Scottish Disability Sport are excited to launch a wheelchair multi-sport engagement event, Wheels To Stadium.  Photos of the experience may be found here.

The event is designed to allow people to experience a wide range of Wheelchair Sports delivered by some of the best clubs and coaches available in Scotland. We have selected activities where we have strong club links so participants can continue to enjoy and develop within the sports for many years to come.

Wheels To Stadium is about providing a range of opportunities for people who use a wheelchair for sport to try new and exciting sports and learn more about the pathways that are available throughout the country.  Furthermore, the event will highlight the opportunities for people with disabilities to achieve at the highest level and hopefully inspire them to become our stars of the future.

A selection of Sports Wheelchairs will be available for use at the event.

This event is free and is being supported by Allan McDougall Solicitors and Celtic Foundation.

Please note that you do not need to be a daily wheelchair user to participate, play and excel in wheelchair sports.

Target Groups

Wheels To Stadium is aimed at participants of all ages who may use a wheelchair for sport. Participants will be invited to choose four sports from a selection of nine to participate in. Those accompanying athletes are welcomed to join in.

Event Staff

The event will be staffed by Scottish Disability Sport staff, Volunteers, Coaches and Sports Development Officers from NGBs and clubs.

Location

Wheels To Stadium will be held over two locations: Grangemouth Stadium and Grangemouth Sports Complex. Information about where each sport session will take place will be provided closer to the event.

The event will be start at 10:00 to 15:00 on Sunday 4th September 2022. Registration will begin at 09:30.

Sessions will either be 45 minutes or 75 minutes depending on the sport and sign up’s. Time will be allocated to transition between activities and for a lunch break.

Sports

The nine wheelchair sports on offer at the event are Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boccia, Curling, Rowing, Shooting (laser), Swimming and Wheelchair Skills

Refreshments

There is a cafe available on site, however, we recommend you pack your own refreshments.

High-Performance Athletes

One or two high-performance athletes will be in attendance to share their experiences throughout the day.

Registration

You can register using this link to our online registration site. Further information can be found by following the link.

Job advert: Activity Coordinator (20 hours per week)

Salary: £21,000 to £23,000 pro rata

Subject to Experience

Are you a dynamic and enthusiastic team player who has a passion for physical activity, health and inclusion?

SDS, in partnership with Spirit of 2012, The London Marathon Charitable Trust and NHS Tayside, is seeking to appoint a Get Out Get Active (GOGA) Tayside Activity Coordinator to support disabled and non-disabled people to take part in fun and inclusive physical activity across Tayside.

The successful candidate will work collaboratively to develop and deliver physical activity opportunities, with the aim of encouraging more people to be more active together.

The successful candidate will be required to demonstrate proven experience of working within a health and/or physical activity/community development/ sports environment and ideally with people who have complex health needs.

This post is initially offered until September 2023. It will involve hybrid working and significant travel will be required across the Tayside area. Secondment will be considered with agreement from current employer.

For a full job description, candidate specification and application form, see below.

• Application Form (online)
• Application Form (Word)
• Equality Monitoring Form (online)
• SDS Recruitment Equality Monitoring Form (Word)
• GOGA Tayside Activity Coordinator – Job Description
• GOGA Tayside Activity Coordinator – Job Specification

For more information, please contact Iona McKay, GOGA Tayside Programme Manager at iona.mckay@nhs.scot or iona.mckay@scottishdisabilitysport.com

Closing date is 12 noon on Friday 23^rd September 2022.

Interviews will take place on Monday 3^rd October 2022 in Dundee.

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 £3-£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 9.15am and the championships will begin at 10.00am 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)

Full information can be found here: West Open Disability Badminton Tournament

Join us this October for our amazing holiday camps.

Week 1: 10th – 14th October – 5-11 years

Week 2: 17th – 21st October – 12-20 years

• VR room
• Gifts for everyone
• Make new friends
• Enjoy different sports

Register now at dundeeunitedct.class4kids.co.uk/camps

When: 2nd October 2022, 10.00am – 3.00pm

Where: Bardowie Loch, Milngavie G62 6EX

• Experience disability sailing in a fully accessible Hansa 303 dingy
• Instructed free-sailing and optional afternoon racing
• Wheelchair accessible facilities
• Hoist available
• Food available on the day

Please register interest at development@rya.org.uk.

Today marks one year to go until the 2023 IBSA World Games. Following a successful joint bid to host the event from British Blind Sport, Birmingham City Council, Sport Birmingham, UK Sport and the University of Birmingham, the World Games is set to take place in venues across Birmingham and the wider region from 18th-27th August 2023. It is the largest high-level international event for blind and partially sighted athletes. Over 1,250 athletes will travel from across the world to compete in 11 different sports ranging from powerlifting, tennis and archery. Football (B1 men), goalball (men and women) and judo (men and women) events will also act as qualifying tournaments for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. This will be the first time the Games have been held in the UK.

Almost 2 million people are living with sight loss in the UK. Of these, around 360,000 are registered as blind or partially sighted. Hosting the Games in Birmingham provides a unique opportunity to showcase blind and partially sighted sports to a global audience and to encourage those with sight loss to take part in sport. It will also build on the city’s major events legacy following the success of the Commonwealth Games.

British Blind Sport is the national disability sports organisation that represents blind and partially sighted people in sport and physical activity. As an organisation, we’re supporting the development of facilities for the event and regional legacy plans to help more people living with sight loss to participate in physical activity. We are confident that the 2023 World Games will accelerate our aspirations and contribute to our mission of empowering blind and partially sighted people to get active and enjoy sport, whether it is taking their first steps or securing talent pathways to encourage individuals to reach their full potential.

Sallie Barker, Chair of British Blind Sport, said: “With just 365 days to go until the Games begin, British Blind Sport and the 2023 IBSA World Games organising committee have been working hard to ensure that the Games leave a lasting legacy. With world-class facilities in Birmingham and Wolverhampton, brilliant partners and passionate crowds, we look forward to giving the athletes and spectators a World Games to remember.”

Alaina MacGregor, Chief Executive Officer at British Blind Sport, said: “As Birmingham marks one year to go until the 2023 IBSA World Games, we’re committed to maximising the impact of the Games at a grassroots level. We will be working closely with our partners at local, national and international levels to deliver the event, build the capacity of communities to deliver inclusive opportunities and create a lasting legacy. Bringing such a diverse range of sports together promises to be a truly inspiring event.”

The 2023 Games are forecasted to attract over 1,700 athletes and support staff, 136 international officials and 400 volunteers. For more information on the IBSA World Games, go to: https://www.ibsagames2023.co.uk/

For more information on British Blind Sport, visit: https://britishblindsport.org.uk/

Are you passionate about enabling disabled children and adults to have life changing sporting opportunities and experiences? If the answer is yes, let’s bring achievement, pride and joy to their lives – read on!

Disability Sport Glasgow (SCIO) known as DSG is a voluntary sport group where the main aim is to lead in the development of sport for people with physical, sensory or learning disabilities in partnership with key local agencies and local authority areas in Glasgow. DSG is a member branch of Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) who are the governing body of sport for athletes and players with a physical, sensory or learning disability. DSG have achieved SDS Minimum Operating Requirements (MOR) which ensures all governance is up to date and appropriate. The Board of DSG now wishes to appoint new Board members to join the branch.

GDS are now seeking to fill the positions of Board Member and Communications Board Member, full information below:

• DSG Board Member
• DSG Communications Board Member

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games came to a close last week with Scotland’s para athletes celebrating a fantastic haul of 12 medals won across 5 different sports. This total surpassed the 7 medals won at Glasgow 2014, making Birmingham 2022 Scotland’s most successful Games of all time from a para sport perspective.

31 para athletes were selected for Birmingham across seven sports, another all time record, making up 12% of Team Scotland. The 2022 Games were the most inclusive ever held with 46 medal events, meaning that Scottish athletes won 9% of all para sport medals.

Team Scotland took home an amazing 51 medal from the Games and the 12 medals won by para athletes accounted for 23.5% of this total. A real indication of the inclusive nature of Scottish sport and the commitment of Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport to ensuring equality of opportunity for performance athletes with disabilities.

SDS’s role in supporting the development of these athletes is also evident with 68% of the para athletes at Birmingham having been supported by SDS and its local Branches during their careers.

SDS would like to congratulate all 31 para athletes on their selection for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and would also wish to recognise the parents, coaches and support staff who have been such an import part of this success.

The breakdown of the statistics from Birmingham along with the full list of medal winners are as follows:

Statistics

Team Scotland was represented in 7 out of 8 para sports in Birmingham: athletics, basketball, cycling, lawn bowls, powerlifting, swimming and triathlon.

31 para athletes were selected to represent Team Scotland in Birmingham (12% of Team Scotland).

This was the largest number of para athletes competing for Team Scotland at a Commonwealth Games.

• 58% of the para athletes on Team Scotland were female
• 23% of the para team were blind or visually impaired
• 26% of the para team used a wheelchair for sports
• 32% of the para team were ambulant with a physical disability/li>

Birmingham 2022 was the most successful commonwealth Games for Scottish para athletes with 12 medals won.

	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Glasgow 2014	3	3	1	7
Gold Coast 2018	2	1	0	3
Birmingham 2022	4	4	4	12

Team Scotland won a total of 51 medals in Birmingham with the Scottish para medals making up 23.5% of the total medal haul.

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Team Scotland Medals	13	11	27
Para Medals	4	4	4
Para % of Total	31%	36.5%	15%

The breakdown of medals by sport was as follows:

Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Athletics	0	1	1
Basketball	0	0	0
Cycling	1	2	1
Lawn Bowls	3	0	0
Powerlifting	0	0	1
Swimming	0	1	1
Triathlon	0	0	0

Medal Winners

Kevin Wallace & Garry Brown

• Gold – Lawn Bowls Para Men’s Pairs B6/B8

Rosemary Lenton & Pauline Wilson

• Gold – Lawn Bowls Para Women’s Pairs B6/B8

Robert Barr & Sarah Jane Ewing (Director) and Melanie Inness & George Miller (Director)

• Gold – Lawn Bowls Para Mixed Pairs B2/B3

Neil Fachie OBE & Lewis Stewart (Pilot)

• Gold – Para Track Cycling Men’s Tandem B – 1000m Time Trial
• Silver – Para Track Cycling Men’s Tandem Sprint B

Aileen McGlynn OBE & Ellie Stone (Pilot)

• Silver – Para Track Cycling Women’s Tandem Sprint B
• Bronze – Para Track Cycling Women’s Tandem B – 1000m Time Trial

Stephen Clegg

• Silver – Para Swimming Men’s 50m Freestyle

Sean Frame

• Silver – Para Athletics Men’s Marathon T53/54

Samantha Kinghorn MBE

• Bronze – Para Athletics Women’s 1500m T53/54

Toni Shaw

• Bronze – Para Swimming Women’s 100m Freestyle S9

Micky Yule

• Bronze – Para Powerlifting Men’s Heavyweight

Nominations are now open for the Athletes’ Athlete of the Year Award which will be presented at the AGM on 25 September 2022.

Nominations will be accepted from Scottish para athletes actively involved in sport from club to international level. The performances of the individual between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022 should be considered when submitting your vote and these have been listed on the nomination form.

The nomination form can be submitted here: SDS Athletes’ Athlete of the Year 2022

The closing date for nominations is 31 August 2022.