#ScotsonParaGB

Scott Meenagh was once again Scotland’s sole competitor in action om day eight of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in PyeongChang.

Nordic Skiing

Scott Meenagh concluded his Paralympic Games with the men’s 7.5km cross-country where he recorded a time of 25:17.5 to finish in 14^th place with South Korea’s Eui Hyn Sin taking taking gold, USA’s Daniel Cnossen silver and Ukraine’s Maksym Yarovyi bronze.

Scott has skied almost 60km this week as he became the first man for 20 years to represent Great Britain in Para Nordic skiing at a Paralympic Games.

Speaking about his Games experience, Scott said;

“The body is pretty bashed up but if I wasn’t feeling it now then I wouldn’t have given it 100 per cent,” said Meenagh. “I’m strapped up to the max but you need to be willing to put yourself in a dark place sometimes.

“It’s going to take me a while to come down from cloud nine. If you gave me a couple days of rest then I’d be wanting to do this all over again.

“I just love the drive in this environment, it’s just incredible and the spirit of it all made me quite emotional this morning just thinking about the bigger picture and how significant the Paralympics are.

“That really knocked into me this morning and I was really proud I could take to this stage and show some of my spirit and share some of my journey.

“I will continue to do this, I love doing this racing and it’s a pretty satisfying way to compete.”

And now that the curtain has fallen on time competing in South Korea, he has firmly fixed his focus on Beijing 2022 and a Paralympic medal.

“I’m going to endeavour over the next few years to make sure I am as close to the best guys as possible in every single race,” he added.

“Today was an honest account of how hard I can work, how fast I can ski and how much I can suffer so I’m really happy with that result.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t dare to dream and I am seeing what it takes to be at the top of this sport and I am inspired for life now and I am not going anywhere until I have given an absolute account of myself and I am on that podium.”

Tomorrow will see the conclusion of what has been a fabulous 2018 Winter Paralympic Games. However, before the curtain comes down in PyeongChang Glasgow’s Brett Wild will be back in action to guide Millie Knight in the Women’s VI Slalom event.

For an overview of Channel 4’s comprehensive coverage of the Games go to;

http://paralympics.channel4.com/news/2018-winter-paralympics-day-day-coverage-guide/

#ScotsonParaGB

Scotland had one member of the ParalympicsGB team in competition on day seven of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in PyeongChang.

Nordic Skiing

The gruelling schedule continued for Scott Meenagh as he continues to learn and improve with every event at PyeongChang 2018.

In his penultimate race of competition Scott was in good form in the early stages of the Men’s Sitting 15km at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.  He had clean shoots on his first two trips to the range and was placed in the top ten at the midpoint of the race.

Scott had to contend with windy conditions on the course which contributed to him picking up three penalties on his third prone stage and another two on his final shoot.

Those misses impacted on Scott’s final score and he crossed in a time of 58:58.1 to finish in 14^th position. The gold medal was won by Germany’s Martin Fleig while USA’s Daniel Cnossen taking the silver and Canada’s Colin Cameron securing bronze.

After his race Scott said;

“You couldn’t slap the smile off my face today, I’m really happy. It was on after two shoots, I really thought I was in a strong position.

“It was great, I know what I’ve got wrong today and I’m going to go and work on it but I’m really happy with that.

“I’m extremely inspired and I feel that tomorrow if I hit it with the same intent and I can push a little bit harder then there is no reason why I can’t be up there.

“I feel like I skied really well and I was in a really nice place for the first couple of shoots. The third and fourth shoots caught me out a little.

“I can’t afford to not shoot well in this field because these guys are just incredible.”

“We’ve seen a glimpse of what can be today and it’s awesome,” added Meenagh. “That’s a sight of what can be possible.

“These Games have taught me lots of lessons but they have also shown me a glimpse of the level we can be at and if we get it right on the day. We are no worse than any of these guys out here.

“We know what we are here to do and we have a lot of work to do in the next four years but I’ve seen a lot of positives here.”

After five days of intense competition, Scott faces his final event tomorrow as he gets set to bring the curtain down on his first Paralympic Games in the men’s 7.5km cross-country.

For an overview of Channel 4’s comprehensive coverage of the Games go to;

http://paralympics.channel4.com/news/2018-winter-paralympics-day-day-coverage-guide/

#ScotsonParaGB

Day five of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games continued with two critical matches for Team Neilson and the GB wheelchair curlers against South Korea and China, whilst Millie Knight and Brett Wild Women’s VI Slalom has now been moved to Sunday.

Wheelchair Curling

The Great Britain rink of Aileen Neilson, Gregor Ewan, Robert McPherson, Hugh Nibloe and Angie Malone MBE went into today with their hopes of qualifying resting on two must win matches.

The first match of the day was against South Korea and although a valiant effort from GB, Neilson and her team were edged out 4-5.  The result meant that GB were relying on Norway losing to Slovakia if they were to have any chance of progressing.  The result didn’t go their way with Norway triumphing 7-6 in the end.

As a result Great Britain failed to reach the wheelchair curling semi-finals at the Winter Paralympics and their campaign ended with an emphatic 9-3 loss to China.  The all Scottish rink finished their Paralympic Games with a sixth place finish after winning only five from their 11 matches.

China play Canada and South Korea meet Norway in Friday’s semi-finals, with the medal matches on Saturday.

Great Britain Skip Neilson said:

“We came here with high hopes of getting a medal. Our first goal was getting to the play-offs and we’d have liked to have finished off with a win but we didn’t,”

“It’s really disappointing, we’ve worked so hard with so much support from people back home.

“It will take us a while to get over it and it’s a learning experience.”

The action continues tomorrow with Scott Meenagh taking on the 15km Biathlon.

For an overview of Channel 4’s comprehensive coverage of the Games go to;

http://paralympics.channel4.com/news/2018-winter-paralympics-day-day-coverage-guide/

Scottish Disability Sport is pleased to announce that 21 of Scotland’s leading para athletes have been financially supported by SportsAid Scotland.  The Robertson Trust, the Stevenson Trust and Lanark Rotary are the main sponsors and have allocated funds based on performance levels and sports specific commitments this year.

The following athletes will be supported in 2018

Brad Stewart (Archery)
Gavin Drysdale (Athletics)
Sam Fernando (Athletics)
Nathan Fleetwood (Athletics)
Kayleigh Haggo (Athletics)
Alexander Thomson (Athletics)
Emma Baird (Cycling)
Laura Cluxton (Cycling)
Robert Barr (Para Lawn Bowls)
Garry Brown (Para Lawn Bowls)
Irene Edgar (Para Lawn Bowls)
Sarah Jane Ewing (Para Lawn Bowls)
Mike Nicoll (Para Lawn Bowls)
Michael Simpson (Para Lawn Bowls)
David Thomas (Para Lawn Bowls)
Ciara Roulston (Para Triathlon)
Michael Drever (Shooting)
Allan Ritchie (Shooting)
Michael Kear (Alpine Skiing)
David Hird (Wheelchair Basketball)
Gemma Lumsdaine (Wheelchair Rugby)

The financial support offered to athletes at this level is invaluable and Scottish Disability Sport wishes to thank SportsAid Scotland. 

Gary Fraser, SDS Performance Manager, said:

“It’s always difficult for athletes at this stage of the pathway, where both commitment and expense tend to be higher.  This funding will help the athlete’s to fulfil their training and competition commitments throughout the year, as some will hope to be selected for a World Class Programme.” 

#ScotsonParaGB

Day five of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games saw Scott Meenagh back in action in the Men’s sitting 1.1km Cross Country event, Millie Knight and Brett Wild competed in the Women’s VI Giant Slalom event and ParalympicsGB’s wheelchair curlers back on the ice to face Germany and the USA.

Wheelchair Curling

The Great Britain rink of Aileen Neilson, Gregor Ewan, Robert McPherson, Hugh Nibloe and Angie Malone MBE started the day with a record of four wins and three defeats in the round robin stage of the competition.

It was a day of mixed fortunes at the Gangneung Curling Centre as the ParalympicsGB curlers secured a decisive win against Germany before facing a tough defeat against USA. It was a tight start to the match against Germany but Great Britain picked up two shots in the fourth end and never looked back running out comfortable winners by 8-3.

However, Aileen Neilson’s rink could not carry this form into the match against the USA and lost tree shots in both the third and sixth ends to lose by 9-3.

Speaking after the defeat to the USA, Aileen said;

“You just have to be mentally strong in these moments. We came out after yesterday’s two disappointments and played really well in our first game.

“That was what we planned to do this afternoon but unfortunately it didn’t work out. The USA played better.

“I missed crucial draws which, if you don’t make these draws, you lose the game.

“We played another end to try and get another score on the board and to give ourselves a bit more of a feel for the ice.

“No disrespect to the USA but we just thought if we could score some shots, you just never know, you can score a big end. But they were just on fire and made everything.

“In the past we have been well down and have come back. At the break that was what our coach said and she told us it’s not over and it is never over until the last stone is thrown.

“We’re disappointed obviously but we’ll have to come out all guns blazing.

“Everyone can beat everyone else here. We can’t worry on who we are playing or how they are playing.

“We can only focus on how we play so we need to come out and be firing at our best.

“We’ll go away and have a chat now and regroup and then we just need to crack on.”

Biathlon

Scott Meenagh competed in the Men’s Sitting 1.1km Cross Country and ranked 16th in the qualification round with a time of 3:17.72. The 12 fastest athletes progressed through to the semi-finals and on this occasion, Scott missed out.

Speaking after the race, Scott said;

“I hadn’t realised where I’d finished when I crossed the line, obviously I would have liked to have made the semi-finals but when you’re out there you just give it everything and see where you stand.

“The conditions were tough, it was a tough race but at the end of the day that is what we are here for.

“The snow was softer was normal, there were quite a lot of holes around the start which made it difficult but we’re all racing the same snow so there’s no problems there, it’s just about who comes on top on the day.

“But I really enjoyed it, I’ll take that today.

“You have to attack and be prepared to take risks, this race is so much different to the ones that have gone before so you have to hit it hard and don’t be scared.

“You saw some of the best skiers in the world taking risks and falling over, it’s the gamble they’re taking but when it pays off, it’s the reason they end up on the podium.

“I’m getting there with enjoying this type of race but now I’ve got some more to come, now it’s about recovering well, getting back on the snow and ready for the runs.

“I’ll just go through the normal strategies, we’ve worked through different things on the World Cup season so it’s about doing the same things.”

Alpine Skiing

Millie Knight and Brett Wild were back in action on the slopes of the Jeongseon Alpine Centre for the Women’s VI Giant Slalom event and finished in seventh place.

Brett commented;

“I think that was quite far from our best. The first run looked good, it felt pretty but there was no drive, no attacking from the end of the turn, and on every single turn we lost speed which is quite frustrating.

“But to be honest, we’ve had such a bad season and to come here, to get two silver medals and with another chance left, we’re chuffed to bits with how it’s gone so far. We just need to bounce back from this again like we did yesterday and see how we can do on Sunday on the next race.

“We came into this with no medal expectations and we got the two silver medals. Our expectations kind of changed and maybe we got a little bit caught up in the moment but we’ve been brought back down to earth in these last few days.”

The action continues tomorrow with Millie Knight and Brett Wild back in action for the Women’s VI Slalom, whilst the wheelchair curlers face a tough double header against South Korea and China.

For an overview of Channel 4’s comprehensive coverage of the Games go to;

http://paralympics.channel4.com/news/2018-winter-paralympics-day-day-coverage-guide/

#ScotsonParaGB

Day four of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games provided an opportunity to see all the Scottish athletes in action.  The wheelchair curlers face Slovakia and the Neutral Paralympic Athletes (NPA), whilst Brett Wild will be guiding Millie Knight in the Super Combined and Scott Meenagh takes on the 12.5km Biathlon.

Wheelchair Curling

The Great Britain rink of Ailien Neilson, Gregor Ewan, Robert McPherson, Hugh Nibloe and Angie Malone MBE went into today’s events in fine form after winning both their matches yesterday.  However, they encountered a determined Slovakian outfit and suffered a narrow, albeit surprising, 5-6 defeat.

The GB team had previously won four out of five of their round-robin matches going into Tuesday’s first match but made a slow start and never really recovered from going 4-1 down after three ends. They rallied late on and trailed 6-4 going into the final end but needing two to force an extra end but could not get the scores they needed.

Aileen Neilson and her team had the chance to redeem themselves in their second match against the Neutral Paralympic Athletes (NPA), who are representing Russia but a big improvement would be required.  Unfortunately, the NPA were too strong on this occasion running out an 8-2 victory and leaving GB’s qualification (and top four finish) in the balance.  The Scottish quintet are currently locked in a three way tie in fourth position with Germany and the NPA.  They have won four and lost three matches.

Paralympic debutant Hugh Nibloe has said his team will not waste time reflecting on what might have been today:

“The good thing is that we are straight back on the ice tomorrow morning so there will be no time to sit and dwell on the results and wonder what if?” Nibloe said.

His team mate, Bobby McPherson is equally determined:

“It’s a blip, we showed how we could play in both games yesterday and I’m confident we can be back.

“It was a bad day at the office, we just weren’t executing as well as we know we can but hopefully we’ll get back to firing the way we have done so far.

The British rink will take on Germany and the USA tomorrow on day five of the competition.

Alpine Skiing

Already double silver medallists at the Games’ Millie Knight and her Scottish guide, Brett Wild, were in action in the Super Combined event but agonisingly finished in fourth position, (behind Australia) following a poor slalom run by their standards.

Knight and Wild, are stronger in the speed events and were third after the super G run but finished 0.91 adrift of the Australians.  Knight commented,

“I went into the super G tired and couldn’t get the aggression I needed, I then made a massive mistake in the slalom run and I think that cost us. It has been an exciting few days and I haven’t been sleeping well but that’s no excuse.”

Biathlon

In the biathlon competition, Scott Meenagh was 13th in the 12.5km seated event, which was his third of his six events.  Gold went to Taras Rad of Ukraine who clocked a time of 45 minutes 35.6 seconds with Meenagh finishing in 54:52.9.

Following his race, Meenagh said, “That was a real tough race,” “You had to fight for every yard. But this is a tough sport and you need to be tough to do it.”

Following day four Great Britain have delivered four medals and move a step closer to their UK Sport target of seven.

The action continues tomorrow with Scott Meenagh competing in the Cross Country Skiing Sprint Classic, whilst the wheelchair curlers take on Germany and the USA.

For an overview of Channel 4’s comprehensive coverage of the Games go to;

http://paralympics.channel4.com/news/2018-winter-paralympics-day-day-coverage-guide/

 

A squad of seven went out to Allcudia for the 4th Spanish Para-Badminton International, representing four Para-Badminton Classifications.

3rd-seeded SL4 Mary Wilson came into the competition with the expectation of a bronze medal meeting her singles success from this event last year and coming in as 3rd seed put extra pressure on her to perform. She did not disappoint; coming through her group in second position she faced her French doubles partner Veronique Braud for a place in the semi-finals and a guaranteed bronze medal. In a nail-biting three-setter Mary came out on top with a score line of 21-17, 17-21, 21-19. However, she had to settle for the bronze, losing out to first seeded Katrin Siebert of Germany 12-21, 12-21.

In the doubles and mixed Mary was unable to progress through her group having to pull out of her final game of doubles due to a foot injury.

The second bronze was won by Bobby Laing and Irish doubles partner Andrew Moorcroft in the SS6 Men’s Doubles. Having come out second in their group losing only to the first seeds, the Scots-Irish duo were drawn in the quarter-finals against Rachel Choong and Rebecca Bedford of England where they won 21-12, 21-15, to secure their place in the Semi-Final. This was to be their stopping point losing out in a spot in the final to current World Champions from Honk Kong Man Kai Chu and Chun Yim Wong, 8-21, 8-21 and finishing with a bronze medal.

In the singles Bobby topped his group with two convincing wins, progressing to the 1st round of the knock out where he lost out to Brazilian Vitor Tavares 14-21, 21-23.

In the SL3 Colin Leslie, Scotland’s only competitor in this class, progressed out of his group in second place losing out only to seeded German Pascal Wolter. In the first round of the knock out he was not to be challenged by Englands Mark Waller, winning convincingly and progressing onto the quarter finals, 21-8, 21-4. This victory was to be avenged by Mark’s teammate and 2nd seed Daniel Bethel, with Daniel coming out on top in two sets.

In the SL3+SL4 men’s doubles Colin, playing with England’s Anthony Forester, progressed to the quarter-finals losing out in this round to Thailand and India’s Chawarat Kitchokwattana and Vikram Kumar 14-21, 15-21. Playing in the SL3- SU5 mixed doubles with Megan Hollander from the Netherlands, Colin didn’t make it out of the group stages but not without putting up a fight losing out in 3 sets to final pair of their group.

In the WH2 category Fiona Christie was looking to make her mark in Spain in all three events partnering Laura-Lee Jenkins in the WH1+WH2 ladies doubles and David Follet in the WH1+WH2 mixed doubles. Coming up against tough opponents in the Singles and Ladies Doubles, Fiona failed to reach the knock-out stages, however with a thrilling three-set victory against Russia’s Pavel Popov and Irina Kuzmenko in the mixed doubles, Fiona and David progressed onto the knockout rounds in the mixed doubles. Their journey was cut short here, drawing the number one seeds Jakarin Homhaul and Amnouy Wetwithan, Thailand losing out in two sets.

Also competing in SS6 women’s singles and mixed was Deirdre Nagle, in the SS6 men’s singles and doubles Andrew Davies and in the SL4 mens single’s and doubles Jamie Munro.

#ScotsonParaGB

Day three of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games provided a much need rest for the Scottish snowsports athletes in PyeongChang. However, the ParalympicsGB wheelchair curlers were back on the ice for back to back matches against Sweden and reigning Paralympic champions Canada.

Wheelchair Curling

Having secured wins against Norway and Finland and suffered a single defeat to Switzerland, the Great Britain rink of Ailien Neilson, Gregor Ewan, Robert McPherson, Hugh Nibloe and Angie Malone MBE knew that two wins on day three of the Games would keep them well in contention for the coveted top four finish in the round robin stage.

It was the best possible start to the day for the ParalympicsGB team as they took two in the first end against Sweden and singles in the next four ends to race into a commanding lead. It proved too much for the Swedish rink who couldn’t recover and Great Britain ran out comfortable winners by 6-1.

They knew that their next match against Canada would be a much sterner test and both teams took to the ice with an identical round robin record of three wins and one defeat.

Brimming with confidence from their win against Sweden, Neilson’s rink made the best possible start and raced into a five shot lead after five ends. Canada rallied to take a single shot with the hammer in the sixth end but Great Britain stormed back to take three in the 7^th end and win the match by 8-1.

This result left Great Britain second in the round robin table equal with Germany and South Korea with four wins and a single defeat after three days of competition. China head the table with an unbeaten record.

A delighted Aileen Neilson commented;

“It’s been a good day at the office, you can’t ask for much more than two victories so we’re really delighted. We’re now at 4-1 which is a really good position to be in. We’re just getting the feel for it more and more, each day we’re reading the ice better, playing the shot better and things are working out, we just want to keep making sure we build on that.

“Any team, if they go out there and play at their best, is going to win the match – we did that against Canada, we played good shots at crucial times and it got us the win.

“We did keep it tight to begin with and that was deliberate, we wanted to see how the ice played, keep as few stones in play as possible and make sure we’re looking after the house.

“You can look at the margin of victory and see it as a lot but it’s not something we focus on too much, this competition is just about getting the wins and making sure we’re taking the performances forward.

“You can learn from losses but we want to be in a position where we’re playing well and winning the game, there is a lot of momentum you can take forward.”

The action continues tomorrow with double silver medallist Brett Wild back on the slopes with Millie Knight for the Super Combined event, Scott Meenagh back in action with the Biathlon 12.5km and the wheelchair curlers facing Slovakia and the Neutral Paralympic Athlete team.

For an overview of Channel 4’s comprehensive coverage of the Games go to;

http://paralympics.channel4.com/news/2018-winter-paralympics-day-day-coverage-guide/

The Torch Trophy Trust Awards are presented annually to nominations from sports governing bodies and sports organisations, to recognise voluntary work for sport and recreation from throughout the UK.  SDS was delighted that Eileen Ramsay from the  Dundee Branch was a worthy recipient  of a Torch Trophy Trust Award which was presented to her in London on Wednesday 7 March 2018  by HRH the Duke of Gloucester.

Eileen is so deserving of the award for all she has done.  She has been actively volunteering with the swimming club she co-founded in 1993, which now boasts a thriving group of 30-40 swimmers. As a volunteer coach, Eileen has contributed effectively to swimmers within the Dundee area.  Eileen had a desire to make a difference for children, young people and adults with a disability wishing to learn to swim or progress on their swimming pathway and what a difference she has made. Eileen has ensured that many children, young people and adults with disability have experienced the joy and exhilaration of leaning to swim especially learners with a severe disability. Through her patience, natural enthusiasm and desire for participants to share her love of swimming she has enabled many swimmers to discover the benefits of swimming in a fun and focused environment. For over 20 years Eileen has ensured that participants have gained the benefits of learning to swim through her great skills, expertise and commitment.

But Eileen does not stop at coaching swimming, she has been the Chair of her local Branch of SDS for the last 12 years, constantly ensuring that the needs of disabled athletes and players were considered by local partners.

She has also been a very active volunteer with Tayside Special Olympics.

She also served as a Board Director of SDS for 8 years.   As a Board member,  she always paid due care and diligence when executing her responsibilities to ensure athletes and volunteers at a local level had a voice on all occasions. She was a huge asset to the SDS management board and carried out her responsibilities with purpose and integrity, always prepared to put the voice of the local athletes first and foremost which is essential for SDS as an athlete centered organisation.

Eileen has put so much back into disability sport as an outstanding swimming coach, a long standing chair of the Dundee Branch, a SDS Board member for eight years and a lifelong champion for sporting opportunities for participants with a physical, sensory or learning disability. We are truly indebted to Eileen for the countless hours she has given to ensure the joy of sport has touched so many peoples’ lives.

Congratulations to Eileen and thanks to the Directors and support staff of the Torch Trophy Trust Awards for providing such a splendid event.

The picture shows Eileen Ramsay with her Torch Trophy Trust Award