Saturday 6^th and Sunday 7^th August saw Scotland’s Under 23 Wheelchair Basketball squad face off against Wales and Northern Ireland in the Celtic Cup. After a hard-fought four games, Scotland came away with a well-earned gold.

Tayside residents Gemma Lumsdaine and Ben Leitch were part of this triumphant win for Scotland.

After a dedicated period of strength and conditioning work, Gemma maintained her established place within Scotland’s team. Gemma dedicates her spare time to progressing the sport of wheelchair basketball and recently featured on the Young Women’s Movement 30 under 30 in Scotland.

When asked about their Celtic Cup victory, Gemma said “Playing as part of the Scotland U23 squad was an incredible privilege. Each game was tough but we worked hard and played as a team.”

Ben Leitch triumphantly earned himself a spot as a reserve for this year’s Celtic Cup squad at the age of 14. Ben answered his country’s call when a last minute injury left the squad down a player. A fantastic opportunity and experience for Ben.

Both Gemma and Ben will be competing for their country at the British Wheelchair Basketball Championships alongside Tayside wheelchair basketballers Murran Mackay and Blair Marshall. Ben and Gemma will also feature in the highly anticipated School Games this September in Loughborough.

Archery GB is the recognised Governing Body for archery in the UK. It has a rapidly growing membership, a full calendar of competitions up and down the country, a strong volunteer workforce and over 1,000 clubs supported through a county and regional structure. Employees based in Lilleshall, Shropshire, provide membership services, help clubs to develop, deliver talent pathways and support our performance teams and archers. At a European and World level, our archers regularly win medals – both youth and senior and also able-bodied and disabled. Archery was seen as one of the most outstanding spectator experiences at the Olympics in 2012 and the European Championships was successfully held in the UK in 2016.

Following a governance review, Archery GB has moved from an executive Board to a strategic skills-based Board. It is seeking to recruit two additional Independent Directors (from without its membership) to lead on Nomination and Audit & Risk. You will be part of four Independent Directors, eight other Elected Directors (from within the membership) and the Chief Executive who form the Board.

Job Description

A full job description is available at http://www.archerygb.org/documents_governance.php in the Vacancies folder.

How to apply

Please send your CV and letter of application by email to nominations@archerygb.org  stating your area or areas of interest (Nominations and/or Audit & Risk). Requests for informal/confidential discussions can also be sent to this email address.

Important Dates

Closing Date: 22 August 2016

Interview Date: 3 September 2016, Central London

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archery GB is the trading name of the Grand National Archery Society, a company limited by guarantee no. 1342150 Registered in England.

British Blind Sport have been working in partnership with Scottish Disability Sport in order to distribute First Steps packs across Scotland.

The First Steps packs are free activity packs for children with a visual impairment, containing a jingle ball, activity booklet, reward chart, pump and balloon.

The aim of the First Steps packs is to encourage children with a visual impairment across Scotland to take part in more physical activity and sport. The project has seen a phenomenal amount of support from organisations such as Blind Children UK, RNIB Scotland and Visibility. Former Paralympic judoka and bronze medallist Ben Quilter has shown his support of the project on Twitter.
There are currently 54 children with a visual impairment signed up to the project and interest and publicity in First Steps is growing. This week was a momentous time for British Blind Sport which saw the dispatch of packs to these children across Scotland. British Blind Sport are excited to find out whether First Steps makes a tangible difference through sport in Scotland.
With the project running until the end of October, there is still time to sign up for your free First Steps pack. To find out more, please contact Jennifer Scally on 0131 317 1130 or firststeps@britishblindsport.org.uk.

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) joined forces with Short Breaks fund, Wheelpower and Celtic FC Foundation to run a 4 day residential sports summer camp for 40 young people with a physical or sensory impairment – which included 25 wheelchair users. The aim of the camp is to introduce participants to a range of activities in a fun, active and safe environment.

All participants have been signposted to local activity and will receive a follow-up after 6 months to determine what activity they have accessed following the camp.

All sessions were led by qualified coaches currently involved in the Scottish Disability Sport programme and supported by SDS staff and a raft of skilled volunteers, including this year Colin Hardie and Kieron McAneny from Celtic FC Foundation who brought a high level of enthusiasm and coaching expertise to proceedings and ensured the participants were engaged and tested throughout.

Kieron said: “On behalf of Celtic FC Foundation Colin and I found this whole experience exceptional. The opportunity to work with such motivated and dedicated young people is inspirational. We sincerely hope this y between Celtic FC Foundation and SDS will continue to flourish as these experiences are invaluable for both volunteers and young people.”

The young people were divided into three teams for all activities which included adapted cycling, archery, water sports in the beautiful surroundings of Loch Insh and a magnificent expedition around the shores of the atmospheric Loch an Eilean. The youngsters also had opportunities to complete significant tasks working collaboratively to achieve a successful outcome in various team building activities.

At the end of the camp the participants enjoyed a final lunch with the new friends they had made over the duration of the camp and winning team was announced following the readings of the limericks the teams were tasked with making up over the course of the expedition.

The feedback from participants and parents has been universally positive and the participants gained so much from the venue and the activities on offer. The participants who use wheelchairs saw their chair skills greatly improve and many of them can now appreciate what is possible and some stated that through the expedition they achieved beyond what they originally thought they were capable of prior to the camp.

The camp organiser Mark Gaffney, Events Manager for SDS, said: “We are indebted to Short Breaks fund, Wheelpower and Celtic FC Foundation for their continued sport of the SDS Summer Camp. The young people have gained confidence and competence across a number of areas which will benefit them hugely in pursuing sport and physical activity at a recreation, development or performance level. They’ve also had to learn to work collectively to achieve a common goal. The element of competition between the three teams ensures that each individual works to their maximum potential. Every individual has learnt a new skill or had a new experience and this is in thanks in no small part to the support we receive from Wheelpower.”

 

Some feedback from parents and staff:

“She had a great time, was really well looked after and enjoyed the activities & the company of the other kids and adults. Big thumbs up!”

“She loved it. She was desperate to come next year.”

“This is a fantastic event for all children involved. It not only offers my child a great opportunity to try new sports and push their limits offers respite with the knowledge my child is having a fantastic time. The camp allows my child to build relationship with a wide range of people and boast his confidence. I really cannot praise the camp enough, thank you everyone for organising and volunteering, you do a fantastic job!”

“The kids love it, from the moment we collect him he starts talking about next year’s camp.”

Photos from the camp are available at our facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/scottishdisabilitysport/photos

UK sport has launched a new campaign to find the next generation of World Class para athletes called #DiscoverYour ParaPotential.  The initiative is aimed at is aimed at talented male and females who are interested in trialling for a once in a lifetime opportunity to become part of Britain’s sporting elite in para sports. This campaign is targeting:

• Male and female athletes aged over 15 years old.
• Belief that they have what it takes to become a future medallist at a World Class level in a para sport.
• Have an ‘Eligible Impairment’ (see https://www.paralympic.org/classification or more information)

There are numerous para sports recruiting for new athletes including Para-Athletics, Para-Swimming, Para-Cycling, Disability shooting, Para-Rowing, Para-Canoe, Powerlifting, Para-Archery, Visually Impaired Judo, Para-Triathlon, Disability Table Tennis, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Wheelchair Tennis, Boccia and Para-Taekwondo.

A registration form is available on www.uksport.gov.uk/talent

For more information please contact UK Sport on talent@uksport.gov.uk

Discover Your ParaPotential FAQ

The Scottish Disability Sport para bowlers competed at the Bowls Scotland National Championships 2016 at Northfield, Ayr over the weekend.  The growth of our programme over the past 12 months has meant that we have more players competing allowing us to invite 16 players over three sections, including the B6, B7/8, as well as an open female class.

In what was a fully inclusive event the standard of play was exceptional over the two days.  The preliminary rounds on the Saturday saw the B6 and B7/8 players share a green with the women’s international players, which produced some great matches.  In the B6 class, Gary Clelland was pushed all the way by Ian Donaldson, coming from behind to progress 18-16, once the 2 hour game time limit had been reached. In the other B6 match, George Guthrie beat Fraser Mathieson 21-13.  The B7/8 class saw experienced Michael Simpson beat John Wardrope and in the other match in this class, newcomer, Brendan Handling defeated Derek Hartley in a closely contested tie.

The semi-finals were played on green A with each rink occupied by the para bowlers, in addition, the match between B7/8 players Garry Brown and Brendan Handling was shown on the live stream.  The match saw Handling coming out on top 21-13 to progress to Sundays final.  In the other B7/8 semi-final, last year’s champion Michael Simpson was defeated by Ian Brown 21-20, in a very closely fought match.  The B6 semi-final 1 was contested by experienced campaigner Billy Allan against George Guthrie, in which Allan prevailed 21-17.  In the other semi-final, Gary Cleland was beaten convincingly 21-8 by Mike Nichol.

The semi-finals saw the first matches in the Open Female section with Rosemary Lenton playing Tracy Black and Barbara McMillan playing Mary Wilson.  Both matches were extremely tight from start to finish, with Black coming out on top 21-19 against an experienced Lenton.  Wilson defeated McMillan 19-18 following the match reaching the designated 2 hour time restriction.

The finals were played on Sunday 31 July at the same time as the Bowls Scotland finals, meaning para bowls would be showcased to the packed Northfield arena.  In the B6 encounter, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games bowler Billy Allan found himself up against Mike Nichol, who had an outstanding semi-final.  The match was an interesting encounter in which Mike Nicoll, prevailed 21-12.  The B7/8 final was contested by newcomers to para bowls Brendan Handling and Ian Brown and finished in the same score line as that of the B6 match; 21-12 in favour of Brendan Handling.  The Open Female final between newcomer Mary Wilson and more experienced Tracy Black was a more straightforward affair with Black exhibiting a convincing performance as she prevailed 21-5.  Wilson will undoubtedly learn from her experience and will aim to return next year in a stronger position.

Results

B6 Final
Gold: Mike Nichol (Jedburgh)
Silver: Billy Allan (Cowdenbeath)

B7/8 Final
Gold: Brendan Handling (Stranraer)
Silver: Ian Brown (Kilbirnie)

Open Female
Gold: Tracy Black (Alloa)
Silver: Mary Wilson (Edinburgh)

Scottish Disability Sport have a strong programme and events calendar in all formats of the game and are always on the search for new players and coaches to join our para bowls programme.  Anyone interested in finding out more should contact the SDS head office on 0131 317 1130 or admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

 

Andy Lapthorne, Jordanne Whiley and Gordon Reid all booked their places in the semi-finals at the British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships in Nottingham on a rain-affected day at Nottingham Tennis Centre. The trio all came through tests in their quarter-finals on a good day for the Brits.

Wimbledon champion Reid faced Stefan Olsson, who he had beaten just over two weeks ago to claim his historic title at SW19. After a close first set the world No.2 stepped up the pace in the second to power to a 7-5, 6-3 win. He will now face Belgium’s Joachim Gerard for a place in the final.

“The first set was tough and it was tight, I was glad to get that one under my belt and then I upped my game in the second set,” said Reid. “Stefan is a tough opponent, we had a good battle at Wimbledon recently in the singles, but that didn’t have much bearing on today, it’s a different surface and a different game on hard. I’m really pleased to be through to the semi-finals.”

There was more good news for Britain as Wimbledon champions Reid and Alfie Hewett moved into the semi-finals, defeating the Swedish pairing of Olsson and Dan Wallin 6-4, 6-4. They will play third seeds Frederic Cattaneo and Michael Jeremiasz in the semi-finals.

Photo courtesy of the Tennis Foundation

Gordon Reid continued to carry British hopes in the men’s singles at the British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships when he moved into the quarter-finals at Nottingham Tennis Centre on Wednesday. Wimbledon Champion Reid overcame a second set dip against Takuya Miki of Japan to win in straight sets 6-0, 7-5 to set up a rematch of his Wimbledon final against Stefan Olsson.

“I’m glad to get the win, I dropped off in that second set when he stepped up his level but I was able to step it up and close it out in two sets. Miki is a tough opponent as he proved in that second set. But I found a way to win it which is pleasing,” said Reid.

“The wind made it a bit more difficult today so I had to adjust my game accordingly. I’m looking forward to playing doubles tomorrow with Alfie (Hewett) and picking up where we left off at Wimbledon. We also won here last year which was our first Super Series title together and since then we’ve grown as a partnership, so I’m hoping we can do the same this week.”

Aside from Reid it was a tough day for his fellow Brits with some close losses in doubles. Nottinghamshire based David Phillipson paired up with his intended Rio 2016 partner Marc McCarroll. The duo went down narrowly in a final set tie-break against French third seeds Michael Jeremiasz and Frederic Cattaneo.

With Jeremiasz and Cattaneo having doubles gold and silver medals between them from the last two Paralympics, Phillipson and McCarroll were edged out 6-2, 5-7 7-6(2).

“We played some good tennis and in some patches we were just too inconsistent,” said Phillipson. “We’ve both been coming back from injury so bearing that in mind to go to a final set tie-break with them was positive. It’s a nice confidence boost before Rio and with a few weeks training to get even sharper together, hopefully we can do something special in Rio.”

The second day of men’s singles competition saw South Africa’s Evans Maripa upset Argentina’s Roland Garros champion and fifth seed Gustavo Fernandez 6-2, 6-4.

While there was little hint of an upset in any of the other singles matches, London 2012 bronze medallists Jordanne Whiley and Lucy Shuker threatened to dethrone Dutch top seeds Jiske Griffioen and Aniek van Koot on the opening day of the women’s doubles. However, Grififoen and van Koot prevailed 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Photo courtesy of the Tennis Foundation

 

 

The British Paralympic Association (BPA) today announced that 41 athletes have been added to the line-up for track and field in Rio as a number of Paralympic, World and European medallists were selected to ParalympicsGB.

Among them were 4 Scots, who will join Jo Butterfield (F51) and Maria Lyle (T35) who were named in the first round of athletics selections.  Sammi Kinghorn (T53) Wheelchair Racer, Stef Reid (T44) sprinter and long jumper, Derek Rae (T46) marathon runner and 2 times Paralympian, Libby Clegg, who has recently been reclassified and now competes wearing a blindfold in the T11 classification.

Libby Clegg will compete at her third Games in Rio, and her first with guide Chris Clarke. Crowned Commonwealth Champion in 2014, Libby had to miss a number of major competitions this cycle through illness and injury. She was reclassified as a T11 sprinter earlier this year and went on to set a world record in the T11 200m at Saturday’s IPC Athletics Grand Prix Final, the same venue where she won silver in 2012.

Clegg said: “I’m delighted to be selected for my third Paralympic Games. It’s been a whirlwind of a journey since London after a number of injuries but it’s great to come through the other side and be a part of a really strong ParalympicsGB team heading out to Rio.

“Having changed classification recently, Saturday’s performance in London was beyond our wildest expectations. However, we are now focused to getting amongst the medals and we can’t wait to get going.”

Clarke added: “This is a totally new experience for me and a complete learning curve. To be able to go to a major Games is a dream come true and we are going into Rio with a lot of confidence.”

Scottish disability Sport wish all 6 selected Scots all the best at the Games.

Today’s announcement takes the number of selected athletes to 256 from 19 sports.

Selected athletes are:

Kare Adenegan
Home town: Coventry
Main training base: Warwick University

Graeme Ballard
Home town: Chorley
Main training base:  Robin Park Wigan

Olivia Breen
Home town: Liphook
Main training base: Lee Valley London

Mickey Bushell
Home town: Telford
Main training base: Telford / London

Richard Chiassaro
Home town: Harlow
Main training base: Mark Hall Sports Centre, Harlow

Chris Clarke (guide to Libby Clegg)
Home town: Milton Keynes
Main training base: Loughborough

Libby Clegg (guided by Chris Clarke)
Home town: Newcastleton / Bollington
Main training base: Loughborough

Kadeena Cox
Home town: Leeds
Main training base: Manchester

Vanessa Daobry
Home town: Haringey, London
Main training base: Lee Valley Athletics Centre

Kyron Duke
Home town: Cwmbran
Main training base: Welsh Institute of Sport / Uwic Cyncoed

Sabrina Fortune
Home town: Mold
Main training base: Wrexham / Deeside

Toby Gold
Home town: Thames Ditton
Main training base: Kingsmeadow Athletics Track

Dan Greaves
Home town: Loughborough
Main training base: Loughborough

Kylie Grimes
Home town: Farnham
Main training base: Lee Valley Athletics Centre

David Henson
Home town: Southampton
Main training base: Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth

Claire Harvey
Home town: Gillingham
Main training base: Ashford, Kent

Jordan Howe
Home town: Cardiff
Main training base: Loughborough University

Abbie Hunnisett
Home town: East Grinstead
Main training base: The Welsh Institute of Sport

Mo Jomni
Home town: London
Main training base: Kingston

Jade Jones
Home town: Middlesbrough
Main training base: Middlesbrough

Rhys Jones
Home town: Tonypandy
Main training base: Cardiff

Sophie Kamlish
Home town: Bath
Main training base: University of Bath

Samantha Kinghorn
Home town: Gordon
Main training base: Glasgow

Simon Lawson
Home town: Maryport
Main training base: Maryport / Carlisle

Nathan Maguire
Home town: Chester
Main training base: Liverpool

Polly Maton
Home town: Devizes
Main training base: Bath

Stephen Miller
Home town: Cramlington
Main training base: Gateshead

Steven Morris
Home town: Cardiff
Main training base: UWIC Cardiff

Holly Neill
Home town: Dorchester
Main training base: Yeovil College

Stephen Osborne
Home town: Longfield
Main training base: Lee Valley Athletics Centre

Jonnie Peacock
Home town: St Ives, Cambridgeshire
Main training base: Loughborough

Gemma Prescott
Home town: Warrington
Main training base: Basildon Sporting Village

Derek Rae
Home town: Kirkcaldy
Main training base: St. Andrews

Stef Reid
Home town: Auckland, New Zealand
Main training base: Loughborough University

Julie Rogers
Home town: Bedford
Main training base: Bedford International Athletics Stadium

Ben Rowlings
Home town: Newport, Shropshire
Main training base: Coventry

Sam Ruddock
Home town: Rugby / Grantham
Main training base: Loughborough

Andrew Small
Home town: Greater Manchester
Main training base: Greater Manchester

Laura Sugar
Home town: Cambridge
Main training base: Loughborough

Isaac Towers
Home town: Garstang
Main training base: Liverpool

Kieran Tscherniawsky
Home town: Sleaford
Main training base: Loughborough

With just over 600 days to go until the next Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia in 2018, Team Scotland has unveiled its exciting new brand mark, as it aims to build on the huge success of Glasgow 2014 and deliver the most medals ever won at an overseas Games.

Following an extensive tender process and athlete consultation, the new brand mark selected was developed by the acclaimed Edinburgh based design and branding agency, Brand Oath. The agency is a specialist in the international sports sector helping various global cities in their race to host major sports events, including the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Other sports clients include British Rowing and Netball Scotland.

The new brand mark evolves from Team Scotland’s distinctive, well-loved thistle icon, giving it a modern, dynamic twist. The ‘jaggy’ leaves curl around from below to the embrace the thistle head and at second glance, the white space between the leaves and the thistle head reveal a star shape or sunburst – representing Scotland’s shining stars on the international sporting stage. The five points of the star, mirrored by the five diamonds accentuating the thistle head, is a visual representation of the Team’s brand personality traits: proud, united, ambitious, inspirational and inclusive.

Commonwealth Games Scotland Chairman, Paul Bush OBE said: “The profile and awareness of Team Scotland reached new heights as a result of the team’s incredible success at our home Games in Glasgow exactly two years ago. The level of interest in our athletes’ ongoing success has been phenomenal and this is reflected by the significant reach and engagement across all our social media channels.

“Team Scotland is no longer a once every four year entity and we are repositioning our brand to reflect this. We are playing a key role across Scottish sport, championing the success of Scots on the international stage and helping to inspire youngsters across the country to follow in the footsteps of athletes like Charlie Flynn, Ross Murdoch, Euan Burton, Jennifer McIntosh and Colin Gregor.

“The new brand identity is no longer linked to one specific edition of the Games and heralds a new, modern era for the Commonwealth Games movement in Scotland. It provides a strong foundation from which to communicate in an  engaging and inspiring fashion with our audiences, helping us to continue to build positive relationships with fans, athletes and stakeholders alike – a ‘365 days a year’ relevant and engaging brand.  We believe it also creates added value for the organisation, providing a commercially attractive proposition to our key funding partners and sponsors.”

Brand Oath has gone on to create a framework of themed applications for use across the extensive range of collateral required, including Team Scotland kit and merchandise, campaign advertising and promotional materials. The brand mark will also be used as a portal to showcase the team’s celebrated iconic photography.

Delighted to see the brand mark unveiled, Brand Oath’s founder and creative director, Bernie Shaw-Binns said: “The brief set was an exciting challenge. National identity, particularly where sport is concerned, is a fascinating area of communication. It was important to capture a sense of place and personality that ‘we’ as athletes, fans and stakeholders recognise and are proud of. To avoid the visual clichés, but also deliver on what international audiences expect and perceive to be ‘Scottish’.

“We believe the trick is to embrace our national identifiers, to reinvent them with appropriate respect and restraint, balanced with vision and modernity. Working closely with Team Scotland we believe we have developed a fantastic brand framework that represents, engages and inspires the athletes, the fans and our stakeholders – a badge everyone can wear with pride.”

Former Scotland Rugby 7s captain, Colin Gregor who played in two Commonwealth Games and is Team Scotland’s athlete representative said: “Being selected to represent your country is an extremely special moment and wearing the Team Scotland badge with pride is one of the key elements that unites all the different sports together. The thistle icon has been a firm favourite with the athletes for many years and it is great to see how it has been reinvented with a modern twist that will keep it fresh and relevant, particularly across digital platforms.

“Putting the team’s five values at the heart of the new mark is really important and will be a great way to share these with future team members. The new range of colours are very vivid and striking too and will work well on our team clothing.”

The first public showcase for the new brand will be for the 2016 Team Scotland Scottish Sports Awards which will be held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on Wednesday 28 September, where the spotlight will be on the record number of Scots participating in Rio as part of Team GB and Paralympics GB as well as a host of other sporting achievements across the Scottish sporting landscape.

Table sales have been excellent, with sporting and corporate Scotland booking their places at the event to hear first-hand about some of those spine tingling sporting moments, created by our exceptionally talented athletes that make our nation so proud.

12 new awards will be presented, recognising the best of sport in Scotland, culminating in the Emirates Lonsdale Trophy, awarded to the 2016 Scottish Sportsperson of the year.

And next stop for Scotland’s Commonwealth Games athletes will be Gold Coast 2018. Team Scotland is launching its 2018 supporters’ campaign and guests will be invited to get behind the team as we aim to have our best overseas Games ever.

With only 150 seats left you are encouraged to book now to ensure your place at the sporting top table of the year: http://www.scottishsportsawards.scot/