Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid showed why they are the world’s top ranked men’s doubles partnership on Saturday’s penultimate day of he US Open Wheelchair Tennis Competition, as they claimed an unprecedented fourth title together in New York. Meanwhile, fellow Brit Andy Lapthorne also secured his fourth successive quad doubles title.

With players on the LTA’s Wheelchair Tennis World Class Programme having won four titles at Flushing Meadows in 2019, Hewett and Jordanne Whiley will now aim to help equal that record when they contest Sunday’s men’s singles and women’s doubles finals, respectively.

Also the reigning Australian Open champions, Hewett and Reid took their tally of Grand Slam men’s doubles titles together to eight after beating French second seeds Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer 6-4, 6-1. Reid, who stretched his own personal tally of US Open doubles titles to five after partnering Houdet to win the 2015 title, said:

“It means a lot to both of us. I’ve not lost a doubles match here since 2014, so it’s amazing to have that record. At Wimbledon and Roland Garros last year we were pretty disappointed with the results and made a big effort with the team at the LTA to make sure we turned things around and improved. I think we can really take pride in our results since then.”

After winning the first two games but then dropping the next three, Hewett and Reid got the better of the early momentum swings and attacked Houdet’s serve in the 10th game, the Frenchman producing a double fault to give the Brits three set points.

The Brits only needed the first as Hewett made the most of the ball hitting the net cord and presenting him with the option of a cross court forehand winner, which he put away with pinpoint accuracy.

The defending champions grew in stature to take the first five games of the second set and two games later they were presented with their first match point. Hewett made short work of the opportunity as he feigned an overhead smash at the net and calmly put away a delicate drop shot to wrap up a dominant performance. With Hewett and Reid winning the first ever wheelchair tennis final to be staged on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Hewett said:

“I think there are always going to be patches when you’re not playing your best tennis and there were a couple of games in that first set when I was getting a bit frustrated, but then we took control of the match and played the style we wanted to and in the second set our level definitely went up.

“It’s pretty spectacular to be on Arthur Ashe for a final on a Saturday at midday. That doesn’t come around often, so you’ve got to make the most of it.”

 Hewett, who plays on Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday as he faces world No.1 Shingo Kunieda of Japan in a bid to win his third US Open men’s singles title in a row, added:

“It really means a lot to us as players, for all the work we’ve put in off court and the training with our teams. To perform so consistently well at this tournament, you just have to embrace that. I’m sure Gordon will be sipping some champagne later, but I’ll be on the recovery drinks in preparation for tomorrow. Mentally I’m in a really good place, my confidence is at the highest that it’s been for a while and I’m sure it will be a great final.”

Like Hewett, Lapthorne ended the 2019 US Open as a singles and doubles champion. However, he had to recover from a below par singles performance on Saturday before partnering Australian Dylan Alcott to the quad doubles title.

Lapthorne and Alcott, the inaugural Wimbledon quad doubles champions in 2019 before winning their first US Open title together 12 months ago, had to come from behind before retaining their crown with a 3-6, 6-4, (10-8) victory over Dutchman Sam Schroder and David Wagner of the USA.

Schroder and Wagner gained momentum midway through the opening set to take the lead. However, Lapthorne and Alcott opened up a 3-0 second-set lead and although they missed chances to convert game points that would have given them a 5-1 lead, Lapthorne ultimately scrambled a drop shot over the net on set point to force a deciding match tie-break.

After a series of tense exchanges, Lapthorne and Alcott earned three match points and they needed all three before Alcott wrapped up their successful title defence with an ace.

Despite making it four US Open doubles crowns in a row, having won the 2017 and 2018 titles partnering Wagner, world No.2 Lapthorne still rued his singles performance against Schroder earlier in the day, which saw the Dutchman win their pivotal round-robin match 6-2, 6-1 to earn his place in Sunday’s final. However, Lapthorne conceded that the doubles final had produced an entertaining match. He said:

“I think today you saw some of the best quad doubles that you could wish to see. It’s been a tough week. I expected more, to be honest. I feel that the only player that beats me is me. It didn’t go my way today and I’m not happy with the way I played, but it’s not the end of my world. I go home with another doubles title and get ready to go again in another few weeks at Roland Garros.”

For news and updates from the wheelchair tennis draws and the fortunes of the Brits at the US Open, follow on Twitter @the_LTA and @WChairTennisGB.

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.

Photo courtesy of the LTA

Marking 1000 days to go Virtus has announced that the sixth Global Games will be held in Vichy, France, 4-10th June 2023.

Federation Francaise du Sport Adapte FFSA, the French member of Virtus was awarded the quadrennial multi-sport event.

The Virtus Global Games 2023 is the pinnacle of sports achievement for thousands of high performance, elite athletes with intellectual impairment in multiple sports from across the world.  It also provides a pathway for some athletes in athletics, swimming and table tennis the opportunity to qualify for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The Virtus Global Games in France will be the sixth event.  Over 1000 athletes are expected to compete in 10 sports.  The Global Games takes place every 4 years in the year preceding the Paralympic Games.  

British athletes will compete at the Virtus Global Games, through the management and selection process established by the UK Sports Association and its Partners.  UKSA is the only recognised UK member of Virtus.

For more information please click here.

 

This week marks an important next step towards the return of sport in communities across the country with indoor sports courts and swimming pools now able to reopen in line with the latest Scottish Government public health guidance.

The Scottish Sports Governing Bodies Forum and Executive Group welcomes Monday’s communication from Stewart Harris, CEO, sportscotland announcing the release of a £1.5m COVID Support Fund to support Scotland’s sporting system (Sportscotland set up £1.5m Covid support fund for governing bodies). This timely statement recognises that whilst progress has been made with the re-opening of sports facilities across Scotland, this does not mean a full restart of sport as we know it and that many sports, particularly those reliant on accessing indoor sports facilities for Club training and competition, face a much slower return as local Trusts and leisure operators take a cautious and phased approach to the re-opening of their facilities.

We want to see more progress made in line with the latest public health guidance at all levels of sport, to ensure that clubs and local communities have access to facilities. The SGB Forum continues working with partners across the sporting system including sportscotland, the Scottish Government and Local Authorities and Local Trusts to bring about the safe return of sport, and is committed to ensuring that all of Scotland’s sports club members, volunteers and communities can access critical and much loved sporting and physical activity opportunities as soon as possible.

However, whilst there is a clear desire from all partners to reopen facilities and get our sports into these facilities as quickly as is safely possible, the ongoing difficulties presented by COVID-19, including facility staff on furlough, training requirements and venue remodelling to comply with social distancing measures, means that it is unlikely that all venues will be able to reopen fully for some time to come.

In the meantime, as a sector, we need the support, understanding and backing of all our Clubs and Members now more than ever as we work to protect the rich sporting fabric of our nation and strive to bring sporting activity back to being at the heart of our Scottish communities once more.

The Scottish Governing Bodies Forum

I first became involved in disability sport in 1975 and in that same year I met Liz Dendy OBE MBE from the Sports Council for the first time. Liz was a close friend of Mary Urquhart, the Director of Leisure and Recreation in Fife. Each was a formidable woman, and both were fully committed to physical activity, PE, sport, and active recreation for participants with disabilities. Each of these outstanding women had a major influence on my professional and voluntary organisation career and I owe them so much.

Liz celebrated her 90th birthday earlier this year but last Friday had a heart attack and was admitted to Hammersmith Hospital where she died on Saturday night. Our thoughts are with Liz’s friends and family who have lost a much-loved exceptional individual.

Liz was an incredible visionary locally, nationally, and internationally. Much of what we all experienced and enjoyed throughout the 80s, 90s and beyond was influenced by Liz Dendy in her Sports Council role. She inspired so many of us and shaped so much of what we now enjoy in Para sport and active recreation throughout the UK.

Liz introduced me to Kay Evans, the Disabled Living Foundation Physical Recreation Panel and I travelled to London for many years to learn from Liz and others. We cooperated on ground-breaking filming projects north of the border and Liz offered me the opportunity to contribute to major UK reports. Liz arranged for me to present a paper at the Council of Europe and encouraged me to join the CPISRA sports technical committee.

In my view Liz was the most influential and professional President of CPISRA, the international body for sport for athletes with cerebral palsy. I travelled with her to Papendal in the Netherlands on many occasions. When she left the CPISRA Executive Committee she took her many skills and experience to the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) and similarly influenced that great organisation for several years. An exceptional woman with amazing skills in governance, leadership, sports development, and diplomacy in particular.

I am not sure if I would have been involved in disability sport at national and international level for over 44 years if I had not met Liz Dendy. Firstly Liz believed I had something to offer and secondly she created many opportunities for me to be involved in disability sport at different levels. Liz opened doors and influenced and advised me throughout the many years we worked together.

“Building on Ability” was the most significant UK report of the 80s and Liz was a key contributor and influence. Liz believed passionately in the Four Home Nations working together and helped to shape the structures that we all enjoy at the present time.  Liz was the Sports Council officer who raised the profile of disability sport throughout the UK and beyond. During the International Year of Disabled People in 1981, Liz was the single individual who believed the Four Home Nations could bring about change and we did.

A remarkable British lady whose influence on the development of disability sport nationally and internationally is immeasurable. CPISRA and sport for participants with cerebral palsy would not have progressed as it did in the 70s and 80s without the passion, commitment and expertise of Liz Dendy.

Richard Brickley OBE MBE – Chairman Disability Sport Fife Board of Charity Trustees

 UK Coaching has confirmed that UK Coaching Week 2020 will take place from the 14-20 September.

The awareness campaign – which empowers athletes, coaches and the public to celebrate great coaching – will centre on the need to ‘Support Your Coach’, kicking off with the #GreatCoachingPledge that will call on the nation to give some of their own time, sharing thanks and support for the coaching community.

Sport and physical activity has been, and will continue to be, integral to the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic by having a positive impact on people’s mental and physical well-being, and the coaching workforce has been instrumental in supporting communities across the UK to stay active over the last four months of lockdown restrictions.

Coaches are now also critical conduits in reuniting people as restrictions are lifted, and following the Government’s announcement of a new ‘obesity strategy’, which is calling on people to ‘take control of their own future by losing weight, getting active and adopting a healthier lifestyle’, will be lent on further to keep the nation moving.

However, UK Coaching has found that both before and during the outbreak of the virus, coaches have been feeling unsupported.

In the organisation’s ‘Coaching in the UK 2019’ research – carried out by YouGov – nearly a quarter of all coaches said a major barrier to them coaching was a lack of support from employers, clubs or national governing bodies of sport, and over 40% said they do not have access to someone who can support them in their coaching role, ie a mentor or coach developer. Additionally, a Twitter poll, conducted by UK Coaching at the height of the lockdown, showed that over 30% of coaches felt they received ‘no support’ during the coronavirus outbreak.

UK Coaching’s Director of Coaching Emma Atkins, said:

“Coaches have been absolute heroes keeping us active, connected and motivated both before the pandemic and during the period of isolation and disruption caused by the lockdown.

“However, bubbling under the surface is a feeling of disquiet. We know some grassroots coaches – and elite too for that matter – are struggling with the perceived lack of support right now, so we want to ask the public and anyone who benefits from sport and physical activity to say thank you and pledge their time to support their coach or coaches.

“As restrictions are eased and more of us return to play, we will turn to coaches and expect them to integrate new controls to keep us all safe, so let’s ensure that we recognise and support our coaches across the UK for the vital work that they do.”

 UK Coaching’s CEO Mark Gannon, said:

“It’s fantastic to see our national campaign come back just as the new school year starts – a pivotal time for coaches. But with news of job losses and real concerns around a reduction of volunteers for the sector, this uncertain world is financially and professionally affecting our coaching family. We are all understandably concerned about the impact this will have on community sport and physical activity provision at the local level.

“Plainly, we cannot afford to lose a workforce of three million people whose values and contributions through sport and physical activity can change lives for the better.

“We are committed to doing everything we can to support the nation’s coaches so they can provide person-centred, great coaching experiences, which is why last month we released our Duty to Care Toolkit and Digital Badge that helps coaches stay current with their learning and development and confident as they return to coaching.

“Great coaching was here before the coronavirus crisis, has been here through it and will be here as we recover. We’re calling on the entire sports sector and the nation to collaborate with us and help us celebrate and support coaches.”

Founder of Our Parks and London based community coach Born Barikor, said:

“I am really pleased that this year’s focus for UK Coaching Week is getting people to see coaches in a new light and be appreciative of the work we do, day in, day out. These last few months have seen me work hard to adapt more of my coaching practice for a virtual world, keeping my participants fit during the lockdown measures.

“As a full-time coach, spare time is probably my most valuable, yet illusive asset. From planning to doing to delivering, when you coach your work is never done. So, having someone, whether it be a participant or parent, pledge their time to help or value us – in whatever capacity – is hugely welcome.”

Everyone can get involved in the #GreatCoachingPledge – from parents to charities to businesses. Great coaching is particularly important for health and well-being in these times of coronavirus, but it is also vital for the future well-being of our kids, and because great coaching delivers so many of those major sporting moments which unite the nation.

So, whether it’s a thank you, or offering your time to help clear the cones one evening after your child’s football training, every little moment you can give will help our coaches to feel recognised and appreciated, and therefore, help our nation to stay active and stay healthy.

To find out more about how to pledge, visit ukcoaching.org/coachingweek

UK Coaching Week 2020 will also be looking at the coaching community’s effort to keep the nation physically and mentally active during the COVID-19 lockdown; the importance of parents supporting their children’s coaches; and examining how great coaching delivers so many of those sporting moments that unite the nation.

 

Elite parasport will return to the nation’s screens at the beginning of September for the first time since lockdown after the LTA announced the staging of a behind closed doors series for Great Britain’s leading wheelchair tennis players at the National Tennis Centre.

Four of Britain’s contingent set to compete at the US Open next month will be among the players taking to the court for a two-day match play event on 1-2 September featuring Great Britain’s top three ranked men and women, with all the action streamed live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website and app and LTA digital channels. The BBC Red Button will also show most of the action across both days.

The ‘LTA Wheelchair Tennis Series’ has been developed to provide opportunities to Britain’s players to get crucial match practice under their belt ahead of the wheelchair draw at the US Open and the resumption of the ITF Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis World Tour, and to showcase the sport to fans.

Taking place during what would have been the original dates of the Tokyo Paralympics, the LTA Wheelchair Tennis Series marks one year to go until the first of the medals will be decided at the rescheduled Games in Japan.

The series is a continuation of events the LTA has staged and supported at the NTC to help prepare Britain’s elite tennis players for a return to competition, demonstrating the inclusive nature of the sport with opportunities covering both women’s and men’s tennis and now also wheelchair tennis.

New York-bound Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid will be competing in the men’s series alongside Dermot Bailey, with fellow Grand Slam hopefuls and Paralympic medalists Jordanne Whiley and Lucy Shuker being joined in the women’s draw by Louise Hunt.

Alongside the matches for the leading players, a further six members of the LTA’s Wheelchair Tennis World Class Programme will take to the NTC courts in a round robin series of matches on 26-27 August as they continue preparations for the resumption of the ITF Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis World Tour on 16 September.

LTA WHEELCHAIR TENNIS SERIES ENTRANTS (GB ranking, player):

NTC, 1-2 September

MEN

1. Alfie Hewett

2. Gordon Reid

3. Dermot Bailey

WOMEN

1. Jordanne Whiley

2. Lucy Shuker

3. Louise Hunt

NTC, 26-27 August:

QUADS

2. Antony Cotterill

3. James Shaw

4. Richard Green

– Greg Slade

WOMEN

4. Lauren Jones

5. Cornelia Oosthuizen

Scott Lloyd, LTA CEO, said: “We are proud that tennis is leading the way in the return of elite disability sport, and are delighted to be partnering with the BBC to showcase wheelchair tennis to sports fans across the country. Great Britain has had tremendous success in wheelchair tennis in recent years and the LTA Wheelchair Tennis Series will be vital in helping our players prepare for their return to international competition, including at the US Open next month.

“It also promises to be a great platform to help raise awareness of tennis as a sport for disabled people. Tennis by its very nature is an inclusive sport that can be played by anyone, and that is at the very heart of the LTA’s vision of tennis opened up. Our disability tennis programme at both a grassroots and elite level has been thriving, and staging these events demonstrates our determination to continue to build on this”.

Defending US Open singles and doubles champion and world No.3, Alfie Hewett, said: “I can’t wait to get back out playing matches again after what has been a really challenging time for so many of us the last few months. I think all the players are grateful to the LTA putting on this event to give us some match practice heading into the US Open, where I personally always love playing.”

The return to competition at the NTC is the culmination of a programme of activity that has seen players on the LTA’s Wheelchair Tennis World Class Programme supported throughout lockdown with the provision of home training equipment and continued funding, followed by a gradual return to training and a testing and informal competition session at Loughborough University earlier this month.

A quarter of the athletes competing at the US Open wheelchair tennis event across the men’s, women’s and quad draws are British, with defending quad singles and doubles champion Andy Lapthorne joining Hewett, Reid, Whiley and Shuker in challenging for honours.

Great Britain continues to be one of the leading nations in the world for wheelchair tennis, and for disability tennis more broadly, helping to inspire a record number of disabled people to pick up a racket and enjoy tennis at a grassroots level. Last year, Great Britain was the only nation in the world to win trophies and medals at all four of the major international disability tennis tournaments covering visually impaired tennis, learning disability tennis, deaf tennis and wheelchair tennis, while the LTA’s Open Court disability tennis grassroots programme is now one of the largest of its kind across any sport.

For some time now I have been planning to write this tribute to a young woman whose contribution to disability sport in Scotland and throughout the UK has been significant and has spanned a period of almost three decades. For several reasons it has been delayed but I am determined this time to try and do justice to this exceptional individual whom I am proud to call a long-time friend.  I had the privilege of meeting Jacqueline Lynn back in 1984 when she visited the Fife Sports Institute as a Physical Education undergraduate planning to start her final dissertation on PE and sport provision for participants with disabilities.

Following graduation Jacqueline teamed up with Jim Thomson at Capability Scotland in Edinburgh and she remembers that three-year experience with great fondness. Scottish CP Sport was on a high following the successes of Scottish athletes with cerebral palsy as members of Team GB at the Paralympic Games in New York in 1984. Jacqueline arrived at the perfect time and contributed an immense amount to the preparations of Team Scotland for the CPISRA World Championships in Gits, Belgium in 1986. Capability Scotland (formerly SCS) was very involved with the promotion of wheelchair dancing and encouraging individuals with cerebral palsy of all ages and abilities to be active. Jim and Jacqueline plus the late John De Courcy were at the heart of those early developments and became a formidable team.

It was in Gits in 1986 that Jacqueline developed an interest and passion for boccia leading to partnerships with Anne Woffinden and others that would lead to their engagement in European, World and Paralympic Games all over the world. Anne was a teenager in Belgium and relatively new to the sport. Team Scotland had a strong BC1/BC2 boccia team of three that reached the final but lost out to world champions Portugal. Anne however lifted the BC2 singles title with Jacqueline by her side. Little did we realise at the time that those two results would have a major influence on Scotland as an international force in world boccia for the next twenty to thirty years.

Jacqueline joined the Board of Scottish Disability Sport (formerly SSAD) in the mid-80s and served until 2008. In her final year of working with Capability Scotland, Jacqueline joined myself and Jim as Team GB coaching staff for the Paralympic Games in Seoul in 1988. It was a unique experience for athletes and support staff but the flight to and from South Korea via Alaska was demanding. It was the first occasion that the Paralympic Games were held in the same venues as the Olympic Games with Para athletes sharing the same amazing Games village as their Olympic colleagues. Yet again the performances of Scottish members of Team GB were formidable and for Jacqueline the whole experience was life changing.

On return from Seoul, Jacqueline moved to Cunninghame District Council as a Sports Development Officer with a specific responsibility for participants with disabilities and older adults. During the next four years she supported the ambitious and successful Cunninghame Branch of SSAD and learned so much about the sport of bowls that was played extensively throughout the community. Once again Jacqueline is so positive about this period in her career when she learned so much about community sports development and reaching out to nationally recognised inactive communities.

For so many of us connected with SSAD/SDS selection for the Paralympic Games in Barcelona was very special because many of us consider the Games in Spain as the highlight of our Paralympic careers. Spectator numbers in New York and Seoul were minimal but the Spanish nation turned out in force for the 1992 Games. Tickets were hard to come by and the queues for swimming resembled Wimbledon. Jacqueline was involved with Team GB swimmers, athletes and boccia players along with Jim, Judy Black and Jen Quinton. Yet again Scots Para athletes served Team GB well and lived up to expectations on the medals table.

We were all privileged to be invited to join Team GB and we all have special memories of specific Games. For me 1984 was about evacuating a high rise building in the Games village when the fire alarm was set off and the lifts went out of action. 1988 was about trying to find acid in Seoul for our power wheelchairs when the batteries had to be emptied prior to flying. In 1992 Jacqueline remembers teaming up with Jim, Judy and Jen to carry dozens of team kit bags to athlete rooms with little or no assistance. As a training exercise it had its benefits but as a welcome to the athlete’s village it was not up there with the best.

Jacqueline continued to play a very important role throughout the 90s as a member of the SSAD/SDS Board. She played a prominent role in the preparation and production of the early Association Development Plans and supported me in my role as Vice Chairman of SSAD/SDS and then as Vice Chair when I became Chairman. No Chairman could ask for a more loyal, innovative, and committed colleague. At SSAD/SDS annual conferences Jacqueline more than played her part and she took a lead in the SSAD Division that concentrated on developing opportunities for participants with physical or sensory impairments.

Jacqueline and I organised and delivered full day disability inclusion training courses (theory/practical) in Fife and Inverclyde for coaches and volunteers and teamed up with David McCrea from sportscotland to tutor NCF/Sports Coach UK courses throughout the country on working with participants with disabilities. Jacqueline similarly recalls this period with great affection and claims she still comes across individuals who have signed certificates from that period of spreading the word about the importance of promoting inclusive practice and developing disability sport.

From 1992- 1995 Jacqueline was Assistant Sports Officer for Stirling Sports Council and retained her commitment as a volunteer with SDS and the sport of boccia. From 1995 Jacqueline was employed for three years as IMPACT Coaching Officer for Tayside. This was a job that offered Jacqueline considerable contact with volunteers in the area and the opportunity to engage with eight Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport. In 1996 Jacqueline received the call to join Team GB for her third  Paralympic Games in Atlanta and to support the GB boccia squad. Jacqueline was now fully committed to the sport of boccia and recognised as one of the leading coaches in the world.

Boccia was expanding rapidly at national and international level and Team GB success in the USA led to Jacqueline’s inclusion in Team GB for the Games in Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. In 2004 Team GB finished 4th in the team competition but Jacqueline ended her illustrious career in international boccia in China four years later with Team GB winning Team gold and individual silver. At those sixth and final Paralympic Games Jacqueline was Team GB Boccia Team Manager and Head Coach. Team GB results were exceptional and led to a period of significant UK Sport investment in the sport. The satisfaction for Jacqueline was the thrill of competition and training and being able to observe so many Team GB boccia players “grow, develop and succeed”.  Jacqueline Lynn committed many hours of her leisure time as a volunteer to GB Boccia and it was fitting that her final Games in Beijing were so successful.

From 1998 – 2002 Jacqueline served as Sport and Leisure Service Manager with Stirling Council and then transferred to Active Stirling as Head of Sport and Physical Activity until 2009. For the past eleven years Jacqueline has been Head of School and Community Sport, sportscotland. It was only a matter of time before Jacqueline returned to volunteering and it was gymnastics that was fortunate to secure her services.  She is now Chairperson of West Lothian Artistic Gymnastics and no doubt fully committed, inspiring and as enthusiastic as ever.

Hopefully, readers of this article will now appreciate and realise that Jacqueline Lynn was a hugely influential player in the development of disability sport and Para sport in Scotland. I have highlighted her involvement in six Paralympic Games and how she was able to sign off at the pinnacle of her career. I have mentioned her role as an educator, officer with SSAD/SDS and a volunteer who gave up hours of her leisure time to support junior camps, development days and national events.

Jacqueline was also Team Manager for numerous Scottish teams that competed in CPISRA World and European Championships and her skill set was so valued that she could step up for swimming, athletics as well as boccia. Jacqueline played a significant role during the early development days of Para football with the late David Lawrie and the Scottish FA.

Jacqueline I know believes she was privileged to have been part of the SSAD/SDS family from the mid-80s through to 2008. She is first to acknowledge the outstanding athletes, parents, coaches, administrators, and volunteers that she was privileged to work with and the long-lasting friendships she has been able to develop and sustain. Working in disability sport she believes has prepared her for her successful career with sportscotland where we know she is respected and widely admired.

I am one of many individuals in Scottish sport who admires and respects Jacqueline Lynn immensely and all that she offers to inclusive community sport. Her commitment and passion are unique, and her drive and determination greatly admired. Disability sport in Scotland was privileged to have her to itself for an extensive period and her influence and impact have been long lasting and far reaching.

Photo: Maggy McEleny and Kenny Cairns inducted into the Scottish Sport Hall Of Fame – Jacqueline and Richard joining them for the celebrations.

Richard Brickley OBE MBE Chairman DSF (SCIO) Board of Charity Trustees