Hamilton, 9-11 February

The 2020 SWCA British Open Wheelchair Curling Championships will take place at Hamilton Ice Rink from Sunday 9^th to Tuesday 11^th February.  Eight teams will compete in a Round Robin format with play starting on Sunday at 10.00 with further sessions that day at 14.30 and 17.45.  Monday’s play starts at 9.30, Tuesday’s play starts at 10.00 with the finals at 14.30 on Tuesday rounding off what promises to be a great event.

Many strong teams are entered with Paralympic medallists Angie Malone, Gregor Ewan and Jim Gault all playing for home based teams.  Gregor Ewan’s team will be looking to defend the title they won in 2019. Players from throughout Scotland and the north of England will also be taking part along with Team Germany.  We are looking forward to many exciting games over the three days and it promises to be a great competition which we we hope will be well worth coming along to spectate, entry is free.

Anyone who is interested in finding out more about wheelchair curling in Scotland then please see the new SWCA Facebook page “Scottish Wheelchair Curling Association” for info on this great sport.

Britain’s Jordanne Whiley, Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid secured a historic brace of doubles titles on Friday at the Australian Open as Andy Lapthorne made it a perfect day for players on the LTA’s GB Wheelchair Tennis World Class Performance Programme. While it’s the first time that Brits have won both men’s and women’s doubles titles in Melbourne, Lapthorne booked his place in Saturday’s quad singles final after claiming a final set tie-break against Australian Heath Davidson.

On a second successive day when play was delayed by extreme heat, Whiley partnered close friend Yui Kamiji of Japan to earn a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Dutch top seeds Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot. It was Whiley’s first Grand Slam title as a mum, having returned to international competition only last February.

It was also a third Australian Open crown for Whiley and Kamiji and a tenth Grand Slam doubles title in total since 2014 for the duo, who claimed their fourth Wimbledon title in 2017 when Whiley was 11 weeks pregnant.

Whiley, who partnered Kamiji to win their semi-final on Thursday, the same day as son Jackson’s second birthday, said:
“It was more emotional than I thought because the match point didn’t go as I thought. I thought I’d missed the shot, the volley, so when I made it, it was kind of that immediate reaction of ‘Oh my God I’ve just won a Slam with Yui again’. And then it was emotional because I could just see how much Yui cared and it was actually really nice to feel that love from her and to know that she’s missed me and it means a lot to her as well.”

The Brit-Japanese partnership took a commanding 4-1 first set lead before wrapping up the opening set and Whiley served out a much closer second set to secure victory, executing a deft drop shot on match point after exactly an hour and a half.

Second seeds Hewett and Reid, already three-time Wimbledon and US Open men’s doubles champions, claimed their first title together at Melbourne Park after fighting back from a set down to beat French top seeds Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer 4-6, 6-4, (10-7).

Now seven-time Grand Slam doubles champions Hewett and Reid were unable to recover from losing an early break in the first set of the men’s doubles final, but hit back to consolidate an early break of their own in the second set. They found themselves 4-2 down in the deciding match tiebreak, but it was their French opponents who eventually succumbed to the pressure as Hewett and Reid sealed victory after two hours of play.

Reid, who also won the 2017 Australian Open title partnering Belgian Joachim Gerard, said: “We’re really pleased to finish the week as doubles champions. It’s the first time that we’ve won it here together – we’ve had a couple of chances before and not managed to get over the line, so it was a really pleasing victory for us out there and I think we finished it off in style as well in the tiebreak.”

After his first Australian Open title in either singles or doubles, reigning US Open champion Hewett said: “It feels pretty good. I think we were both a bit exhausted afterwards, it was a tough match, especially after last night’s epic semi-final another late one. I think we did well to recover and go again and the standard was really high for us in that final.”

Lapthorne, this week’s world No.1, went into his third and last quad singles round-robin match against Davidson having won seven of his previous nine matches against the Australian. However, he had to dig deep for his latest victory, saving two match points at 6-5 down in the final set. With the final set tie-break format played out as a first-to-ten match-break, Lapthorne eventually wrapped up a tense 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(10-5) after two hours and 32 minutes.

US Open champion Lapthorne, who’s won two of his three round-robin matches this week, will now play defending champion Dylan Alcott of Australia on Rod Laver Arena in Saturday’s final. Lapthorne said:

“I didn’t play massively great but at the end of the day it’s about getting to the final, about getting through those round
robin stages and giving yourself a chance to win the tournament and I’ve done that.”

For news and updates from the Australian Open wheelchair tennis draws and the fortunes of the Brits follow on Twitter @the_LTA and @WChairTennisGB and on the LTA website at www.lta.org.uk.

To find out more about the LTA’s work with disability tennis, head to www.lta.org.uk/play or email disabilitytennis@lta.org.uk.

The Glasgow Sports Personality of the Year for 2019 took place in the impressive surroundings of the Glasgow City Chambers on Friday evening, 31 January 2020.

Four world class athletes were nominated for the Glasgow Times Disabled Athlete of the Year: Stephen McGuire, boccia; Jo Butterfield, athletics; Louis Lawlor, swimming; and, Martin Perry, table tennis.

Testament to the prestigious nature of the event was that three of the athletes were in attendance with guests. Louis Lawlor was presented with the Award as the Disabled Athlete of the Year for 2019.

As part of the evening’s celebrations, Bryan Burnett, the master of ceremonies for the event, paid a moving and inspirational tribute to Janice Eaglesham MBE. He reminded all those present of how Janice made an impact wherever she was, always promoting sport for everyone with disabilities. He highlighted how she was so passionate about Red Star Athletics, a club within Glasgow, where she coached for so many years, seeing so much progress and success in her athletes. Before moving to the next Awards, a rousing applause in appreciation of Janice resounded.

The Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Danielle Brayson, coach of Louis Lawlor.

Thanks to Glasgow Life and the Sports Council for Glasgow for their continued support of Scottish Disability Sport’s branch, clubs, athletes, participants, volunteers and coaches in the greater Glasgow area.

Brits Gordon Reid, Alfie Hewett and Jordanne Whiley will all contest Australian Open finals after another successful day at Melbourne Park on Thursday for players on the LTA’s GB Wheelchair Tennis World Class Performance Programme.

While Reid booked a place in his second Australian Open singles final, he and Hewett earned a return to the men’s doubles final and Jordanne Whiley and Yui Kamiji secured their place in their first Grand Slam doubles final since Wimbledon 2017. Andy Lapthorne also retains hopes of making it to the quad singles final heading into Friday’s last day of round-robin matches.

Reid will face world No.1 Shingo Kunieda of Japan in Saturday’s men’s singles final after the 2016 champion beat Belgian world No.4 Joachim Gerard 6-4, 7-5 in his semi-final.

World No.7 Reid, who added the Wimbledon title and Paralympic gold following his Australian Open title in 2026, said:
“I’m really happy. To get to the final here I’m really, really excited about that opportunity to play in another Grand Slam final. At points today the match wasn’t the prettiest and at points it was great. In doubles me and Alfie played fantastic, so I think there are a lot of positives to take from today.”

Extreme heat in Melbourne meant play was suspended at 2-2 in the opening set, but Reid returned to court to finish the set strongly, breaking Gerard’s serve to love.

Reid, who beat Gerard in the 2016 Australian Open final to win his maiden Grand Slam singles crown, raced through the opening games in the second set for a 5-1 lead. Gerard fought back to level the match before Reid earned three match points on the Belgian’s serve and put away a forehand winner to secure victory after an hour and 28 minutes.

Hewett’s hopes of making it an all-British singles final faded after the world No.3 returned to court after the heat delay, trailing Kunieda 5-3. Kunieda earned another break at the start of the second set, ultimately wrapping up a 6-3, 6-3 win. However, there was a victorious outcome to Hewett and Reid’s men’s doubles semi-final after they claimed the last five points of a first set tiebreak against Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez and Kunieda and earned a commanding 5-1 lead in the deciding match tiebreak to wrap up a thrilling encounter 7-6(2), 3-6 (10-5).

After beating Fernandez and Kunieda in the semi-finals for the second time in three years, US Open champions Hewett and Reid will now play French top seeds Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer for the title.

Whiley’s first Australian Open since 2016 will see her and Kamiji bid to add a third women’s doubles title at Melbourne Park after the 2014 and 2015 champions beat second seeds Sabine Ellerbrock of Germany and South Africa’s Kgothatso Montjane.

After returning to international wheelchair tennis after maternity leave only last February, Whiley marked her son Jackson’s second birthday on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-4 victory for her and Kamiji as the duo pursue a tenth Grand Slam title together.

Whiley and Kamiji will now play top seeds Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot in Friday’s final and will hope to avenge defeat to the Dutch pairing in last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals. Whiley said: “I’m really happy to be back in my first final at a Slam only 11 months after being back (I competition) properly. Me and Yui have had some close matches with Diede and Aniek at Wimbledon and the British Open, but I feel tomorrow will be more of an even match up against them because my fitness levels are back up there.”

Lapthorne retains hopes of booking his place in the quad singles finals, despite losing his second quad singles round-robin match to Australian Dylan Alcott. Two-time US Open champion Lapthorne, who has moved to No.1 in the world rankings for the first time this week, slipped to a 7-5, 6-1 loss to defending champion Alcott. However, with his third and last round-robin match to come on Friday against Alcott’s countryman Heath Davidson, Lapthorne will be looking to win that convincingly to earn another possible meeting with Alcott in Saturday’s final.

Lapthorne remains a five-time Australian Open quad doubles champion after his bid for another title partnering American David Wagner ended against the combination of Alcott and Davidson. With Lapthorne and Wagner aiming to lift their fourth title together in Melbourne since 2014, their latest challenge faded as Alcott and Davidson prevailed 6-4, 6-3 on Margaret Court Arena.

Lapthorne said: “Singles was disappointing but I’m looking forward to coming back stronger tomorrow. The important thing is I still have a chance to get into that singles final. And in doubles, of course, it’s always disappointing to lose. But we go onto to the next one and I know where I have to improve.”

For news and updates from the Australian Open wheelchair tennis draws and the fortunes of the Brits follow on Twitter @the_LTA and @WChairTennisGB and on the LTA website at www.lta.org.uk.

To find out more about the LTA’s work with disability tennis, head to www.lta.org.uk/play or email  disabilitytennis@lta.org.uk.

The first event of the SDS National Calendar of Events was held last Saturday at the Dalkeith Schools Campus where the Scottish Disability Badminton National Championships was played. Congratulations to all the participants and in particular the medallists in the singles and doubles events. The event has evolved over the last few years and is now under the auspices of Badminton Scotland in partnership with Scottish Disability Sport and Lothian Disability Badminton Club. The event is superbly supported by expert volunteers from within and outside of these organisations and provides the players a competitive step in the pathway with many going on to compete at the Four-Nation events.

You can find the full results at this link

Thanks to Gordon Elliott for the brilliant photos. More of which can be found here:

 

Brits Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid booked their places in the men’s wheelchair singles semi-finals on Wednesday at the Australian Open as Andy Lapthorne also earned his first match win as world No.1 in quad singles.

Meanwhile, on a largely good day for players on the LTA’s GB Wheelchair Tennis World Class Performance Programme, with three wins from four matches, Jordanne Whiley put up a fine effort in defeat against women’s world No.2 Yui Kamiji.

Reid ended the Australian Open title defence of Argentina’s world No.2 Gustavo Fernandez 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-2 to set up a semi-final against Belgium’s world No.4 Joachim Gerard, the same player Reid beat in the 2016 Australian Open final as the Brit won his first career Grand Slam singles title.

With Hewett and Reid in opposite semi-finals, there is the potential for an all-Brit men’s singles final later this week. After his quarter-final victory, Reid said: “I’m very pleased with the performance and result today. I served and returned well for the majority of the match and managed to impose my style, which is important against Gustavo. I’m looking forward to another opportunity tomorrow against Gerard.”

World No.3 Hewett sealed his first ever singles win at the Australian Open as the two-time US Open champion beat world No.5 Stephane Houdet of France 6-3, 6-4. Playing in the first wheelchair match of this year’s Australian Open to be staged on a show court, Hewett earned breaks at either end of the first set and took the last two games of the match on  Margaret Court Arena to secure a semi-final on Thursday against world No. 1 Shingo Kunieda of Japan.

Hewett, who came into the Australian Open having already reached back-to-back singles finals this
season, said: “I’m very happy with that outcome. I thought I came out serving strong and returned well the whole match. I enjoyed being out on a show court, with such prestige to its name. It’s great to see wheelchair tennis getting the recognition and to be competing on those sorts of arenas. I loved every second being out there and I’m excited to head into tomorrow’s match against Shingo.”

Three-time Wimbledon and US Open champions Hewett and Reid also begin their men’s doubles title bid on Thursday when they face Fernandez and Kunieda. Lapthorne’s first match as world No.1 in the quad singles rankings saw the 29-year-old US Open champion beat world No.3 David Wagner 6-3, 7-6(6) in the first of his three round-robin matches at Melbourne Park.

Lapthorne succeeded Australian Dylan Alcott as world No.1 on Monday and will now play Alcott in his second round-robin match at Melbourne Park on Thursday. Lapthorne and Wagner also team up on Thursday as they take on the Australian duo of Alcott and Heath Davidson for the quad doubles title, with the Anglo-American partnership going in search of a fourth Australian Open title together. The final is the last contest scheduled on Margaret Court Arena.

Whiley produced her best performance against world No.2 Kamiji since launching her comeback to international wheelchair tennis last February after maternity leave. The British No.1 and world No.5 battled back from 5-3 down in the second set to force a tiebreak and saved four match points, including two at 6-3 down in the tiebreak, before Kamiji sealed a 6-2, 7-6(5) win.

Whiley, who partners Kamiji in the women’s doubles semi-finals on Thursday as the duo begin their quest for a tenth Grand Slam title together, said: “I played some really good tennis today, but that’s the frustrating part. I had so many missed opportunities.”

For news and updates from the Australian Open wheelchair tennis draws and the fortunes of the Brits follow on Twitter @the_LTA and @WChairTennisGB and on the LTA website at www.lta.org.uk.

To find out more about the LTA’s work with disability tennis, head to www.lta.org.uk/play or email disabilitytennis@lta.org.uk.

Come along and check out our Wheelchair Curling Try Session where we will be joined by world silver wheelchair, Bronze Paralympic medalist Aileen Neilson. The session will take place at Dewars Centre, Perth on Sunday 19th January 2019 from 10:00 – 11:00.

If you are interested or would like some more information please contact AnnMareeDavidson@liveactive.co.uk or call 01738 454700 to book your space.

The session lasts 1 hour and cost £5.10.

For more information see the Live Active website here: https://www.liveactive.co.uk/Events/try-wheelchair-curling

SDS is looking to recruit a new Young Person’s Sport Panel (YPSP) in 2020. This will be the second cohort of the YPSP since its inception in 2015.

This is a great opportunity for young people with a disability aged 16-24 to get involved a committee in order to make a positive difference in disability sport.

The benefits of being on the panel include:

• Personal development
• Enhance curriculum vitae
• Support other young people with a disability
• Opportunity to network
• Social opportunities with like-minded people

Who are we looking for?

• People living in Scotland
• Young people with a disability aged between 16-24
• Committed and enthusiastic about disability sport?
• People with up to 4 hours a month to commit
• Ability to attend quarterly meetings (in person or online)
• Who want to make a difference in disability sport
• Ability to commit to a 3-year term from 2020-2023

If you would like to apply, please see the information and application form below, or contact us on 0131 317 1130 or admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com if you would like this in a different format. Please note that alternatively you can submit a video to answer the application questions using the form below.

Please read the application information before completing the application.

The closing date is 14 February 2020 with interview on 17 March between 1600 and 1900 in Edinburgh.

Application information 2020

Application form 2020

Please find the Scottish Powerchair Football Association newsletter marking the end of the year and the decade as we look forward to 2020.

Thank you for all your support and dedication to the sport.

SPFA newsletter edition 7 December 2019

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) is the recognised governing body for the sport of boccia in Scotland and is tasked with developing players capable of domestic and international success.  We are also responsible for progressing the best Scottish talent to a UK Boccia World Class Programme where players represent Great Britain at European, World and Paralympic level.  In order to achieve this, a competitive national squad is a vital element.

Scotland has a rich history in the sport, and we have produced no less than 10 players (and three ramp assistants) who have progressed to a Great Britain programme over the past two Paralympic cycles.

The players selected for the national squad will be focussed on the 2020 events calendar via both SDS and Boccia UK, not to mention the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.  It is sure to be another very busy year!

There has been a lot of development work going on within the sport, which has seen a growth in the numbers of players accessing clubs.  Last year, we appointed our first National Boccia Development Officer, as well as introducing a new website and social media platforms for the re-branded ‘Scottish Boccia’.  Furthermore, we have seen several new players with performance potential progress regionally, which has been reflected in this years’ selection.

Scottish Boccia is extremely grateful to retain the services of our experienced coaching staff, including Claire Morrison, Andrinne Craig and Jennifer Barsby.  Moreover, we will welcome two new faces to the coaching team in 2020.  Peter McGuire will make the transition from player to coach and the 2012 Paralympian will add a real mix of experience and enthusiasm to our sessions.  Michaela Řiháčková has vast coaching experience from her time leading the sport in the Czech Republic.  She has coached players to a high level, delivered international events and is also a member of the BISFed Development Committee.

Commenting on the Scottish Boccia selection, SDS Performance Manager, Gary Fraser said:

“It is an exciting time within the sport as the programme within Scotland and the UK continues to develop. We have selected a squad with lots of quality, and we are excited about the potential of the new players who will now be able train and play alongside the very best players in Scotland, Great Britain and the World. We are lucky to have a group of skilled coaches, who will be working to improve player performances ahead of a very busy year in the sport.”

For more information please visit:

Website:              https://boccia.scottishdisabilitysport.com/

Facebook:           https://www.facebook.com/SDSboccia/

Twitter:                https://twitter.com/SDS_boccia

Players
Name	Classification	Local Authority
Reegan Stevenson	BC1	Glasgow
Lewis McConnell	BC2	East Renfrewshire
Hannah Craig	BC3	Dundee
Ross MacNeil	BC3	North Lanarkshire
Jamie McCowan	BC3	South Ayrshire
Scott McCowan	BC3	South Ayrshire
Patrick Wilson	BC3	City of Edinburgh
Tyler McLelland	BC4	Fife
Fiona Muirhead	BC4	South Lanarkshire
Paul McIntyre	BC4	Stirling
Scott McIntyre	BC4	Stirling
Stephen McGuire	BC4	South Lanarkshire
Ross Munro	BC4	East Renfrewshire
Kieran Steer	BC4	Fife
Carole Craig	Ramp Assistant	Dundee
Stewart MacNeil	Ramp Assistant	North Lanarkshire
Gary McCowan	Ramp Assistant	South Ayrshire
Linda McCowan	Ramp Assistant	South Ayrshire
William Wilson	Ramp Assistant	City of Edinburgh
Coaches
Name	Local Authority
Claire Morrison	Fife
Andrinne Craig	Aberdeenshire
Jennifer Barsby	City of Edinburgh
Peter McGuire	South Lanarkshire
Michaela Řiháčková	South Lanarkshire