Category: A News

Go Kids Go Wheelchair Skills Training

Free, fun and inclusive sessions for 2-18 year olds. Extra wheelchairs are provided so the whole family can join in.

  • Manual or powered wheelchairs
  • Propulsion and manoeuvring
  • Slopes and rough ground
  • Back wheel balancing
  • Road safety
  • Emergency evacuation techniques
  • Wheelchair sports and dance

  • Aberdeen, Saturday 14th October: Aberdeen
  • Glasgow, Monday 16th October: Glasgow
  • Edinburgh, Tuesday 17th October: Edinburgh
Scottish Swimmers from the British Swimming Team emerge onto poolside wearing their British Swimming kit.

Scottish Success at World Para Swimming Championships

After weeks of top-level aquatic competition in Fukuoka, the baton has been passed onto Manchester, as the city gears up to host the World Para Swimming Championships from 31 July to 6 August.

Descending on the northern powerhouse are 546 swimmers from 67 nations around the globe – as the world’s best para swimmers set their sights on world titles, records and personal bests, one year out from the Paris Paralympic Games. Seven Scots will make a splash in the 2002 Commonwealth Games venue as part of a 28-strong Great Britain team, which features multiple Paralympic and World Champions. There were multiple medallists and finalist from the Scottish swimmers who were part of the GB team. Congratulations to all swimmers on their excellent performances

Relays

49 points  mixed 4x 100m medley relay Stephen Clegg and his teammates finished 4th

49 points mixed 4 x 100 medley relay Stephen Clegg and his teammates finished 4th

34 points 4x100m Medley 34pts Relay, the quartet of Sam Downie, Faye Rogers and Ollie Carter with teammate , Maisie Summers-Newton came 6th

34 points 4x100m Medley 34pts Relay, included Sam Downie, Faye Rogers and Ollie Carter with teammate , Grace Harvey came 8th

S14  4 x 100 mixed medley relay Scott Quin and his teammates finished in Silver medal position

Individual Finalist

 

Faye Rogers (Grampian)

S10 100 metres freestyle – 7th &  Scottish Record

S10 100m butterfly – Gold  & European Record

S10 200IM – Bronze

S10 400m Freestyle – Bronze

 

Toni Shaw (Grampian)

S9 400m freestyle – Bronze

SM9 200 IM – 7th

S9 100m butterfly – 5th

 

Stephen Clegg (Lothian)

S12 100m freestyle- Silver

S12 100 back – Gold

S12 100m fly – Silver

S12 50m freestyle – 4th

 

Scott Quin (Lothian)

SB14 100m Breaststroke

 

Sam Downie (Lothian)

S8 400m freestyle – 7th

S8 100m backstroke – Bronze

 

Louis Lawlor (Glasgow)

S14 100m backstroke  – 6th

 

Ollie Carter

S10 400m freestyle – 5th

 

Speaking of the competition as a whole, Paul Wilson, Scottish Swimming Disability Performance Development Manager said:

“It’s fantastic to see the success of our Scottish Para Swimmers as part of the Great Britain team at the World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester this past week. There have been a number of standout performances.

If you or anyone you know would like to get involved in swimming please contact: admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com or Telephone 0131 317 1130

Get Out Get Active Tayside Launches New Website For All Things GOGA All In One Place

Get Out Get Active (GOGA) Tayside is a collaboration between NHS Tayside and Scottish Disability Sport and is dedicated to providing fun, free & inclusive physical activity opportunities where people of all abilities can be active together. Funding for the programme has been successfully secured for a further two years with special thanks to Tayside Health Fund. This evidences the collective support and action needed to help address the Public Health priority of a physically active Scotland and to continue strengthening links between physical activity and health.

In line with the renewed support, GOGA Tayside have now launched their brand-new website which will make all information available at the click of a button. The site will feature weekly timetables, class information, testimonials, meet the team and so much more. There are also a range of photos and new videos which will let you see what to expect at any GOGA activities before coming along.

The website is available NOW at www.gogatayside.co.uk.

Thank you to everyone at SDS for their continued support of the GOGA programme in Tayside. We have a further 23 months of funding and very much look forward to continuing our successful partnership working together, especially encouraging more people of all abilities to be more active together.

Vacancy: LEAP Sports Project Officer

We are looking for a new full-time Project Officer to develop and deliver our Glasgow based work. The successful candidate will have a key role in supporting our work to improve equality & human rights for LGBTIQ+ people in Scottish sport. Would you like to:

  • coordinate and deliver our programmes to the LGBTIQ+ community in Glasgow and surrounding area improving equality, and health and wellbeing through access and participation in sport and physical activity
  • work with our national club network to support club and community development, playing a key role in delivering Festival Fortnight and other national level collaborative activity
  • develop and drive specific initiatives and networks such as Football v Homophobia Scotland

If so, we want to hear from you.

Full information can be found on the LEAP Sports website here.

The closing date for applications is 18th August 2023 and interviews will be held on 28th-29th August.

Badminton Come & Try – Tollcross Leisure Centre

SDS are excited to announce there will be a badminton come and try event at Tollcross Leisure Centre.

The event will take place on Saturday 26th August from 12-2pm.

The session is open to people with a disability for all age groups and free to attend. So, if you have an interest in badminton whether you are a beginner or experienced to the sport then please come along!

West Disability Badminton Come & Try

Young Person’s Sports Panel Recruitment 2023 Extended

 

SDS are recruiting now for the next cohort of the Young Person’s Sports Panel! You can apply using the form below which also has all the information you need to know about the panel.

SDS YPSP Application 2023

The Young Person’s Sport Panel is a voice for young people with disabilities in sport. The group is a key consultation group for the SDS staff and board. We are recruiting for a new cohort of panel members for a term of 3 years.

As part of the Young Person’s Sports Panel, you will:

  • Inspire through inclusion
  • Change lives through sport
  • Influence the future of disability sport in Scotland
  • Attend development courses, national conferences, and events
  • Connect with and influence people, communities, and organisations

Who are we looking for?

  •  People living in Scotland
  •  Young people with a disability aged between 16 -24
  •  People who are committed and enthusiastic about disability sport
  •  People who can commit between 8 and 12 hours a month. Depending on personal circumstances
  •  People who are able to attend meetings every 2 months, these will be a mix of virtual and in-person meetings
  •  People who are passionate about making a difference in disability sport

Scottish Success at the World Para Athletics Championships

Scottish athletes took to the stage at the World Athletics Championships in Paris between the 8 and 17 July 2023. The championships were a great success for the Scottish athletes who won 8 medals across the competition. Gavin Drysdale started the medal haul at the event with a gold in the T72 100m which was also a European record in 16:66. Samantha Kinghorn, who was also the team co-captain, medalled in each of the events she raced in and also broke a championship record in the T53 100m in a time of 15:93. Maria Lyle from East Lothian medalled in both her events, winning bronze in the T35 100m and T35 200m, making a great come back on the last 50m of the 100m. Ben Sandilands from Fife won gold in the T20 1500m in his first international debut with an impressive run, also achieving a new championship record. Team mate Owen Miller finished the T20 1500m in 7th position and Steven Bryce in 13th position – again competing in his first international competition. Huge congratulations to all of the athletes, coaches and support staff involved. The full results can be found here: Paris 2023 Para Athletics World Championships | Live Results (paralympic.org)

World Para Athletics Championships

Sammi Kinghorn (Borders)

  • T53 – 400m SILVER (52:53)
  • T53 – 100m GOLD (15:93)
  • T53 – 800m SILVER (1:44:98)
  • T53 4 x 100m relay – SILVER

Maria Lyle (Lothian)

  • T35 200m – BRONZE (31:01)
  • T35 100m – BRONZE (14:76)

Gavin Drysdale (Ayrshire)

  • T72 100m – GOLD (16:66)

Ben Sandilands (Fife)

  • T20 1500m – GOLD (3:52:42)

Owen Miller (Fife) – 7th

Steven Bryce (Glasgow) 13th

*Photo credit to Scottish Athletics*

Disability Sport Wales Teams and Pairs 12/13 July 2023

Scottish players Kayleigh Haggo and Alex Medley competed in the Disability Sport Wales Team and Pairs Competition on 12 and 13 July at the LC2 in Swansea.

Kayleigh was competing as part of the BC1/2 Boccia UK team with David Smith and Reshad Saraj. Alex was playing in a BC1/2 team with English players Zoe Barnes and Soleil Palmer.

The BC1/2 Boccia UK Team finished top of the round robin winning an impressive 4 out of 4 matches. The England/Scotland BC1/2 team finished in 5th place with Alex as team captain. Alex, Zoe and Soleil only met for the first time just before the competition so it was fantastic to see them work as a team and enjoy the experience.

Thanks to Disability Sport Wales for hosting a fantastic competition.

World Youth Boccia Championships – Povoa, Portugal 10-13 July 2023

Scottish Boccia player, Tyler McLelland from Fife, comes home from the World Youth Boccia Championships with a Gold medal!

17-year-old Tyler was selected to compete as part of the Boccia UK team at the Championships in the individual and pairs competition held in Povoa. Tyler played with team mates Sophie Newnham and Harrison Smith from England. Tyler and Sophie took to the court with Harrison supporting as a substitute. The pairs first match was against Portugal which they won 3-1 in a tight game. The final saw the pair take on Brazil where Tyler and Sophie were 3-1 down going into the last end. Tyler and Sophie played some excellent shots which resulted in a tiebreak match where the Boccia UK pair came out on top and won the gold medal.

Well done to Tyler, his team mates and all of the support staff who helped make the championships a great success.

Reid and Hewitt into Wimbledon semis as two Brits feature in men’s wheelchair last four for the first time

For the first time there will be two Brits in the men’s wheelchair singles semi-finals at The Championships, Wimbledon, after Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid secured straight sets wins over former champions Gustavo Fernandez and Joachim Gerard on Wednesday at the All England Club.

World No.2 Hewett beat Belgian world No.3 and 2021 champion Joachim Gerard 6-3, 6-4 to earn his first victory over Gerard in five matches on grass and begin his quest to complete the career Grand Slam.

After losing out to Gerard in three sets last month at the LTA’s cinch Championships, Hewett kept his composure to close out their latest encounter and last year’s Wimbledon runner-up will now play Spain’s Martin de la Puente on Thursday for a place in this year’s final. He said:

““It was pure relief at the end – I’ve played him a few times now on grass and he’s always seemed to get the better of me. It’s one of those mental demons that you want to get over the line at some point – this was a great opportunity to do it against such a great grass court player.”

Reid put together 11 points without reply on his way to the first set against 2019 champion Fernandez and withstood all that the Argentinian could offer in a tough second set to wrap up a 6-4, 6-4 victory that earns him a semi-final against world No.1 Tokito Oda.

The winner of the inaugural men’s wheelchair singles title in 2016, world No.8 Reid, said:

“I had to dig myself out of a couple of holes in the second set, but I’m really pleased with my performance and it’s a good start to build on. This is the Slam where I come in feeling the most confident as I feel good on the grass, and the support that we get as British players gives you extra energy.”

Elsewhere, Lucy Shuker’s bid to reach a first Wimbledon women’s singles semi-final ended in a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 loss to her doubles partner Aniek can Koot of the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, Andy Lapthorne lost out to world No.1 Niels Vink 6-1, 6-0 and Greg Slade’s Grand Slam tournament debut ended in a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Australian Heath Davidson as British hopes ended in the quad singles.

Thursday’s second day of wheelchair competition will see all five Brits in action again as the focus turns to the men’s, women’s and quad doubles semi-finals.

Photos courtesy of the LTA