SDS are delighted to promote the West Coast Paddlers club which specialises in sea kayaking.
The club are offering opportunities for people with disabilities aged 14 and above up the chance to kayak within the sea.
For further information please see the poster and flyer below. For those looking to get involved in any water sports activities within the west please contact gary.mcdonald@scottishdisabilitysport.com. Thank you!
SDS are excited to let you know that there is a specific Goalball group within Glasgow that run at Rosshall Academy on a Monday from 6.30-8.30pm. Please see the flyer above for more information. For anyone unaware of the sport goalball please see the video here:
`For further information about the other sports such as Tandem cycling and VI tennis please listen to the podcast from Graeme and Andrea here (RNIB – See Sport Differently / Goalball, VI Tennis and Tandem Cycling in Glasgow (audioboom.com).
Contact glasgowgoalball@outlook.com or SDS Regional Manager Gary McDonald on gary.mcdonald@scottishdisabilitysport.com.
Scottish Disability Sport were delighted to return to Dundee & Angus College for our 9th Tayside Parasport Festival on Wednesday 8th March where we welcomed
56 pupils with either a physical disability, visual or hearing loss from 30 different schools across Angus, Dundee City and Perth & Kinross.
So we can incorporate water sports in our festival, we also delivered a second Parasport day on Saturday 11th March at Perth Leisure Pool where a further 12 pupils took part in Kayaking with Perth Canoe Club and the Scottish Canoe Association and swimming with Dundee City Aquatics and Scottish Swimming.
The Parasport Festival is designed to introduce pupils with a physical disability or visual or hearing loss to try new and exciting sports. It has been identified that these groups are significantly under-represented when it comes to participating in weekly sport or physical activity.
Our event was supported by 24 sports coaching and development students from Dundee & Angus College who did a fantastic job encouraging and supporting the pupils throughout the day to ensure everyone felt at ease and participated to the best of their ability.
The day started with an introduction from Scottish Disability Sport Tayside Regional Manager Graeme Doig, followed by athlete talk from Shayne Humphries who shared his sporting experiences and achievements at the Dundee Dragons Wheelchair Sports Club and previous Parasport Festivals to hopefully inspire and relax other pupils, especially those attending for the first time.
In the morning session, pupils enjoyed five different sports including football and Goalball delivered by coaches from Dundee United Para-sports club, powerchair football with Tayside Dynamos, Judo with tayside Judo Club, badminton with Badminton Scotland.
Pupils with a visual impairment got a chance to play goalball which is a Paralympic sport specifically for people with a visual impairment and was great fun to be involved in.
The afternoon session included boccia with Darren Thomson from Leisure and Culture Dundee and Scottish Boccia, wheelchair basketball and rugby with the fantastic coaches from Dundee Dragons and run, jump and throw activities with @Scottish Athletics which included a Frame Running demonstration from Perth Strathtay Harriers athlete Rosie Randall.
It was great to see so many pupils with smiles on their faces all day long learning new skills, increasing confidence and making new friends.
The day also included a parent / teacher engagement workshop and guest tour involving regional and local councillors, sport, health and education officers who had the opportunity to watch everyone in action.
Thank you to all involved in the day for making it such a positive experience for all.
We are currently contacting everyone who took part to support them into weekly participation with the sports they enjoyed.
For more information on disability sport in Tayside, please contact graeme.doig@scottishdisabilitysport.com.
The West Parasport Festival took place on 2 March 2023 at On-X Linwood Leisure Centre in Renfrewshire. The event was a complete success and gathered 107 enthusiastic participants with hearing loss, vision impairments or physical disabilities. Each participant had an opportunity to explore new activities, was able to take away something new and is hopefully continuing to take part in a sport after the event.
Thirteen Local Authorities took part in the event on the 2nd of March with schools ranging from East Renfrewshire, Argyll & Bute, East Dunbartonshire, South Ayrshire and many more.
There were nine activities that the young people took part in within the festival. These sports included football, badminton, tennis, table tennis, basketball, boccia, swimming, athletics, and Judo. Furthermore, there were show case sessions in kayaking, sailing and snow sports. These lessons involved a demonstration of the activity and a lead coach discussing the pathway of the sport.
Throughout the event learners had the chance to communicate with the six-time world champion frame runner Kayleigh Haggo. Kayleigh was able to answer questions from several young people during the day about her competitive experience and is an outstanding role model example for all the participants.
The young people rotated within their groups and thoroughly enjoyed their activities during the day. Each of the governing bodies that led their sports within the On-X leisure centre provided enjoyable sessions and offered a pathway for those interested in taking part in the sport after the festival. It was amazing to see so many people coming together enjoying sports, making new friendships, interacting with local clubs, and seeing the confidence grow in all these young adolescents.
A big thank you to the helpful staff of On-X Linwood, the students of the City of Glasgow College for volunteering, the local authorities for supporting, the active schools’ teams for promoting, the schools for bringing the young people along and most importantly that all the participants enjoying themselves.
If you, or anyone you know, lives with a physical, sensory, or learning disability in the West of Scotland and is interested in getting involved in sport, please get in touch with Gary on gary.mcdonald@scottishdisabilitysport.com or 07474479370.
The East of Scotland Parasport Festival took place at Forrester High School in Edinburgh on Friday 24th March. Scottish Disability Sport and Edinburgh Active Schools had the pleasure of welcoming 43 children aged 8-17 from Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Scottish Borders.
Throughout the day participants were able to try out a variety of different sports including athletics, frame running, swimming, goalball, powerchair football, wheelchair basketball, judo, badminton, football, snowsports, canoeing and boccia. All sessions were delivered by local clubs and governing bodies of sport. All the participants seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience and will now be supported into regular sport and physical activity within their local communities. SDS Chair, Catherine Goodfellow, said: “The facilities were great, the number of partners involved was tremendous and it was great to see so many smiling and excited participants.”
At the end of the festival, we were lucky enough to be joined by Paralympic sprinter Maria Lyle, Commonwealth Games swimmer Sam Downie and Goalball UK player and England Blind Football Captain Samantha Gough. They shared inspirational stories and answered questions from an inquisitive audience.
The event was also supported by 22 young ambassadors from St. Augustine’s HS and various other schools across the Capital. One S6 volunteer from St. Augustine’s commented that it was one of the “best days I’ve ever had at school.”
We’d like to thank Edinburgh Active Schools, Lothian Disability Sport, the clubs, coaches and our sports governing body partners for their support on the day!
The annual Central Parasport Festival was a huge success with 47 children and young people with hearing loss, vision impairments and physical disabilities participating and enjoying the fun filled multi-sport event.
Pupils from 30 mainstream schools travelled from across Central Scotland to Grangemouth Sports Complex to take part in this unique, fun opportunity.
Participants were delighted that the day was kicked off by a question and answer session with two exceptional young ladies, Grace Stirling (Young Start member and SDS Tutor) and Abby Cook (42nd presenter of Blue Peter) who both shared how attending the parasport festival has made a significant and positive contribution to their lives as athletes but also to their personal development as member of the SDS Young Start Programme.
Throughout the day participants were introduced to more fun through a variety of taster sessions in archery, athletics, basketball, boccia, badminton, canoeing, cycling and swimming. All sports were delivered by local sports clubs and governing bodies.
Thanks must go to the following partners, Forth Valley Disability Sport, Falkirk Council, Active Stirling, Clackmannanshire Council, clubs and governing bodies for making the event possible. A special thank you to Falkirk Council for supporting this event.
This was a farewell event for Cheryl Lappin, SDS Regional Development Manager for Central Scotland as she is moving on to work with British Curling.
She said: “The event was a fantastic success and a worthwhile experience for many pupils engaging in sports they may never have tried before, but also for their parents and teachers alike.”
Follow up support will be provided by the new SDS Regional Manager to support participants into an activity or sport of their choice in the local area.
If you would like to find out more about this event or disability sport opportunities in Central Scotland, please contact admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com or telephone 0131 317 1130.
West of Scotland Disability Sports, Disability Sport Glasgow, Glasgow Disability Badminton Club, Glasgow & North Strathclyde Badminton Group, Badminton Scotland and Scottish Disability Sport are delighted to invite entries from across Scotland to the second West Open Disability Badminton Tournament. This is a singles only competition and cost per player is Badminton Scotland Members FREE and Non-Members £5.
If time allows doubles games will be organised.
The tournament organisers have the right to amalgamate any sections depending on number of entries.
SCHEDULE:
Registration will open at 9.00am and the championships will begin at 09.30am sharp. The schedule and draw will depend on the number of entries and will be completed one week before the event. We aim to do a round robin format to ensure everyone gets multiple games before a knockout stage or final.
SECTIONS:
There will be four sections of the competition which are mixed gender and minimum age is 12:
A – Open Class for Players who use a Wheelchair (WC)
B – Open Class for Players with an ambulant Physical Disability (PD)
C – Open Class for Players with a Learning and/or Sensory Disability (LD)
D – Open Class for Short Stature Players (SS)
CATERING:
We recommend bringing your lunch. There is a cafe on site.
RULES:
All round robin matches will be played first to 21 with extended scoring. Semi Final and Final will be 3 sets to 21.
Please familiarise yourself with find attached the Code of Conduct for the event. To view this click the link here
GDPR:
In regard to GDPR, you can view our Privacy Notice by clicking here
| It was smiles all round at Ability Shetland’s 2nd Parasport Festival, and the inaugural Adult Sports day!
13 young people with physical, vision or hearing impairments, and over 20 adults with a range of disability types, descended upon Lerwick’s Clickimin Sports Complex on the 4th March for a full day of sport! A huge variety of sports were on offer throughout the day including swimming, kayaking, table tennis, badminton, cricket, volleyball, fencing, boccia, and basketball! Activities were supported by Sports Governing Bodies’ staff, local clubs and volunteers from Ability Shetland. The events enable people with disabilities to come together and try a range of sports in a specially-adapted setting. It is hoped that participants will find a sport they enjoy and be encouraged to take it up on a regular basis. It was fantastic to see friendships form, confidence grow and participants overcome anxieties and apprehension about particular activities! Ability Shetland is now building upon the success of the events by starting the Islands’ first Wheelchair and Running Basketball club! Many thanks, in particular, to Charis Scott (Ability Shetland’s Sports Development Officer) for all her efforts in planning and running the events. If you, or anyone you know, lives with a physical, sensory or learning disability in Grampian or Shetland & is interested in getting involved in sport, please get in touch with Alison on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or 07828 744 848. |
Saturday 29 April 2023, 2.00-5.00pm
MDUK, Scottish Disability Sport, the Scottish Powerchair Football Association, Scottish Swimming and Scottish Curling are holding an in-person multi-sports partnership event.
Come along to find out more about Scottish Disability Sport and local opportunities for participation across Scotland, for children and young people living with a muscle wasting condition.
There will be a chance to try powerchair football, boccia, floor curling and swimming. This is also a great opportunity to meet other families who know what it’s like to live with a muscle-wasting condition.
If you would like to attend this event, please contact Jackie Munro for further information and to confirm your place: j.munro@musculardystrophyuk.org / 07712 523 778
Scottish Disability Sport has engaged Prem Singh from LifeStreams Consultancy to offer introductory workshops on Engaging Ethnically Diverse Communities. Each workshop will be delivered on a regional basis to explore and connect you with your local communities.
During the workshop you will explore.
Who can attend the workshops?
Prem is LifeStreams Equalities and Community Engagement Consultant. Prem considers himself a community worker who has a successful track record working with diverse communities. With over 40 years experience he has brought communities together to tackle inequality and social injustice.
Register for your local workshop here:
Tayside (Perth, Dundee and Angus): Monday 22nd May 6:30pm – 8:30pm online: Engaging Ethnically Diverse Communities (Tayside)
Dumfries: 7TH June Wednesday 6.00pm – 8.00pm online: Engaging Ethnically Diverse Communities (Dumfries)
Grampian: Tuesday 12th Sept 6pm – 8pm online: Engaging Ethnically Diverse Communities (Grampian)
Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders: Thursday 5th October, 7pm-9pm: Engaging Ethnically Diverse Communities (East)
Forth Valley Disability Sport: Wed 1st Nov 6:30pm – 8:30pm online: Engaging Ethnically Diverse Communities (Forth Valley)
Highland: 7th November 6:30pm – 8:30pm online: Engaging Ethnically Diverse Communities (Highland)
Disability Sport Fife: Wednesday 8th November 6:30pm – 8:30pm online: Engaging Ethnically Diverse Communities (Fife)
You must be logged in to post a comment.