After the recent success for the 50th anniversary for the Senior Championship aimed at athletes with a physical, hearing or vision impairment, it is now time to celebrate our championships aimed at swimmers with a Learning Disability which also started back in 1973.

Are you a previous athlete who has came through the Senior Learning Disability Championships at SDS in the last 50 years and have memories you would like to share of these events?

Are you a senior swimmer who would love to come and compete, or even come out of retirement to swim at this exciting event?

We would love to hear from you.  Email: events@scottishdisabilitysport.com  or contact your local branch for further information.

For more information on this swimming event and other events please go to Events – Swimming (scottishdisabilitysport.com)

 

 

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) has announced the 2023-24 Athlete Academy. The athlete academy aims to supplement the continued development of the most promising and talented para-athletes at a pivotal stage in their athlete journey.

Each athlete received a funding grant, and will also receive key elements of performance education to support their progression into high performance sport.

SDS work closely various partners to develop a programme of workshops and training opportunities to best prepare the athletes for when they progress to a UK Sport funded programme or equivalent.

The SDS athlete Academy was relaunched in 2021 and has ran an annual programme for athletes since thanks to a partnership with independent charity SportsAid Scotland.

Many of the athletes are targeting the Paralympic Games and Commonwealth Games and SportsAid Scotland have been assisted in their support through The Robertson Trust.

The programme is open to Scottish Governing Body (SGB) or National Governing Body (NGB) athletes with the potential to succeed at national and International level.

Athletes are selected based on strict criteria relating to performance levels, attitude to training and commitment to their sport. Each athlete must be eligible to compete for Scotland and the selection criteria is aligned with that of SportsAid Scotland.

The 2023-24 intake includes 23 athletes across 11 sports – details below.

Jennifer Barsby, SDS Performance Manager, commented: “It is great to be able to support para athletes at an important stage in their sporting journey with funding and a programme of education that will provide the tools to aid their progression through the pathway. We are delighted to be able to run the programme again for 23 athletes across 11 sports in partnership with SportsAid Scotland and to have the backing of their Governing Bodies.”

Roddy Mackenzie, SportsAid Scotland Chief Executive, said: “We are more than happy to continue our partnership which has been rewarding on both sides. We know how committed Scotland’s top athletes are but para-athletes are on a different level and we have huge admiration for what they do and the fantastic work done by Scottish Disability Sport.”

Samantha Gough, Goalball Athlete, said: “I am very grateful to be a part of the SDS Athlete Academy. Being surrounded by athletes like myself determined and motivated to reach the top and achieve goals that we set ourselves. The academy supports athletes with their mindset and focusing on parts of our job that can be challenging such as keeping your head in game. We aim to achieve the best version of ourselves as an elite athlete with the support of the SDS athlete academy .”

For further information, please see below:

Athlete	Sport	Region
Adam Donnachie	Athletics	South Lanarkshire
Sean Frame	Athletics	Dumfries & Galloway
Freya Howgate	Athletics	Perth & Kinross
Colin Leslie	Badminton	Midlothian
Mary Wilson	Badminton	Edinburgh
Ben Leich	Basketball	Perth & Kinross
Lynsey Speirs	Basketball	Derby
Lewis McConnell	Boccia	East Renfrewshire
Paul McIntyre	Boccia	Stirling
Scott McIntyre	Boccia	Stirling
Ross Munro	Boccia	East Renfrewshire
Ross MacNeil	Boccia	North Lanarkshire
Hannah Craig	Boccia	Dundee
Tyler Mclelland	Boccia	Fife
Samantha Gough	Goalball	Midlothian
Kirsten Taylor	Judo	Angus
Jake Woods	Rowing	Glasgow
Gemma Lumsdaine	Rugby	Dundee
Mike Drever	Shooting	Fife
Bronwen Livingstone	Shooting	Glasgow
Keith Whyte	Shooting	Edinburgh
Rory McKinna	Sailing	East Ayrshire
Robyn Love	Tennis	Manchester

The SDS National Swimming Championships for swimmers with a physical disability or sensory impairment took place on Saturday 22nd April 2023 at Grangemouth Sports Complex. It marked the 50th anniversary of this event that first took place in 1973 in Glenrothes and has been a key part of the pathway for all Scottish para swimmers ever since.

It is always great to see our returning swimmers continuing to develop and improve on their personal best times. This year we had 62 swimmers competing from across 7 regions.

The male events were dominated by Aaron McDowell from Lothian who won the 100m IM, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly and the 100m freestyle.

The female events were closely contested with Kathryn White from West of Scotland winning the 100m butterfly, 100m backstroke and the 100m IM. The 100m breaststroke was won by Eilidh Fisher from Highland and returning legend Hope Gordon put in a great performance to win the 100m freestyle also for the Highland team.

This years team trophy was won by West of Scotland who retained their title from last year.

As it was the 50th anniversary, SDS invited some legends of the event to compete in a relay at the end of the championships. The first relay team consisted of Lara Ferguson, Robert Dalgleish, Stefan Hoggan, Martin Mansell and Lucy Walkup. The other team consisted of Paul Noble, Beth Johnston, Craig Smith, Hope Gordon and Ben Rowlings. This produced an incredibly close race ending with Lara Ferguson just touching out Paul Noble to take the victory.

Many other past swimmers and invited guests were also in attendance to mark the 50th anniversary and watch the current generation of swimmers perform to a brilliant standard.

Throughout the years it has been the people behind the event that have made it what it is and SDS is again grateful to all coaches, volunteers and officials that helped make this year’s championships happen.  Huge thanks to our volunteer photographer Gordon Elliott who took these amazing images of the day.

If you were at our event please take a moment to evaluate this so we can continue to improve for future championships.

Please go to our swimming page for more information on this and future events.

Table Tennis Scotland are delighted to bring you the inaugural Scottish Parkinson’s International Open at sportscotland National Sports Training Centre, Inverclyde, Scotland on 4 – 6 August 2023.

We’ve put together an event that we believe will be exciting, competitive, and enjoyable. We want you to have an experience that will leave you feeling energised and motivated to push your limits and achieve your goals. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or a newcomer to table tennis, we welcome all levels of experience and ability. Our event is inclusive and promotes fair play.

But more than just a series of matches, this event is an opportunity to connect with other table tennis enthusiasts, to share your love of the game, and build lasting relationships. Our hope is that you will leave this event with a sense of accomplishment, community and camaraderie. We are excited to see what we can achieve together, and we look forward to seeing you all there.

Full information can be found on the Table Tennis Scotland website here: https://tabletennisscotland.co.uk/scottish-parkinsons-international-open/

Glasgow City Basketball Club, in partnership with Glasgow Life are hosting an ‘ASN’ Basketball Festival for participants with a learning disability (ages 12+). The event will take place at the Kelvinhall on Sunday 28^th May from 11:00-2:30pm

For further information please contact: Toni.glasgowcity@gmail.com

ECOS Basketball Festival

The West Regional Manager Gary McDonald visited the Glasgow Goalball session on Monday 24^th April and was given a nice surprise of taking part in one of the sessions.

Gary thought he was only there to observe and report but was thrown straight into the deep end to take part and absolutely loved it.

Gary said: “This was my first experience of goalball. I had to get used to the area, sounds and position to block a medicine ball and I even scored two goals.”

For anyone looking to try goalball in the West, the club runs on a Monday every two weeks in Rosshall Academy. Or for further information please email Gary on gary.mcdonald@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

The Scottish Cerebral Palsy Football team will travel to Sardinia to compete in the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy European Championships between the 29 May and the 11 June 2023. The following players will represent Scotland at the tournament:

Name	Home town	Local Authority
Christopher Moore	Cowie	Stirling
Jamie Kelly	Hamilton	South Lanarkshire
Kerr Mackenzie	Paisley	Renfrewshire
Blair Glynn	Tranent	East Lothian
Martin Hickman	Glasgow	City of Glasgow
Barry Hunter	Uddingston	South Lanarkshire
Mark Robertson
Keiran Martin	Falkirk	Falkirk
Barry Halloran
Dean Thornton	Glasgow	City of Glasgow
Sean Millership	Epsom	Surrey
Matthew Wynne	Eaglesham	East Renfrewshire
James McAlpine	Glasgow	City of Glasgow

Team Manager Greig Taylor and Coaches James Docherty, Craig Young and Billy McAdam as well as Physiotherapists Katie Scott, Erin-Louise Robertson and Kirsty Pitts will support the team throughout the competition.

n the group stages Scotland will play Ireland, Ukraine and Germany and you can see the full tournament schedule here: Tournaments – CP Football (ifcpf.com). Scotland will start their campaign playing against Ireland on Friday 2 June at 3.30pm

If you would like more information about CP Football in Scotland and how you can get involved and support the squad please watch this video:

 

SDS are excited to let you know that there is a specific Goalball group within Glasgow that run at Rosshall Academy on a Monday from 6.30-8.30pm. Please see the flyer above for more information. For anyone unaware of the sport goalball please see the video here:

 

`For further information about the other sports such as Tandem cycling and VI tennis please listen to the podcast from Graeme and Andrea here (RNIB – See Sport Differently / Goalball, VI Tennis and Tandem Cycling in Glasgow (audioboom.com).

Contact glasgowgoalball@outlook.com or SDS Regional Manager Gary McDonald on gary.mcdonald@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

Glasgow Goalball flyer

The  annual Central Parasport Festival was a huge success with 47 children and young people with hearing loss, vision impairments and physical disabilities participating and enjoying the fun filled multi-sport event.  

Pupils from 30 mainstream schools travelled from across Central Scotland to Grangemouth Sports Complex to take part in this unique, fun opportunity.  

Participants were delighted that the day was kicked off by a question and answer session with two exceptional young ladies, Grace Stirling (Young Start member and SDS Tutor) and Abby Cook (42nd presenter of Blue Peter) who both shared how attending the parasport festival has made a significant and positive contribution to their lives as athletes but also to their personal development as member of the SDS Young Start Programme.  

Throughout the day participants were introduced to more fun through a variety of taster sessions in archery, athletics, basketball, boccia, badminton, canoeing, cycling and swimming. All sports were delivered by local sports clubs and governing bodies.  

Thanks must go to the following partners, Forth Valley Disability Sport, Falkirk Council, Active Stirling, Clackmannanshire Council, clubs and governing bodies for making the event possible. A special thank you to Falkirk Council for supporting this event. 

This was a farewell event for Cheryl Lappin, SDS Regional Development Manager for Central Scotland as she is moving on to work with British Curling. 

She said: “The event was a fantastic success and a worthwhile experience for many pupils engaging in sports they may never have tried before, but also for their parents and teachers alike.” 

Follow up support will be provided by the new SDS Regional Manager to support participants into an activity or sport of their choice in the local area. 

If you would like to find out more about this event or disability sport opportunities in Central Scotland, please contact admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com or telephone 0131 317 1130.