Eight Scottish athletes travelled to Vichy in France to be part of the GB team for the Virtus Global Games, the largest event in the world for athletes with an intellectual impairment. 

The games opened on Sunday 4 June with the opening ceremony being held and Scottish Tennis player, Dominic Ianotti, selected to be the flag bearer for team GB. 

The sport competition started on Monday 4 June and much success was had by the Scots in the team.  

Swimming 

Ayrshire swimmer, Cerys McCrindle and teammates won silver in the II-2 4 x 100m Medley Relay event and a gold medal in the 4 x 200m free relay where Cerys swam a fantastic last leg of the race to bring home the medal. 

Athletics  

Sam Fernando put in a brilliant performance in the 3000m steeplechase to take silver in a time of 10.05.89, close to his PB. He also competed in the 5000m putting in a solid performance with a time of 16.22.02. Steven Bryce faced a top-class field in the 800m final running a highly respectable 2.01.12. He also competed in the 1500m, posting a time of 4.06.79 in the final. Matthew Power in his first international GB call-up posted two PBs; in the 100m semi-final he finished his race in fourth in a personal best of 11.40 to secure a place in the finals, where he had another strong run finishing fourth in 11.55. Matthew also managed a huge PB in his 200m heat with a time of 22.79 (down from 23.23) to secure a place in the final. 

Judo 

Scottish Judoka, Chris Murphy, was competing in the games and successfully retained his U81kg title. It was a tough day of competition for Chris as he faced mixed categories but brilliant to win gold in the U81kg category once again. 

Tennis 

Three tennis players took part in the Games, Dominic Ianotti, Luke Turnbull and Aidan Moody. Dominic Ianotti and Luke Turnbull won 3 gold and 2 bronze medals between them. Ianotti won Bronze in the II1 Singles and Gold in the mixed doubles tournament with partner Anna McBride, beating Australia’s Archie Graham and Kelly Wren. Ianotti and teammate Fabrice Higgins went on to win another 2 Gold medals in the Mens II2 Doubles and team event. Meanwhile Luke Turnbull and partner Olly Beadle won the bronze medal in the II2 Doubles competition. This was Aidan Moody’s first Global Games and he competed in the Singles II1, finishing in 9th position.

More information about the games and results can be found on the link below: 

Virtus Global Games 2023 | Vichy France (gg2023.org)

Athlete	Sport	Region
Steven Bryce	Athletics	Wishaw
Sam Fernando	Athletics	Fife
Matthew Power	Athletics	West Lothian
Cerys McCrindle	Swimming	Ayrshire
Chris Murphy	Judo	Drumchapel
Dominic Iannotti	Tennis	Preswick
Luke Turnbull	Tennis	East Lothian
Aidan Moody	Tennis	Glasgow

 

7^th place finish for Scots in Sardinia

The Scottish National Cerebral Palsy team competed in the IFCPF European Championships between the 2 and 11 June 2023 and finished in 7^th position. The countries involved in the Championships were: Ukraine, England, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Italy. Scotland faced a hard group with some of the best countries in the world and had 3 tough matches in the group stages of the tournament against Ukraine, Ireland and Germany. The team put in a great fight and showed great spirit during all games with the support of their coaches and medical team. Scotland finished bottom of Group B which meant they went on to play Netherlands who finished third in group A. Unfortunately Scotland lost that match 6-0 therefore went in to the 7/8 playoff against Italy. Scotland won this game 1-0 which resulted in a 7^th position finish. A huge well done to all the players, coaches and staff who contributed to the teams success in Sardinia. All Scotland results are below:

Scotland V Ireland (2 June) – 1 – 4

Scotland V Ukraine (4 June) – 2 – 8

Scotland V  Germany (6 June) – 1 – 4

Scotland V Netherlands (8 June) 0 – 6

7/8 play off Scotland V Italy – 1- 0

Tournaments – CP Football (ifcpf.com)

Players

Name	Home town
Barry Hunter	Greenock
Blair Glynn	Tranent
Christopher Moore	Cowie
Dean Thornton	Glasgow
James McAlpine	Glasgow
Jamie Kelly	Hamilton
Keiran Martin	Falkirk
Kerr Mackenzie	Paisley
Mark Robertson	Dalkeith
Martin Hickman	Glasgow
Matthew Wynne	Eaglesham
Sean Millership	Epsom

Staff

Name	Role	Home town
Greig Taylor	Head Coach	Bo’ness
Billy McAdam	Coach	Linlithgow
Craig Young	Coach	Armadale
Erin-Louise Robertson	Sport Scientist	Edinburgh
James Docherty	Coach	Greenock
Katie Scott	Physiotherapist	Motherwell
Kirsty Pitts	Physiotherapist	Glasgow

Scottish and Boccia UK player Jamie McCowan has announced his retirement from the sport.

Jamie and his mum Linda have been a huge part of the Scottish Boccia Squad over the years and have brought a wealth of knowledge, experience and fun to the team.

Jamie has played Boccia for 17 years, starting off as a BC4 before transitioning into the BC3 game. Over this time Jamie has competed at two Paralympic Games, reached number 2 in the World Rankings and won multiple medals at World Class Events. SDS is delighted that Jamie is one our of 4 Coaching Futures Apprentices and will still be involved in a coaching capacity with the Scottish Boccia Squad. We wish both Jamie and Linda all the best in their retirement.

Jamie McCowan retires — Boccia UK

Nominations are invited from those connected with SDS for the following awards that will be presented at the Annual General Meeting on Sunday 24^th September 2023 at the Stirling Court Hotel, Stirling. It is important that there is a clear indication why the individual/group is being nominated.

The Awards Panel will then meet to consider all applications and decide the winner for each category in advance of the presentations at the AGM on Sunday 24^th September 2023.

A list of former award winners can be seen on our website here: https://www.scottishdisabilitysport.com/sds-award-winners/

All nominations should be returned in confidence, before Friday 18^th August 2023, to admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

Alternatively the Awards Nomination Form can be completed online here: 2023 Scottish Disability Sport Annual Awards.

Awards Nomination Form 2023

The Virtus Games will take place 4-10 June 2023 in Vichy, France. The Virtus Global Games is the top level international competition for athletes with intellectual disabilities, Down Syndrome and Autism without intellectual disabilities. Over 1,000 athletes, 400 staff from over 80 countries will take part in this event.

Six Scottish athletes will represent Scotland across four sports: Athletics, Swimming, Judo and Tennis. The Opening Ceremony will take place on Sunday 4 June with the competition starting on Monday 5 June. The competition schedule can be found here:

Events programme | Global Games 2023 (gg2023.org)

The athletes who will represent Scotland are:

Name	Sport	Hometown
Steven Bryce	Athletics	Wishaw
Sam Fernando	Athletics	Fife
Matthew Power	Athletics	West Lothian
Cerys	McCrindle	Ayrshire
Chris Murphy	Judo	Drumchapel
Dominic Ioannotti	Tennis	Prestwick

More information on the games can be found here: Virtus Global Games 2023 | Vichy France (gg2023.org)

If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming involved in disability please contact us on 0131 317 1130 / admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

The Scotland National CP Football Team will kick off their IFCPF European Championship campaign against the Republic of Ireland in Sardinia on 2nd June.

The team travelled to Sardinia buoyed by their second place finish in last year’s IFCPF World Championships. The Scots have been drawn in a challenging group for the initial stages of the competition and will face Paralympic champions Ukraine and Germany.

The match fixtures for the group stage of the competition for Scotland are as follows:

• Scotland v Ireland, 2nd June, 3.30pm local time
• Scotland v Ukraine, 4th June, 9.30am local time
• Scotland v Germany, 6th June, 12.00 noon local time

All matches can be viewed through the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/@2023IFCPFeuropeanchampionships/streams

Players

Name	Home town
Barry Hunter	Greenock
Blair Glynn	Tranent
Christopher Moore	Cowie
Dean Thornton	Glasgow
James McAlpine	Glasgow
Jamie Kelly	Hamilton
Keiran Martin	Falkirk
Kerr Mackenzie	Paisley
Mark Robertson	Dalkeith
Martin Hickman	Glasgow
Matthew Wynne	Eaglesham
Sean Millership	Epsom

Staff

Name	Role	Home town
Greig Taylor	Head Coach	Bo’ness
Billy McAdam	Coach	Linlithgow
Craig Young	Coach	Armadale
Erin-Louise Robertson	Sport Scientist	Edinburgh
James Docherty	Coach	Greenock
Katie Scott	Physiotherapist	Motherwell
Kirsty Pitts	Physiotherapist	Glasgow

SDS would like to take the opportunity to wish the team every success throughout the competition.

If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming involved in CP football please contact us on 0131 317 1130 / admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

SportExcelUK is proud to announce the athletics team competing at the 2023 Virtus Global Games in Vichy, France 2nd to 11th June.

Sam Fernando (Fife, Steve Doig), Steven Bryce (Victoria Park, Glasgow, Steve Doig), Matthew Power (Livingston, Celia Peerless), Joel Mattacks (Bath, Phil Warwicker) and Faye Olszowka (Bexley, Coral Nourrice), are set to take Vichy by storm in what will be a tough world class event. The Team is led by GB Team Manager/Head Coach Steve Doig and supported by GB coach Kevin Manning with Liz Power (Escort).

In his Virtus (T/F20) international debut, Joel Mattacks said: “I’m honoured to be selected – we’ve been working for so long to get here so to have my first senior international GB call up at such a big Championships is huge, especially after having to miss last season through injury makes it even better.”

Joel Mattacks continues, “It’s been a long journey, with so many setbacks over the last 13 years since starting athletics and honestly, I could never have dreamed of being where I am now so am extremely grateful. I was never the quickest in the group when I joined at the start and am still far from where I want to be but the one thing I’ve had told to me all this time was that ‘hard work pays’, and that if you want something hard enough you’ve got to work for it.”

Steve Doig, GB Team Manager/Head Coach said: “It’s an honour to be asked to work alongside such a talented group of athletes. Each and every one of them makes a great commitment to the sport and their selection for this event is reward for the hours of work they have put in. I’m excited to see what they can achieve in Vichy.”

Tracey McCillen, Chief Executive, SportExcelUK said: “I couldn’t be more excited at our return to the Virtus Global Games. Sport was hit hard by the pandemic, and our athletes were amongst some of the hardest hit. To return to the elite stage with a strong GB Team to France really is a milestone. Good luck to each athlete, we did well in the 2019 Games in Brisbane, so I can’t wait to see the Brits in action again, not just in athletics but across a total of six sports!”

The Virtus Global Games is the world’s largest elite sports event for athletes with an intellectual impairment. Athletes from Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania will perform across ten main sports, with over 1200 athletes expected. Demonstration events are also included at every edition to reflect the most popular sports of the host nation that are not already on the Virtus programme.

Many athletes who have made their major international debut at the Global Games have gone on to win Paralympic titles. The event, hosted by the VIRTUS Member Organisation for France – the Fédération Française du Sport Adapté (FFSA) is scheduled every 4 years in the year ahead of the Paralympic Games.

British athletes will compete in the 2023 Global Games in athletics, para-dressage, judo, karate, swimming, and tennis. The team is presented by SportExcelUK in collaboration with Down Syndrome Swimming GB, British Judo Association, Lawn Tennis Association, and the British Karate Federation, with selection supported by Home Country NGBs in swimming and athletics.

SportExcelUK promotes, supports, and facilitates talented sports people in the UK to train, compete and excel in national and international sport. It is the only official Great Britain member of Virtus is responsible for and manages eligibility and classification across the UK and manages GB Teams to Virtus events.

SDS Regional Manager Gary McDonald attended the recent west open disability badminton tournament and had this to say about the great day supporting the participants:

“The West Disability badminton event at Scotstoun was a complete success! The whole day flowed very well, and it was great to see so many participants competing. I was very proud to represent SDS at the event and happy to support more badminton events in the near future.”

2023 West Open Disability Badminton Tournament: Round Up | Badminton Scotland | Play, Compete & Coach badminton in Scotland

SDS are delighted to work in partnership with Össur Academy mobility clinic. The event is being held in Glasgow Emirates arena on Saturday 24^th June from 10am-3pm. Any participants with a lower or upper absence can attend and is an excellent way to socialise with other people with an amputee. Please see the attached flyer to register and join the event.

Sign up flyer