Following the retirement of the reigning Paralympic champion Sophie Thornhill last week, tandem pilot Helen Scott has today announced that the Great Britain Cycling Team is in the hunt for a tandem ‘stoker’ (the blind or visually impaired rider at the back of the tandem) to continue their legacy of success.

Scott said: “Sophie and I enjoyed a successful partnership spanning over six years and winning eight world titles together as well as the Paralympic gold medal, and we made such a strong team. Sophie has made the decision to further her education which I completely respect and I wish her all the best.

The visually impaired female talent search will run alongside a wider recruitment campaign, so if anyone interested in performance para cycling would like more information, please click on the links below:

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/track/article/20200622-gb-cyclingteam-news-Great-Britain-Cycling-Team-launches-the-search-for-a-female-tandem-rider-to-target-Tokyo-Paralympic-success-0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWTevt72Kpo&feature=emb_title

Following the success of the previous series of coach seminars on Classification, Self-Reflection & Developing your Coaching Philosophy, and Courageous Conversations, SDS is delighted to announce the next coaches’ seminars to enjoy over the summer .  Each seminar will last one hour and can be booked using the links below.

Working with participants on the autism spectrum, Richard Brickley OBE, MBE
Wednesday 8 July 2020, 1900 – 2000
Physical Activity and Learning Workshop for teachers, coaches and leaders working with children, young people and adults on the Autism Spectrum.
Register here for the Autism workshop

Creative Coaching, Victoria Clark and Adrienne Hunter
Thursday 9 July 2020, 1900 – 2000
What are the benefits of both coaches and athletes adopting creative approaches? How do we enable people to access their creative sparks, their best ideas? What is the process that can enable this in us all? 
Register here for Creative Coaching

Generating Feedback
Tuesday 25 August 2020, 1900-2000
How do we generate effective feedback? We will explore a range of feedback tools to enable meaningful conversations.
Register online for Generating Effective Feedback

Further seminars for coaches will be added in due course, so please keep a watch out for more exciting dates and topics.  If you would like any further information, or would like to request a topic for a seminar, please contact us on 0131 317 1130 or admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

Nominations are invited from those connected with SDS for awards that will be presented at the Online Annual General Meeting on the 27^th September 2020.  It is important that there is a clear indication why the individual/group is being nominated.

The nomination form and list of former award winners is attached:

Awards Nomination Form 2020.

All nominations should be returned in confidence, before Monday 31^st August 2020, to admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

Alternatively the Awards Nomination Form can be completed online here:

SDS Phase 2 Outdoor Sport – Guidance Paper (18 June)

This guidance is being produced to support athletes, participants with a disability, SDS Branches, coaches, volunteers and staff on Phase 2 of the return of outdoor sport and recreation in Scotland.

Although COVID-19 is controlled the risk of spreading it still remains. You should stay at home and limit social contact as much as possible.

Some sporting activities can now be undertaken outdoors, providing all activity is consistent with current Scottish Government guidance on health, physical distancing and hygiene – you will also need to make sure that your club, facility and participants are made aware and can adapt to changes in guidance at short notice.  Information on Scottish Governments approach to managing covid-19 is available at Scottish Government Phase 2:  Staying safe and protecting others

Should a return to sport be possible for your sport during phase 2 in line with government and your sport specific Scottish Governing Body guidelines. Further guidance will be available from your mainstream Scottish Governing Body to advise you on the implications for your individual sport. For further information on sportscotland and Scottish Governing Bodies general guidance click here

Guidance for coaches, leaders, personal trainers, and instructors is available at Getting your coaches ready for sport.

People who are shielding are permitted to undertake outdoor activities providing strict physical distancing is adhered to.

For the sport of boccia there will be no return to clubs, sessions or any other form of coaching or competition for the foreseeable future due to indoor facilities remaining closed. SDS will publish further updates and guidance as they are announced relating to phases 3 and 4. 

IMPORTANT: People who are symptomatic should self-isolate for 7 days; household members for 14 days as per info on NHS guidance. No one who is self-isolating should attend an outdoor sports facility/activity

It must be emphasised that phase 2 guidance does not mean a return to sport but is linked to the extension to exercise in a safe environment. It does not mean a return to competitive sport or taking part in clubs or sessions from an SDS perspective.

Branches clubs, sessions and participants should be aware that the easing of restrictions does not mean that all facilities/venues will open immediately. Owners and operators will require time to consider all the implications of opening facilities/venues and put plans in place to re-engage staff and to set up operations that ensure the safety of participants, staff and volunteers. This is a difficult time for everyone so please be patient.

SDS key messages for the return to outdoor sport in phase 2.

• This guidance relates only to exercise in Scotland
• Limits on the number of participants accessing outdoor facilities should be risk assessed to ensure appropriate social distancing can be maintained.  This should take into consideration that at phase 2 you can meet with up to two other households (or extended households) at a time outdoors, and no more than 8 people in total at a time
• Travel restrictions outlined by the Scottish Government should always be adhered to.  You can drive within the local area for the purposes of undertaking outdoor exercise and physical activity.  As a guide, rather than a fixed limit, broadly 5 miles from your home would be within your local area.  Up to date guidance is available at  Scottish Government Phase 2:  Staying safe and protecting others
• Be kind, friendly and considerate to everyone you meet
• Follow Public Health guidelines for hygiene
• Maintain physical distancing
• Any branch or club activity must be in accordance with the guidelines provided
• Indoor facilities should remain closed to the public including club houses, toilets, locker rooms, storage and activity areas.
• Exercise well within your capabilities
• Venues and clubs may re-open all outdoor sports areas, courts and pitches from the 29 June 2020 if documented risk assessments are undertaken and all appropriate measures are put in place to ensure the safety of participants, staff and volunteers.  Indoor areas remain closed.

Although COVID-19 is controlled the risk of spreading it still remains. You should stay at home and limit social contact as much as possible. Click here to view he Scottish Government Scotland’s Route Map Through and Out of the Crisis.

Our priority remains to protect the health of our coaches, volunteers, athletes, participant, staff and the wider community and help to suppress the spread of the Covid-19 virus. We should all continue to follow the government’s and public health guidelines and stay at home as much as possible.

Information on Scottish Governments approach to managing covid-19 is available here.

People who are shielding should not visit venues or undertake activities. People who are symptomatic should self-isolate for 7 days; household members for 14 days as per info on NHS guidance. No one who is self-isolating should attend any outdoor sports facility/activity.

For further guidance on the phased 2: Extension to Exercise, Outdoor Sport Guidance click here

The Young Start programme, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland, has enabled a group of young people over the past two years to work together as a group to build their skills, knowledge and expertise; by developing themselves they have developed opportunities for others.

 The Young Start programme enables:

• The transition from athlete to coach to enable sport to continue to make a difference in the lives of the young people and those they work with.  As well as empowering the young people through developing their confidence and competence to deliver key messages and shape the future for participants and performers in Scotland. 
• The access to mentoring to strengthen life skills for future opportunities in a variety of settings.
• The Young People to grow as individuals and as a group, develop new ideas and influence
• The Young Persons Sport Panel to work collectively with the Coach Apprentice Programme to share, learn from each other, support one another  and drive forward change.

It is really exciting to report back on the impacts of the programme and appreciate how much all the young people both individually and collectively have flourished.

The following video encompasses the impact of the programme https://youtu.be/X_5UwSRT4RQ

The impact and celebration event was skilfully led by  the Young Start Ambassador, Aileen Neilson who  enabled all the participants on the day to:

• Share their individual stories which were insightful and motivational
• Have fun being involved in different activities.

Aileen closed the session by acknowledging and thanking the young people for their positive and proactive approach.  She also recognised and thanked the programme mentors and the programme coordinator, Victoria Clark and it is only fitting to thank Aileen who contributes so much in her ambassadorial role and is an inspirational role model.

It truly is a time to celebrate and applaud the varied and positive  journeys of the young  individuals involved in the Young Start Programme who are inspirational.

SDS is delighted to be able to thank some great people in Volunteers Week, 1-7 June.  Over this week SDS has highlighting volunteers who contribute so much to making sport happen at a local, regional and national level.  Volunteers play a pivotal role in supporting sport specific programmes for athletes and participants with a disability across Scotland and today we feature a long serving volunteer who is currently the Head Coach of the Scottish Cerebral Palsy Football Squad.

Greig Taylor has been involved with the Scottish set up for over 13 years and has played an instrumental part in the resurgence of the sport in Scotland. Greig’s first involvement was as Assistant Coach with the squad that competed in the World Championships in Brazil in 2008, where the Scots finished in a very creditable 6^th place. Two years later he was once again on the coaching team as Scotland hosted the European Championships in Glasgow, dramatically beating England to claim a 3^rd place finish.

Following a spell coaching football in China, he returned to take the role of Head Coach for the team in 2016. By this time, the Scottish Cerebral Palsy Football programme had fallen on hard times and had not competed in a major competition since the International Football Cerebral Palsy Federation (IFCPF) World Championships in England in 2015. Greig made it his mission to rejuvenate the Scottish programme and has spent a vast amount of his own time delivering talks and presentations to promote Cerebral Palsy Football, speaking to potential funders and continually networking and scouting to identify new players who could benefit from this exciting format of football.

The result of this commitment from Greig and his team of equally committed coaches was a return to competition at the International Trophy CP Football Ciutat de Barcelona organised by the Catalan Sports Federation of Cerebral Palsy where the Scots finished in a very creditable 3^rd place. This success was eclipsed when Greig and his players returned to Barcelona to compete in the 2019 competition, which they won defeating Italy, Northern Ireland, Catalonia and English club side, CP United in the process.

Buoyed by their newfound success, the squad upped their training in advance of a return to the international stage at the IFCPF Nations Championships in Sant Cugat, Spain which has subsequently bee postponed until 2021.

Greig has been the talisman behind the revival of the Scottish Cerebral Palsy Football programme and without his dedication, commitment and enthusiasm the Scottish programme would not be progressing in such a positive manner.

If you would like any further information in relation to Cerebral Palsy Football in Scotland please contact Scottish Disability Sport on 0131 317 1130