The Rangers charity foundation will be facilitating sessions in the summer for young people with autism aged 5-16. Sessions will be taking place at Rouken Glen Park during the summer. Activities regularly run on a Wednesday from 6-8pm. For further information please see the attached poster.
The Rangers charity foundation are looking to promote new participants with vision impairments aged 8-18. Sessions take place at the Super Soccer centre on Scotland street every second Sunday from 12-2pm. For further information please see the attached poster.
7th place finish for Scots in Sardinia
The Scottish National Cerebral Palsy team competed in the IFCPF European Championships between the 2 and 11 June 2023 and finished in 7th position. The countries involved in the Championships were: Ukraine, England, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Italy. Scotland faced a hard group with some of the best countries in the world and had 3 tough matches in the group stages of the tournament against Ukraine, Ireland and Germany. The team put in a great fight and showed great spirit during all games with the support of their coaches and medical team. Scotland finished bottom of Group B which meant they went on to play Netherlands who finished third in group A. Unfortunately Scotland lost that match 6-0 therefore went in to the 7/8 playoff against Italy. Scotland won this game 1-0 which resulted in a 7th position finish. A huge well done to all the players, coaches and staff who contributed to the teams success in Sardinia. All Scotland results are below:
Scotland V Ireland (2 June) – 1 – 4
Scotland V Ukraine (4 June) – 2 – 8
Scotland V Germany (6 June) – 1 – 4
Scotland V Netherlands (8 June) 0 – 6
7/8 play off Scotland V Italy – 1- 0
Tournaments – CP Football (ifcpf.com)
Players
| Name | Home town |
| Barry Hunter | Greenock |
| Blair Glynn | Tranent |
| Christopher Moore | Cowie |
| Dean Thornton | Glasgow |
| James McAlpine | Glasgow |
| Jamie Kelly | Hamilton |
| Keiran Martin | Falkirk |
| Kerr Mackenzie | Paisley |
| Mark Robertson | Dalkeith |
| Martin Hickman | Glasgow |
| Matthew Wynne | Eaglesham |
| Sean Millership | Epsom |
Staff
| Name | Role | Home town |
| Greig Taylor | Head Coach | Bo’ness |
| Billy McAdam | Coach | Linlithgow |
| Craig Young | Coach | Armadale |
| Erin-Louise Robertson | Sport Scientist | Edinburgh |
| James Docherty | Coach | Greenock |
| Katie Scott | Physiotherapist | Motherwell |
| Kirsty Pitts | Physiotherapist | Glasgow |
Scottish and Boccia UK player Jamie McCowan has announced his retirement from the sport.
Jamie and his mum Linda have been a huge part of the Scottish Boccia Squad over the years and have brought a wealth of knowledge, experience and fun to the team.
Jamie has played Boccia for 17 years, starting off as a BC4 before transitioning into the BC3 game. Over this time Jamie has competed at two Paralympic Games, reached number 2 in the World Rankings and won multiple medals at World Class Events. SDS is delighted that Jamie is one our of 4 Coaching Futures Apprentices and will still be involved in a coaching capacity with the Scottish Boccia Squad. We wish both Jamie and Linda all the best in their retirement.
Nominations are invited from those connected with SDS for the following awards that will be presented at the Annual General Meeting on Sunday 24th September 2023 at the Stirling Court Hotel, Stirling. It is important that there is a clear indication why the individual/group is being nominated.
The Awards Panel will then meet to consider all applications and decide the winner for each category in advance of the presentations at the AGM on Sunday 24th September 2023.
A list of former award winners can be seen on our website here: https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/sds-award-winners/
All nominations should be returned in confidence, before Friday 18th August 2023, to admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.
Alternatively the Awards Nomination Form can be completed online here: 2023 Scottish Disability Sport Annual Awards.
The Virtus Games will take place 4-10 June 2023 in Vichy, France. The Virtus Global Games is the top level international competition for athletes with intellectual disabilities, Down Syndrome and Autism without intellectual disabilities. Over 1,000 athletes, 400 staff from over 80 countries will take part in this event.
Six Scottish athletes will represent Scotland across four sports: Athletics, Swimming, Judo and Tennis. The Opening Ceremony will take place on Sunday 4 June with the competition starting on Monday 5 June. The competition schedule can be found here:
Events programme | Global Games 2023 (gg2023.org)
The athletes who will represent Scotland are:
| Name | Sport | Hometown |
| Steven Bryce | Athletics | Wishaw |
| Sam Fernando | Athletics | Fife |
| Matthew Power | Athletics | West Lothian |
| Cerys | McCrindle | Ayrshire |
| Chris Murphy | Judo | Drumchapel |
| Dominic Ioannotti | Tennis | Prestwick |
More information on the games can be found here: Virtus Global Games 2023 | Vichy France (gg2023.org)
If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming involved in disability please contact us on 0131 317 1130 / admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.
The Scotland National CP Football Team will kick off their IFCPF European Championship campaign against the Republic of Ireland in Sardinia on 2nd June.
The team travelled to Sardinia buoyed by their second place finish in last year’s IFCPF World Championships. The Scots have been drawn in a challenging group for the initial stages of the competition and will face Paralympic champions Ukraine and Germany.
The match fixtures for the group stage of the competition for Scotland are as follows:
All matches can be viewed through the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/@2023IFCPFeuropeanchampionships/streams
Players
| Name | Home town |
| Barry Hunter | Greenock |
| Blair Glynn | Tranent |
| Christopher Moore | Cowie |
| Dean Thornton | Glasgow |
| James McAlpine | Glasgow |
| Jamie Kelly | Hamilton |
| Keiran Martin | Falkirk |
| Kerr Mackenzie | Paisley |
| Mark Robertson | Dalkeith |
| Martin Hickman | Glasgow |
| Matthew Wynne | Eaglesham |
| Sean Millership | Epsom |
Staff
| Name | Role | Home town |
| Greig Taylor | Head Coach | Bo’ness |
| Billy McAdam | Coach | Linlithgow |
| Craig Young | Coach | Armadale |
| Erin-Louise Robertson | Sport Scientist | Edinburgh |
| James Docherty | Coach | Greenock |
| Katie Scott | Physiotherapist | Motherwell |
| Kirsty Pitts | Physiotherapist | Glasgow |
SDS would like to take the opportunity to wish the team every success throughout the competition.
If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming involved in CP football please contact us on 0131 317 1130 / admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.
SportExcelUK is proud to announce the athletics team competing at the 2023 Virtus Global Games in Vichy, France 2nd to 11th June.
Sam Fernando (Fife, Steve Doig), Steven Bryce (Victoria Park, Glasgow, Steve Doig), Matthew Power (Livingston, Celia Peerless), Joel Mattacks (Bath, Phil Warwicker) and Faye Olszowka (Bexley, Coral Nourrice), are set to take Vichy by storm in what will be a tough world class event. The Team is led by GB Team Manager/Head Coach Steve Doig and supported by GB coach Kevin Manning with Liz Power (Escort).
In his Virtus (T/F20) international debut, Joel Mattacks said: “I’m honoured to be selected – we’ve been working for so long to get here so to have my first senior international GB call up at such a big Championships is huge, especially after having to miss last season through injury makes it even better.”
Joel Mattacks continues, “It’s been a long journey, with so many setbacks over the last 13 years since starting athletics and honestly, I could never have dreamed of being where I am now so am extremely grateful. I was never the quickest in the group when I joined at the start and am still far from where I want to be but the one thing I’ve had told to me all this time was that ‘hard work pays’, and that if you want something hard enough you’ve got to work for it.”
Steve Doig, GB Team Manager/Head Coach said: “It’s an honour to be asked to work alongside such a talented group of athletes. Each and every one of them makes a great commitment to the sport and their selection for this event is reward for the hours of work they have put in. I’m excited to see what they can achieve in Vichy.”
Tracey McCillen, Chief Executive, SportExcelUK said: “I couldn’t be more excited at our return to the Virtus Global Games. Sport was hit hard by the pandemic, and our athletes were amongst some of the hardest hit. To return to the elite stage with a strong GB Team to France really is a milestone. Good luck to each athlete, we did well in the 2019 Games in Brisbane, so I can’t wait to see the Brits in action again, not just in athletics but across a total of six sports!”
The Virtus Global Games is the world’s largest elite sports event for athletes with an intellectual impairment. Athletes from Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania will perform across ten main sports, with over 1200 athletes expected. Demonstration events are also included at every edition to reflect the most popular sports of the host nation that are not already on the Virtus programme.
Many athletes who have made their major international debut at the Global Games have gone on to win Paralympic titles. The event, hosted by the VIRTUS Member Organisation for France – the Fédération Française du Sport Adapté (FFSA) is scheduled every 4 years in the year ahead of the Paralympic Games.
British athletes will compete in the 2023 Global Games in athletics, para-dressage, judo, karate, swimming, and tennis. The team is presented by SportExcelUK in collaboration with Down Syndrome Swimming GB, British Judo Association, Lawn Tennis Association, and the British Karate Federation, with selection supported by Home Country NGBs in swimming and athletics.
SportExcelUK promotes, supports, and facilitates talented sports people in the UK to train, compete and excel in national and international sport. It is the only official Great Britain member of Virtus is responsible for and manages eligibility and classification across the UK and manages GB Teams to Virtus events.
SDS Regional Manager Gary McDonald attended the recent west open disability badminton tournament and had this to say about the great day supporting the participants:
“The West Disability badminton event at Scotstoun was a complete success! The whole day flowed very well, and it was great to see so many participants competing. I was very proud to represent SDS at the event and happy to support more badminton events in the near future.”
SDS are delighted to work in partnership with Össur Academy mobility clinic. The event is being held in Glasgow Emirates arena on Saturday 24th June from 10am-3pm. Any participants with a lower or upper absence can attend and is an excellent way to socialise with other people with an amputee. Please see the attached flyer to register and join the event.
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