Forth Valley Disability Sport held their AGM and Awards online over Zoom on Monday 21 February 2022. The purpose of the award ceremony is to reward and acknowledge the hard work and dedication of athletes, coaches and volunteers in 2021.

Graham Harvey FVDS Branch Coordinator and Cheryl Lappin Scottish Disability Sport Central Regional Manager presented the awards briefly highlighted each of the achievements of the award winners for the 11 categories of awards.

The evening was hailed a great success by coaches, athletes and volunteers alike.Many thanks to our guest speaker Meggan Dawson Farrell GB Winter Paralympian and Grace Stirling FVDS Young Sports Panel Member for presenting the closing remark respectively.

Graham Harvey FVDS Branch Coordinator said “ Congratulation to all the award winners for their commitment and hard work over the past year. Well done to all nominees who will receive certificates in recognition of their nomination”

Thank you to all participants, clubs, coaches, volunteers and partners for all your support over the last year. Forth Valley Disability Sport looks forward to welcoming you all to more face-to-face sessions and events through-out 2022. Thank you for your continued support it is greatly appreciated.

Please see award winners’ names below:

Forth Valley Disability Sport AGM and Awards 2021

Award winners

• Lockdown Legends: – Moira Williamson
• Coach of the Year: – Stephen Tortolano
• Blair Forbes Junior Sports person of the year: -Millie Boo Smith
• Newcomer Award: – Keith Gray
• Senior Sports Person of the year:- Meggan Dawson-Farrell
• Volunteer of the year:- Iain Colquhoun
• GOGA participant of the year award: – Jenna Stojanovic
• Achievement Award: – David Dent MBE
• Triumph over adversity award: – Ron McArthur
• Service to Sport Award David Lawrie Award: – Jackie Perez
• Club of the Year Award: – Forth Valley Flyers

If you or anyone else would like to know more information about Forth Valley Disability Sport volunteering opportunities and activities, please contact us by email: info@fvds.org.uk or Tel: 01786 466486.

28th February to 2nd March

The SWCA are holding their British Open from Monday 28th February to Tuesday 2nd March at the Peak, Stirling. The competition will be the second national wheelchair curling competition to be held in Scotland this season, with the SWCA Scottish Wheelchair Curling Championships to follow at the Ice Bowl, Dumfries from 20th to 22nd March.

We are very much looking forward to seeing many of our members take to the ice and compete again in what promises to be a great competition and a prelude to the Winter Paralympics in Beijing which start on Saturday 5th March. Everyone wishes the 5 Scots who make up Team GB good curling at the Paralympics; we will be cheering you all the way.

8 teams will play a round robin format starting Monday morning with 3 games scheduled for Monday and 2 games on both Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s sure to be a great few days of wheelchair curling with players from all over the country entered including defending champions Ian Donaldson and former Paralympic medalist Jim Gault.

All are welcome, why not come along and watch some great curling?

Anyone interested in finding out more about club wheelchair curling in Scotland, please have a look at our website where you will find information on wheelchair curling clubs and competitions in your area:

https://www.scottishwheelchaircurling.com/

SDS are delighted that 14 Scots have been named in the Paralympics GB squad for the upcoming Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

With 24 athletes selected to represent Paralympics GB, Scots make up 58% of the squad. The games begin on Friday 4th March running until Sunday 13th March and are expected to feature an estimated 600 athletes from more than 50 countries.

The following Scots have been selected:

Alpine Skiing

Shona Brownlee – Livingston

(Guide) Katie Guest – Perth

(Guide) Brett Wild – Glasgow

Neil Simpson – Banchory

(Guide) Andrew Simpson – Banchory

Nordic Skiing

Callum Deboys – Kirkmichael

Hope Gordon – Golspie

Scott Meenagh – Cumbernauld

Snowboard

Andy Macleod – Stirling

Curling

Meggan Dawson-Farrell – Tullibody

Gary Smith (alternate) – Edinburgh

Gregor Ewan – Elgin

Hugh Nibloe – Stranraer

David Melrose – Duns

Many congratulations to all athletes who have been selected and we wish everyone the best of luck in Beijing.

 

As spring approaches are you looking to get out, meet new friends and get active?

Here are some reasons why you may want to get involved in physical activity and sport:

If you are aged between 16 and 25, have a disability and live in Scotland you could be eligible to up to £4000 in funding to try something new. Independent Living Fund Scotland is currently offering a Transition Fund to support you to try new activities and gain new experiences.

For more information and how to apply, follow the link below:

  Independent Living Fund Scotland

If you would like to get involved in physical activity and sport, our Regional Managers can find an appropriate activity for you in a welcoming and inclusive environment. You can contact your nearest Regional Manager here: Regional Contacts

  If you require further support to access information please give us a call on 0131 317 1130

Scottish Curling are pleased to announce that we are running two Disability Try Curling Festivals in March 2022, in Stranraer and Inverness..

These special events will allow people of all ability levels to try curling in a safe and enjoyable environment.

For full information see the flyer: Disability Try Curling Festivals

An exciting summer camp opportunity has arisen for young people between the age of 4 and 12 years with Cerebral Palsy or a related condition. This camp is taking place on 6-12 August 2022.

If you and your child would like to experience rock climbing, abseiling, high rope and canoeing in the great outdoors then this is the right camp for you.

It is being organised in conjunction with Calvert Trust. CPISRA have received funding to support 4 families to attend the camp. More information is available by emailing lauren.mcallister@cpisra.org.

British Triathlon has launched a search for athletes to join its Talent Identification pathway, aiming to find talented individuals with the potential to become medallists at future Paralympic Games. The campaign is looking for athletes with the following impairments:

• Amputee
• Spinal cord injury
• Visual impairment
• Neurological impairment (for example, cerebral palsy)

Paratriathlon is a relatively new additional to the Paralympic programme, included for the first time in 2016 and then again at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Paratriathlon is three sports in one and athletes compete over the ‘spring distance’ version, consisting of 750m open water swim, 20km bike, 5km run / push.

The current campaign is now live, with sign up open and any interested individuals can register their interest by clicking here. The process will invite interested athletes to attend a virtual event on 27th February and provide the opportunity to hear all about the sport, the classification system and the performance pathway.

When starting the journey in the sport, athletes do not necessarily need to have a background in triathlon and previous performance athletes have come from a range of sporting backgrounds, including swimming, athletics, cycling, football, rugby and rowing.

More information around Paratriathlon can be found by accessing the links below:

https://www.britishtriathlon.org/paratriathlontalentid

https://www.britishtriathlon.org/get-involved/paratriathlon

Photo credit @imagecomms