In the run in to the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games, SDS is featuring the seven Scottish athletes who will compete as part of the ParalympicsGB team and today we feature Wheelchair Curling and the Great Britain team of Aileen Neilson, Robert McPherson, Gregor Ewan, Angie Malone MBE and Hugh Nibloe.

The sport is governed by the rules of the World Curling Federation (WCF) with one key difference, there is no sweeping, meaning the delivery of the stones has to be even more precise. Teams comprise male and female athletes with a physical impairment in the lower half of their body. This can include spinal-cord injuries, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and double-leg amputation. The team has four players: Lead, second, third and skip, plus an alternate who can come in as a replacement.

The object is to slide stones across the ice, aiming for them to come to a stop on a target, called the house, which is marked by four concentric circles. When an athlete delivers their stone, a team mate holds the wheelchair to eliminate chair movement. The lead delivers the first stone and play continues with each athlete delivering two stones alternating with the opposing team (16 stones in total). The team which places the most stones closest to the centre of the house wins a point for each stone closer that their opponents. Each game is played over eight ends with an extra end played should the teams be tied.

Curling stones are made of smooth granite and must conform to very precise parameters: a circumference of 91.44cm and a height of not less than 11.43cm. The weight including the handle must not exceed 19.96kgs. Delivery of the stone may be undertaken by the conventional arm/hand release or by the use of an extender cue.

Further information relating to wheelchair curling in Scotland can be found at Curling.

Brief History

The first World Wheelchair Curling Championship was held in January 2002 and, in March that year, the International Paralympic Committee granted official medal status to wheelchair curling for mixed gender teams.

Scotland has historically been strong in wheelchair curling: the team were world champions in 2004 and 2005, and secured world silver in 2011 as well as bronze medals in 2002, 2007 and 2017.

At the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games in Turin, the Great Britain team of Frank Duffy, Michael McCreadie, Angie Malone, Tom Killin and Ken Dickson secured an inaugural silver medal following a dramatic last stone defeat to Canada by 7-4.

At Sochi 2014 the ParalympicsGB team, comprising of skip Aileen Neilson, Gregor Ewan, Bob McPherson, Jim Gault and Angie Malone MBE, finished 4th at the end of the round robin matches, having won five and lost four. A semi-final defeat to Russia meant Britain met China in the bronze medal game where they triumphed 7-3.

Following Sochi 2014 the Scottish team suffered a disappointing defeat to Germany in their relegation play-off at the 2015 World Championships in Finland. They subsequently gained promotion back into the top flight of competition, securing 2017 World Championship qualification and a spot at PyeongChang 2018.

At the 2017 World Championships, in the Gangneung Curling Centre which will host them at the PyeongChang Games, the Scottish team won bronze with a 9-5 victory over China.

 Meet the Team

Aileen Neilson

Curling runs in the family for Aileen. Her grandfather and uncle both represented Scotland and she first tried the sport when she was 15 although it was not until 2005 that she started playing competitively.

A year later she joined the Scottish/GB performance programme and made her Paralympic debut at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, becoming the first woman to skip a wheelchair curling team in either the Paralympics or World Championships.

The team were to miss out on a medal at those Games but four years later in Sochi they did not leave empty handed after beating China to win bronze.

A multiple world Championship medallist, including the bronze that Scotland won at the 2017 World Championships in PyeongChang, Aileen is currently a full-time athlete, in a career-break from her usual role as a primary school teacher.

Read Aileen’s athlete profile at https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/aileen-neilson/

Robert McPherson

Robert (Bob) McPherson started playing wheelchair curling in March 2007 and immediately took to the sport before eventually making his international debut at the 2013 World Championships in Sochi where the team finished sixth. On his Paralympic debut at Sochi 2014, Bob was part of the team that beat China to claim bronze.

Bob, who likes to listen to heavy rock and punk music as part of his pre-game ritual, has been a key part of the Scotland team ever since.

Last year he helped the team to World Championship bronze medal in PyeongChang, which remarkably represented his first podium finish at that level.

Read Bob’s athlete profile at https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/robert-mcpherson/

Gregor Ewan

Gregor first tried wheelchair curling in September 2007 at Moray Ice Rink and made his international bow in 2009. He made his debut for ParalympicsGB at Sochi 2014 where he was part of the team that beat China to claim bronze.

He was also part of the Scotland team that claimed World Championship silver in 2011 and bronze in 2017, the latter acting as the test event for PyeongChang 2018.

Away from the rink, three-time Scottish wheelchair curling champion Gregor enjoys handcycling and supports Dundee FC.

Read Gregor’s athlete profile at https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/gregor-ewan/

Angie Malone MBE

Angie first tried wheelchair curling in 2003 and quickly took to the sport. One year later, she was part of the Scotland team that were crowned world champions.

Angie and Scotland retained their world title in 2005 on home ice and she made her ParalympicsGB debut at the Turin 2006 Winter Paralympic Games where the sport made its debut on the winter programme and the ParalympicsGB team won silver. A year later Angie was back on the podium, this time as a World Championship bronze medallist.

In 2010 Angie was part of the ParalympicsGB team that travelled to the Winter Games in Vancouver where they finished sixth. The team bounced back in style four years later however with a bronze medal at Sochi 2014 – Angie’s second Paralympic medal, while she added to her world medal tally last year with bronze.

Angie’s contributions to wheelchair curling were also recognised in 2017 when she was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Read Angie’s athlete profile at https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/angie-malone/

Hugh Nibloe

Hugh turned to wheelchair curling in October 2012. Previously a keen rugby player, having represented Stranraer Academy as a youngster and Wigtownshire RFC before joining the merchant navy, Hugh was no longer able to play rugby after he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Hugh played in his first Scottish Wheelchair Curling Championships in March 2013 and was part of the Paralympic Inspiration Programme at Sochi 2014 – watching on as his future teammates won bronze. He made his major debut for Scotland at the 2015 Wheelchair Curling World Championships in Lohja, Finland, helping them to an eighth-place finish.

Medals have also arrived in the years since, with silver at the 2016 World B Championships followed by bronze the 2017 World A Championships, which also doubled up as the test event for PyeongChang 2018, where he will make his Paralympic debut.

Read Hugh’s athlete profile at https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/hugh-nibloe/

Sheila Swan (Head Coach)

Sheila, a Level 2 coach, was appointed to lead the Wheelchair Curling programme in June 2015. She is a former World Champion having won the title in 2002 and also won the Scottish Curling Championships for the first time that same year.

Sheila has worked with wheelchair curlers for eight years in a development role and also coached the Scottish team to a World Championships silver medal in 2011 and a bronze medal in 2017.

Great Britain Wheelchair Curling Paralympic History

Sochi 2014

Bronze medal – Team: Aileen Neilson, Gregor Ewan, Bob McPherson, Jim Gault, Angie Malone (alternate)

Vancouver 2010

Seventh – Team: Michael McCreadie, Aileen Neilson, Tom Killin, Angie Malone, Jim Sellar (alternate)

Turin 2006

Silver – Team: Frank Duffy, Michael McCreadie, Angie Malone, Tom Killin, Ken Dickson (alternate)

The funeral of John de Courcy will be held at West Lothian Crematorium, Cousland Wood, Starlaw Place, Off Starlaw Road, Livingston EH54 7FD on Tuesday 13 March 2018 at 1130.

John was a true volunteer and friend to SDS. He was involved with people with a disability from the 1970s and always maintained his links with disability sport. Gavin MacLeod, CEO of Scottish Disability Sport said, “John was a true gentleman and a committed supporter of disability sport Scotland for many years.”

 

 

In the run in to the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games, SDS is featuring the seven Scottish athletes who will compete as part of the ParalympicsGB team and today we feature Para Nordic Skiing and Scott Meenagh.

Para Nordic skiing consists of two disciplines, cross-country skiing and biathlon. Until 2018, Great Britain had not had representation in the sport at this level since the 1998 Paralympic Games in Nagano. Both para Nordic skiing disciplines have medal events for men and women.

Cross country skiers can compete in individual or team, classical or freestyle events ranging from 2.5km to 20km in distance. Visually impaired skiers compete with a guide, while athletes with a physical impairment compete using either a sit-ski or standing using one or two skis and/or poles.

Biathlon combines cross-country skiing and target shooting. Athletes compete in one of three categories: sitting, standing and visually-impaired. Athletes ski three 2.5km legs (7.5km in total) and fire at five targets (located 10m from the shooter) between each leg using air guns that are mounted on stands.

The cross-country events at Sochi 2014 were dominated by the Russian Federation who won 32 of the 60 available medals – 12 gold, nine silver and 11 bronze. Canada and the Ukraine finished second and third on the medal table respectively, with the former winning four gold medals and the latter claiming one gold, six silvers and three bronzes. It was a similar story in biathlon with Russia taking 30 of the 55 medals – 12 golds, 11 silvers and seven bronzes – while the Ukraine finished second in the standings with four golds, three silvers and eight bronzes and Germany were third with two gold and a silver.

Cross-Country skiing first appeared at the Örnsköldsvik 1976 Paralympic Winter Games. Biathlon for athletes with a physical impairment was introduced at the Innsbruck 1988 Paralympic Games. Athletes with a visual impairment were added into the biathlon programme in 1992.

Scott Meenagh was inspired to try Para Nordic skiing after getting a taste of winter sport during Sochi 2014, which he experienced as part of the Paralympic Inspiration Programme.

Prior to that Scott competed in para rowing at an international level. He started Nordic Skiing in December 2014 and made the switch from rowing full time in March 2016. Scott made his competitive debut for Great Britain at the World Cup in Vuokatti, Finland in December 2016.

As a youngster Scott played rugby competitively and represented West of Scotland and Scotland under 18s. He was injured when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) while serving in Afghanistan at the age of 21.

Read Scott’s athlete profile at https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/scott-meenagh/

Further information relating to snowsports in Scotland can be found at https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Snowsports.pdf

#ScotsonParaGB

The 2018 Paralympic Winter Games will take place between 9 to 18 March, PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, the Republic of Korea and the ParalympicsGB team competing at PyeongChang will include seven Scots intent on contributing to the medal tally.

Four years ago in Sochi, the ParalympicsGB team had their most successful Games of modern times, winning six medals. In PyeongChang, Great Britain will be represented by a team of 17, the largest representation since the Turin Games in 2006.

In the run in to the opening ceremony at PyeongChang, SDS will be featuring all seven Scottish athletes and we commence today with the sport of Alpine Skiing and Brett Wild.

The Alpine disciplines at the Paralympic Winter Games are downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom (super-G) and super combined. Results are factored to take each athletes’ degree of impairment into account when calculating a time. While there are different factors for the different disciplines in each of the three sport classes, the same factors are used for men and women. Athletes and spectators see the factored time after each run. In all events the winning competitor is the one who, without missing any gates, records the fastest factored time over the course.

Downhill: The most spectacular of the para Alpine skiing disciplines. The vertical drop (altitude distance between the start and finish gates) varies from 450m to 800m, with competitors required to pass through a series of red gates that are used as checkpoints during the descent.

Super-G: Developed in the early 1980s as an event between free downhill descent and the giant slalom. Today, it is much closer in terms of speed and technical features to the downhill discipline. Super-G competitions are held on a slope with a vertical drop variation of 400m to 600m, with the course marked with a minimum of 30 alternating blue and red gates, positioned to enforce changes of direction.

Giant Slalom: Gates are closer than those in the speed events and the vertical drop varies from 300m to 400m. The competition is contested over two rounds using the same slope but with different courses. The starting order in the second heat is created by reversing the first 30 classified places from the first heat or, in some cases, the first 15 classified places.

Slalom: The vertical drop difference can vary from 140m to 220m. The competition is carried out over two heats on the same slope but with different courses, in the same way as giant slalom. The number of gates on the course varies. The slalom requires considerable agility and dexterity since the slopes in slalom competitions are very steep, with thick snow often artificially iced in order to avoid any premature deterioration of the competition surface.

Super Combined: An event which incorporates elements from other events but is itself a standalone event. Contested on a single day, it comprises one run of either downhill or super-G and one run of either giant slalom or slalom. The most common format is one super-G run and one slalom run. The times are combined and a ranking list drawn up.

Glasgow’s Brett Wild will compete in PyeongChang as guide to Millie Knight with their confidence high following medal success at the 2017 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships. The duo will compete in the Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super-G, Super Combined and Downhill.

Both of Brett Wild’s parents are ski instructors and he started skiing at the age of three while on a family holiday.

A submariner for the Royal Navy, Brett raced for the Scottish junior development squad between the ages of 15-17 and has represented both the Navy and Combined Services teams.

Brett began guiding Millie Knight after a three-day trial in Austria and the pair made their debut together at the World Cup Finals in Aspen in March 2016, where they won the super-G and downhill events as well as finishing third in the giant slalom.

In 2017 the pair claimed an historic downhill victory at the World Championships as well as securing the World Cup title for the same discipline for the 2016/2017 season.

Major results

2017 World Championships, Tarvisio, Italy

Downhill: Gold

Super combined: Silver

Giant slalom: Silver

Slalom: Silver

Read Brett’s athlete profile at https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/brett-wild/

Furthr information relating to snowsports in Scotland  can be found at https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Snowsports.pdf

The opening ceremony for the PyeongChang Games will take place on the 9th March and in the lead up to the Games, SDS will be profiling all the Scots on the ParalympicsGB team. There will also be regular updates during the Games on this site and on social media so keep your eyes peeled.