second day of the Boccia Camp.  In the morning session the players worked on a variety of tactics with emphasis on the use of angles to gain a competitive advantage. This was followed by a session on match play where players had the opportunity to practice with their playing partners for the team and pairs competition tomorrow,

The swimmers had their last day of training where coaches fine-tuned their starts in preparation for the competition starting on Friday at 1000.

We are looking forward to see all athletes, swimmers and boccia players in action today!

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) wants to understand the impact of sport and other physical activity on the lives of disabled people across Scotland.  To achieve this SDS is asking participants and athletes with a disability to complete a short questionnaire to share their views and experiences on how physical activity and sport has impacted on their day to day lives.

The questionnaire can be viewed via the link below:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/AthletesSurvey2018

Your support in completing this questionnaire is greatly appreciated and will assist us in gathering much needed information about what sport and other physical activity can do for disabled people.

The questionnaire should take around 10 minutes to complete and if you are aged under 16, please complete this questionnaire with your parent/carer. 

Another beautiful day in Sant Cugat and the boccia players were up bright and early to begin a 2 day boccia camp.  Players and support staff were involved in looking at various aspects of the technical game for example, analysis of throwing technique, positioning and throwing force. All players were active in the learning and took some great information to be used in the future.

Once again both swimming and athletics squads trained well in the morning and swimming had another training session later on in the day.  Two athletes were also seen for classification in the afternoon resulting in a long day which everyone handled well.

Technical meetings for swimming and athletics took place for coaches to keep them informed of the competition, any changes to the programme and have them an opportunity to ask questions.

CPISRA are also hosting the Proud Paralympian programme throughout the Games with various workshops for athletes to attend.  Some of the boccia squad took the opportunity this evening to listen to the inspirational speakers who were engaging and informative on the topics of Dual career and athlete wellbeing which were very worthwhile!

As part of the Games CPISRA held a General Assembly at the Exe Campus, Sant Cugat where all the international members met to discuss developments in CP Sport and the future direction of the organisation.  Following the business part of the meeting there was presentations on Wheelchair Slalom, RaceRunning and some of the research that has been taking place in the various universities.  In addition, CPISRA president, Peter Drysdale, provided an insight into the strategy of the organisation beyond the Games.

There was also time to network in our regions and Scotland had the opportunity to discuss key matters with the other European nations.  This was insightful and thought provoking as we considered the key priorities for CP sport and how best to work together.  The meeting ended on a high when CPISRA and the Asian Paralympic Committee signed a memorandum of understanding to work together for the benefit of CP athletes across the Asian nations.

It was clear to see that a lot of work has been done over the past couple of years and the future looks bright for the organisation.

After dinner at both accommodation sites everyone relaxed in preparation for tomorrow, after another successful days training.

Swimming have one last day of training, with the boccia players having day 2 of their camp! The athletics competition begins tomorrow (Thursday 9th August) with the following athletes competing:

• Abbie McInally – T37 100m
• Connaire McAlindon – F37 Shot put
• Gavin Drysdale – RR3 100m
• Lewis Clow – T37 Long Jump and 100m
• Nathan Blackie – T34 100m and 800m
• Ross Paterson – T38 100m
• Shelby Watson – T33 800m

The full schedule can be seen here.

Team Scotland had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the facilities at the CPISRA World Games and get their first training sessions under their belt, in all three sports.

Athletics and Swimming events are being held at the Centre d’Alt Rendiment (CAR) which is a high performance sports complex with World Class facilities, in the city of Sant Cugat.

The swimming squad and their coaches arrived at the facility first for a 9.30am training session, where coaches Jennifer Quinton and Andy Hemphill put the swimmers through their paces.  This allowed the swimmers to get used to their surroundings and enabled them to begin their preparations for the competition ahead.  Following the session, two of the swimmers were seen for International Classification, which is a major step in their International swimming careers.

The athletics squad and their coaches arrived at CAR for a 10am start.  After collecting and assembling equipment such as racing wheelchairs, throwing frames and race running bikes, the athletes began training at the track under the watchful eye of coaches Charlie Forbes, Pamela Robson and John Kinder.  The athletes coped well with a variety of stretches, drills and exercises in the excessive Catalan heat.

Following lunch at the venue, the athletes and the swimmers headed back to the hotels for some rest and recovery.

The boccia players had a more restful start to the day, as their first opportunity to access the Rambla del Celler facility, which has hosted many International Boccia Championships, was not until 3.00pm.  Due to the late start, the players and support staff explored the local area and enjoyed some Catalan culture.  National Coach, Andrinne Craig, prepared the players with a variety of stretches and training drills allowing the players to get used to the courts and the sports hall.  One of the major challenges for the players, will be overcoming the temperatures inside the hall.

After the team had dinner, transport arrived to take everyone to the Opening Ceremony at the La Guardinera facility.  Following a robust selection process, it was unanimously decided that Isaac Dunning (swimming) would lead Team Scotland into the arena as the official Flag Bearer.  The team were greeted with rapturous applause from an enthusiastic audience, and it was fantastic so many proud families and friends supporting.

The opening ceremony included a variety of acts with traditional Catalan dancing, a gymnastics display and a street dance display, followed by an inspirational address from multiple Paralympic medallist, Stephen Miller and local dignitaries.   The final act of the night was an impressive aerial dance and light display.

Tomorrow is another day of training for athletes and swimmers, whilst the boccia players begin a development camp.  The Games begin later this week.