Scottish Disability Sport would like to welcome the new office bearers in Grampian Disability Sport, South Lanarkshire Disability Sport and Glasgow Disability Sport branches.

Grampian Disability Sport appointed a new Chairperson, Len Ironside, in December 2016 after long serving Chair Pauline Stirling stood down. Len is doing a great job as Chair so far and we are delighted that Pauline is still an active member of the Grampian Disability Sport committee.

In March, South Lanarkshire Disability Sport welcomed new Chairperson Forbes Dunlop and Vice Chairperson David Condie. The previous Chairperson Millar Stoddard will also remain an active member of the committee after many years in the role.

Glasgow Disability Sport also elected four new committee members to their branch at their AGM in May and welcomed Talia Alexander, Jamie Moses, Julie Cuzens and James Hemingsley to the committee.

Huge thanks must go to both Pauline Stirling in Grampian and Millar Stoddart in South Lanarkshire for all their hard work, support, and dedication over many years.

All the new members bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to all three branches and Scottish Disability Sport look forward to working with you all.

Scotland had para bowls teams in the B2/B3 Mixed Pairs and B6/B7/B8 Open Triple at the 8 Nations and Para Sport Event at Broadbeach Bowls Club from 3 – 7 June 2016.  The event, which contributes to Commonwealth Games qualification, was vital in our preparations as it allowed ten of our leading players to compete against the best players in the world on the fast Australian surfaces.

Scotland had two teams in both the pairs and triples but one team from each was nominated to score the points, whilst the other competed in the round robin in non-scoring matches.  The importance of having two teams in the event cannot be underestimated as it allowed a wider pool of players to experience the conditions, whilst also competing for individual places in the Commonwealth Games team that will eventually be announced in November.

Following four intense days of training the coaches and selectors eventually settled on the teams that would compete and which of these would earn the points in the competition.

Visually Impaired Mixed Pair

Irene Edgar and director, David Thomas were selected to lead, whilst Robert Barr and director, Sarah Jane Ewing were selected to skip the B2/B3 Mixed Pair in the event.  This was the team that would collect the points for the nation.  In the other team, Maria Spencer and Billy Edgar were directed by Ron McArthur and Christine Morrow respectively.  The second team performed extremely well, winning three matches, which was matched by our first team.  When our two teams went head-to-head, it finished 18 – 11 in favour of Scotland one.

Scotland secured a second place finish in the group and a chance to play Australia Gold in the final.  Both players and directors were confident heading into the match, which they eventually lost 22 – 10 but it was a tighter match than the score suggests.  A silver medal is a great result in these conditions and finishing behind the Australia pair, who will go into next year’s Games as heavy favourites, is no mean feat.

The players, directors and coaches learned a lot from the two matches against their Australia counterparts, which will stand us in good stead heading into the Gold Coast Games in April next year.

Physically Disabled Open Triple

Barbara McMillan (Lead), Garry Brown (Second) and Mike Nicoll (Skip) were selected to play in the first Scotland team, whilst Billy Allan (Lead), John Wardrope (Second) and Michael Simpson (Skip) were named in the second team.  Prior to the competition the players were getting to grips with the conditions and the coaching staff were confident in the bowlers.  As it turned out the first team only managed to win one of their matches (against England) leaving Scotland to finish fifth, and outside the medal matches, but ahead of Malaysia who propped up the table.  Incidentally, our second team responded to the disappointment of missing out by performing excellently, winning four out of five matches.  Ironically, when our two teams went head-to-head in the competition, our first team ran out 18 – 8 victors!  Although there was clear frustrations with our finishing position, the coaching staff has learned a lot and the competition amongst players couldn’t be healthier.

The players head for a two day training camp at Musgrave Hill Bowling Club prior to returning Home on Sunday 11 June.

Scottish Disability Sport Performance Manager, Gary Fraser said:

“Overall the competition was an excellent experience and great preparation ahead of the Commonwealth Games next year.  We were fortunate to be able to enter two teams into the event, across both disciplines, which helps us enormously.  All the players had a chance to travel and play these conditions, which is unlike anything that can be found in Scotland.  We are obviously delighted with the performance of the B2/B3 Mixed Pair and the directors, and to deliver a silver medal is pleasing.  It was a mixed bag for the B6/B7/B8 Open Triple but we have learned a huge amount.  We head into a training camp on Thursday and Friday and we aim to make the most of our time playing on these greens, and refine things further.”

Shelby Watson was in action in the Paralympic Meet in Barcelona and was in superb form, too. In fact, the young Scot won both her races at 100m and 200m to once again confirm her potential.

The T33 wheelchair racer already holds five World Records and set two of them in the same event in Spain last year.

Scotland’s Sammi Kinghorn left her opponents in her wake to set a 200m T53 World Record at Mesa, Arizona. The Rio Paralympian, 21, raced home in 28.67 seconds to knock a remarkable 0.26 seconds off the record set by US racer Jessica Galli five years ago.

It was a superb performance by the wheelchair racer from the Borders who is coached by Ian Mirfin.

Kinghorn, who won 200m T53 bronze at the 2015 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, demonstrated that she will be a force to be reckoned with at the World Para Athletics Championships in London later this summer with that performance. She also led from the front to win the 800m in 1.52.05. By the end of the meet, Sammi had five gold medals to her name with wins in a further three events.

She took the 100m in 16.63 which was into a headwind and only 100th outside her own European record. In the 1500m, Sammi won a tactical race against T54 athletes in 3.35.53, opening up a four-second gap in the last 200m. Her 55.32 time in the 400m was only five hundredths outside her own European record.

Sammi then moved on to compete at the Daniela Jutzeler Meet in Arbon, Switzerland, where she was once again in superb form. The young Scot set a 100m European record with a win in 16.21 and that time was just 0.02 outside the World Record and the second fastest of all time in her classification. Then, in the 400m, Sammi set another European record of 53.72 in second place in the race for the second fastest of all time (and inside the previous WR).

Sammi can’t stop setting records at the moment and she clocked another European best in the T53 800m in 1.47.60 at the Swiss Champs with a great performance.

That followed victories in Arbon again, when the Paralympian won the 100m T53/T54 overall in 16.38 and 400m T53/T54 overall in 54.08. She finished third in the T53/T54 1500m heat in a new Scottish record of 3.26.35.

There were also PBs for young Scots athletes Luke Deighan, Sean Frame and Kyle Brotherton at this event.

Many congratulations to Sammi, her family and coach Ian Mirfin, on a really strong start to the season ahead of London.

Injury has ruled Libby Clegg out of the World Para Athletics Championships in London this summer. Unfortunately, double Rio sprint champion Libby sustained a calf injury earlier this week and will not recover in time for July.

Alongside her guide runner, Chris Clarke, Clegg secured great success in 2016, winning the T11 100m and 200m titles at the Paralympic Games in Rio and setting world records in both events.

‘It is with a mixture of emotions that I have to announce that due to injury, I will be unable to compete at this year’s World Para Athletics Championships in London,’ said the 27-year-old Scot, a gold medallist at Glasgow 2014.

‘I sustained a calf injury during a training session this week and have been advised by the medical team at British Athletics that it will be impossible for me to recover in time for the championships.

‘I am still going through the various emotions of disappointment and frustration as despite the setback of my guide runner, Chris, picking up an Achilles injury earlier this year, I felt training was going really well and couldn’t wait to return to London as double Paralympic Champion.’

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) is the recognised governing body for para bowls in Scotland and is preparing for the 8 Nations & Para Sport Event at Broadbeach Bowls Club in Australia from the 3 – 7 June 2017.  This event is essential in the qualification process for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

A team of ten players and four directors have been selected to represent Scotland in the Mixed Pair B2/B3 and Open Triple B6/B7/B8 events and these players will be supported by four coaches.  Scotland will have two teams competing across both disciplines.  The players will be tested further at the subsequent training camp that has been arranged at Musgrave Hill Bowls Club, which is also on the Gold Coast.

Commenting on the event, SDS Performance Manager Gary Fraser said:

“SDS are delighted to announce a strong field of players to compete at the Gold Coast Para-Sport Lawn Bowls Competition.  Selection decisions were extremely difficult but we feel the group has a good blend of youth, experience and a strong sense of team unity, which is vital for the pairs and triples disciplines. We look forward to the event with great enthusiasm and are confident that the players can put in the performances required. They have worked extremely hard over the past two months, competing in various competitions, to reach this stage.”

Scottish Disability Sport will travel to Gold Coast with Bowls Scotland’s High Performance Squad, which will provide a great opportunity for the full squad to blend ahead of the Commonwealth Games in April next year.

Open Triples B6/B7/B8

Mixed Pair B2/B3

Directors

Coaches

Paisley’s Martin Perry delivered a Bronze medal in the Class 6 Team event at the 2017 World Para Team Championships in Slovakia.  Perry, along with team mates, Paul Karabardak and David Wetherill reached the semi-final stages, eventually losing to Croatia.

This is another milestone for the Drumchapel Table Tennis Club pupil and more information can be found on the British Table Tennis Association for the Disabled website:
http://www.bttad.org/

Rio Paralympic gold medallist and reigning Wimbledon champion Gordon Reid made history again on Sunday, becoming the first Brit to win the men’s singles title at the Japan Open in Iizuka to cement his return to the top of the wheelchair tennis world rankings.

Reid will become world No.1 for the third time when this week’s rankings are published after winning his second title at Super Series level, the top tier of wheelchair tennis tournament outside of the Grand Slams.

The 25-year-old beat world No. 5 Nicolas Peifer of France 7-6(3), 6-1 in Sunday’s final, which was Reid’s second in Iizuka after also finishing runner-up in 2015.

After defeating world No. 8 Maikel Scheffers in the quarter-finals, second seed Reid made it back-to back victories over former Japan Open champions when he beat Argentina’s world No. 4 Gustavo Fernandez in the semi-finals. Reid beat Fernandez 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach one of three finals in Iizuka for players on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis World Class Programme.

The British No.1 went into this year’s Japan Open just 30 points behind Stephane Houdet of France at the top of the rankings. But securing his place in the semi-finals for the second straight year proved to be the key result for Reid’s return to world No.1, as Peifer beat defending champion Houdet in the other semi-final before Reid signed off in style with victory in Sunday’s final.

“I’m very happy to be coming home with the title and regaining my place at the top of the singles rankings,” said Reid, who also partnered Alfie Hewett to their third Super Series doubles final of 2017 before they finished runners-up to top seeds Houdet and Peifer.

“This is my first Japan Open title and only my second Super Series title, so it’s one I am very proud of. I felt I improved my level throughout the week and produced my best tennis at the important points in the final to clinch the match.

“My performances in Japan have given me a good confidence boost looking ahead to the summer Grand Slams.”

Reid first became world No.1 after winning September’s historic all-British men’s singles gold medal match against Hewett at the Rio Paralympics.

He remained at the top for three weeks and then regained the position in December when beating Houdet in his penultimate match of the season, in the semi-finals of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters in London.

Reid therefore became the first Brit to earn the men’s singles year-end world No. 1 ranking and become ITF Wheelchair Tennis World Champion. Reid is due to receive his ITF World Champion’s award in Paris next month.

Photo courtesy of the Tennis Foundation

Aviemore was the venue last month, for the seventeenth annual Disability First Shinty Festival which saw Abercorn School from Glasgow emerge as winners.

7 teams and 5 schools from Inverness, Oban, Perth Glasgow and North Ayrshire enjoyed coaching from qualified shinty coaches and games throughout the two day event which culminated in a tournament.

The tournament was played on a round robin format with all 7 teams playing each other once, with the top 2 teams making it through to the final.

The round robin league was extremely competitive with some excellent play and great goals scored throughout the day.

Abercorn School from Glasgow topped the group on maximum points with record holders Drummond clinching second place, two points behind Abercorn.

The final, surprisingly was a one side encounter with defending champions Abercorn proving too strong for their Inverness opponents Drummond, running out convincing winners by 6 goals to nil.

Camanachd Association President Jim Barr and Rosemary and Aaron Macphee presents t-shirts and medals to all the players and coaches.

Camanachd Association Youth Director, Willie MacDonald, said: “This is one of the most rewarding events we hold annually as we are bringing together children who don’t get many opportunities to compete in shinty. The event grows in popularity each year so I hope we build on this success for next year”.

Festival organiser and Regional Development Manager, Ronald Ross, said: “I would like to thank our festival sponsors the Celtic FC Foundation ‘Inspiring Sport’ programme and the MacPhee Family for their support of this hugely enjoyable event.”

Scottish Disability Sport CEO, Gavin Macleod, said: “Congratulations to the Cammanachd Association on another successful Disability First Shinty Festival and well done to all the schools, coaches and players who participated.”

Pictured is the Abercorn School captain with the trophy, his teammates and other competitors. Also in the picture is Rosemary and Aaron MacPhee.