Well what can I say about the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games so far…

Well, let’s start at the beginning, shall we? The Opening Ceremony was one of the most incredible and powerful things I have ever had the opportunity and pleasure of watching. The way it began was just epic when a man in a wheelchair propelled himself down a 50 meter ramp to then go flying through the air – just something else. This was then followed by a series of dance numbers including one by a blind pair who performed beautifully in front of a giant screen. This is when the party really got started.

The athletes then came piling in country by country in alphabetical order, but by their Portuguese name (to many people’s confusion). The athletes were met by rapturous applause as they paraded around the stadium in their nations’ colours. Each country brought in a jigsaw piece and they were put together in the middle of the Maracana Stadium. Once the final country, Brazil, entered the stadium the final bit of the puzzle was laid to reveal an enormous heart which began to beat and flow around the Maracana and the line ‘everyone has the same heart’ was projected onto the stadium floor.

After another dance number – this time between female double leg amputeed dancing with a huge 10ft robot arm – the lighting of the Paralympic Flame began.

Four Torch bearers had the pleasure of carrying the Torch from the stadium door to the Cauldron in a relay formation. The second runner was an elderly lady who is officiating for athletics. Around half way through her stretch she had a stumble and fell and dropped the Torch. This was one of the most heart breaking and totally amazing moments I have every witnessed. When it became clear the lady was ok and was going to carry on, the stadium went into full-on applause with a standing ovation; it was an amazing moment that just proves we are all human but wee stumbles in the road should not stop us from completing our journey and our dreams.

The torch was then passed on to a former Brazilian athlete who is visually impaired and was running with a guide.

The final athlete to carry the flame was also a former Brazilian athlete who finished off the torch relay in dramatic style when eventually he got to the stairs which lead up to where the Cauldron was – at this point I should mention this athlete is in a wheelchair. The stadium was looking around as if to say well this is a bit awkward at the Paralympic Games but just as we were all wondering what was going to happen the stairs started to shake and move and out of nowhere the stairs suddenly had a ramp carved into them which he proceeded to climb. When he reached the top of this incredible ramp he lit the Paralympic Cauldron with his torch and the Games were officially opened.

Day 1

In the morning of Fay 1 I was lucky enough to get tickets to be in the audience of the Channel 4 TV show The Last Leg live from out here in Rio. It was a great experience and the guys on the show are genuinely so nice and friendly.

When I walked into the Olympic Park later that day I was totally blown away by how busy it was, the worries that had been floating about a few weeks ago that tickets weren’t selling were quickly gone when I walked into the Velodrome, and this is where my first day of sporting action started at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games where I witnessed GB’s first three gold medals of the Games, including Dame Sarah Story beating her GB team mate in the final of the woman’s 3000m in dramatic form when she caught Crystal Lane in just 2000m to clinch the Gold.

I then quickly moved across to the Aquatics Centre where the atmosphere was electric and managed to catch Ollie Hynd collecting GB’s fourth gold of the day. This was quickly followed by our fifth from Bethany Firth in the S14 100m Backstroke. I also saw my friend and fellow Scotsman Andrew Mullen collect his first medal of the Games which was a Bronze in the S5 200m freestyle.

What will Day 2 bring…?

Stefan Hoggan

 

Former staff sergeant Micky Yule was the last of the powerlifters to compete for ParalympicsGB in Rio yesterday, equalling his weight category PB to finish in sixth place of the men’s -65Kg.

Yule showed much of the determination that has taken him from injured soldier to Paralympic athlete in just a few years as he stepped up to confidently complete a 180kg lift in his first attempt. This equalled his personal best at this weight class, leaving him in third at the end of the first round after three athletes who opened with a higher weight missed their lifts.

The Help for Heroes Recovery Programme athlete then went on to raise the bar up to 184kg for his second attempt, but was unable to make the lift. Paul Kehinde from Nigeria lifted a new Paralympic record of 210kg, leaving Yule in sixth at the end of the second round.

Despite missing 184kg, Yule opted to increase the weight in his third lift to 187kg in an attempt to move up a place in the final rankings, but was unable to complete the lift. The result left him in sixth place, just 1kg behind Nikolaos Gkountanis from Greece.

In the third round, Kehinde won the gold with a 218kg lift, setting a new world record to leave Hu Peng from China with the Silver. After the competition the Nigerian lifer was permitted a fourth attempt to try and better the record he had just set, successfully lifting another new world record of 220kg.

Speaking after the competition, Yule said: “That was really hard today – I’ve never pressed more than 180kg in that weight category, so we knew we had to go big to keep up with the leading countries so we went for it. Rio only happens once and I would have regretted it if we hadn’t tried what we did today – but we live and learn, get stronger and move on to the next one.”

Commenting on Yule’s performance, British Weight Lifting Paralympic Performance Manager Tom Whittaker said: “It was fantastic to see Micky battling it out with the best in the world at his first Paralympic Games. He deserves huge credit after the commitment he has shown to the process required to perform at this level.”

Yule’s performance in Rio wouldn’t have been possible without the support and funding provided by the National Lottery and UK Sport.

Day four of the Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro brought a second gold medal for the Scots on the ParlympicsGB team.

Athletics

In 2014 Glasgow’s Jo Butterfield set a European record in the club throw while winning the event at the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships. The following year she added the World title at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Qatar, securing her place at the 2016 Paralympic Games.

It didn’t take Jo long to wrap up the Paralympic gold medal with a dominant display of throwing. Her first throw of 22.60 set a new Paralympic record and was swiftly followed by a massive throw of 22.81 to break her own world record.

Jo said:

“The last three throws were a little bit emotional, It’s just unbelievable, it’s what I’ve worked for and it feels so good to have done it”.

“Five years ago my life changed completely in a moment and sport has given me a massive boost and a reason to carry on.”

Sammi Kinghorn qualified for the final of the T53 400m courtesy of her 56.76 seconds fourth place finish in her heat. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for Sammi who finished sixth in her first Paralympics final before being disqualified for an infringement. The race was won by Zhou Hongzhuan of China in a world record time of 54.43secs, USA’s Chelsea McClammer took silver and Australia’s Angela Ballard bronze.

Sammi said;

“I’m not frustrated. I need to chill out and enjoy the whole experience. My mum and dad had everyone chanting my name. I’m still young, I’ve got a lot more to give.”

Cycling

Neil Fachie travelled to Rio as the reigning Tandem B Time Trial Paralympic champion following his gold medal at London 2012 and had high hopes of regaining his title in Rio.

But it wasn’t to be for Aberdeen’s Fachie, who won silver in the men’s B 1000m time trial alongside pilot Pete Mitchell. The British duo flew out of the starting gate but could not quite beat the sensational Paralympic record time of 59.822 set by Tristan Bangma and pilot Teun Mulder of the Netherlands and instead sped to silver in a time of 1:00.241.

Also competing in the men’s B 1000m time trial was pilot Craig MacLean and newcomer James Ball who had set the pace as the first British tandem to take to the track and finished in a very creditable fifth place.

Paratriathlon

Paratriathlon is making its Paralympic debut in Rio and there were high hope of Scottish success in the PT5 event with Dunfermline’s Alison Patrick and guide Hazel Smith from Edinburgh.

The race was always close and Patrick and Smith were in silver medal position after the cycle stage. Often the strongest runner in the field, Patrick said she struggled with the intense heat on the hottest day of the Games so far. The pair claimed silver in the women’s PT5 race with a time of 1:13:20 with Australia’s Katie Kelly dominating to win gold, crossing the line over minute ahead of her nearest rivals.

Alison said:

“We hadn’t seen them [the Australians] race all season so we didn’t know where they were at, but they were very strong. We felt the heat massively today on the run, which is normally my strength and where I’d usually make up any time that I’d lost on anyone, but it was just so tough today.”

Wheelchair Tennis

Following Gordon Reid’s Wimbledon and Australian Open titles earlier this year there was real hope of medals in the wheelchair tennis competition at Rio. Gordon entered the men’s singles competition as third seed at the second round and faced Dan Wallin from Sweden. Gordon was on top form in this match to dispatch the Swede 6-1, 6-2.

Gordon was back on court later in the day with Alfie Hewitt for a men’s doubles second round tie against Ho Won Im and Ha Gel Lee from South Korea. It proved to be a one sided encounter with the GB pair winning 6-1, 6-2.

Gordon said:

“It feels like such a long time that I’ve been waiting to get started out here at Rio 2016 and I’ve been watching all my teammates play the past few days just itching to get on court.

“I’ve proved how I can really perform on the big stage and I thrive on large stadiums and crowds as I want to show off our sport and let people see how fantastic wheelchair tennis is”.

“I was lucky to have amazing backing at Wimbledon when I won the inaugural title there and I’ve got about 20 friends and family out here all dressed in Team Reid items and chanting. I don’t find it distracting at all, it just spurs me on.”

Wheelchair Basketball

Following yesterday’s 50-45 win over reigning Paralympic champions Germany in the Rio Olympic Arena the GB women’s team faced a final Group A match against hosts Brazil. GB secured their place in the knockout stages as head coach Miles Thompson’s team took control and silenced the home crowd to secure a 32-63 victory.

Boccia

GB were back in action in the pairs and team Boccia competitions with Scots Stephen McGuire and Kieran Steer, along with Evie Edwards, competing in the BC4 Pairs semi-final against hosts Brazil after they drew 2-2 with Hong Kong to top the pool. It proved to be a lively atmosphere but in the end it was the home favourites who emerged victorious 4-2 to progress into the gold medal match.

It means GB must now turn their attention to facing Thailand on 12 September in their quest to better the fourth place finish achieved at London 2012.

Stephen said:

“Brazil have always played that sort of game, they’re very strong in that area. We tried to play to our strengths but we didn’t quite execute in the right areas”.

“They have home advantage, saying that we could have played a bit better. We are disappointed but we’ve still got a bronze medal to go for and we want to win it.”

Elsewhere, GB and Perth’s Joshua Rowe, saw their BC1-2 Team campaign ended at the quarter-final stage after an 11-0 defeat to Thailand.

The BC3 Pairs team of Scott McCowan, Patrick Wilson and Jamie McCowan won their final pool game against Singapore 3-1 but it was not enough to progress and they will now turn their attention to the individual event.

Scott said:

“We played well, we got that win and that gives us confidence going into the individuals”.

“We’re all great players still and we’ve got a chance of going far in the next competition. We’ve just got to take than on going forwards.”

The three medals won today bring Scotland’s medal haul within the ParalympicsGB team to 2 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze.

Day three of the Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro brought a busy schedule of sports and event for the Scots on the ParlympicsGB team.

Judo

It had been a tough day of competition in the Men’s 90kg category for Edinburgh’s Sam Ingram who had represented GB at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, where he won the 90kg bronze medal and four years later went one better winning silver at the London 2012 Games.

Sam got off to a challenging start in Rio losing his quarter-final fight to Jorge Hierrezuelo of Cuba after being held down in the final minute. He then moved into the repechage where he defeated Haruka Hirose of Japan. With two fights away from a bronze medal Sam managed to beat Arthur Cavalcante Da Silva who was fighting on home turf. With a second bronze medal in sight Sam met USA Judoka Dartanyon Crockett, where his medal hopes came to an end. Unfortunately on this occasion Sam was unable to make the medal podium, but finished a very respectable fifth place.

Sam commented;

“To be honest, I underperformed in this tournament and the referee’s decisions didn’t go my way. Sometimes in judo you need things to just go your way as well”.

“All of these guys from around the world are training day in, day out, in big set-ups with loads of training partners and they’re all within institutes of sport. The Paralympic movement has moved on massively, as the Olympics has”.

“You can see it in every sport. In judo, I wouldn’t predict a gold medal because it’s unpredictable, but for our young guys, the sky’s the limit.”

Powerlifting

Micky Yule represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 finishing in 4th place in the Men’s Heavyweight category and in 2015 he won the gold medal in the up to 80Kg weight class at the  IPC Powerlifting European Championships.

Edinburgh’s Yule, competing in his first Paralympic Games in Rio, finished in sixth place in the men’s -65kg class recording a best lift of 180kg in the first round before failures at 184kg and 187kg.

Gold went to Nigeria’s Paul Kehinde with a world record lift of 218kg.

Micky said:

“That was hard today – the coaches and I knew we had to open big to be in with a chance of keeping up with the stronger nations so we went for it.

“I’ve never lifted more than 180kg in that weight category before but Rio only happens once and I would rather go out there and try than regret not doing so.”

Swimming

Glasgow’s Andrew Mullen was back in the pool for the S5 50m Butterfly following his bronze medal success in the S5 200m Freestyle on day one of the Games. Andrew secured a new personal best and European record but still missed out on a medal at the Olympic Aquatic Centre.

Andrew swam 36.32, three tenths of second behind Brazilian bronze medallist Daniel Dias, while American Roy Perkins took gold ahead of China’s He Shiwei.

Athletics

Following her fifth place finish in the T53 100m, Sammi Kinghorn was back on the track to compete in the heats of the of the T53 400m. Sammi finished fourth in her heat in 56.76 seconds and qualified for the final in one of the fastest loser spots. The T53 400m final takes place at the Olympic Stadium tomorrow, 11 September.

Wheelchair Basketball

Following yesterday’s 79-20 victory over Argentina, Robyn Love and the GB Women’s Basketball Team faced a tougher test against a German side who defeated Brazil in their previous Group A match. A strong third quarter performance by the GB women’s helped them complete a 50-45 win over reigning Paralympic champions Germany in the Rio Olympic Arena. Their final Group A match is against hosts Brazil tomorrow. 11 September.

Boccia

This was the opening matches for the Boccia team and pair’s competitions and it was a busy opening schedule for the Scots within the GB team.

The BC1-2 team, including Josh Rowe, won their opening group game 11-2 against the Netherlands but then slipped to a 10-4 defeat to Japan and will now face Thailand in Sunday’s quarter-finals.

In the BC3 Pairs competition, Scott and Jamie McCowan and Patrick Wilson will now face Singapore, after suffering a 4-3 defeat to Portugal and a 4-1 loss to Greece.

In the BC4 Pairs event, Stephen McGuire and Kieran Steer will take on Hong Kong China in their final pool game after a 4-2 win over Slovakia and an 11-4 defeat of Portugal.

Football 7 a Side

David Porcher’s goal in the opening Group A match of the Football 7 a Side competition had not been enough for GB as they suffered an agonising 2-1 defeat to Brazil. Up next was a match against world number one Ukraine and a win was essential if GB were to progress to the medal matches. It wasn’t to be for GB who endured another agonising 2-1 defeat against the two-time Paralympic champions. After falling behind, Michael Barker brought the GB team level at the start of the second half but Artem Krasylnykov scored Ukraine’s winner from the penalty spot.

Archery

Polbeth’s Natathan McQueen was Scotland’s only representative on the ParalympicsGB Archery team and was in Rio to compete in the Individual Compound Open competition. Nathan shot well, finishing the day in fifth place with a score of 681 with Bulent Korkmaz from Turkey leading the way with 687. Nathan was the best of the British males in the individual compound and will now face South Africa’s Shaun Anderson on 14 September

Nathan along with Jodie Grinham are through to the quarter-finals of the mixed team compound open on a bye and will face fourth seeds Italy on 12 September after ranking fifth overall.

Day two of the Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro brought further success for the ParalympicsGB team and medals for two Scottish athletes on the track.

Athletics

Libby Clegg had qualified comfortably for the semi-final of the T11 100m after an impressive time of 12.17 in her heat. Libby and guide Chris Clarke then progressed to the T11 100m final but only after a nervous wait. The duo had qualified fastest, setting a new world record time of 11.91 in the semi-final, but were then disqualified due to a mid-race infringement before a successful appeal saw them reinstated.

The pair regrouped and edged out the opposition in a tightly contested final to take the gold medal in a time of 11.96 ahead of China’s Zhou Guohua by two hundredths of a second.

Libby said:

“It’s not really hit me just yet. I’m over the moon, we ran a pretty similar time to the semi-final so I’m pleased with that”.

“These things (the events earlier in the day) happen and you’ve just got to get on with it really and hope for the best”.

“I’ve got an amazing team behind me. My training group are there day in day out and obviously there’s Chris as well”.

“He has been fantastic. I had a change of guides back in November and then Chris and I started working together in February. It’s been a quick process.”

Stef Reid was also in action on day two of the Games competing in the T44 Long Jump. Stef was determined to go one better than her performance in London in 2012 where she won the silver medal with a jump of 5.28m. In 2014, Stef jumped to victory and a world record in the F44 Long Jump at the Diamond League meeting in Glasgow.

However, Stef had to settle for the silver medal in Rio, recording a best effort of 5.64m. France’s Marie-Amelie Le Fur took gold with a world record leap of 5.83m.

Reid said:

“Marie jumped further than I’ve ever jumped. Hats off to her, I’m just really pleased at the way our event has progressed.”

“I think I did some really great things in terms of my jumping and I’m just so thankful to my coach and to the team around me who have got me here. I’m proud of what I did.”

“I didn’t realise I was the first athletics medal for ParalympicsGB in Rio. It’s great to get us off to a great start.”

Wheelchair Basketball

Following yesterday’s excellent victory over World Champions, Canada, Robyn Love and the GB Women’s Basketball Team were back on court against an Argentinian team who had lost their opening match against Brazil by 85-19.

GB returned to winning ways with an emphatic 79-20 defeat of the Argentinians and will face a much tougher test when they face Germany in their next Group A match on 10 September.

 

The successes on the athletic track on day two of the Rio Games means that Scots now have a full set of medals with one gold, one silver and one bronze.

Following the spectacular Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, it was time for Scotland’s athletes and players within the ParalympicsGB team to focus on the competition for medals on day one of the Games.

Swimming

It wasn’t long before the first Scottish medal of the Games had been secured. Scotland’s Andrew Mullen had travelled to Rio in confident mood following his silver medal in the S5 200m Freestyle at the IPC World Championships in Glasgow in 2015. Andrew qualified for the final of the S5 200m Freestyle in Rio with a time of 2:43.20 in the heats. In the final, Andrew started strongly and didn’t let the early pace of local hero, Daniel Dias, distract him. However, Dias had the race won by the half way mark and the race for silver and bronze was the focus of attention.

In the end, gold went to home favourite Daniel Dias in 2:27.88 with American Roy Perkins second and 19-year-old Mullen third in 2:40.65, a new British record.

After his race Andrew said:

“It’s great to have a won a Paralympic medal and I am really stoked I was able to do so by swimming my best time”.

“What a great crowd to do it in front of. Brazil have put on a great venue and a great Paralympic Games so I am really pleased to get my first medal in such a setting.”

Wheelchair Basketball

Scotland’s Robyn Love, competing in her first Paralympic Games, was involved in GB Women’s opening Group A wheelchair basketball match against World Champions Canada. In a closely fought encounter, it was the experienced Canadians who came out on top with a  43-36 victory. GB’s next Group fixture will be against Argentina followed by Germany and Brazil.

Football 7 a Side

It was also the opening match in Pool A for Scots Martin Hickman, Jonathan Paterson and David Porcher as part of the GB Football 7 a Side squad. GB had a difficult opening match against hosts Brazil who are currently third in the world rankings. GB were narrowly beaten 2-1 at the Deodoro Stadium in Rio with Livingston’s David Porcher scoring on his GB debut.

Goalscorer Porcher said:

“I think we played a great game. We took the game to Brazil and they were struggling at the end. No medal is won on the first game. So we will go again and take it from there. The boys did brilliantly.”

GB face world ranked number one Ukraine on 10 September before concluding their Group A fixtures against the Republic of Ireland on the 12 September.

Athletics

Paralympic debutante Sammi Kinghorn from Gordon in the Scottish Borders was also in action in the T53 100m. Sammi is the current European Champion over 100m having won the gold medal in Swansea in 2014. She finished second in her heat in a time of 17.01 to qualify third fastest for the final.

In the final Sammi finished fifth in 17.13 seconds with the gold medal going to China’s Lisha Huang.

Sammi said;

“I’m so pleased with all the support I’ve had and I couldn’t do it without them”.

“I’ve only been doing the sport for three and a half years so hopefully one day I’ll have the gold medal around my neck.”

Libby Clegg, competing in her third Paralympic Games, posted a lifetime best 12.17 in her heat to qualify for the semi-final and final of the T11 100m. Libby, who competed in Beijing and London in the T 12 class, was reclassified as a T11 athlete earlier this year due to her deteriorating eye condition.

Libby, who set a world record in the T11 200m at the Anniversary Games earlier this summer and was a silver medallist in the T12 100m at London 2012, was the joint second fastest qualifier to progress.

Libby said:

“It’s great to be here, I’m the first Brit on the track as well so I was a bit unsure what to expect coming through but I know for tomorrow”.

“I wanted to come out here and start strongly and set the team up for some positive performances.”

Cycling

Congratulation also to former SDS Academy Athlete, Stephen Bate who won a fantastic gold medal in the 4000m individual pursuit in the velodrome. Steve and pilot Adam Duggleby, beat Dutch duo Vincent ter Schure and Timo Franson to the gold in a time of 4:08.631.

The charity Guide Dogs have produced a fantastic new short film to mark the start of the Paralympic Games. The film is titled A Test of Blind Ambition and features 3D audio, asking the viewer to plug in headphones and close their eyes to get a sense of what it is like to experience the world without sight.

The film can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/kg8-2k6AnXo.

If you or someone you know has a visual impairment, or other disability, and would like to get involved in sport, please contact Scottish Disability Sport on 0131 317 1130 or email admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

Video credits
Client, Guide Dogs: Head of Digital: Nick Hodder, Project Manager: James Kell
Don’t Panic: Account Manager: Chloe Cross, Account Executive: Gabriel Mathews, Creative Director: Richard Beer, Creative: George McCallum

The National Deaf Children’s Society would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted, shared and supported The Deaf-Friendly Swimming Project in the 2016 National Lottery Awards… WE WON!!

We have a glitzy, red carpet awards ceremony to go to in London this week and we will be on BBC One on 12 September!  The prize money will help us change the lives of even more deaf young people in Scotland.

Tune into Lottery Stars on BBC One at 10:45pm on Monday to see NDCS’s Deaf-Friendly Swimming Project in action!  John Barrowman will present us with the National Lottery Sports Award 2016.

The Inclusive Activities team will also be rubbing shoulders with Katie Derham, Max Whitlock, Ainsley Harriott, Anita Rani and Kimberley Wyatt.

For more information on the project and the award, see:
http://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/project/deaf-friendly-swimming-project

Many of Scotland’s leading bowlers were present in Aberdeen for the 2016 National Championships.  SDS returned to Westburn Park, Aberdeen for another eventful Championships. The picturesque park in the heart of the Granite City has been the home of the Championships for over twenty years now and as ever Sport Aberdeen proved to be excellent hosts. 

Conditions were ideal as players from all over Scotland descended on the three-green club. Particularly pleasing was the presence of new bowlers at the Championships from Dumfries and Galloway and Ayrshire. Brendan Handling from D&G – fresh from his victory in the Bowls Scotland National Championships B7/8 class and Robert Barr from Ayrshire – joined last year’s runner-up in this section Fife’s Billy Allan and Forth Valley’s Derek Hartley in a strong section that resulted ultimately in a win for one of the most decorated Scottish players out there – Billy Allan. Billy emerged victorious from Robert and Derek respectively in a final round-robin format of very closely contested matches.

Rosemary Lenton from Dumfries & Galloway – a five-time former champion here – went one better than last year when she lost in the final to Jim Sellar by lifting the Mixed Wheelchair title defeating South Lanarkshire’s Martin Elliot comfortably in the final.

The Thomas Taylor trophy was contested by bowlers from four branches with Tracy Black from Forth Valley and Fife’s Mary Wilson leading the way in the group stages. Tracy was strong favourite in the final owing to a fairly comfortable group win over Mary, however was pushed all the way to the end in a tense final, eventually winning by one shot. This meant the Forth Valley bowler had retained the title she won for the first time last year.

The closest section of all proved to be the combined Section 6/7 classes where both groups were decided by shot difference for the first three bowlers in each group. Fraser Mathieson from Forth Valley finished top of his group despite a one-shot loss to Fife’s Neil Laughlin and Lothian’s Carole Martin progressed after a 6-5 win over Grampian’s Ali Burt. Fraser’s recent experiences as part of successful Scotland team’s ensured he eased away to victory over Carole to reclaim the title he won in 2014.

Fife claimed three out of four finalists in Sections 8 (male) & 9 (female) for players with a learning disability. The experienced former champion Daryl Stewart lost out to Andrew Harrison from South Lanarkshire who claimed his maiden title here. Wendy Thomson beat Julie Allan in an all East-Fife final.

SDS congratulates all winners on their achievements and are already looking forward to next year’s championships.

SDS is indebted once again to the support offered in staging the championships by Aberdeen City Council and Sport Aberdeen.