Day six on Gold Coast and Scotland’s Para Bowlers faced an important semi-final fixture while Scotland’s top wheelchair athlete took to the track for the first time and our top powerlifter looked to improve on his 2014 finish.

Lawn Bowls

The B2/B3 Mixed Pair of Irene Edgar and Robert Barr, with Directors David Thomas and Sarah Jane Ewing, had beaten Australia 15-11 only 24 hours earlier. They now had to face the host nation again to secure the ultimate goal of a place in the final and a shot at the gold medal.

Unfortunately, the Scots couldn’t replicate their performance in the round robin stage and despite matching the Australians in the early exchanges, the hosts pulled away in the latter stages to run out 14-8 winners.

However, the Scottish B2/B3 Mixed Pair are not done yet and they will now face their Welsh counterparts in a shoot-out for the bronze medal.

Athletics

Sammi Kinghorn arrived in Gold Coast as the T53 World Champion at 100m, 200m and 400m but she now faced the prospect of a T54 1500m challenge in the Carrara Stadium.

Sammi was agonisingly close to the medals as she finished the final in fourth place with a time of 3.37.91. Sammi now starts her preparation for her next Gold Coast race as she swops the track for the road for the marathon.

Powerlifting

Mussleburgh’s Micky Yule travelled to Gold Coast to compete in the Men’s Heavyweight Powerlifting competition and looking to improve on his fourth place finish at Glasgow 2014.

Micky successfully lifted 174kg on his final attempt to give him a score of 169.9 points. However, this score was not enough to put him in the medals and he once again finished his Commonwealth Games campaign with a fourth place finish.

Afterwards Yule commented: “That number four is cursing me at the moment. I’m getting closer and closer but just not nailing it down. I’m gutted but I’ll go again for Birmingham, which will be like a home Games for me as I’ll bring the whole of clan Yule down from Scotland!”

Day seven of the Games will see the B2/B3 Mixed Pair compete for the bronze medal on the Broadbeach greens and a Commonwealth Games debut for Maria Lyle in the T35 100m on the track.

For a comprehensive overview of the Gold Coast Games go to;

https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/2018-gold-coast-commonwealth-games/

Day five of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games witnessed more action in the pool and an important win on the Broadbeach greens.

Lawn Bowls

Scotland’s Para Lawn Bowlers entered the final fixtures of round robin matches knowing that victories were required to secure progression to the semi-final stages of both the B6/B7/B8 Open Triple and B2/B3 Mixed Pair competitions.

First up were the B2/B3 Mixed Pair who had a record of two wins and two losses to date. Irene Edgar and Robert Barr, with Directors David Thomas and Sarah Jane Ewing were facing the host Nation, Australia knowing that their fate as still in their own hands.

There was little to choose between the two teams in the early stages of the match and after 10 ends the scores were tied at 11-11. However, the Scots upped their game in the closing stages to edge out the Australians to win 15-11. Scotland had secured their place in the B2/B3 semi-finals where they will once again face the Australians. The second semi-final will see South Africa play Wales.

The B6/B7/B8 Open Triple were also in desperate need of a victory in their final round robin match and needed to overcome South Africa if they were to progress to the semi-final.

The Scottish triple of Michael Simpson, Garry Brown and Mike Nicoll fought until the end but lost out 15-7 meaning they failed to qualify for the semi-final stages.

Swimming

Toni Shaw was competing at the Optus Aquatic Centre for the final race in her 2018 Gold Coast programme with the SB9 100m Breaststroke. The Aberdeen youngster posted a time of 1:29.94 in her heat, well inside her personal best of 1:34.98.

Toni brought the curtain down on her Gold Coast Games with a time of 1:27.99 in the final, knocking almost two seconds of her new personal best to secure a seventh place finish.

Day six of the Gold Coast Games will see the B2/B3 Mixed Pair in semi-final action and Sammi Kinghorn take to the track for the first time in the T54 1500m.

For a comprehensive overview of the Gold Coast Games go to;

https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/2018-gold-coast-commonwealth-games/

Day four of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games saw action for Scottish Para Athletes in the pool, on the track and on the greens.

Swimming

Aberdeen’s Toni Shaw was back in action at the Optus Aquatic Centre for the S9 100m Freestyle and her time of 1:08.00 in the heats qualified her comfortably for the final later in the day. In the final, Toni set a new personal best time of 1:04.19 to finish in a very creditable fifth place against a quality field.

Athletics

The Gold Coast athletics programme got underway with Scotland’s Amy Carr making her Games debut in the T38 Long Jump. The 18 year old Sports Science student from Stockton-on-Tees travelled to Gold Coast with a personal best of 3.97 and her confidence high after her gold medal in the F35-38 Long Jump at the 2017 IPC World Junior Championships. Amy couldn’t match her top performance in the final recording a jump of 3.65 to finish the event in seventh place.

Lawn Bowls

Scotland’s Para Lawn Bowlers have had mixed fortunes at the Games to date and they were now under pressure to get a win on day four of the round robin. The B6/B7/B8 Open Triple were facing England while B2/B3 Mixed Pair were paired with New Zealand.

The Mixed Pair of Irene Edgar and Robert Barr, with Directors David Thomas and Sarah Jane Ewing were back on top form and recorded a vital and emphatic 23-5 win over New Zealand to leave them on two wins and two defeats going into the last set of round robin fixtures.

It wasn’t such a good day for the Triple of Michael Simpson, Garry Brown and Mike Nicoll who suffered an 18-10 defeat to England leaving them with only one win to date in the round robin fixtures.

However, progression to the semi-finals at Gold Coast is still possible for both the Scottish B2/B3 Mixed Pair and the B6/B7/B8 Open Triple with both in need of victories in the final round of fixtures to ensure progression.

Day five of the Gold Coast Games will see the final round of the Para Lawn Bowls Round Robin with the Scottish B6/B7/B8 Open Triple taking on South Africa and the B2/B3 Mixed Pair facing Australia and Toni Shaw swims in the Optus Aquatic Centre in the SB9 100m Breaststroke.

For a comprehensive overview of the Gold Coast Games go to;

https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/2018-gold-coast-commonwealth-games/

There were no fewer than 14 of the 18 Para Athletes on Team Scotland in action on day three of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and there was plenty to shout about as one Scot claimed a historic fourth Commonwealth Games gold medal.

Cycling

Neil Fachie MBE was back on the track following his gold medal success with pilot Matthew Rotherham in the 1,000m Time Trial on day one of the Games. This time the pair were competing in the Sprint, an event Neil had won gold in at the 2014 Glasgow Games.

The pair have been in scintillating form down under and they threw down the gauntlet to their opponent by setting new World Record time of 9.568 in their heat. The Scots then defeated the Australian tandem in the semi-final to set up a gold medal tussle against James Ball and Pete Mitchell from Wales in the Sprint final.

It was a straight victory for the Scots, who won the gold medal with emphatic back to back race wins. This result means that Neil is now one of only three Scottish athletes to have won four gold medals at Commonwealth Games, joining Alan Wells MBE and Alex Marshall MBE in the history books.

Glasgow’s Aileen McGlynn OBE was also back in action in the velodrome along with pilot Louise Haston for the 1,000m Time Trial, the event the same pair had taken the silver medal in at Glasgow 2014. The pair put in a fine performance recording a time of 1:08.993 to finish the event in third place.

Para Triathlon

Highlander, Karen Darke MBE faced the daunting prospect of a 750m open water swim, 20km hand cycle and 5km racing wheelchair completed in immediate succession in her bid to add the Commonwealth Games Para-Triathlon PTWC title to her list of achievements. Karen finished the event agonisingly just outside the medals in fourth place, having posted a time of 1:16:37.

Swimming

Following her successful debut swim at the Commonwealth Games yesterday, Aberdeen’s Toni Shaw was joined in the pool by Beth Johnston from Galashiels at the Optus Aquatic Centre for the SM10 200m Individual Medley.

It was mixed fortunes for the Scots after the heats. Toni recorded a time of 2:38.60 to qualify for the final but unfortunately, Beth’s time of 2:51.60 meant she narrowly missed out. In the final, Toni set a new personal best time of 2:38.38 to finish the event in sixth place.

Lawn Bowls

Scotland’s Para Lawn Bowlers took to the greens knowing that the pressure was on for victories with both the B6/B7/B8 Open Triple and the B2/B3 Mixed Pair having recorder one win and one loss to date.

The B6/B7/B8 Open Triple of Michael Simpson, Garry Brown and Mike Nicoll faced a New Zealand side who had made a confident start to the Games and they proved too strong for the Scots running out 17-9 winners.

It was to be a similar outcome for the B2/B3 Mixed Pair of Irene Edgar and Robert Barr, with Directors David Thomas and Sarah Jane Ewing. They faced South Africa on day three of the Games and will have to regroup after an 18-3 defeat.

Day four in Gold Coast sees the start of the athletics programme and a debut for 18 year old Amy Carr who competes in the T38 Long Jump. Toni Shaw will compete in her third event in as many days when she goes in the S9 100m Freestyle. Scotland’s Para Lawn Bowlers are also back in action and must win games with the B6/B7/B8 Open Triple coming up against England and the B2/B3 Mixed Pair taking on New Zealand.

For a comprehensive overview of the Gold Coast Games go to;

https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/2018-gold-coast-commonwealth-games/

2018 SDS National Archery Championships in partnership with Scottish Archery

March 10, Armadale Academy

The competition was ran over 4 sections on a round robin basis with every arrow scoring and the results dictated by the individual’s cumulative score.

The sections were arranged following a qualification shoot and archers were grouped by ability.

Many thanks to the volunteers from the Falkirk Company of Archers for their significant support of this competition.

*The Class 1 Gold positions were shared by two archers as they finished on the same score.

British Triathlon are holding the last of our Tri4Tokyo talent ID events on the 28^th and 29^th April, having already held two successful events over the last year which have brought a number of new athletes onto our talent and performance programmers.

From last year’s events we now have new world medallists and also a great new British Talent squad with a far younger average age than through the Rio cycle.  This has put the sport in a great place not only now but looking ahead to Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

This is the last talent ID event we will hold until the end of 2019 when we specifically start looking for athletes for the Paris Games. The event has been launched specifically to coincide with the paratriathlon at the Commonwealth Games, which takes place this Saturday.

You can read the latest news article about the programme here.

Or you can go directly to the Tri4Tokyo page here.

Day two of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games saw Team Scotland’s youngest member compete in the pool and the Para Bowlers looking for further success on the Boradbeach greens.

Swimming

14 year old Toni Shaw was making her Commonwealth Games debut at Gold Coast 2018 and was facing a tough first day of competition in the pool with heats and finals in the S9 100m Backstroke. The Aberdeen student posted a time of 1:16.19 in her heat to qualify with the third fastest time.

In the final, Toni was in a three way race for the bronze medal with England’s Alice Tai and Australia’s Ellie Cole taking gold and silver respectively. Toni posted an excellent time of 1:16.79 but on this occasion it wasn’t enough and she finished the race in 5^th place. At 14 years old, these Games will be a huge learning experience for Toni and it is already evident that she has an exciting international swimming career ahead of her.

Lawn Bowls

Having enjoyed mixed fortunes on day one of the Games, Scotland’s Para Bowlers were back in action with both the B6/B7/B8 Open Triple and B2/B3 Mixed Pair facing Welsh opposition.

The B6/B7/B8 Open Triple were under pressure having lost their opening fixture to the host nation by 18-6. The Scots got off to a flying start and after eight ends they led Wales by 18-0. The Scottish Triple of Michael Simpson, Garry Brown and Mikel Nicoll were in fine form and stormed to a 27-4 victory to get their Gold Coast campaign back on track.

The Scottish B2/B3 Mixed Pair had a difficult day following their solid 16-6 victory over England on day one. Their Welsh opponents were on fine form and after a fairly even start to the match they pulled ahead to defeat the Scots by 13-7.

The Gold Coast action continues tomorrow with an extremely busy schedule. Toni Shaw will be joined in the pool by Beth Johnston for the SM10 200m Individual Medley while Neil Fachie MBE and Matthew Rotherham are back in the velodrome for the Sprint event with Aileen McGlynn OBE and Louise Haston going in the 1,000K Time Trial.  Scotland’s Para Lawn Bowlers are back on the Broadbeach greens with the B6/B7/B8 Open Triple taking on New Zealand and the B2/B3 Mixed Pair facing South Africa. Finally, Karen Darke MBE will be in action for the Women’s PTWC Para Triathlon event at Southport Broadwater.

For a comprehensive overview of the Gold Coast Games go to;

https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/2018-gold-coast-commonwealth-games/

The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games are now underway after a spectacular and uplifting opening ceremony in the Carrara Stadium.  The biggest event in Gold Coast history has commenced heralding 11 amazing days of world-class sporting competition.

The long wait has come to an end for the 18 Para Athletes within Team Scotland and there was much to celebrate on day one of the Gold Coast Games.

Cycling

Aberdeen’s Neil Fachie MBE travelled to the Gold Coast as the reigning Commonwealth Games champion in the B 1,000m Time Trial, having taken the gold medal at Glasgow 2014. On this occasion he took to the track with a new pilot is the shape of Englishman Matthew Rotherham, fresh from their World Record and gold medal in the Time Trial event at the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Brazil.

The pair were last to ride in the final and had been set a time of 1:00.900 to beat by Welsh riders James Ball and Pete Mitchell. After a shaky start the Scots turned on the power and took the gold medal with a Commonwealth Games record time of 1:00.065. Their time was almost two seconds faster than the previous Games record set by Fachie and Craig MacLean to win gold at Glasgow 2014.

After his race Neil said:

“Winning at a home Games was really immense and I’m just delighted to have had the opportunity to come and defend it here and to actually do it. We had to bring our A game today but we got it done and I’m so, so happy with that. We got to see the Triathlon earlier, where we picked up our first medal. We were cheering that on back in the village, so that was great motivation.”

Aileen McGlynn OBE was also in action on day one of the Games and was in confident mood for her B Tandem Sprint event. Aileen and her pilot Louise Haston had taken the silver medal in this event at the Glasgow Games in 2014 and hoped to be back in the medals at the Gold Coast Games.

However, it wasn’t to be for Aileen and Louise on this occasion as their new personal best time of  11.157 left them behind their English and Australian counterparts and missing out on the final.

Lawn Bowls

Scotland’s Para Lawn Bowlers both faced difficult matches on the opening day of competition at the Games. Irene Edgar, Robert Barr, Sarah Jane Ewing and David Thomas were up against England in the B2/B3 Mixed Pair event while Michael Simpson, Garry Brown and Mike Nicoll were drawn against Australia in the B6/B7/B8 Triples encounter.

It was a great start to the Games for the Scottish B2/B3 Mixed Pair who initially fell behind to their English opponents. However, the Scots rallied to run out comfortable winners by 16-6 in this opening round robin match.

The Scottish B6/B7/B8 Triple faced a difficult opening fixture against the host nation. The Scots lost four in the opening end and despite rallying in the middle section of the match, the Australians proved too strong winning by 18-6.

The Gold Coast action continues tomorrow with 14 year old Toni Shaw in the pool for the S9 100m Backstroke. Scotland’s Para Lawn Bowlers are back in action with the B6/B7/B8 Open Triple and B2/B3 Mixed Pair both facing Welsh opponents.

For a comprehensive overview of the Gold Coast Games go to;

https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/2018-gold-coast-commonwealth-games/

Last month Michael Drever from Leven flew out to Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates for the first Para trap World Cup of 2018. It was the first the first occasion when the leading Para pistol, rifle and shotgun athletes had competed on the same programme in the one event. The next significant event for Michael will be the GBR selection shoot in Wales in May. Later in the year he hopes to compete in the World Cup event in France in September and the World Championships in Lonato in Italy in October.

Since his introduction to international Para trap shooting last year in Italy, Michael has made significant progress in all aspects of his shooting. A strong winter training programme ensured he has retained the sharpness necessary for a positive start to the new season. Scottish Target Shooting (STS) introduced Michael to STS high performance coach Marco Micheli and the results have been instant, following a successful spell of warm weather training in Malaga in January. A further session at the STS national shooting centre with one to one coaching sessions also made a marked difference to the athlete from Orkney who has now settled in Fife with his wife and young family.

The UAE World Cup event was staged, not surprisingly, in a week of warm weather. The lineup of international athletes was world class and the shoot was held in a world class venue. During practice Michael followed the instructions of STS coach Marco Micheli and prepared accordingly. With appropriate adjustments made, Michael decided that he would approach the targets early on.

The first day of competition resulted in a solid and consistent performance with a 20, 18, 20, resulting in 2nd place and two targets off the leader. This gave Michael confidence going into the second day but made sleeping a real challenge. Being well placed at this stage of a major competition was new territory for the proud Orcadian.

The second day did not start too well. A score of 15 was a setback but thankfully it didn’t really affect Michael’s position because he finished with another 20. He was now in joint second place. Following a short winning shoot off with the Australian competitor he was awarded bib no. 2. This was a good place to be because if scores were tied with any competitors wearing bibs no. 3 – 6 during the eliminations, he would progress to the next elimination round.

Michael felt good going into the final but this was new ground for him entirely and he knew it would throw up something new. He started quite well but tailed off towards the end of the 25 targets. The scores were close between all competitors other than the leader, therefore he knew he couldn’t afford to slip up. Michael kept pace for the first targets but on the 4th place elimination round lost concentration and lost too many targets and found himself out of reach. Michael was eliminated at this point but he is confident that he will use the experience of Al Ain as a driving force in the future. So near yet so far and Michael had experienced for the first time the highs and lows of high performance Para sport.

4th place was not the plan but finishing 2nd in qualification was an excellent result. Michael has proven to himself and his team of supporters that he has the ability to go all the way in international Para trap shooting. Next time when he is in a final he will be better prepared and believes he will be a better competitor. All of us in Disability Sport Fife know that he is a hard working focused top athlete, dedicated to his sport. Michael’s time will come and for the moment congratulations from all of us in Fife and no doubt as far north as Orkney.

Richard Brickley MBE – President Disability Sport Fife