This month has been pretty busy for me with a mixture of events. I competed in the SDS National Performance swimming championships and also the Scottish National Open Championships. I performed several decent performances at both these meets which seen me getting season bests, personal bests and also a couple of medals along the way. It was great to see a huge number of English para swimmers coming up to Scotland to compete at Scottish Nationals, this made it a real world class event, which is always great to compete at. It was also fun to catch up with friends who I won’t now see until after the Rio Paralympics – but I will definitely be shouting them on through my TV!
June also seen me complete my HND (Higher National Diploma) in Health, Fitness and Exercise at Forth Valley College. The few months beforehand had been pretty stressful completing my Graded Unit and getting the remainder of course work handed in, whilst also training and racing, but I managed and I am leaving with an overall A. It will be strange to not return to Forth Valley College after summer, as I have now been a student there for 5 years completing various courses. I have accepted an offer to Edinburgh Napier University and will entering year 3 of a Sport and Exercise Science degree. While my time in Stirling is now coming to a close, I am looking forward to a new adventure training and studying in Edinburgh.
Another highlight for me during June was the wheelchair sports extravaganza day held at Stirling University, this was the first event of its kind and seamed to be a major success. I was lucky enough to be volunteering at the event as part of the young persons sports panel. It was great to see children, and individuals of all ages and abilities, given the opportunity to try out and participate in a range on sports – from athletics, to table tennis, archery to wheelchair rugby. I managed to try out a couple of new sports myself . . . although I think I should stick to swimming!
Hope Gordon