Leading Fife bowlers with a physical, sensory and learning disability are enjoying a wonderful year in major competitions throughout the UK. Fife’s top physically disabled and visually impaired bowlers made a significant contribution to Team Scotland’s superb win in the 2016 Home Nations at Kelvingrove and Fife’s leading bowlers with a learning disability successfully defended the Scottish Inter Area team title. Individual Fife bowlers have been prominent in every major bowls competition organised by Scottish Disability Sport in 2016 and yet again there were Fife successes at the inclusive national championships organised by Bowls Scotland at Northfield in Ayr.

One of the most experienced and respected Disability Sport Fife bowlers is Eleanor Clark from Kirkcaldy. Eleanor’s sight has been deteriorating each year and she now bowls in class B1 which is the section for totally blind bowlers. Previously she bowled as a partially sighted bowler in the B2 class and the change has resulted in her having to make major adjustments in technique and using occlusion glasses. All B1 sports men and women across all sports use blacked out glasses or goggles to ensure fairness across the class. Adjusting to this new way of playing has been challenging but Eleanor believes it was inevitable that one day she would have to change and she is successfully training to accommodate her new way of playing.

To confirm her progress Eleanor recently won the B1 singles title at the 2016 National Championships organised by the Scottish Association of Blind Bowlers (SABB) at Ardgowan in Greenock. Eleanor is now preparing for the British Championships at Leamington Spa in mid September. This year she will be without reigning world champion and dear friend Maria Spencer from Dunfermline who has gone through major surgery but hopes to return to playing next year.

Eleanor’s director on the green is Doreen Strachan from West Lothian. Doreen supported Eleanor in Greenock and will travel south with her next month to challenge for the British title. Eleanor has been selected by SABB to compete at the 2017 World Championships in Cape Town and she is hopeful that Doreen will be by her side once again. Eleanor is a member of Kirkcaldy Blind Bowlers and playes at the Fair Isle club.

Eleanor’s success this year is all the more remarkable because of the recent sudden and unexpected loss of her partner Jim of 30 years. Jim was always by her side and a major support throughout her illustrious bowling career. The loss of Jim has affected her life in so many ways but this remarkable sportswoman is determined to do what she believes Jim would want her to do and that is to further her bowling career. Eleanor has many friends and a strong support team who will support her all the way.

Richard Brickley MBE
President, Disability Sport Fife

Fife’s 25th Paralympian, Derek Rae from Kirkcaldy and Fife Athletic Club, finished second in the Haddington Half Marathon in a time of 1:13.36 in challenging conditions and over a course that Derek described as tough. Coach Ron Morrison was satisfied with the performance of his athlete.

Derek will compete for GB in the marathon in Rio in the T46 class where he is ranked UK number one. Derek will be GB’s only ambulant marathon runner in Rio. The Haddington event is one of several races lined up by coach Ron for Derek before he heads off to his first Paralympic Games. At the Alloa half marathon in March this year Derek ran 1:14.32 and in July he ran a personal best for 5000 metres of 16:05.31.

The opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games in Rio is scheduled for Wednesday 7th September and the Closing Ceremony Sunday 18th September. The athletics programme starts on September 8th and runs through until the final day of the Games. Derek will run his marathon on the morning of the closing ceremony.

Richard Brickley MBE
President, Disability Sport Fife

David Gourlay is set to make his return to the sport as he takes on the post of High Performance Coach for Bowls Scotland.

Gourlay, who started his career in Annbank, has seen phenomenal success on the green over the years and has successfully transferred his knowledge and experience off the green as well.

Having won ten World Bowls Tour titles and represented Scotland in the Commonwealth Games in 1998, David then turned his focus to working with the world’s very best players, guiding Team Scotland to three medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

With the memories fresh in his mind from those victories, Gourlay will take up his post on 1st October 2016 with the hope of emulating similar success on the world stage and at the Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2018.

Working with the High Performance squad and closely with fellow Annbank resident and High Performance Manager Rhona Howie MBE, Gourlay will be sure to stamp his own style on the job in hand, a style which saw him win the respect of Scotland’s world class players. The announcement of the new High Performance Coach comes at the perfect time as the High Performance Squad gear up for the World Championships later this year as well as for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Although due to timings he will have no input in the selection of the team heading to the World Championships, Gourlay is looking forward to working with the players that will be chosen.

Commenting on his return David said: “I’m honoured to have another opportunity to work with Bowls Scotland’s High Performance Squad as we prepare for Gold Coast 2018. Competing in Australia will provide a different set of challenges to the Glasgow games but I’m confident Scotland has the players and support programme to succeed.”

Bowls Scotland CEO Alan McMillan commented: “We are delighted to have David back working with our High Performance Squad again. He was extremely keen to get involved again, is as usual full of ideas and has a proven track record following the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. We are looking forward to him working with our players, Rhona and the support staff.”

‘It’s Everyone’s Responsibility’

Safeguarding in sport is everyone’s responsibility from volunteers, coaches, board members, policy makers, parents, carers and spectators who may notice any concerns. Everyone has a role in keeping children safe in sport. Therefore we would like to encourage everyone to watch the following video to emphasise this and where responsibility for safeguarding falls on one person this puts both the individual and children at higher risk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU0bqA0KZ40&feature=youtu.be

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.