St Andrew’s Day (30 November) was a fitting occasion to announce the next 35 Scots, proud to be flying the flag for Team Scotland at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. The list includes six past medallists and 21 debutants from the sports of Boxing, Para- Bowls, Shooting, Triathlon and Weightlifting and now join those previously selected in Swimming, Lawn Bowls and Squash.

Para bowler Irene Edgar and her Director, David Thomas make a return to Team Scotland having won silver in Glasgow in the B2/B3 Mixed Pairs. Robert Barr, directed by Sarah Jane Ewing, will partner Irene this time around and the pair have already experienced success on the Gold Coast greens, taking silver at the 2016 Eight Nations Championships. In the B6/B7/B8 Open Triples, Michael Simpson is the sole returning member of the team that took 4^th place in Glasgow. He is joined by 2015 Singles World Champion, Martin Hunter and 2016 Scottish Champion, Mike Nicoll.

After many years of coaching and holding positions as Head Coach and Team Manager at the Commonwealth Games, within both mainstream and para bowls, Bob Dick has decided to step down ahead of the Gold Coast Games in 2018.  The decision wasn’t taken lightly, and although Bob will remain heavily involved with Scotland’s para bowlers, he will not be attending any long-haul overseas events in the future.  SDS is extremely thankful to Bob for his contribution to our programme and we are grateful that he continues to be involved at national level.

Although SDS is losing considerable experience at this level, it does provide a significant opportunity for one our national coaches to step into the role of Head Coach.  Following a robust recruitment period we are delighted to announce that Bob Christie has been successful and will lead the selected players into, and during, the Games.  Bob has a wealth of experience within bowls in Scotland both as a player and a coach, and in a relatively short period of time, he has made a significant contribution to the para bowls programme.  We are confident that the players will respond to his leadership and look forward to the Games with optimism.

Janice Eaglesham MBE, Chair, Scottish Disability Sport said: “Scottish Disability Sport is delighted to announce a strong field of players to compete in two medal events at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Selection decisions were extremely difficult, but the five players and two directors that were chosen have a blend of experience, as well as a strong sense of team unity, which is vitally important for pairs and triples disciplines. I’d like to congratulate those players and directors, who will represent Scotland at the highest level, and we look forward to the Games with great optimism.”

 

Welcoming the newly selected athletes, Jon Doig OBE, Team Scotland Chef de Mission, said: “Huge congratulations to all of the athletes who have been selected for Team Scotland. We look forward to them representing their families, communities and country with pride in 2018.

“Every athlete with a place on the team has met the tough selection standards, just to make the team and it is clear that we have the quality within the team to deliver our goal of having our most successful ever overseas Games.”

Aileen Campbell, Minister for Public Health and Sport, said: “A massive congratulations to the latest athletes announced to represent Scotland at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

“By making it to the top of their respective sports, and being chosen to represent Scotland, they have already done a huge amount to make themselves, and all of us who will be cheering them on, so proud – and I have no doubt that will continue when the Games come around.”

PARA BOWLS (7):

Name                         Hometown / Lives

Robert Barr              Glasgow / Glasgow

Martin Hunter          Burntisland, Fife / Burntisland, Fife

Mike Nicoll                Brechin / Jedburgh

Michael Simpson    Auchtermuchty / Auchtermuchty

David Thomas        Ardrossan / Ardrossan

Irene Edgar              Glasgow / Saltcoats

Sarah Jane Ewing  Dunfermline / Dunfermline

 

St Andrew’s Day (30 November) was a fitting occasion to announce the next 35 Scots, proud to be flying the flag for Team Scotland at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. The list includes six past medallists and 21 debutants from the sports of Boxing, Para- Bowls, Shooting, Triathlon and Weightlifting and now join those previously selected in Swimming, Lawn Bowls and Squash.

Having recently hand cycled her way 2,000 miles from Canada to Mexico, Paralympic Games gold medallist Karen Darke will take to the start line in Gold Coast where Para-Triathlon makes its debut. Since being paralysed from the chest down in a climbing accident age 21, the Inverness based athlete has pushed herself in an incredible series of challenges, alongside her sporting endeavours, including crossing Greenland’s ice cap and climbing Mont Blanc, Matterhorn and El Capitan, all using just the power of her arms.

Jane Moncrieff, CEO Triathlon Scotland said: “We are absolutely delighted that our triathletes have been confirmed for individual events and will be joining Team Scotland at Gold Coast 2018.  We are particularly pleased that para-triathlon will make its debut and Scotland will be represented. We wish all the triathletes the very best, as they continue with their preparations and look forward to getting behind them in April 2018.”

Welcoming the newly selected athletes, Jon Doig OBE, Team Scotland Chef de Mission, said: “Huge congratulations to all of the athletes who have been selected for Team Scotland. We look forward to them representing their families, communities and country with pride in 2018.

“Every athlete with a place on the team has met the tough selection standards, just to make the team and it is clear that we have the quality within the team to deliver our goal of having our most successful ever overseas Games.”

Aileen Campbell, Minister for Public Health and Sport, said: “A massive congratulations to the latest athletes announced to represent Scotland at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

“By making it to the top of their respective sports, and being chosen to represent Scotland, they have already done a huge amount to make themselves, and all of us who will be cheering them on, so proud – and I have no doubt that will continue when the Games come around.

“Boxing, para-bowls, shooting and weightlifting have all seen great results for Scottish athletes over the years – triathlon and para-triathlon give the chance to make that success even stronger. I am really excited to see the mark all our athletes make on the Games.”

Today’s selections bring the total number of athletes named to Team Scotland to 68, following team announcements for Swimming and Lawn Bowls in October and Squash earlier this month. Further selections will be made over the coming months with Athletics next on 12 December 2017.

 

British Wheelchair Basketball recently announced the under 23 GB selection for its 2017 Christmas Training Camp, with 4 players from North of the Border included within the 31 strong squad.

Scottish based players Ben Leitch (Lothian Phoenix) and David Hird (St Mirren Warriors) will join England based Scots Josh Manson (Tees Valley Titans) and David Beattie (CWSC Panthers) to represent Scotland at the camp, which will include 6 members of the historic U23 World Championship Team.  The 4 Scottish youngsters will be hoping to build on their recent success at the School Games and carry that form into the camp.

The training camp will take at the GB Elite Training Centre, EIS Sheffield and will be hosted alongside the men’s senior training camp between Monday 18^th and Thursday 21^st December.

The training camp will see players from across all the Home Nations travel to Sheffield and begin their journey through the selection process for the U23 GB European Championship Team.  The European Championships are set to take place in the summer of 2018, with the World Championships three years later in 2021.

Details of the selected Scottish players can be found below.  A full report can be found on the British Wheelchair Basketball website.

 

Name (Classification)	Club	Region
David Hird (1.0)	St Mirren Warriors	West of Scotland
David Beattie (2.0)	CWSC Panthers	West of Scotland
Josh Manson (3.5)	Tees Valley Titans	East of Scotland
Ben Leitch (4.5)	Lothian Phoenix	Tayside

 

Founded in 1968, Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organisation for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. This year’s Games will be held in Stirling from 9th – 13th August with 1400 athletes with intellectual disabilities taking part.

Athletes will attend from across the GB and European countries for three days of competition, competing in nine different sports.

You can keep up to date with the latest news and press regarding the games and any announcements at the newly launched Special Olympics GB Anniversary Games website here.

There is also a new Anniversary Games facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsScot40/

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) is the member body of the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) and we are delighted to confirm that a Scottish multi-sport team will be entered into the 2018 World Games, set to take place in Sant Cugat, near Barcelona, from the 5th to 17th of August 2018.

The event is seen as an ideal opportunity for aspiring world class athletes with cerebral palsy to compete in a high performance multi-sport event and we look forward to working with our partner Scottish governing bodies (SGBs) to select a team capable of delivering success for Scotland.  The Games offer ideal preparation for more high profile competitions, such as the Paralympic or Commonwealth Games.

Scotland are preparing to take a small team of athletes with high performance potential in the following sports:

• Boccia
• Athletics and racerunning
• Table tennis
• Swimming

SDS is currently writing selection policies, in partnership with the SGBs of the aforementioned sports, which are set for release in December.

 

For more information on the Games please see the following link: http://cpworldgames.com/

There are only 41 days left till Christmas! If you are shopping online, please remember you can raise funds for us at the same time by using easyfundraising.org.uk.

Over 2,400 well known retailers including Amazon, M&S, Boden, Waitrose, House of Fraser, Vodafone, Virgin Atlantic and many more, will donate a percentage of what you spend to Scottish Disability Sport when you shop with them.

Each purchase generates a donation. So instead of going directly to a retailer’s website, go to easyfundraising first and choose the retailer you want to shop with – then everything you spend earns a donation for Scottish Disability Sport. It’s completely free to use and your shopping won’t cost you a penny more. On average, each retailer will donate 5% of the cost of your shopping – and those donations soon mount up. Please register to support us when you shop online –https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/invite/5L90A3/3M52M8/

Scottish Swimming have released a new video to illustrate their belief that swimming is a sport for all, a sport for life.