Just when you thought the late nights staying up to watch Scotland’s most inspirational athletes chase medals in Rio were over, they are about to command our attention again when the Paralympic Games gets under way on September 7.

sportscotland’s Sport First has now settled into its new online home and have replicated their “Scots on Team GB” Olympic infographic with a Paralympics version to illustrate who you can cheer on in Rio from a Scottish perspective.

https://sportfirst.sportscotland.org.uk/articles/who-are-the-scots-on-paragb/

33 Scots across 12 sports have been selected to the ParalympicsGB team for the Rio Games making up 12.5% of the total athletes selected. Rio will also see an increase of 18% in Scottish athlete numbers form London 2012 and 60% of the Scots competing in Rio will be making their Paralympic debuts.

“The Rio Olympic Games will go down as the most successful Games for Team GB and indeed Scotland,” said Mike Whittingham, Director of High Performance at the sportscotland institute of sport. “I want to say a huge thank you to everybody who contributed to this success in Rio.

“We must now concentrate our attention on the final preparations for the Paralympics which is already facing additional challenges. Paralympic Team GB has a very real target of 122 medals or more and now with Russia losing their appeal there are further opportunities presenting themselves. We have 33 Scottish athletes selected, which is a record number in this modern era, and we will be supporting all our British and Scottish athletes as they also strive to make history.”

British League Premier Division
Saturday 27th August 2016 at 3.00pm

Drumchapel Table Tennis Club will be hosting their first British League (Premier Division) match of the 2016/2017 season, on Saturday 27^th August at 3.00pm.

Entry is free and everyone is welcome. A good crowd to cheer on the team would be wonderful.

DRUMCHAPEL GLASGOW 1 v HALTON 1

Playing at Drumchapel Table Tennis Club
195b Drumry Road East
Glasgow G15 8NS
Tel: 0141 944 7276

Leading Fife bowlers with a physical, sensory and learning disability are enjoying a wonderful year in major competitions throughout the UK. Fife’s top physically disabled and visually impaired bowlers made a significant contribution to Team Scotland’s superb win in the 2016 Home Nations at Kelvingrove and Fife’s leading bowlers with a learning disability successfully defended the Scottish Inter Area team title. Individual Fife bowlers have been prominent in every major bowls competition organised by Scottish Disability Sport in 2016 and yet again there were Fife successes at the inclusive national championships organised by Bowls Scotland at Northfield in Ayr.

One of the most experienced and respected Disability Sport Fife bowlers is Eleanor Clark from Kirkcaldy. Eleanor’s sight has been deteriorating each year and she now bowls in class B1 which is the section for totally blind bowlers. Previously she bowled as a partially sighted bowler in the B2 class and the change has resulted in her having to make major adjustments in technique and using occlusion glasses. All B1 sports men and women across all sports use blacked out glasses or goggles to ensure fairness across the class. Adjusting to this new way of playing has been challenging but Eleanor believes it was inevitable that one day she would have to change and she is successfully training to accommodate her new way of playing.

To confirm her progress Eleanor recently won the B1 singles title at the 2016 National Championships organised by the Scottish Association of Blind Bowlers (SABB) at Ardgowan in Greenock. Eleanor is now preparing for the British Championships at Leamington Spa in mid September. This year she will be without reigning world champion and dear friend Maria Spencer from Dunfermline who has gone through major surgery but hopes to return to playing next year.

Eleanor’s director on the green is Doreen Strachan from West Lothian. Doreen supported Eleanor in Greenock and will travel south with her next month to challenge for the British title. Eleanor has been selected by SABB to compete at the 2017 World Championships in Cape Town and she is hopeful that Doreen will be by her side once again. Eleanor is a member of Kirkcaldy Blind Bowlers and playes at the Fair Isle club.

Eleanor’s success this year is all the more remarkable because of the recent sudden and unexpected loss of her partner Jim of 30 years. Jim was always by her side and a major support throughout her illustrious bowling career. The loss of Jim has affected her life in so many ways but this remarkable sportswoman is determined to do what she believes Jim would want her to do and that is to further her bowling career. Eleanor has many friends and a strong support team who will support her all the way.

Richard Brickley MBE
President, Disability Sport Fife

Fife’s 25th Paralympian, Derek Rae from Kirkcaldy and Fife Athletic Club, finished second in the Haddington Half Marathon in a time of 1:13.36 in challenging conditions and over a course that Derek described as tough. Coach Ron Morrison was satisfied with the performance of his athlete.

Derek will compete for GB in the marathon in Rio in the T46 class where he is ranked UK number one. Derek will be GB’s only ambulant marathon runner in Rio. The Haddington event is one of several races lined up by coach Ron for Derek before he heads off to his first Paralympic Games. At the Alloa half marathon in March this year Derek ran 1:14.32 and in July he ran a personal best for 5000 metres of 16:05.31.

The opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games in Rio is scheduled for Wednesday 7th September and the Closing Ceremony Sunday 18th September. The athletics programme starts on September 8th and runs through until the final day of the Games. Derek will run his marathon on the morning of the closing ceremony.

Richard Brickley MBE
President, Disability Sport Fife

David Gourlay is set to make his return to the sport as he takes on the post of High Performance Coach for Bowls Scotland.

Gourlay, who started his career in Annbank, has seen phenomenal success on the green over the years and has successfully transferred his knowledge and experience off the green as well.

Having won ten World Bowls Tour titles and represented Scotland in the Commonwealth Games in 1998, David then turned his focus to working with the world’s very best players, guiding Team Scotland to three medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

With the memories fresh in his mind from those victories, Gourlay will take up his post on 1st October 2016 with the hope of emulating similar success on the world stage and at the Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2018.

Working with the High Performance squad and closely with fellow Annbank resident and High Performance Manager Rhona Howie MBE, Gourlay will be sure to stamp his own style on the job in hand, a style which saw him win the respect of Scotland’s world class players. The announcement of the new High Performance Coach comes at the perfect time as the High Performance Squad gear up for the World Championships later this year as well as for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Although due to timings he will have no input in the selection of the team heading to the World Championships, Gourlay is looking forward to working with the players that will be chosen.

Commenting on his return David said: “I’m honoured to have another opportunity to work with Bowls Scotland’s High Performance Squad as we prepare for Gold Coast 2018. Competing in Australia will provide a different set of challenges to the Glasgow games but I’m confident Scotland has the players and support programme to succeed.”

Bowls Scotland CEO Alan McMillan commented: “We are delighted to have David back working with our High Performance Squad again. He was extremely keen to get involved again, is as usual full of ideas and has a proven track record following the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. We are looking forward to him working with our players, Rhona and the support staff.”

‘It’s Everyone’s Responsibility’

Safeguarding in sport is everyone’s responsibility from volunteers, coaches, board members, policy makers, parents, carers and spectators who may notice any concerns. Everyone has a role in keeping children safe in sport. Therefore we would like to encourage everyone to watch the following video to emphasise this and where responsibility for safeguarding falls on one person this puts both the individual and children at higher risk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU0bqA0KZ40&feature=youtu.be

Saturday 6^th and Sunday 7^th August saw Scotland’s Under 23 Wheelchair Basketball squad face off against Wales and Northern Ireland in the Celtic Cup. After a hard-fought four games, Scotland came away with a well-earned gold.

Tayside residents Gemma Lumsdaine and Ben Leitch were part of this triumphant win for Scotland.

After a dedicated period of strength and conditioning work, Gemma maintained her established place within Scotland’s team. Gemma dedicates her spare time to progressing the sport of wheelchair basketball and recently featured on the Young Women’s Movement 30 under 30 in Scotland.

When asked about their Celtic Cup victory, Gemma said “Playing as part of the Scotland U23 squad was an incredible privilege. Each game was tough but we worked hard and played as a team.”

Ben Leitch triumphantly earned himself a spot as a reserve for this year’s Celtic Cup squad at the age of 14. Ben answered his country’s call when a last minute injury left the squad down a player. A fantastic opportunity and experience for Ben.

Both Gemma and Ben will be competing for their country at the British Wheelchair Basketball Championships alongside Tayside wheelchair basketballers Murran Mackay and Blair Marshall. Ben and Gemma will also feature in the highly anticipated School Games this September in Loughborough.