Last year, Paths for All held a Step Count challenge and we were delighted when Richard Brickley OBE MBE of the SDS Hawks was a Step Count Champion winner. He kept the team going with inspirational messages, ideas and suggestions for new activities to try, and lots of motivation and encouragement. Here, Richard shares his experience of taking part in the Step Count Challenge.
https://www.stepcount.org.uk/blog/meet-the-walkers-richard
UK Sport has named Boccia UK Performance Coach and SDS Board Member Claire Morrison on their female coaches leadership programme.
The programme seeks to increase female representation in Olympic and Paralympic sport with an objective of doubling representation in high performance sport by the Paris 2024 games.
Claire has been named alongside 7 other coaches to lead a 6-month programme for the most promising coaches, offering key support, development and observation opportunities. The programme will focus on three key areas fundamental to coaching development journey – leadership, environment and transition.
Having been a key part of SDS throughout the years, Claire joined us as a National Development Officer following a work placement with sportscotland. Despite leaving in 2013 to join Boccia UK, she soon became a Board Member, a post she remains in to this day.
Speaking of her new role, she said:
“It is great that UK Sport have not only recognised that there is an imbalance here but that they have committed to promoting change. I have always been lucky to be inspired, guided and supported by women in leadership roles. Having a visibility of female coaches in performance coaching roles will hopeful help people realise what is possible and inspire them to go on that journey.”
Everyone at SDS congratulates Claire on being recognised in this manner and we look forward to seeing the impact her expertise and passion for coaching have on these young coaches.
My name is Joseph Graham.
First of all, I’m honoured to be the face of Disability Darts Scotland. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the support, encouragement and acceptance of my teammates, Kerry, wee Jojo and Ted McMillan.
After a horrific stabbing and a massive stroke, I was left permanently disabled when I was 20.
I lost the sight in my left eye and the ability to use the right side of my body. I needed to learn to walk, talk, swallow and even tell the time again.
My life became a struggle, stuck in an isolated existence of Post Traumatic Stress, relentless recovery and unwanted limitation, but finding the right help led me to discover real courage.
I contacted Ted McMillan and asked him to visit me in my home three times but I cancelled each time before I used my courage to go to the Cawburn myself to meet him.
That was just over a year ago. This decision changed my life, leading me to finding purpose and inclusion again. I trusted myself, which has paid of massively as earlier this year I was picked to play darts for my country.
I cannot begin to convey how much this means to me. Darts has been a privilege and a boost for my self belief despite having to learn to throw with my left hand…..which is not easy for a right handed person!
Not only do I play for Disability Darts Scotland, I also play mainstream darts for the Cawburn Railroaders every week.
Darts is not just a sport to me, it is a fundamental part of my ongoing recovery and belief in humanity. It’s freedom, inclusion, acceptance and the message that darts is for everyone and it’s fun!
Following on from ‘Sweep and Slide’, Scottish Curling are excited to announce a Wheelchair Curling specific evening, with Paralympic Coach Sheila Swan and members of the Team GB Paralympic Squad. This event is designed to give all attendees an overview of this discipline, as well as some insights and tips for those who already wheelchair curl from those at the top of the game.
This webinar is free to members of Scottish Curling, SWCA and members of any Scottish Disability Sport SGB club or programme. Full details can be found on the website here:
Innovating our way out of the COVID-19 pandemic through sport and exercise
Friday 26th February 2021, online
University of the West of Scotland’s Sport, Exercise and Health Innovation Conference, is the first of its kind to take place in Scotland. Supported by Scottish Enterprise, this new and exciting conference will bring together academic researchers, practitioners, investment funders, start-ups, public and private sector providers and government and local authority policy makers who are involved in developing and delivering sport, exercise and health products and services.
It aims to represent the leading edge for professional development and networking in the areas of applied sport science, sports medicine, and innovation. It will encompass developments from important Scottish industrial sectors including health, technology and engineering; food and drink; textiles; tourism; and life sciences and biotech. Overall, the Conference has a cross cutting theme which addressees many of the areas identified within the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework, most specifically ‘Health and Wellbeing’.
Full information can be found here:
Laura Pilkington is a 23 year old Para Swimmer with the Falkirk Integrated Regional Swim Team and a member of both the SDS & sportscotland Young Person’s Sports Panels. Laura has been an active participant in our award winning Be Active Be Well programme and has written about how these inclusive sessions have enabled her to continue staying active during these difficult times.
The Scottish Disability Sport Be Active Be Well programme has been a hit with numerous individuals across different regions taking part in a range exercise and wellbeing sessions. I participated in a lot of the Be Active sessions over the summer months including yoga, HIIT, calisthenics and wheelchair exercise sessions. There really is something for everyone.
I thoroughly enjoyed these sessions, and even when I broke my leg during the first lockdown I was still able to participate fully with different adaptations to exercises. That was one of my favourite things about the sessions and the adaptability each instructor had, there would be numerous slightly different exercises in one class! Nobody was left out and all different disabilities were catered for.
This was a unique opportunity as a lot of exercise sessions were going on during lockdown but the ‘Be Active Be Well’ sessions were specifically for people with a disability. It can be quite intimidating going to an exercise class without knowing if it is going to be accessible, but these sessions were designed to be accessible giving an ease of mind when joining in!
The upbeat nature of the classes and relaxed environment made it a great atmosphere to be a part of which was very welcoming. I gained a lot of upper body strength within those sessions as well as learning a lot of new exercises that I could do away from the classes. One of my favourite classes was HIIT with Gill Penfold, she always challenged you and gave you ways you could progress the exercise and I definitely came out of those sessions feeling a sense of pride in what I had achieved.
The group had a real community feel, you got to know each other over the 12 week period and I definitely felt like I had something missing out of my routine when they stopped. Luckily, they are back on and are free and fully accessible for all. One of the hardest things about lockdown can be feeling lonely and isolated but the general chit chat and laughs at the start and end of sessions helped towards this and getting to know other people with a disability. Having something to focus on and a distraction from everything happening in the world really helped with my mental health and gave me an hour that day just to focus on myself! If you haven’t already tried the Be Active sessions, I would highly recommend getting involved!
Laura Pilkington, Young Persons Sport Panel
View all our Be Active Be Well sessions and register for one here.
EAST MEETS WEST
From the East side of the country, we have Neil who is 18 and from Edinburgh. From the west side of the country, we have Fiona who is 18 and lives near Glasgow. Both are very passionate about swimming.
If Fiona and Neil were to have an imaginary virtual swimming competition:
Fiona starts in Glasgow, Neil starts in Edinburgh. Halfway between the two cities: Whitburn.
If it was the butterfly stroke Neil would win hands down. He will get bored waiting for Fiona to meet him at the finish line as the butterfly is her worst stroke. Now if it were the breaststroke that would be a different story – that might be a very interesting and exciting race and a close call. Fiona and Neil are hoping to have a swimming race at some point in the future!
About Neil by Fiona
Neil comes across as a friendly nice guy, very intelligent of course: you must be technically minded, good at maths and science and enjoy problem-solving to be able to do a mechanical engineering course which he started studying in August at Napier University. We wish him all the best of luck for the future as it takes 4 to 5 years to get a master’s degree.
Neil is not sure yet what type of job he wants to do as mechanical engineering is a very diverse field, but he has got plenty of time to see where his interest suits him best.
Doing a mechanical engineering course is certainly very rewarding and can be very challenging at times.
So, it is no wonder in Neil’s spare time he likes to spend some of it chilling and relaxing which can be anything from watching football to his favourite tv series set in the olden times like Merlin or the Last Kingdom. Neil likes to de-stress by going for long walks around the beautiful city of Edinburgh. He’s even got a favourite place where he likes to visit often and says it’s very beautiful in the snow.
Neil is a very sociable person who thinks the world of his friends and family; they mean everything to him. He really enjoys meeting up with his friends but of course during lockdown he’s not been able to do that as much but loves keeping in connect with them, regularly texting and video calling.
Neil is also very sporty and is a very talented para- swimmer with an S6 classification. He has been swimming since the age of 9 and is currently at Musselburgh ASC and Lothian Racers where he also competed in competitions with his favourite butterfly stroke.
Before lockdown Neil was doing his level 1 coaching course with Musselburgh ASC and is halfway through the course. Neil really enjoys helping out and learning to teach the young kids how to swim and dive and see them come on each time and improve their techniques.
Neil’s biggest achievement is learning how to talk again, putting sentences together after he had a stoke at the age of 13.
He certainly is a very brave and determined young man and through his recovery he never gave up. If he puts his mind to something, he will do it no matter how long it takes him to achieve it.
Neil joined the Young Persons Sports Panel because he wants to encourage other young people with disabilities to take part in disability sport.
Neil and Fiona are both hoping to get their hands on a PlayStation 5 soon, Neil is fed up waiting on stock coming in as his PlayStation 4 has been broken for a long time now. He cannot wait to play FIFA online with his friends again!
About Fiona – written by Neil
Fiona is currently keeping her days busy by going to college; she is studying sports and fitness at New College Lanarkshire, which is really relevant to her general interests! She enjoys doing fitness classes, walking her red-fox-Labrador Bailey and as a change from all this exercise, reads a lot of fantasy books and enjoys video games. But whilst that sounds a lot, that’s nothing compared what she used to do before the pandemic!
From defending herself at taekwondo, to powering up the pool in swimming, Fiona achieves everything she puts her mind to!
Fiona originally took up Taekwondo, following on from her brother; she has been participating since early in secondary school. Attaining a red belt at taekwondo was her hardest task, It was her first adult grading she was the highest belt there, So she had to do 45 minutes on her own in front of 4 black belts on the judging panel which was quite a challenge!
Swimming is another of Fiona’s sports, with Breaststroke being her favourite stroke. Fiona was delighted to win a Silver medal for Breaststroke in the Scottish Disability Sport event. As well as competing, she started coaching a year ago, this is her dream job. Fiona has done Rookie lifeguarding, so is a safe pair of hands to have poolside!
Her most grand achievement is helping young swimmers improve, she is poolside helper at Hamilton dolphin swimming club, where she is learning how to become a coach, she enjoys improving their technique and wanting them to succeed.
All education students attending the University of Aberdeen will now enter the workplace having undergone training to include children with disabilities in physical education sessions thanks to a partnership between Active Schools, PE specialists and Scottish Disability Sport.
Building on existing positive work by Active Schools Aberdeen to improve PE provision within the degree programme, Scottish Disability Sport was able to gain access to the 3rd year students and have devised a timeline of training opportunities with UoA staff.
Initially, students will complete an innovative new e-learning module available soon through Scottish Disability Sport. They will then participate in a joint webinar with Active Schools, PE Specialists with an additional support needs remit, and Scottish Disability Sport staff to aid their learning & learn more about wider inclusion and PE resources. Our next stage is to implement the full Disability Inclusion Training workshop into the 4th year syllabus to ensure every student has comprehensive knowledge and confidence to provide a positive and high quality PE experience to all of the children in their care.
If you, or anyone you know, lives with a physical, sensory or learning disability in Grampian or Shetland & is interested in getting involved in sport, please get in touch with Alison on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or 07828 744 848.
Specialist powerchair football equipment in Grampian is being kept secure thanks to national funding.
Funding from the Baillie Gifford Community Awards (administered by Foundation Scotland) was granted to Grampian Disability Sport to purchase a secure, lockable cage in which to store multiple strikers and powerchair football balls.
The equipment, with a 4-figure value, had been stored in a multi-sport cupboard with open access, and the participants and coach felt that there was a risk that the equipment could be stolen or damaged by other groups and clubs frequenting the store. The new storage unit will only be accessible by the powerchair football group and as it’s also on wheels, the group will be able to transport and set up their equipment far more efficiently and safely.
We’re incredibly grateful to the Baillie Gifford Community Awards and Foundation Scotland for their generosity.
If you, or anyone you know, lives with a physical, sensory or learning disability in Grampian or Shetland & is interested in getting involved in sport, please get in touch with Alison on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or 07828 744 848.
A partnership focusing on delivering inclusive sport and physical activity in Shetland has taken a step forward following a successful significant funding application.
Ability Shetland, which spearheads the Islands’ efforts to improve the provision and quality of sport and physical activity opportunities for people with disabilities, has been granted a substantial sum of money from the Shetland Charitable Trust. The funding will enable the organisation to employ a full-time Disability Sport Development Officer for up to three years.
The Officer will work to achieve the outcomes of a Disability Sport Development Plan, which has been developed in partnership with Scottish Disability Sport, Shetland Islands Council, Active Schools Shetland, NHS Shetland and sportscotland.
Over the lifecycle of the 3-year plan, it is also hoped that the partnership and Officer will facilitate the formation of an SDS Branch to continue to develop inclusive opportunities in the long-term.
If you, or anyone you know, lives with a physical, sensory or learning disability in Grampian or Shetland & is interested in getting involved in sport, please get in touch with Alison on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or 07828 744 848.