On Sunday 25 September 2016, an enthusiastic group of coaches attended an Inclusive Bowls Coaching Workshop at the Ambassador Indoor Bowling Centre in Prestwick.

The purpose of the workshop was to allow participants to gain a greater understanding of inclusion for bowlers with a physical, sensory or learning disability, as well as giving them an insight into the classification process within bowls and knowledge of adaptation of the young persons’ bowls pack.

The tutors for the day were amongst the best in Scotland – Bob Dick and Ron McArthur, National Coaches for the Scottish Disability Bowls Squad; Richard Brickley MBE, one of only three International Bowls for the Disabled classifiers within the UK; and Val Wright, tutor for Bowls Scotland.

Each delegate attended four workshops which focussed on specific dimensions of bowls for bowlers with a disability. The day was concluded with a stimulating question and answer panel session with four of Scotland’s leading bowlers, John Wardrope, Robert Barr, Mary Wilson and John Hughes, a member of the Scottish team who played in the IBD World Championships in New Zealand 2015.

The day was a resounding success, with all the coaches taking a great deal of learning from the experience. An exciting development is that a session for bowlers with a disability is planned in the near future in the West of Scotland. Our thanks must be extended to the tutors, bowlers for sharing their experience, and the Ambassador Indoor Bowling Centre for making us so very welcome.

For further details, or if you would like to become involved in disability bowls, please contact Ron McArthur, SDS Inclusive Bowls Performance Development Manager, on ron.mcarthur@scottishdisabilitysport.com or 07788 878 470.

Scotland will be represented in the first ever GB Para Badminton squad as preparations now begin   for the sports debut at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo 2020.  Alan Oliver, who lives in Tweedbank, is the only Scottish player to be named among the nine-strong squad, consisting of four classification groups.  Each player has won a medal at World level and five are the reigning world champions.

Oliver said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be selected for the GB Para-Badminton squad.

“I’m grateful to everyone for their support and generosity over the years and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

For a full report please see the Badminton Scotland website.

http://www.badmintonscotland.org.uk/index.php/latest-news-a-publications/4011-oliver-named-in-gb-para-badminton-squad

In the wake of becoming Great Britain’s first ever Paralympic Games men’s singles gold medallist, Glasgow wheelchair tennis star Gordon Reid has realised another historic landmark after being confirmed this week as the first Brit to reach world No.1 in the men’s singles world rankings.

Reid, 24, completed his third Paralympics on Friday with a 6-2, 6-1 win over his doubles partner Alfie Hewett in the gold medal match in Rio. A day earlier Reid and Hewett finished as silver medallists in the men’s doubles behind French top seeds Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer.

Between them Reid and Hewett contributed three of the record six medals won at a single Paralympics by players on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis World Class Programme selected for the ParalympicsGB team.

But with Reid having arrived in Rio world ranked No.3 it was his 7-5, 6-2 victory over top seed Houdet in the men’s singles semi-final that was the first important part of toppling Houdet at the top of the world rankings. Hewett also beat Belgian world No.2 Joachim Gerard in the other semi-final before Reid’s win in Friday’s gold medal match.

“It’s such an amazing way to round off an incredible year for me. After winning Wimbledon titles and then the success I’ve had out here in Rio, it means everything to be world No.1 before I even fly back home,” said Reid, who also started off 2016 by claiming his first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open before finishing runner-up at Roland Garros.

“It’s always been a career goal of mine and it shows you’re the most consistent player on the tour. The moments when you win on the court are the most special but this feels pretty good too, especially being the first British guy to do it in my division.

“The hard bit now will be staying there! But I’ll keep working hard and make sure I give it my best,” added Reid.

If Reid was to maintain his place at the top of the world rankings to be year-end world No.1 in singles he would have the distinction of having been year-end No.1 in men’s doubles and men’s singles in successive seasons.

A major part in the Scot maintaining his place atop the rankings will be the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 30th November to 4th December.. Reid finished third at the year-end championship for the world’s top eight singles players in 2014.

Photo courtesy of the Tennis Foundation

The 2016 SDS National Senior Athletics Championships were held on Wednesday 14 September at Grangemouth Athletics Stadium in partnership with scottishathletics. With news of Scottish success winging its way from Rio and providing inspiration to the 250 plus athletes from branches around Scotland the action got underway with the 1500m. SDS Academy athlete Owen Miller finished just outside the Championship Record he claimed at last year’s event to claim gold from his talented stable-mate Sam Fernando. West of Scotland’s T20 athlete Margaret Newell secured the female title to add alongside her 800m and Long Jump titles she garnered later in the day. Dumfries and Galloway’s T54 athlete Sean Frame eased home as fastest wheelchair athlete before completing a clean sweep of titles ahead of fellow Red Star athlete’s Kyle Brotherton and Luke Deighan.

There was an intriguing contest in the female wheelchair sections where Fife’s inexperienced Susanne McGrath faced up against the youthful exuberance of Tayside’s Murran McKay. The younger athlete won the tight contests this year but as both athletes gain more experience expect these battles to continue again next year.

Jennifer Power from West of Scotland proved to be invincible on the track with three golds in the 100, 200m and relay.

Local athlete George Le Hardy won two impressive golds in the 200m and 400m events finishing in front of West of Scotland’s Robert Ferrol in the former and Forth Valley’s Steven Stone in the latter. In the thrilling 4 x 400m event that culminated the track events – which saw Owen Miller chasing down West of Scotland’s Alexander Thomson in the last leg to win for Fife – Le Hardy, who anchored the, Forth Valley team to third place, ran the fastest lap of the race in 54.05.

Following last year’s long list of Championship Records tumbling, 2016 proved a relatively fallow Championships with just two records falling. Michael Mellon (Fife) bettered his own javelin record by 53cm and Dumfries & Galloway’s Lee Lower did likewise by adding 2cm to his existing seated javelin throw record.

The leading team at this event win the prestigious AR Mitchell trophy named after the late former chair of the precursor to Scottish Disability Sport – the Scottish Sports Association for the Disabled (SSAD). The two super powers of West of Scotland and Fife tend to contest this trophy each year and this year proved no different, with a notable mention to the efforts of Forth Valley who finished in third place on their home patch. Fife’s strength in depth proved to be the difference this year as they retained the trophy they won last year in Perth. Hopefully this serves to inspire other areas in Scotland to identify athletes to bolster their teams with a view to wresting the title from the Kingdom’s grasp.

The event missed the considerable input of the ubiquitous Shona Malcolm OBE and Janice Eaglesham MBE who were both out in Rio supporting the athletes they had worked so hard with. Replacing these lynchpins of the Senior Championships is next to impossible so thanks must go to Claire Archbold and Alisdhair Love from scottishathletics who so ably assisted throughout. We are extremely grateful to the efforts of the sizeable volunteer group from scottishathletics without which, would make this event impossible.

 

Scottish Disability Sport: Reflections on the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

The Rio Paralympic Games in 2016 did not disappoint as the event proved to be both hugely inspirational and successful.

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) wish to congratulate ParalympicsGB on the tremendous performances at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and we hope to see more people with a disability feeling inspired to take up sport as we head into the Tokyo 2020 cycle.  Well done to all the athletes, players and support staff who proved they are amongst the very best performance athletes in the world.  There were many outstanding results, incredible role models and remarkable stories played out during the past 11 days.  A full list of results can be found at www.rio2016.com/en or www.paralympics.org.uk

ParalympicsGB will return from Rio with 64 gold medals, which equates to 12% of all gold medals awarded and the best performance since Tel Aviv in 1968.  The total medal count of 147 is the highest return from a British team since the Paralympic Games in Seoul in 1988.  The exceptional performances of the athletes ensured that the 121 medal target set by UK Sport was comfortably surpassed as ParalympicsGB finished second in the medal table behind China.

 

A Scottish Perspective

SDS pays tribute to the 33 Scottish athletes that competed for ParalympicsGB across 12 sports, all of whom made a significant contribution to the overall success of the team, ensuring that the GB team are amongst the world’s elite in para sport.  Scottish athletes and players on the ParalympicsGB team can be immensely proud of their contribution as they will return home with a total of seventeen medals which were won by eleven athletes across five sports.  Notably 33% of Scots on ParalympicsGB reached the podium!  The medal haul includes five gold, eight silver and four bronze medals, accounting for 11.5% of ParalympicGB medals won.  This is the highest medal tally for Scots at a Paralympic Games since Sydney 2000.

The table shows the performance of each of the five sports:

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games: Scottish Medal Table
Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	TOTAL
Athletics	3	2	2	7
Cycling	1	1	0	2
Para triathlon	0	1	0	1
Swimming	0	3	2	5
Wheelchair Tennis	1	1	0	2
TOTAL	5	8	4	17

 

Scottish Medal Winners

Gold
Libby Clegg (Athletics): T11 100m
Libby Clegg (Athletics): T11 200m
Jo Butterfield (Athletics): F51 Club Throw
Karen Darke (Cycling): H1-2-3 Time Trial
Gordon Reid (Wheelchair Tennis): Open Singles

Silver
Stef Reid (Athletics): T44 Long Jump
Maria Lyle (Athletics): T35 4x100m relay
Neil Fachie (Cycling): B 1000m Time Trial
Alison Patrick / Hazel Smith (Guide) (Para Triathlon): PT5
Scott Quin (Swimming): SB14 100m Breaststroke
Abby Kane (Swimming): S13 100m Backstroke
Andrew Mullen (Swimming): S5 50m Backstroke
Gordon Reid (Wheelchair Tennis): Open Doubles

Bronze
Maria Lyle (Athletics): T35 100m
Maria Lyle (Athletics): T35 200m
Andrew Mullen (Swimming): S5 200m Freestyle
Andre Mullen (Swimming): S5 100m Freestyle

For a full list of Scottish results please click here.

Once again the Scots excelled on the Paralympic stage whilst making a significant contribution to the medal tally of ParalympicsGB, with eleven Scots reaching the podium.  These athletes produced many memorable highlights over the course of the Games however, the double gold from Libby Clegg in the T11 100m and 200m stands out; as does Gordon Reid’s gold and silver medals in the wheelchair tennis singles and doubles respectively.  Maria Lyle (athletics) and Andrew Mullen (swimming) won the most medals with three apiece, whilst ParalympicsGB’s youngest competitor Abby Kane, aged 13, won silver in the S13 100m Backstroke!

There were many inspirational moments throughout the course of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and SDS congratulate all of our athletes and support staff.

Any person with a disability who has been inspired by events in Rio should contact SDS on 0131 317 1130 or admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

In addition, local and regional contacts can be accessed on the following links:

SDS Branches:

https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/about-sds/branch-contacts/

Regional Development Managers:

https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/regional-managers/

Day eleven saw the Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro draw to a close with the Marathon one of the final events of the Games.

Athletics

Fife’s Derek Rae was the only Scot in action on the final day of the Games but was forced to withdraw from the Men’s T46 marathon around the 30Km mark. Derek had moved up to fourth place in tough conditions in Brazil at that stage but due to the extreme heat, was unable to continue. The race was won by China’s Li Chaoyan in 2:33:35.

We commiserate with Derek, who is coached by Ron Morrison and Don MacGregor, after such strong performances over the past couple of years to reach this global level.

 

ParalympicsGB will return from Rio with 64 gold medals, the most gold medals and indeed most medals of any British Paralympic team since Seoul 1988 – and won 12% of all gold medals awarded at the Games, which is the best performance since Tel Aviv in 1968.

Scottish athletes and players on the ParalympicsGB team will return home with five gold, eight silver and four bronze medals, accounting for 11.5% of ParalympicGB medals won and the highest medal tally for Scots at a Paralympic Games since Sydney 2000.

Day ten of the Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro saw Scots contribute a silver and two bronze to the ParalympicsGB medal tally.

Swimming           

Abby Kane from Largs, the youngest member of ParalympicsGB team at just 13, was the fastest qualifier for the S13 100m Backstroke final, with a time of 1:09.09 in her heat, a new Paralympic Record and a two second personal best.

Abby started the final strongly but Ukraine’s Anna Stetsenko, used her strength and experience to good effect to take the lead after the turn. Stetsenko powered home to take the gold in 1:08.30, a new Paralympic Record. Abby finished second in 1:09.30 for the silver medal while Australia’s Katja Dedekind took bronze in 1:12.25.

Following the race, Abby said,

“I don’t know how I feel, I’m speechless but so, so happy.  I didn’t even expect to get to Rio let alone medal; it’s a lot to take in”

“I’ve loved being part of ParalympicsGB and have got on really well with everyone on the swimming team. It’s been an amazing experience and I’ve got to know people here that my brother (Fraser) knew when he competed so that’s been really special.”

Next into the pool was Glasgow’s Andrew Mullen in the S5 100m Freestyle final, an event he won gold at in Funchal earlier in the year at the IPC Swimming European Championships. Andrew was up against familiar rivals in Brazil’s Daniel Dias and Roy Perkins from the USA but he flew off the blocks and again had a superb under water phase. Mullen already had 50m Backstroke silver and 200m Freestyle bronze to his name from Rio and finished the race in 1:15.93 to add a second bronze to his Rio collection.

Andrew said:

“I’m super pleased with that, it’s been a fantastic Games for me. Coming into this meet, I had no Paralympic medals and now I’ve got three”.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to be a Paralympic medallist, so now I’m looking to build on this in the future”.

“I think coming fourth at London was good for me, I was only young and I was able to learn a lot from it, and I think the experience I’ve been able to accumulate over the four years since has enabled me to stand on the biggest stage.”

Athletics

Dunbar’s Maria Lyle has come of age at the Paralympic Games as she clinched her third medal with bronze in the T35 200m in Rio. Maria, who won silver and bronze in the 4x100m relay and 100m respectively set a new season’s best of 29.35, crossing the line over three seconds quicker than Italy’s Oxana Corso in fourth. The gold medal was taken by China’s Zhou Xia, who set a new world record of 28.22 secs, with Australian world champion Isis Holt taking silver.

Maria said:

“I liked doing the lap of honour because I didn’t do it after the 100m. It was a season’s best, which I am chuffed about”.

“Its brilliant to have won three medals at my first Paralympic Games. I couldn’t compete with the Chinese girl so I just needed to do my best. I’ve had a really good games considering I haven’t had the best preparations.”

Earlier in the day, Sammi Kinghorn smashed through her personal best to finish third in her T53 800m heat and qualify third fastest for the final. Sammi crossed the line in 1:48.89, just 0.52 seconds off the new Paralympic record set by China’s Zhou Hongzhuan in the same heat.

In the final,  Sammi put in a spirited performance to finish 6th in a time of 1:49.51 in what was her third final in Rio with the gold going to Zhou Hongzhuan in a world record 1:47.45.

Wheelchair Rugby

Despite a final group match victory over host nation Brazil by 52-32, GB were not able to make the semi-finals and instead faced a difficult 5^th/6^th play-off match against Sweden. GB and Glasgow’s Michael Kerr, secured their 5th place with a comfortable victory over the Swedes.

The first quarter was a close affair but coach Paul Shaw’s side then started to open up an advantage and were good value for their 56-42 victory. Despite failing short of their target of a first-ever medal at the Games, GB can still look back on this campaign with pride.

They lost to Games finalists Australia by just two points and were edged out in overtime by top seeds Canada, who lost to the United States in their semi-final. Fifth is a repeat of their performance at London 2012 but this team won last year’s European Championships in Finland and there is plenty of young talent that learn from their time in Rio and take this forward to Tokyo 2020.

Cycling

Former SDS Academy athlete, Steve Bate and guide Adam Duggleby added a third cycling medal of the day with bronze in the Men’s Tandem B Road Race.

 

The addition of the silver medal for Abby Kane and the bronze medals for Maria Lyle and Andrew Mullen brings the Scottish Medal Tally within the ParalympicsGB team to five gold, eight silver and four bronze.

Day nine of the Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro resulted in the addition of a gold and a silver for two of the Scots within the ParalympicsGB team.

Wheelchair Tennis

Having missed out on the gold medal in the Men’s Doubles competition last night, Gordon Reid was determined not to let another gold slip through his fingers when he faced fellow Brit and doubles partner in the final of the Men’s Singles.

Gordon followed fellow Scot Andy Murray as he secured a famous double, adding Paralympic gold to his Wimbledon wheelchair tennis title in Rio. Gordon overpowered his teammate, winning 6-2, 6-1 in just 54 minutes.

The world number three said:

“There’s actually a picture of Andy Murray as you go out onto Centre Court and when I watched him win gold here last month, I knew I wanted to do the same”.

“I’m honoured to be talked about in the same breathe as him. The Olympians inspired us by getting the job done here in Rio. I felt confident and to have this gold around my neck ranks right alongside winning Wimbledon”

“As a team we’ve smashed our medal target and I can’t wait to share this moment with my friends and family out here, who’ve all lost their voices, as well as those back home.”.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet what an amazing week I’ve had but to take home a gold and silver really tops off an incredible year for me”.

“I didn’t see this success coming and it was only before the US Open last year that I started working with a sports psych to help me enjoy my matches more and stop putting so much pressure on myself.”

Swimming

The first Scot to race in the pool today was Edinburgh’s Stephen Clegg who was competing in the heats of the Men’s S13 100m. It was a tightly contested heat and despite a good swim of 55.85, Stephen finished in 4^th place meaning he failed to qualify for the final.

Next into the pool was Glasgow’s Andrew Mullen in the heats of the Men’s S5 50m Backstroke. The eight-time European champion won his heat, qualifying second fastest for the final with a time of 37.77. Andrew sealed a stunning silver, stopping the clock in 37.94 as Brazil’s Daniel Dias won a popular gold.

After his race Andrew said:

“I go into every race wanting to win, that’s my personality, I like to think I can challenge anyone. But that was a fantastic swim from Daniel. I came away with a silver, so it’s bitter sweet.

“I’ve had a great week here, I’ve swam four races and swam three personal bests so I can’t really complain with that. It’s my second Paralympic record.”

Wheelchair Basketball

Ayr’s Robyn Love lined up in the GB team to face the Netherlands for the bronze medal match in the Women’s Wheelchair Basketball competition. GB had lost a competitive semi-final encounter against the USA by 89-78.

Unfortunately, the Netherlands won their second successive Paralympic bronze as they bounced back from a humbling semi-final defeat to Germany to beat GB 76-34. This was still a best-ever finish for a GB women’s wheelchair basketball team and, with a young team, boasting an average age of just 22, hopes are high for the future.

Wheelchair Rugby

Having been defeated in their opening group matches to Australia and Canada, Glasgow’s Michael Kerr was hoping for a fist win against Brazil to have any hope of progressing to the semi-finals. This was a match that GB won with ease, winning 52-32 to line up a play-off for fifth against Sweden, the same position they achieved at the London Games in 2012.

Cycling

Earlier in the week, Glasgow’s Hannah Dines had finished 5^th in the T1-2 competition and she was back in action today for the final of the Women’s T1-2 Road Race. In an experienced field, Hannah did remarkably well and clocked a time of 1:09:03 to finish in 5^th place once again. These Games were an excellent learning experience for Hannah who will undoubtedly be back for the Tokyo Games in 2020 faster and stronger.

 

The addition of the gold medal for Gordon Reid and silver medal for Andrew Mullen brings the Scottish Medal Tally within the ParalympicsGB team to five gold, seven silver and two bronze.

Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid came away with the Rio Paralympic Tennis Event men’s doubles silver medal on Thursday’s penultimate day of competition as they prepare to go head-to-head for the gold medal in the men’s singles on Friday.

Wimbledon champions and second seeds Hewett and Reid recovered well after dropping the opening set to French top seeds Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer, breaking serve to lead 2-0 in the second set and taking the set with another break of serve.

However, Houdet and Peifer regained the momentum in the final set and eventually clinched the gold medal 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

ParalympicsGB’s fourth medal of the Paralympic Tennis Event will become an unprecedented six medals on Friday when third seed Reid and 13th seed Hewett also become the first Great Britain players to contest a Paralympic men’s singles final.

“The overriding feeling right now is disappointment but that’s because we gave ourselves a chance to win the gold and couldn’t quite keep the momentum going in the third set,” said 18-year-old Hewett, who is playing in his first Paralympics.

“If we’d been going home with one silver medal each, that would have been amazing but we both know we’re picking up another one tomorrow, so we’re going to enjoy every minute of it. We’ve never been in this situation before in a high profile match but we’ll prepare exactly the same and treat it like any other match and may the best man win.”

“The fightback in the second set took a lot of our energy and the French are such an experienced pair. Our coaches and everyone behind the scenes at the Tennis Foundation have worked so hard to get us to this point so this medal is for them as well,” said Reid.

“Tomorrow might not ever happen again with two Brits in the final, so we’ll enjoy the occasion and the fact we’re contributing plenty of medals from wheelchair tennis to the ParalympicsGB tally, which makes us very proud.”

Photo courtesy of the Tennis Foundation