The sun shone brightly on Team Scotland as the medal count continued to rise.  It was the first official day of competition in the pool, whilst the boccia players competed in teams, pairs and individuals for the first time.  The athletes continued to flourish on the track and in the field with many personal bests achieved.

In the team competition Scotland were paired with Canada, who played against a very strong Canadian team in their first match and a Thailand/Portugal team in their final match.  They were defeated 7-1 by the Canadians and 14-1 by Thailand/Portugal.

Sean McCann paired up with Canada’s Jennica Gagne to compete gainst other assembled pairs from the rest of the competitors. It provided an excellent opportunity for Sean to play in this format against a variety of players from around the world.

The Individuals event started today with Reegan Stevenson first up and was unfortunate to meet a Thai opponent in scintillating form. Callum Glasgow ultimately ended up on the wrong side of an incredibly close-fought match against his Canadian opponent whilst Sean McCann won an even closer match versus his South African opponent, Elaanza Jordaan. The second round of matches saw an upturn in fortune for Callum who claimed a victory against local favourite Nando Diedhiou. Sean saw a 5-4 lead after three ends evaporate as Andrea Gimenez ultimately claimed an overall 8-5 win. The three Scots will complete their fixtures tomorrow ass the event draws to a close.

And now to the pool where hopes were high for the Scottish team as they had been training hard under the watchful eye of Head Coach Jen Quinton. Erin Swann was in imperious form and swam personal bests in all three of her events coming within 1% of a gold medal in the 400m Freestyle event.

In a hugely competitive field Rhys Gill swam personal best times in three out of his four races which saw an immediate reward with a bronze in the 200m Individual Medley which included an incredible ten second PB.

Kyle Hughes had the most successful outing of all the swimming Scots by securing a bronze and silver medal for his efforts in the 100m Breaststroke and the 50m Freestyle, which also saw Isaac Dunning claim a Bronze to ensure the podium was bedecked in the Saltire. Isaac added another bronze to his haul in the 100m Breaststroke to make it an incredible first day of competition in the pool for Team Scotland.

On Day 2 of the athletics event Team Scotland continued to produce medal-winning performances following on from yesterday’s success. Up first was Shelby Watson in the T33 1500m final where she cruised to victory to ensure Flower of Scotland would be played at least once.

On the field Kirsty Soutar made her CP World Games debut in F32 discus. She performed well to finish in third place but unfortunately no bronze medal was awarded due to the minus one rule in place.

Connaire McAlindon was in action in the F37 discus.  He got over yesterday’s disappointment to throw a 2m PB and finish in 6^th position.

The evening session kicked off with Nathan Blackie claiming silver in the T34 200m.  Five minutes later Shelby Watson won her fourth Gold of the games in the T33 200m.  In T37 200m men’s final Lewis Clow was in confident mood following a PB in his heat.  He started well and coming down the home straight got himself into 3^rd place, unfortunately he stumbled 10m from the line to shatter his hopes of a medal position.

Next up was the women’s T37 200m final and Abbie McInally delivered another stunning performance to bring home another Gold for Team Scotland.  The 200m events were rounded off with Ross ‘the Scottish Rocket’ Paterson in the T38 men’s final.  Ross was ranked fourth after the heats started well and in the home straight lived up to his name as he stormed over the line in bronze medal position.

In the T34 800m Nathan Blackie looked comfortable in his first lap, and in the back straight was in second position.  Nathan headed down the home straight battling to keep ahead but was overtaken on the line to take a respectable bronze medal.

Last but certainly not least, Graham Condie was outstanding in the throwing cage.  First to throw he had a long wait to be declared champion.  A phenomenal performance and personal best ensured the day was rounded off with Flower of Scotland.

Looking forward to the final day of competition with athletes from all three sports in action.

Scottish Disability Sport are delighted to support and welcome Special Olympics Scotland to Stirling to host their 40th Anniversary Games. 

The Games are hosted in Stirling between the 9-13th August 2018 and will welcome 1,200 athletes, 400 coaches and officials, 500 volunteers and attract 5,000 family members and spectators to the event from across the UK and Europe.

The evening of Thursday 9th August saw the event’s Opening Ceremony hosted at Forthbank Stadium with presenters Greg Wallace and Gail Porter and special guests Red Hot Chilli Pipers headlining the celebration.

The games consist of three days of competition, with athletes competing in nine different sports:

• Badminton
• Boccia
• Cycling
• Football
• Golf
• Athletics (lower ability)
• Table tennis
• Swimming (lower ability)
• Indoor Rink Bowls

All sports are divisioned to cater for all ability levels, including exclusive lower ability competition in swimming, athletics and multi activity training programme (MATP), enabling very low ability and multi disability athletes to enjoy competing at a high-profile national games.

Laura Davies, Special Olympics GB rep, said: “We are delighted to welcome all the athletes to Stirling for the Games, it’s great to see all the athletes and families full of smiles, fun competition and sportsmanship- exactly what the Special Olympics is all about.”

Scottish Disability Sport would like to wish Special Olympics Scotland, and all the athletes, coaches, volunteers and partners involved, success at the 40th Anniversary Games. For full information on the Anniversary Games, the sports schedule, and latest news and press updates please visit: www.specialolympicsscotland40.com/

If you would like to find out more information about disability sport in the Central area please contact SDS RDM Cheryl Lappin on 07577 830360 or cheryl.lappin@scottishdisabilitysport.com

A second Multi-Skills Award course has been arranged to meet demand. This is primarily aimed at engaging people with disabilities who are looking to get involved or develop their coaching. Those coaching people with disabilities are also welcome to attend.

Date: Saturday 13 October and Saturday 3 November 2018

Time: 9.30am – 5pm

Venue: Clydebank Leisure Centre

Full information can be seen here.

 

On a day of mixed weather conditions that ranged from glorious sunshine, to thunder and lightning and torrential downpours, Team Scotland delivered seven medals on the track, on the opening day of the CPISRA World Games.

Shelby Watson won the first Scottish medal of the day, which was gold in the T33 800m final. This was swiftly followed by Lewis Clow, who delivered a personal best performance in the T37 Long Jump.  Ewan Waite was up next to compete in his first race of the season after an injury plagued 13 months.  Ewan was happy with his performance and claimed bronze in the T38 800m Final.  A string of fine performances saw Abbie McInally, Ross Paterson, Nathan Blackie and Lewis Clow qualify for finals in the evening session.  Connaire McAlindon competing in the T37 Shot Putt, battled through injury to place seventh in a very competitive field.

The evening session was delayed due to the severe thunder and lightning storm which swept through Sant Cugat.  When events resumed, Nathan Blackie produced a fine performance to come home in second place to claim the silver medal.  World record holder Gavin Drysdale made his first appearance at these Games and stormed to victory in the RR3 100m final, which culminated in a crash, but fortunately Gavin was not hurt and will compete again tomorrow.  Shelby Watson followed her earlier performance by winning her second gold of the competition in the T33 100m final.  Ross Paterson and Lewis Clow raced back to back in the T38 and T37 100m finals.  These races were an excellent advert for CP athletics, as they both ended in blanket finishes, with the Scottish athletes both placing 4^th in their respective events.  The final event of the day saw Abbie McInally, making her debut at the CP World Games, putting in a fine performance to finish in silver medal position in the T37 100m with a personal best time.

CPISRA World Games 2018
Athletics Results Thursday 9 August
Name	Surname	Event	Time / Distance	Result
Nathan	Blackie	T34 800m		**
Lewis	Clow	T36/37/38 Long Jump	4.74m	Bronze
Shelby	Watson	T33/34 800m	3.04.16	Gold
Connaire	McAlindon	F37/38 Shot Put	8.75	7th
Ewan	Waite	T38 800m	2.17.04	Bronze
Abbie	McInally	T37 100m	15.22	Silver
Lewis	Clow	T37 100m	12.87	4th
Ross	Paterson	T38 100m	12.5	4th
Nathan	Blackie	T34 100m	17.91	Silver
Gavin	Drysdale	RR3 100	18.03	Gold
Shelby	Watson	T33 100m	23.04	Gold
**Final will take place on Friday 10 August

Away from the track, the Scottish boccia players were taking part in their second day of the Boccia Camp.  In the morning session the players worked on a variety of tactics with emphasis on the use of angles to gain a competitive advantage. This was followed by a session on match play where players had the opportunity to practice with their playing partners for the team and pairs competition tomorrow,

The swimmers had their last day of training where coaches fine-tuned their starts in preparation for the competition starting on Friday at 1000.

We are looking forward to see all athletes, swimmers and boccia players in action today!

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) wants to understand the impact of sport and other physical activity on the lives of disabled people across Scotland.  To achieve this SDS is asking participants and athletes with a disability to complete a short questionnaire to share their views and experiences on how physical activity and sport has impacted on their day to day lives.

The questionnaire can be viewed via the link below:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/AthletesSurvey2018

Your support in completing this questionnaire is greatly appreciated and will assist us in gathering much needed information about what sport and other physical activity can do for disabled people.

The questionnaire should take around 10 minutes to complete and if you are aged under 16, please complete this questionnaire with your parent/carer. 

 

Another beautiful day in Sant Cugat and the boccia players were up bright and early to begin a 2 day boccia camp.  Players and support staff were involved in looking at various aspects of the technical game for example, analysis of throwing technique, positioning and throwing force. All players were active in the learning and took some great information to be used in the future.

Once again both swimming and athletics squads trained well in the morning and swimming had another training session later on in the day.  Two athletes were also seen for classification in the afternoon resulting in a long day which everyone handled well.

Technical meetings for swimming and athletics took place for coaches to keep them informed of the competition, any changes to the programme and have them an opportunity to ask questions.

CPISRA are also hosting the Proud Paralympian programme throughout the Games with various workshops for athletes to attend.  Some of the boccia squad took the opportunity this evening to listen to the inspirational speakers who were engaging and informative on the topics of Dual career and athlete wellbeing which were very worthwhile!

As part of the Games CPISRA held a General Assembly at the Exe Campus, Sant Cugat where all the international members met to discuss developments in CP Sport and the future direction of the organisation.  Following the business part of the meeting there was presentations on Wheelchair Slalom, RaceRunning and some of the research that has been taking place in the various universities.  In addition, CPISRA president, Peter Drysdale, provided an insight into the strategy of the organisation beyond the Games.

There was also time to network in our regions and Scotland had the opportunity to discuss key matters with the other European nations.  This was insightful and thought provoking as we considered the key priorities for CP sport and how best to work together.  The meeting ended on a high when CPISRA and the Asian Paralympic Committee signed a memorandum of understanding to work together for the benefit of CP athletes across the Asian nations.

It was clear to see that a lot of work has been done over the past couple of years and the future looks bright for the organisation.

After dinner at both accommodation sites everyone relaxed in preparation for tomorrow, after another successful days training.

Swimming have one last day of training, with the boccia players having day 2 of their camp! The athletics competition begins tomorrow (Thursday 9th August) with the following athletes competing:

• Abbie McInally – T37 100m
• Connaire McAlindon – F37 Shot put
• Gavin Drysdale – RR3 100m
• Lewis Clow – T37 Long Jump and 100m
• Nathan Blackie – T34 100m and 800m
• Ross Paterson – T38 100m
• Shelby Watson – T33 800m

The full schedule can be seen here.

Team Scotland had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the facilities at the CPISRA World Games and get their first training sessions under their belt, in all three sports.

Athletics and Swimming events are being held at the Centre d’Alt Rendiment (CAR) which is a high performance sports complex with World Class facilities, in the city of Sant Cugat.

The swimming squad and their coaches arrived at the facility first for a 9.30am training session, where coaches Jennifer Quinton and Andy Hemphill put the swimmers through their paces.  This allowed the swimmers to get used to their surroundings and enabled them to begin their preparations for the competition ahead.  Following the session, two of the swimmers were seen for International Classification, which is a major step in their International swimming careers.

The athletics squad and their coaches arrived at CAR for a 10am start.  After collecting and assembling equipment such as racing wheelchairs, throwing frames and race running bikes, the athletes began training at the track under the watchful eye of coaches Charlie Forbes, Pamela Robson and John Kinder.  The athletes coped well with a variety of stretches, drills and exercises in the excessive Catalan heat.

Following lunch at the venue, the athletes and the swimmers headed back to the hotels for some rest and recovery.

The boccia players had a more restful start to the day, as their first opportunity to access the Rambla del Celler facility, which has hosted many International Boccia Championships, was not until 3.00pm.  Due to the late start, the players and support staff explored the local area and enjoyed some Catalan culture.  National Coach, Andrinne Craig, prepared the players with a variety of stretches and training drills allowing the players to get used to the courts and the sports hall.  One of the major challenges for the players, will be overcoming the temperatures inside the hall.

After the team had dinner, transport arrived to take everyone to the Opening Ceremony at the La Guardinera facility.  Following a robust selection process, it was unanimously decided that Isaac Dunning (swimming) would lead Team Scotland into the arena as the official Flag Bearer.  The team were greeted with rapturous applause from an enthusiastic audience, and it was fantastic so many proud families and friends supporting.

The opening ceremony included a variety of acts with traditional Catalan dancing, a gymnastics display and a street dance display, followed by an inspirational address from multiple Paralympic medallist, Stephen Miller and local dignitaries.   The final act of the night was an impressive aerial dance and light display.

Tomorrow is another day of training for athletes and swimmers, whilst the boccia players begin a development camp.  The Games begin later this week.

Scotland U15’s and 19’s produced their best combined result at British Wheelchair’s Basketball Lord Taverners National Junior Championships over the weekend of Saturday 4^th & Sunday 5^th August.  The Championships welcomes junior players representing their regions and countries with all matches played at the University Arena, Worcester over the course of two days.

Over the two age groups, there were twenty teams (9 under 15’s and 11 under 19’s) battling it out to become National Champions at this year’s tournament, with the more senior of the Scottish sides coming very close to claiming victory as they lost out in the Gold medal match to a strong North West side (24 v 16).  The Scots were in impressive form, losing out only once on route to the final (27 v 18 against North West) while recording 4 victories including a 22 v 17 victory against West Midlands at the semi-final stage.  This result highlights the excellent progress of the under 19 side as they improved on their sixth place finish in 2017.

The young Scots introduced some new players to the under 15 set up and they were also able to taste victory over the weekend, defeating the North West convincingly on Saturday evening (20 v 4).  However, the youngsters were unable to match the under 19 squad result and were narrowly beaten in Sunday’s Quarter Final match (22 v 18 against Yorkshire).  This meant they would face East Midlands on Sunday afternoon in the 5^th/6^th place play off, claiming a great 23 v 14 victory.  Head Coach Niall Ritchie was pleased with the result, highlighting that the Scottish programme continues to ‘move forward’.

Under 19 Squad List

Name (Classification)	Region
David Beattie (2)	West
James Beattie (5)	West
Josh Manson (3.5)	East
Rory Geddes (4)	Grampian
Tom McCaffrey (2)	West
Logan Kidd (4)	West
Rhys Collier (1)	Tayside
Cameron Watson (4.5)	West
Ben Leitch (4.5)	Tayside
Adam Donnachie (3.5)	West
Jen Scally	Head Coach
Tina Gordon	Assistant Head Coach

 

Under 15 Squad List

Name (Classification)	Region
Ben Flanigan (3)	West
Charlie Redmond (2)	East
Daniel McLoughlin (2.5)	West
Sarah McCaffrey (5)	West
Finlay Erskine	East
Shayne McVicar	Tayside
Owen Leitch	Tayside
Jason Gillies	East
Ronnie Cassels	West
Blair Marshall	Tayside
Niall Ritchie	Head Coach
Connor Smart	Assistant Head Coach

 

Scotland’s rejuvenated Cerebral Palsy football squad face their latest challenge against English based club side CP United. This match will take place at Stenhousemuir’s Ochilview Stadium on Sunday the 9^th September with a 15.45 kick off.

The two sides met recently at the International Trophy CP Football Ciutat de Barcelona where the Scots emerged as 6-3 winners and finished the tournament in a very creditable 3^rd place.

There will be no entry charge to this match but donations to support the running costs of the squad will be welcomed at the gate.

Our sincere thanks go to the Scottish FA, NorDan UK Ltd, The Blue Eyes Sports Foundation, Arnold Clark and Fresh Interior Solutions for their generous support of the Scottish National Cerebral Palsy Football team.

The Scotland Team have arrived safe and well in Sant Cugat, Spain, for the CPISRA World Games 2018.

After a very early start and a smooth operation at Edinburgh Airport with fantastic assistance from the staff and crew of Ryanair, all athletes, coaches, support staff and luggage arrived intact at El Prat Airport in Barcelona.

A quick 20-minute bus journey transported Team Scotland to their hotels in Sant Cugat.

Although the team is split between two hotels, all athletes, coaches and support staff settled in to the accommodation comfortably. Everyone familiarised themselves with the surroundings and explored a little of the lovely Spanish town.

Team management ventured to the swimming and athletics venue, and the swimming and athletics coaches attended classification meetings.

Athletes, swimmers and boccia players rested before training sessions begin on the 7th of August.

The team are looking forward to the week ahead, with the Opening Ceremony taking place this evening at La Guinardera.