Scottish Curling in partnership with Parasport and Lothian Wheelchair Curling Club are delighted to be running a Para Try Curling festival on the afternoon of Friday 22^nd October at Curl Edinburgh, Murrayfield.

“Try Curling” is our introductory curling programme that runs within ice rinks across Scotland and during the event we will be running specially adapted para Try Curling sessions to allow people of all ability levels to experience curling.

We are excited to invite those with various abilities who are in secondary school or older, along to this exciting festival. Sessions will be 60 minutes long and provide participants with the opportunity to try curling, throw a few stones and get a feel for the sport.

During the day we will also have special appearances and visits from some of Scotland and Great Britain’s top para curlers including Olympic Bronze medallist Aileen Neilson.

Full event information and details on how to sign up are available on the Scottish Curling website.

For further information or questions, please contact Catriona Morton via catriona@scottishcurling.org

Scottish Disability Sport is delighted to welcome back Louise Gillespie to the role of part-time regional manager for North and South Lanarkshire.

She joins the SDS team with a wealth of knowledge and experience in all areas of sports development. Louise is passionate about creating new opportunities and engaging participants with disabilities in sport. She returned home to Edinburgh in February 2020 to take up a maternity cover post with Scottish Disability Sport after five years of living in London and Hong Kong.

Returning to SDS following ten months working for Waterski and Wakeboard Scotland she also works part-time for Help for Heroes engaging injured and disabled veterans in sport and physical activity.

In her spare time, Louise plays basketball and netball (when her knees allow!) and is currently training to become a paddleboard instructor. Louise is looking forward to working with partners to further develop disability sport opportunities for participants, volunteers, coaches, and clubs across North and South Lanarkshire.

Welcome back, Louise!

Come and try Boccia during Scottish Women & Girls in Sport Week

We have partnered with Scottish Women in Sport to deliver a Come and Try Boccia session for women and girls with physical, sensory or learning disabilities.

The event, which will run alongside the Boccia National Championships is focused on women and girls participation and will be a fun and educational introduction to the sport.

Event Details

 Saturday 30 October 2021

 1430-1600

 [EN]GAGE Sports and Fitness Centre, Edinburgh Napier University, Sighthill Campus, Edinburgh, EH11 4BN

During the session, participants will;

• Learn about the sport
• Play the game
• Speak to knowledgeable people
• Find a club

Closing date for registrations Wednesday 27 October 2021

Register below    

 

 

 

SDS is excited to be supporting the development of the Daily Mile Inclusion Model which provides a participant centered approach which will provide guidance to teachers, support staff and volunteers to include learners with disabilities in the Daily Mile.

The model currently being developed reinforces the message of inclusion that was promoted at the launch of the Daily Mile Partnership yesterday in Glasgow.

Catherine Goodfellow, Scottish Disability Sport Chairperson attended the launch and was delighted to see so many of the learners enjoying participating in the Daily Mile with World Champion Frame Runner Kayleigh Haggo.

The Daily Mile, supported by INEOS, has entered an exciting new partnership with the UK Athletics, Athletics Northern Ireland, England Athletics, Scottish Athletics and Welsh Athletics. These partnerships emphasise a shared commitment from the organisations across the UK, helping to demonstrate the important role that physical activity plays in the physical and mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.

The partnership was launched in a celebration between the two organisations. The union will help bring ambassadors together, from Olympic and Paralympic athletes to key people from the athletics community – inspiring both young people and teachers to get involved and become a part of The Daily Mile community.

The Daily Mile is a transformative initiative where children run, jog, wheel or walk for fifteen minutes every day. The initiative has enjoyed phenomenal success since it was started by Elaine Wyllie eight years ago when she was headteacher at a primary school in Stirling.

Elaine Wyllie MBE, founder of The Daily Mile has commented, ‘I’m delighted that we will be working together with UKA and the Home Nations. This is an exciting new partnership for The Daily Mile working with leading governing bodies to promote the physical and mental health benefits of The Daily Mile. I am particularly excited about a focus on inclusion and ensuring children with a disability are provided with the opportunity to participate. It is important to me that irrespective of age, ability or background The Daily Mile is accessible to all and is fun for all. This partnership will help us deliver this ambition.’

Sport and physical activity have an important role to play when discussing mental and physical wellbeing, both which have suffered immensely during the last 18 months. As the country continues to respond to the challenges and effects of the pandemic, and it’s crucial to appreciate the role of this in the long-term recovery of the virus.

Collaborative working is at the forefront of these partnerships. The bringing together of these teams will result in a greater focus on physical activity and sport, as part of a national initiative towards positive health and wellbeing for primary aged children.

Inclusivity and accessibility has always been at the heart of The Daily Mile – getting young people involved regardless of ability. The partnership is committed to supporting schools and teachers in providing opportunities for children with a disability to participate, so ensure they’re able to enjoy all of the benefits of physical activity. The focus is always on the child’s ability, and appropriate adjustments or modifications can be made to ensure a positive experience. For more information on The Daily Mile and this partnership, please visit: www.thedailymile.co.uk.

---

If you or anyone you know would like to know more about opportunities to participate or volunteer in, please telephone 0131 317 1130 or alternatively email admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com

Go Kids Go are running Wheelchair Skills Sessions across Scotland in October.

This is a great chance to learn skills to help you become more independent. Manual or powered wheelchair users welcome, extra wheelchairs provided for family members to participate.

Young people from 2 years upwards welcome!

Small groups – Covid secure setting.

• 11th Oct –  Inverness
• 13th Oct – Aberdeen
• 16th Oct – Edinburgh (details tbc)
• 17th Oct – Glasgow

UK have recently launched In Tandem, an exciting new pilot project that aims to give people with a visual impairment more opportunities to experience the joys and benefits of cycling.

Cycling with a visual impairment is entirely possible, all that is needed is a tandem bike and a sighted person to ride in front.

To help develop new activities Cycling UK would like to offer free tandem try out sessions across the West of Scotland to both Vision Impaired and sighted people. Training and rides can be delivered during the week or at weekends locally throughout the West of Scotland and we’d like to encourage all curious people, of all experience levels, to get in touch.

If you, or someone you know, would be interested in joining a session or would like to know more about the project then please get in touch with Andrew.campbell@cyclinguk.org

Sharing inclusive practice was the game of the day at the Local Authority Professional Officers Group Meeting last week. SDS with 85 professional officers from 30 local authority areas joined together to hear how partners had embedded inclusive practice throughout school and community sport.

Dougie Millen, Lead Manager from sportscotland set the scene for the day by explaining the importance of embedding inclusion within practice and the importance of engaging participants with disabilities in physical activity and sport as they have the lowest representation in sport and have been impacted the most by the pandemic.

The SDS Performance Manager then gave an overview of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games and highlighted the performances of some of the 33 Scottish Para athletes competing in the games before an overview of Return to Sport was presented by regional manager Lynn Allison.

The morning was rounded off by the SDS Regional Team facilitating sessions on a new Inclusive Club Resource being developed and “Having the Conversation” with participants with disabilities.

Particular thanks go to Fiona Donald Swim IT, Brian Pahlmann and Ruth Watson Aberdeen AAC, Chris Cleary and Jill Coleman, Renfrewshire and City of Edinburgh Councils respectively who presented in the afternoon sessions providing an overview of and Inclusive Mainstream Clubs and Inclusive Leadership Programmes.

A managers discussion group discussed how the gathering of local data and how it can be used to inform planning. Thanks to Lori Ure (Live Argyll) and James Fenna (Dundee Leisure and Culture) for delivering presentations on their practice.

Gavin Macleod SDS CEO said “We were delighted to see the large numbers in attendance at the recent Local Authority Professional Officers Group Meeting. This demonstrates the significant commitment to equality and inclusion at a local level and the role that SDS continues to play in embedding inclusion for participants with disabilities within strategic planning and operational delivery.”

The date for the next meeting is Tuesday 1 February 2022. If you are a professional officer or manager and would like to join the network, please contact admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com or telephone 0131 317 1130.

Have you been inspired by the Paralympians in Tokyo? Would you like to get involved in physical activity and sport?

We believe sport is for everyone and has an ability to change lives. At SDS we can help you find an appropriate and inclusive opportunity for everyone to experience the physical, social and psychological benefits that physical activity and sport can bring.

  Hear from people who have experienced the #PowerOfSport and how being active has changed their lives

If you would like to get involved in physical activity and sport, please email admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com and we can help find the right opportunity for you.