For some time now I have been planning to write this tribute to a young woman whose contribution to disability sport in Scotland and throughout the UK has been significant and has spanned a period of almost three decades. For several reasons it has been delayed but I am determined this time to try and do justice to this exceptional individual whom I am proud to call a long-time friend. I had the privilege of meeting Jacqueline Lynn back in 1984 when she visited the Fife Sports Institute as a Physical Education undergraduate planning to start her final dissertation on PE and sport provision for participants with disabilities.
Following graduation Jacqueline teamed up with Jim Thomson at Capability Scotland in Edinburgh and she remembers that three-year experience with great fondness. Scottish CP Sport was on a high following the successes of Scottish athletes with cerebral palsy as members of Team GB at the Paralympic Games in New York in 1984. Jacqueline arrived at the perfect time and contributed an immense amount to the preparations of Team Scotland for the CPISRA World Championships in Gits, Belgium in 1986. Capability Scotland (formerly SCS) was very involved with the promotion of wheelchair dancing and encouraging individuals with cerebral palsy of all ages and abilities to be active. Jim and Jacqueline plus the late John De Courcy were at the heart of those early developments and became a formidable team.
It was in Gits in 1986 that Jacqueline developed an interest and passion for boccia leading to partnerships with Anne Woffinden and others that would lead to their engagement in European, World and Paralympic Games all over the world. Anne was a teenager in Belgium and relatively new to the sport. Team Scotland had a strong BC1/BC2 boccia team of three that reached the final but lost out to world champions Portugal. Anne however lifted the BC2 singles title with Jacqueline by her side. Little did we realise at the time that those two results would have a major influence on Scotland as an international force in world boccia for the next twenty to thirty years.
Jacqueline joined the Board of Scottish Disability Sport (formerly SSAD) in the mid-80s and served until 2008. In her final year of working with Capability Scotland, Jacqueline joined myself and Jim as Team GB coaching staff for the Paralympic Games in Seoul in 1988. It was a unique experience for athletes and support staff but the flight to and from South Korea via Alaska was demanding. It was the first occasion that the Paralympic Games were held in the same venues as the Olympic Games with Para athletes sharing the same amazing Games village as their Olympic colleagues. Yet again the performances of Scottish members of Team GB were formidable and for Jacqueline the whole experience was life changing.
On return from Seoul, Jacqueline moved to Cunninghame District Council as a Sports Development Officer with a specific responsibility for participants with disabilities and older adults. During the next four years she supported the ambitious and successful Cunninghame Branch of SSAD and learned so much about the sport of bowls that was played extensively throughout the community. Once again Jacqueline is so positive about this period in her career when she learned so much about community sports development and reaching out to nationally recognised inactive communities.
For so many of us connected with SSAD/SDS selection for the Paralympic Games in Barcelona was very special because many of us consider the Games in Spain as the highlight of our Paralympic careers. Spectator numbers in New York and Seoul were minimal but the Spanish nation turned out in force for the 1992 Games. Tickets were hard to come by and the queues for swimming resembled Wimbledon. Jacqueline was involved with Team GB swimmers, athletes and boccia players along with Jim, Judy Black and Jen Quinton. Yet again Scots Para athletes served Team GB well and lived up to expectations on the medals table.
We were all privileged to be invited to join Team GB and we all have special memories of specific Games. For me 1984 was about evacuating a high rise building in the Games village when the fire alarm was set off and the lifts went out of action. 1988 was about trying to find acid in Seoul for our power wheelchairs when the batteries had to be emptied prior to flying. In 1992 Jacqueline remembers teaming up with Jim, Judy and Jen to carry dozens of team kit bags to athlete rooms with little or no assistance. As a training exercise it had its benefits but as a welcome to the athlete’s village it was not up there with the best.
Jacqueline continued to play a very important role throughout the 90s as a member of the SSAD/SDS Board. She played a prominent role in the preparation and production of the early Association Development Plans and supported me in my role as Vice Chairman of SSAD/SDS and then as Vice Chair when I became Chairman. No Chairman could ask for a more loyal, innovative, and committed colleague. At SSAD/SDS annual conferences Jacqueline more than played her part and she took a lead in the SSAD Division that concentrated on developing opportunities for participants with physical or sensory impairments.
Jacqueline and I organised and delivered full day disability inclusion training courses (theory/practical) in Fife and Inverclyde for coaches and volunteers and teamed up with David McCrea from sportscotland to tutor NCF/Sports Coach UK courses throughout the country on working with participants with disabilities. Jacqueline similarly recalls this period with great affection and claims she still comes across individuals who have signed certificates from that period of spreading the word about the importance of promoting inclusive practice and developing disability sport.
From 1992- 1995 Jacqueline was Assistant Sports Officer for Stirling Sports Council and retained her commitment as a volunteer with SDS and the sport of boccia. From 1995 Jacqueline was employed for three years as IMPACT Coaching Officer for Tayside. This was a job that offered Jacqueline considerable contact with volunteers in the area and the opportunity to engage with eight Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport. In 1996 Jacqueline received the call to join Team GB for her third Paralympic Games in Atlanta and to support the GB boccia squad. Jacqueline was now fully committed to the sport of boccia and recognised as one of the leading coaches in the world.
Boccia was expanding rapidly at national and international level and Team GB success in the USA led to Jacqueline’s inclusion in Team GB for the Games in Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. In 2004 Team GB finished 4th in the team competition but Jacqueline ended her illustrious career in international boccia in China four years later with Team GB winning Team gold and individual silver. At those sixth and final Paralympic Games Jacqueline was Team GB Boccia Team Manager and Head Coach. Team GB results were exceptional and led to a period of significant UK Sport investment in the sport. The satisfaction for Jacqueline was the thrill of competition and training and being able to observe so many Team GB boccia players “grow, develop and succeed”. Jacqueline Lynn committed many hours of her leisure time as a volunteer to GB Boccia and it was fitting that her final Games in Beijing were so successful.
From 1998 – 2002 Jacqueline served as Sport and Leisure Service Manager with Stirling Council and then transferred to Active Stirling as Head of Sport and Physical Activity until 2009. For the past eleven years Jacqueline has been Head of School and Community Sport, sportscotland. It was only a matter of time before Jacqueline returned to volunteering and it was gymnastics that was fortunate to secure her services. She is now Chairperson of West Lothian Artistic Gymnastics and no doubt fully committed, inspiring and as enthusiastic as ever.
Hopefully, readers of this article will now appreciate and realise that Jacqueline Lynn was a hugely influential player in the development of disability sport and Para sport in Scotland. I have highlighted her involvement in six Paralympic Games and how she was able to sign off at the pinnacle of her career. I have mentioned her role as an educator, officer with SSAD/SDS and a volunteer who gave up hours of her leisure time to support junior camps, development days and national events.
Jacqueline was also Team Manager for numerous Scottish teams that competed in CPISRA World and European Championships and her skill set was so valued that she could step up for swimming, athletics as well as boccia. Jacqueline played a significant role during the early development days of Para football with the late David Lawrie and the Scottish FA.
Jacqueline I know believes she was privileged to have been part of the SSAD/SDS family from the mid-80s through to 2008. She is first to acknowledge the outstanding athletes, parents, coaches, administrators, and volunteers that she was privileged to work with and the long-lasting friendships she has been able to develop and sustain. Working in disability sport she believes has prepared her for her successful career with sportscotland where we know she is respected and widely admired.
I am one of many individuals in Scottish sport who admires and respects Jacqueline Lynn immensely and all that she offers to inclusive community sport. Her commitment and passion are unique, and her drive and determination greatly admired. Disability sport in Scotland was privileged to have her to itself for an extensive period and her influence and impact have been long lasting and far reaching.
Photo: Maggy McEleny and Kenny Cairns inducted into the Scottish Sport Hall Of Fame – Jacqueline and Richard joining them for the celebrations.
Richard Brickley OBE MBE Chairman DSF (SCIO) Board of Charity Trustees
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