When Scottish Visually Impaired Footballer Neil Atkinson takes to the court this weekend in the English FA’s Disability Cup for his club Scorpions Futsal, he hopes that his participation will act as inspiration for other visually impaired Scottish footballers to take up the game.

The Livingston native takes part in his third FA Cup Final this weekend, defending the trophy he won with his club in 2019.

His success as a player has spurred him to work with the Scottish FA to create more opportunities for visually impaired footballers in Scotland. He has become an integral member of the recently formed Scottish Visual Impairment Football Network. The Network which aims to develop opportunities for individuals living with a visual impairment to play this adapted game format, was established in 2019. Having delivered two successful events in 2019, the Network is currently working to deliver a further events in 2021.

The Network includes representatives from the following organisations: Scottish FA, RNIB Scotland, Scottish Disability Sport, Rangers Charity Foundation, Stirling Albion Junior Academy and Dundee United Community Trust.

For more information on Visual Impairment Football opportunities, contact Laura.Anderson@Scottishfa.co.uk

Neil Atkinson: “As the only Scottish player in the Partially Sighted Futsal League I hope these events can highlight the opportunity there is for other visually impaired people in Scotland to play football, and ultimately help to grow participation north of the border.”

“I’m excited to be back on the court playing again competitively for the first time in over a year. The Cup is a great event and it’s really special to play at St. George’s Park.

“This is my third FA Cup Final, and this time we will be defending the trophy after our victory in 2019. It’s always a really exciting weekend and hopefully we can play well and repeat the success we achieved two years ago.”

Coverage of the Partially Sighted FA Disability Cup will be available on BT Sport from 2.45pm on Saturday, 17 July.

Article courtesy of the Scottish FA

Blind Golf Scotland, in partnership with EDGA, will be holding taster sessions for visually impaired people who would like to try blind golf.

Blind golf is a hugely popular sport across the globe with international tournaments, Opens, leagues and even just friendly matches at a local club with a friend.

It’s great for mental and  physical health as well as being a fun social activity. All you need is a sighted guide – and a little training.

Coatbridge: 30th July 2021

Stirling Golf Club: 2nd August 2021

For more information please contact: developmentofficer@scottishblindgolf.com

Glasgow Disability Sport and Scottish Disability Sport would like to invite participants with disabilities to take part in our Get into Summer Programme –  at Glasgow Club Kelvin Hall. The sports that we have on offer are:

• 3rd August with Athletics that will be led by Red Star Athletics Club
• 4th August with Basketball that will be led by City of Glasgow Basketball Club
• 5th August with Football that will be led by Glasgow Disability Sport coaches
• 6th August with Boccia that will be lead by Glasgow Disability Sport coaches

To take part in the programme participants MUST sign up to the event. Please do not turn up to the venue without confirming your attendance through our registration process. To book your place please click here.

There will be 15 spaces for each group for each day –  Physical, Sensory (visual & hearing) and Learning Disabilities.

The timings of the day will be:

• 10am- 12:30pm- Physical and Sensory Disabilities
• 1pm- 3:30pm- Learning Disabilities

This will be open for juniors aged 5-17 years old.

There will be equipment available on the day, however it would be helpful if you let us know if you already use equipment such as wheelchair, walking frame etc. This will help the organisers be prepared to give you the best experience possible. Also if you are supporting the participant during the session please let Nancy Peters and Andrew MacKenzie know on:

nancy.peters@glasgowdisabilitysport.org – 07714989708

andrew.mackenzie@scottishdisabilitysport.com – 07496306249

COVID restrictions will be applied at the event which will depend on the tier we will be in. Information about this will be sent out to you prior to the event on access to the venue and to follow the guidelines.

Get Into Summer- Flyer

ParalympicsGB today named the nine-strong Boccia squad set to compete at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games this summer, including three Scots – Stephen McGuire (BC4, Hamilton), Jamie McCowan (BC3, Dundonald) and Scott McCowan (BC3, Dundonald). Also included in the selections are the BC3 ramp assistants Linda McCowan and Gary McCowan (both of Dundonald).

Helen Nicholls, Boccia UK’s Performance Director, said: “The build up to this Paralympic Games has thrown our athletes and the support team so many challenges but they have responded with resilience and determination. In this squad, we have experienced, established athletes as well as three players who will be making their first-ever Paralympic appearance. With less than 50 days to go until the Tokyo 2020 Games, our preparations are on track and we’ll be ready to take on the world’s best boccia players.”

Penny Briscoe, ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission, said: “I’m so pleased to be able to welcome our boccia squad to the ParalympicsGB team bound for Tokyo in less than 50 days’ time. The squad boasts a superb mix of experienced Paralympians and Games debutants who I believe will make the nation proud with their performances in Japan this summer.

“All nine athletes have shown terrific strength and resolve since the start of the COVID pandemic last year and I look forward to seeing just what they can achieve on the boccia court at Tokyo 2020 this summer.”

A total of around 230 athletes from 19 sports are expected to make up the British team that will compete in Japan, with further names to be announced in the coming weeks. ParalympicsGB captured the imagination of the British public at London 2012 winning 120 medals in front of sell-out crowds with countless memorable performances.

The team eclipsed that performance at Rio 2016 winning an outstanding 147 medals including 64 golds to finish second in the overall medal table. The rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will be staged from 24th August to 5th September.

Find out more about these exceptional athletes here by clicking on the profiles below:

Jamie McCowan

Scott McCowan

Stephen McGuire

Britain’s Gordon Reid will face Japan’s world No.1 Shingo Kunieda and Alfie Hewett will play world No.4 Joachim Gerard of Belgium when five players on the LTA’s Wheelchair Performance Pathway begin their Wimbledon challenges on Thursday. 

Reid and Lucy Shuker are both drawn against top seeded players in the men’s and women’s singles draws, with Shuker set to face two-time Wimbledon champion Diede de Groot and Jordanne Whiley set to open her account against 2019 women’s singles champion Aniek van Koot. 

While Shuker and Whiley both face Dutch challenges, so does Andy Lapthorne in the quad singles after the world No.2 was drawn  against reigning US Open champion Sam Schroder. 

World No.6 Reid, winner of the inaugural Wimbledon men’s wheelchair singles title in 2016, prepared for his latest challenge at The Championships by defeating 2019 Wimbledon champion Gustavo Fernandez in straight sets to win the wheelchair title at the cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club last month. Reid said:  

“I think you only need to look at past results and see how many of the guys in the Top 10 have beaten each other over the last couple of years. We all know there are no easy draws and you’ve got to be ready to go straight away.” 

Hewett won his third French Open men’s singles title last month to move to No.2 in the world rankings ahead of Fernandez after beating Kunieda in the final in Paris. Hewett begins his sixth Wimbledon as second seed for the men’s singles, having also beaten Gerard in his quarter-final at Roland Garros.  

Hewett and Reid are due to open their bid for a fourth Wimbledon men’s doubles title against Fernandez and Kunieda on Friday. The 11-time Grand Slam champions return to The Championships as the most successful all-British doubles partnership in Grand Slam history after winning their second Australian Open second French Open titles this season, defeating Fernandez and Kunieda in the semi-finals of both tournaments. 

World No.4 Whiley has won all four of her singles matches against world No.3 Van Koot since the 29-year-old Brit returned to international competition in 2019 following maternity leave. Whiley, who will partner Japan’s Yui Kamiji later this week in a bid for their fifth Wimbledon doubles title together, said: 

“I wasn’t too concerned about the draw, I’m just happy I’m not playing Yui or Diede at a Grand Slam again, to be honest. It’s just nice to play someone different and me and Aniek always have really great matches, so I’m looking forward to playing her.” 

Whiley and Kamiji, who have also won 11 Grand Slam titles together, will play Angelica Bernal of Colombia and Japan’s Momoko Ohtani in their doubles semi-final this year.   

Should Whiley beat Van Koot in Thursday’s quarter-final at Wimbledon she will go on to play the winner of the contest between Shuker and world No.1 De Groot.  

World No.11 Shuker made her Wimbledon debut in 2009, when she reached the first of four Wimbledon doubles finals to date. 

Shuker partners South Africa’s Kgothatso Montjane in the women’s doubles this year as the duo bid to reach their second Grand Slam final of 2021. In February they were runners-up at the Australian Open to De Groot and Van Koot, the same partnership they play in this year’s Wimbledon semi-finals. 

Lapthorne makes his second appearance at Wimbledon after quad singles and doubles events made their debut at The Championships in 2019, when the 30-year was a singles finalist and won the inaugural Wimbledon quad doubles title partnering Australia’s Dylan Alcott. 

This year Lapthorne and Alcott are on opposite sides of the net in both singles and doubles, as world No.2 Lapthorne will be with world No.3 ranked Dutchman Schroder.  

Lapthorne will partner American David Wagner in a bid to win their second successive Grand Slam doubles title together.  

Already three-time Australian Open and two-time US Open doubles champions, Lapthorne and Wagner won their first French Open title last month, beating Alcott and Schroder in a deciding match tie-break as Lapthorne completed his career Grand Slam of doubles titles. 

Lapthorne said: “When you get to a Grand Slam and have the top four players in the world then no draw is going be easy. Sam is going to be a tough opponent but I’m looking forward to the challenge and to trying to add another Wimbledon doubles title.“   

To find out more about the LTA’s work with disability tennis, head to www.lta.org.uk/play or email disabilitytennis@lta.org.uk. 

Nominations are invited from those connected with SDS for the annual awards to be presented at the online Annual General Meeting on Sunday 3rd October 2021. 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 3rd October 2021. All nominations should be returned in confidence, before Thursday 9th September 2021.

The nomination form is included below together with a list of previous award winners:

Awards Nomination Form 2021

Alternatively this can be completed using the form below:

Tokyo may be just around the corner but plans are already being put in place to help the next generation of British boccia stars.

A series of Boccia UK Challenger events – designed to help prepare and propel up and coming athletes – will take place over the next four years and have been boosted by financial support from Get Kids Going!

Get Kids Going! is a national charity which gives disabled children and young people, up to the age of 26 years, the opportunity of participating in sport.

Boccia UK’s Performance Director Helen Nicholls says:

“In the next cycle, we will be working towards the Paris Paralympics in 2024. The Challenger events will help ensure that athletes coming up through the ranks are well prepared and well supported to compete at an elite level. The Get Kids Going! grant will help us create the champions of the future. Boccia is a tactical and experience-based sport, and this support allows us to give athletes an environment where they can develop and thrive.”

Jane Emmerson, CEO of Get Kids Going!, explains:

“Finance is often a significant barrier for young people when it comes to attending events, particularly disabled athletes where care support is also a requirement for competition, so we are delighted that we can help to remove some of the barriers to participation at the Challenger events. We want disabled children and young people to have every opportunity to enjoy and excel at boccia.”

Get Kids Going! also helps equip young, talented athletes with bespoke sports wheelchairs and helps towards the cost of training and equipment.

Louis Saunders is currently Britain’s brightest young prospect and his journey to the Paralympics has been boosted by support from Get Kids Going! This has allowed him to purchase a new seating system which will support him to play in an optimal position.

The 19-year-old from Bognor Regis is hoping to compete at the Tokyo Paralympics and he will be eyeing an individual podium position at the Paris Games in 2024.

Louis says:

“The support from Get Kids Going! has made a huge difference – the new seating system means I am now much more accurate on court and more comfortable. The charity is really helping to fulfil my dreams.”

VINCYP are looking to hear from and link with more parents, carers, families and young people who have experience of visual impairment services in Scotland, to ensure that you and your family are at the forefront of decisions that are made. Full details can be found on the attached pdf poster.

More information about VINCYP can be located via  their VINCYP website and on Twitter.

You can register your interest at the following link: survey link

2020-11-04 VINCYP Family Recruitment Poster V1

With Wimbledon kicking off and with the Tokyo Paralympic Games on the horizon, the Wheelchair Tennis Initiative aim is to provide unrivalled inspirational and aspirational experiences of tennis in a fun, welcoming, sociable and inclusive environment.

From July until October we will be delivering seven Wheelchair Tennis Initiative days across Great and Tennis Scotland are delighted to be hosting a day in Glasgow.

From a complete beginner who has never picked up a racket before to your experienced player, we are committed to providing the best possible experiences for all. These are open to all ages and abilities. All participants will be sign posted to their nearest venue following the event.

Sign up link:

https://www.lta.org.uk/play-compete/performance-tennis-players/wheelchair-tennis-initiative/