The Young Start programme, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland, has enabled a group of young people over the past two years to work together as a group to build their skills, knowledge and expertise; by developing themselves they have developed opportunities for others.

 The Young Start programme enables:

• The transition from athlete to coach to enable sport to continue to make a difference in the lives of the young people and those they work with.  As well as empowering the young people through developing their confidence and competence to deliver key messages and shape the future for participants and performers in Scotland. 
• The access to mentoring to strengthen life skills for future opportunities in a variety of settings.
• The Young People to grow as individuals and as a group, develop new ideas and influence
• The Young Persons Sport Panel to work collectively with the Coach Apprentice Programme to share, learn from each other, support one another  and drive forward change.

It is really exciting to report back on the impacts of the programme and appreciate how much all the young people both individually and collectively have flourished.

The following video encompasses the impact of the programme https://youtu.be/X_5UwSRT4RQ

The impact and celebration event was skilfully led by  the Young Start Ambassador, Aileen Neilson who  enabled all the participants on the day to:

• Share their individual stories which were insightful and motivational
• Have fun being involved in different activities.

Aileen closed the session by acknowledging and thanking the young people for their positive and proactive approach.  She also recognised and thanked the programme mentors and the programme coordinator, Victoria Clark and it is only fitting to thank Aileen who contributes so much in her ambassadorial role and is an inspirational role model.

It truly is a time to celebrate and applaud the varied and positive  journeys of the young  individuals involved in the Young Start Programme who are inspirational.

SDS is delighted to be able to thank some great people in Volunteers Week, 1-7 June.  Over this week SDS has highlighting volunteers who contribute so much to making sport happen at a local, regional and national level.  Volunteers play a pivotal role in supporting sport specific programmes for athletes and participants with a disability across Scotland and today we feature a long serving volunteer who is currently the Head Coach of the Scottish Cerebral Palsy Football Squad.

Greig Taylor has been involved with the Scottish set up for over 13 years and has played an instrumental part in the resurgence of the sport in Scotland. Greig’s first involvement was as Assistant Coach with the squad that competed in the World Championships in Brazil in 2008, where the Scots finished in a very creditable 6^th place. Two years later he was once again on the coaching team as Scotland hosted the European Championships in Glasgow, dramatically beating England to claim a 3^rd place finish.

Following a spell coaching football in China, he returned to take the role of Head Coach for the team in 2016. By this time, the Scottish Cerebral Palsy Football programme had fallen on hard times and had not competed in a major competition since the International Football Cerebral Palsy Federation (IFCPF) World Championships in England in 2015. Greig made it his mission to rejuvenate the Scottish programme and has spent a vast amount of his own time delivering talks and presentations to promote Cerebral Palsy Football, speaking to potential funders and continually networking and scouting to identify new players who could benefit from this exciting format of football.

The result of this commitment from Greig and his team of equally committed coaches was a return to competition at the International Trophy CP Football Ciutat de Barcelona organised by the Catalan Sports Federation of Cerebral Palsy where the Scots finished in a very creditable 3^rd place. This success was eclipsed when Greig and his players returned to Barcelona to compete in the 2019 competition, which they won defeating Italy, Northern Ireland, Catalonia and English club side, CP United in the process.

Buoyed by their newfound success, the squad upped their training in advance of a return to the international stage at the IFCPF Nations Championships in Sant Cugat, Spain which has subsequently bee postponed until 2021.

Greig has been the talisman behind the revival of the Scottish Cerebral Palsy Football programme and without his dedication, commitment and enthusiasm the Scottish programme would not be progressing in such a positive manner.

If you would like any further information in relation to Cerebral Palsy Football in Scotland please contact Scottish Disability Sport on 0131 317 1130

SDS is delighted to be able to thank some great people in Volunteers Week, 1-7 June. Over this week SDS will be highlighting volunteers who contribute so much to making sport happen at a local, regional and national level. Today the spotlight is on coaches who provide so many opportunities and are staying connected with participants in different and creative ways during lockdown and the phased return to sport. One coach SDS is shining the spotlight on is Peter McGuire….

Peter began his sporting journey as a player back in 2005, when he played his first game of boccia and fell in love with the sport. He reached the pinnacle of his playing career when he represented UK at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Two years later he began his coaching pathway when he achieved his UKCC level 1 and started to support Jenny Nethery, as a coach with the West of Scotland club. Peter has continued to increase his coaching opportunities, and before the Covid 19 pandemic, Peter was coaching 5 times a week at a range of boccia sessions and clubs to different ages and ability levels from recreational players to ones on the talent development programme. He relishes the variety and challenges presented by players of different ages and stages and in 2020, he was appointed as a coach to the Scottish National Boccia squad, moving him one step closer to his dream of coaching at a Paralympics.

In 2016 ,peter successfully gained his UKCC level 2 Boccia qualification and he continues to develop and evolve as a coach by attending ongoing learning opportunities for example the SGBs L2+ course, workshops, coaching conferences and in April 2019 he gained a place on the UK Boccia Coach Advance Programme.

Not only does Peter coach, but as a volunteer, he is Chair of the Glasgow Gladiators sports club providing wheelchair users sporting opportunities in powerchair football and boccia. He also is a committee member of South Lanarkshire Disability Sport branch and when he has a spare moment he is an active member of the Scottish Power Football Association committee.

Peter is a truly remarkable volunteer and provides so many enriching sports opportunities for many people. Thank you, Peter and all the coaches who work so tirelessly to make sport happen.

SDS is delighted to be able to thank some great people in Volunteers Week, 1-7 June.  Over this week SDS will be highlighting volunteers who contribute so much to making sport happen at a local, regional and national level.  Today the spotlight is on the Scottish Disability Sport Young Persons Sport Panel.

The Young Persons Sport Panel (YPSP) was established in 2015 with a group of 12 young people aged between 14 and 25 who were nominated by the SDS member branches. The vision of the YPSP is to:

• Provide a voice for young people with a disability in Scotland
• Give young people with disabilities an opportunity to gain continuous personal development
• Be a key consultation group for SDS
• Share expertise and influence communication across sport and throughout Scotland

The panel has continued to develop over the last five years and has become an established group of volunteers who contribute massively to all areas within SDS. Over the last two years the YPSP have joined up with the Young Start Programme and both groups have been key consultation groups for SDS programmes, volunteered at numerous SDS events, grown in confidence, developed skills and gained a number of qualifications. SDS are lucky to have a great volunteer ambassador for the programme, Aileen Neilson, who provides great support and guidance to the young people.

During the Covid-19 pandemic the YPSP has grown from strength to strength helping to shape an online programme for other young people and have ideas and plans to take some of this back to their own branch areas. During this time the members of the YPSP have kept each other motivated, taken on responsibility to lead various elements of the online programme and created numerous wonderful videos to share with the wider SDS community with ideas of how to keep busy during lockdown.

In March 2020, SDS had planned to recruit a new Young Persons Sport Panel. However, this has been postponed until we are allowed to resume some activities. The current YPSP are a key group in the recruitment of the new panel and were involved in the shortlisting process and will be part of the interviews. Moving forward some of the YPSP have noted interest in staying involved in the panel in more of a leadership and mentor role and SDS are delighted that the experienced panel members would like  to stay involved in some way and support the new panel to develop.

A huge thank you must go to all of the Young Persons Sport Panel for all of their contributions to SDS over the last five years. We are so grateful for everything you do for SDS and it is a pleasure to have worked with you all during that time. Thank you, Caitlyn Ross, Lewis McConnell, Colette Martin, Callum Sloan, Gemma Lumsdaine, Ross Foley, Hope Gordon, Mitchell Graham, Shelby Watson, Alan Gray, Stefan Hogan and Danielle Joyce.

SDS is delighted to be able to thank some great people in Volunteers Week, 1-7 June . Over this week SDS will be highlighting volunteers who contribute so much to making sport happen at a local, regional and national level. Today the spotlight is on our National Events programme.

The events programme simply would not be possible without the exceptional support from so many loyal and committed individuals. Although by no means an exhaustive list, it is appropriate that due recognition is given to many of these wonderful people here. Firstly, the people that support our amazing member branches are part of so much that goes on each year and always “muck-in” when required at each event throughout the year. It is hugely appreciated.

Traditionally, often the first national championship of the year is the National Carpet Bowls event most recently held in Dundee each year. Along with the relatively recent addition of the Indoor Bowls Championships, the reintroduction of the Inter-Area competition and the long-standing lawn bowls event in Aberdeen, the bowls event calendar is in a strong position. The support we get from players from Bowls Scotland district clubs in the Tayside and Grampian regions is extraordinary. Further outstanding support is received from the evergreen Grace Whitton, Brenda Anderson and Ron McArthur who go above and beyond to assist and lead on all forms of bowling for people with a disability at every level. Ron, especially, goes way beyond expectations to positively contribute to each event. Norma Buchanan and Bob Christie are other consistent long-term supporters of the SDS National Bowls Calendar.

Our partnerships with so many of our friends in sport-specific governing bodies allows our athletes to compete with the very best technology and expertise available to them. This partnership has strengthened in recent years in athletics and swimming and enables our athletes to not only have access to very accurate timing for use in entry to other competitions but also to replicate top-level environments at these events. People like Gordon McCormack OBE, Joyce Wighton, Barry Craighead, Angus Cameron, Linden Nicholson and Isobel Martin along with many, many others have given so much to the track and field and cross-country events each year. On the swimming side Colin and Carolyn MacDonald, Jean Smith, Blair Prentice, Elizabeth Fitzsimmons and a long list of others have given decades of service to the calendar ensuring each event runs smoothly. Like everything it is so important to have a succession of enthusiastic volunteers ready to take the baton and run and with people like Sheena McCall and Jean King on hand this ensures the sport remains inclusive for the future.

SDS has a long list of partner organisations that support our events calendar through the donation of volunteer hours. Recent agreements with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays have seen support increase dramatically at our national events and allows our events to be seen by a wider cross-section of society. They have both been fruitful partnerships and thanks to Rhona Adam and Susan Hunter from the respective organisations for their efforts in this area. SDS has strong links also with universities and colleges across the country. West Lothian College is one of the longest running partnerships and their students offer critical support at a range of event each year.

Our annual residential summer camp has become increasingly volunteer-led over the last few years. There are some quite exceptional people involved such as Dave Rhoney, an SDS Board Member and part of the organising committee and Anna Tizzard, a former Paralympian and the only person to have attended every single one of our summer camps. Our medical team do a magnificent job each year attending to the wide and varied tasks they are responsible for. We have been so fortunate to be able to call on people like Jo Jackson, Helen Clark and Pat Henry over the years. They are steeped in specialist knowledge and have a broad range of experiences to bring to the project. The camp is further supported by around 20 other volunteers each year in a variety of roles and we rely on them

massively. Kai Goldie Sr, Martin Dillon, Gary Clark, Kirsty Byrne and Andy Hollingdale have added their names to the growing list of return volunteers each year.

Some of our most recent events – the badminton and archery events – mirror the more long-standing events in our calendar in that they are reliant on the input of a dedicated team of volunteers. Moira Taylor and Phyllis Pettett were such a big part of getting the archery event into the calendar and Lyndon Williams, Roselind and Alistair Hall, Emma Foley, Fiona Cameron, David Gillespie and Colin Leslie are all instrumental in the successful implementation of the National Badminton Championships.

Our Boccia events are again reliant on the dedication and reliability of a group of willing volunteers. Darren Thomson heads up our merry band of volunteer officials and does it superbly well. Sam Thomson, Catherine Carruthers, Ling Mann, Jenny Nethery, Jane Gordon, Peter Hagenbuch and Lynn Allison are just some of our long-standing volunteers in this wonderful sport which goes such a long way to ensuring there is a pathway to the very top level of sport for players with more severe and complex disabilities.

The SDS National Events Calendar is home to 22 different events now and this extensive programme is down, in no small part, to Richard Brickley MBE OBE. Richard has offered counsel and extensive planning and administrative support to the events throughout the history of the calendar and was heavily involved in shaping many of these events in the recent history. The contribution is hugely appreciated.

Our last group of volunteers are those we have sadly lost in recent years and miss incredibly. Our incomparable former-Chairperson Janice Eaglesham MBE was a tireless champion of our athletics programme, the irreplaceable John De Courcy was a Summer Camp legend and a lynchpin of our cross-country events.

SDS salutes each and every one of our volunteers – many also who haven’t been listed here. They are an integral part of the calendar and are invaluable to us as an organisation.

Should anyone wish to volunteer with SDS please contact us at events@scottishdisabilitysport.com.