By William Moncrieff, Communications Officer 

Dundee and Angus College hosted the SDS Tayside Parasport Festival on Wednesday 6th March and it proved to be a huge success, once again. Participants, coaches, parents and attending partners all had an amazing day experiencing firsthand how sport has the ability to influence and change lives. 

One parent, Lynne Donaldson, who attended with her 12-year-old daughter, had her first experience at a Parasport Festival. Lynne remarked: “It has been a really good experience for both of us to meet other individuals who take part in disability sport and to have the opportunity to try a range of sports.” 

This was an opinion that Jenny Moffet, another parent, shared: “If you didn’t have Festivals like this, there just wouldn’t be a chance to meet so many people, have fun and make friends, as well as getting stuck into the physical activity and trying things that they wouldn’t have the opportunity to try.” 

Graeme Doig, the Regional Development Manager for Tayside, found the day to be very rewarding.  “We’ve all enjoyed another wonderful Parasport Festival in Tayside and it was great to see so many children with smiles on their faces all day long learning new skills, increasing confidence and making new friends,” Graeme said. 

The Parasport Festival saw 54 young children with physical disabilities, visual impairments and hearing loss arrive at Dundee and Angus College to take part in a day packed with fun and activity. With the festival being held at the college there was an opportunity for sports students to attend as assistants and helpers for the day. Lauren Simpson, the Active Campus Coordinator, said, “It’s really important to offer our college students the opportunity to work with a variety of people. 

“It enhances their experiences as coaches, it means that they have the opportunity to adapt and work with people with different abilities and make it more inclusive.”  

Along with providing opportunities to develop the students, the day is also rewarding for them. “A lot of what will come back from the students is the relationships that they have built with the young people. It’s been fun and personalised and they’ve had fun and played with them and actually that has been such a lovely by product of the day,” Lauren said. 

The Parasport Festival had multiple Sport Governing Bodies attending, which helped provide the participants with a positive first impression of the sports. Rodger Holmes, Development Manager from Paddle Scotland, was part of the delivery team on the day and said: “We have supported the festivals a lot over the years and it’s always great to see how excited the youngsters are to take part.”  

Rodger added, “It’s always great to highlight our sport, people don’t necessarily always get to try paddle sport in their daily lives, so if we can give them a bit of an opportunity that’s brilliant.”  

This opportunity to try a range of sports in one place, is something that Jenny Moffet believes to be a big bonus for participants. “His (Jeny’s son) ideas of what he would like to do and what he would like to try are changing all the time, so it’s just completely brilliant to have the opportunity to be at a Festival like this.” 

The 2025 SDS Parasport Festivals are partnership events, generously supported by the Motability Scheme. Charlotte Januszewski from the Motability Scheme’s communications team was in attendance and said: “Really enjoying being here today on behalf of the Motability Scheme, so thank you very much to Scottish Disability Sport for having us. It’s been awesome to see all the different types of sports that everyone can get involved with and have lots of fun. I think everyone has been smiling a lot.” 

Along with attending the Parasport Festival, the Motability Scheme are able to showcase their organisation and how they can help make lives more accessible through travel. “It’s spreading awareness about what the Motability Scheme can offer, so making sport more accessible in Scotland by breaking down barriers for people when they are accessing more sports and going to new locations,” Charlotte explained. 

Along with partners and governing bodies, various local authorities attended the festival. David McLeish from Angus Active Schools was there and said: “It’s amazing. It makes us think every year about what we can do to help get more children and families involved.” 

He continued to say that: “School settings can only do so much. You want the children and young people to take things out into the community, it can often be the starting point for young children and their families to come to this event. For me, that is what is so special about this and why it is so important that we all do our part to get individuals along to days like this.” 

Graeme Doig agreed with this, explaining how important the partnership element of the event is. He said, “Sport really is for everyone. Along with our partner clubs in the region, we have demonstrated that with the right support and small adaptations, anyone can give it a go and hopefully find a new passion in sport.”  

If you would like to explore what sporting opportunities there are throughout your region, contact your Regional Development Manager. If you have enjoyed reading about the Parasport Festivals, make sure to have a look at the SDS website, with registration still being open for several Parasport Festivals. 

Make sure to stay up to date on all opportunities throughout Scotland, by following Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, X and Instagram, as well as on the SDS website.

By William Moncrieff, Communication Coordinator

Nicky MacNeil has been a regular referee in the boccia circuit, especially after completing her level three qualification. One of her favourite aspects of the sport is the friendships that she has built along the way. 

“Everybody is there to create a good atmosphere. They say it’s like a family, but it really is like a family”, said Nicky.  

Having been involved in the boccia community for a number of years, Nicky (aged 56) summed up how she feels about the social aspect: “They say friends are the family we make for ourselves and I always enjoy spending time with my boccia family.” 

The term ‘boccia community’ can be mentioned a lot and Nicky believes it to be so unique because, “everybody is there because they want to be, they are so supportive.”  

Nicky first got in to boccia when her son Ross, went to a ‘have a go’ boccia day. After an introduction to the sport, Ross caught the boccia bug and he began playing regularly.  

As Ross is a BC3 player, Nicky’s husband/Ross’s father, is his ramp operator. This was when Nicky first noticed the social impact of the sport. “I just really enjoyed it, I got to meet people that were there, we all got chatting,” Nicky said. 

She then decided to take the first step towards becoming an official. “My husband decided to go and do his level one referee course to learn a little bit more and I thought I might come and do that with him.”  

Since completing her level one, Nicky hasn’t looked back. “Things have just gone from there; I have now refereed the UK Championships and [referred] in Northern Ireland.” 

Through these opportunities, Nicky has: “met so many lovely people. I’ve met a lot of people, people who are now friends.” 

A great enjoyment for Nicky is seeing athletes and participants develop. “It’s [a great joy] watching them progress. You watch players when they first start and you are trying to explain rules to them as they are playing, then they are in competitions and you see the progression in them,” Nicky said. 

Nicky has also found new opportunities to work alongside other officials. “Now that I am a level three referee, I like helping newer referees. This then helps build my skills and knowledge because I am helping them progress,” remarked Nicky. 

Nicky believes that there won’t ever be a dull day as a referee, partly due to the variety referees find from week to week. “You could be doing a wee local competition where you’re refereeing for the learning disability guys, then the next week you could be at the UK Championships where you are refereeing a Paralympic gold medallist. The diversity of who you are refereeing is amazing,” she said. 

A further time that Nicky has found the social benefits of boccia, was when she was doing the boccia training and qualifications. “I went through my level three with people like Ling [Mann] and Sam [Thompson] and that is really nice, you have the support and the people around to bounce stuff off of,” she commented. 

Along with making life-long friends with refereeing colleagues, Nicky has managed to build new bonds and relationships with different members of the community. “Athletes now run up to you when you walk into the hall to tell you something that has happened since the last time that they saw you.”  

“The parents of the athletes will now walk up and have a chat, it’s just so nice,” 

Despite her busy schedule, Nicky also finds time to work with and help develop athletes. “I also now support one of the UK players, Fiona Muirhead, who plays for Boccia UK.”  

This work has found Nicky travelling overseas: “I have gone out to the European Championships to support her through the competition. I have also been to Canada with her. This has all come through meeting her through boccia. It’s great for me. You’re there in a different scenario as you’re there with the players and it’s all about getting the players prepped.” 

Nicky continued to say, “For me though, I’m there at an international competition watching international referees, so I get to watch the people that I aspire to be like.”  

If you would be interested in finding out more about how to get involved in boccia, you can do so by reaching out to your Regional Development Manager. This manager will be able to provide you with information on local opportunities to get involved as a volunteer, coach, official or player. 

Alternatively, you can contact SDS’s Boccia Development Officer, Jonathan Kennedy by email: jonathan.kennedy@scottishdisabilitysport.com.  

Make sure to stay up to date on all opportunities throughout Scotland, by following Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, X and Instagram, as well as on the SDS website.