Scottish Disability Sport were delighted to return to Dundee & Angus College for our 6th Tayside Parasport Festival on Wednesday 4th March where we welcomed a record number of attendees.
70 pupils with either a physical disability, visual or hearing impairment from 30 different schools across Tayside enjoyed a fun packed day of sport and physical activity. It is especially exciting to offer this opportunity during the Paralympic year as we look forward to Tokyo 2020 taking place between 25th August to 6th September where thousands of athletes from over 100 countries will compete and inspire the next generation of young people with a disability.
The Parasport Festival is designed to introduce pupils with a physical disability or visual or hearing impairment to try new and exciting sports. It has been identified that these groups are significantly under-represented when it comes to participating in weekly sport or physical activity.
Our event was supported by 24 sports coaching and development students from Dundee & Angus College who did a fantastic job encouraging and supporting the pupils throughout the day to ensure everyone felt at ease and participated to the best of their ability.
The day started with an introduction from Scottish Disability Sport Tayside Regional Manager Graeme Doig, followed by athlete talks with Nathanael Scott from Forthill Primary School and Gregor Anderson from Arbroath High School, who shared with their peers their sporting experiences and achievements at the Dundee Dragons Wheelchair Sports Club and previous Parasport Festivals to hopefully inspire and relax other pupils, especially those attending for the first time.
In the morning session, pupils enjoyed seven different sports including football delivered by coaches from Dundee United Community Trust, powerchair football from Tayside Dynamos, tennis from West End Tennis Club, badminton from Badminton Scotland, bowls from Balgay Bowling Club and curling from Scottish Curling. Pupils with a visual impairment also got a chance to play goalball which is a Paralympic sport specifically for people with a visual impairment and was great fun to be involved in.
The afternoon session included boccia from Leisure and Culture Dundee and Scottish Boccia, wheelchair sports with the fantastic coaches from Dundee Dragons and athletics from Dundee Hawkhill Harriers including a RaceRunning demonstration from Perth Strathtay Harriers athletes Matthew Doig and Wiktoria Mucha.
It was great to see so many pupils with smiles on their faces all day long learning new skills, increasing confidence and making new friends. The day also included a parent / teacher engagement workshop and guest tour involving regional and local councillors, sport, health and education officers who had the opportunity to watch everyone in action.
Thank you to all involved in the day especially the Celtic FC Foundation for supporting Scottish Disability Sport to make this festival happen.
For more information on disability sport in Tayside, please contact graeme.doig@scottishdisabilitysport.com.
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