Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) is the recognised governing body for the sport of boccia in Scotland and is tasked with developing players capable of domestic and international success.  We are also responsible for progressing the best Scottish talent to a UK Boccia World Class Programme where players represent Great Britain at European, World and Paralympic level.  In order to achieve this, a competitive national squad is a vital element.

Scotland has a rich history in the sport, and we have produced no less than 10 players (and three ramp assistants) who have progressed to a Great Britain programme over the past two Paralympic cycles.

The players selected for the national squad will be focussed on the 2020 events calendar via both SDS and Boccia UK, not to mention the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.  It is sure to be another very busy year!

There has been a lot of development work going on within the sport, which has seen a growth in the numbers of players accessing clubs.  Last year, we appointed our first National Boccia Development Officer, as well as introducing a new website and social media platforms for the re-branded ‘Scottish Boccia’.  Furthermore, we have seen several new players with performance potential progress regionally, which has been reflected in this years’ selection.

Scottish Boccia is extremely grateful to retain the services of our experienced coaching staff, including Claire Morrison, Andrinne Craig and Jennifer Barsby.  Moreover, we will welcome two new faces to the coaching team in 2020.  Peter McGuire will make the transition from player to coach and the 2012 Paralympian will add a real mix of experience and enthusiasm to our sessions.  Michaela Řiháčková has vast coaching experience from her time leading the sport in the Czech Republic.  She has coached players to a high level, delivered international events and is also a member of the BISFed Development Committee.

Commenting on the Scottish Boccia selection, SDS Performance Manager, Gary Fraser said:

“It is an exciting time within the sport as the programme within Scotland and the UK continues to develop. We have selected a squad with lots of quality, and we are excited about the potential of the new players who will now be able train and play alongside the very best players in Scotland, Great Britain and the World. We are lucky to have a group of skilled coaches, who will be working to improve player performances ahead of a very busy year in the sport.”

For more information please visit:

Website:              https://boccia.scottishdisabilitysport.com/

Facebook:           https://www.facebook.com/SDSboccia/

Twitter:                https://twitter.com/SDS_boccia

Players
Name	Classification	Local Authority
Reegan Stevenson	BC1	Glasgow
Lewis McConnell	BC2	East Renfrewshire
Hannah Craig	BC3	Dundee
Ross MacNeil	BC3	North Lanarkshire
Jamie McCowan	BC3	South Ayrshire
Scott McCowan	BC3	South Ayrshire
Patrick Wilson	BC3	City of Edinburgh
Tyler McLelland	BC4	Fife
Fiona Muirhead	BC4	South Lanarkshire
Paul McIntyre	BC4	Stirling
Scott McIntyre	BC4	Stirling
Stephen McGuire	BC4	South Lanarkshire
Ross Munro	BC4	East Renfrewshire
Kieran Steer	BC4	Fife
Carole Craig	Ramp Assistant	Dundee
Stewart MacNeil	Ramp Assistant	North Lanarkshire
Gary McCowan	Ramp Assistant	South Ayrshire
Linda McCowan	Ramp Assistant	South Ayrshire
William Wilson	Ramp Assistant	City of Edinburgh
Coaches
Name	Local Authority
Claire Morrison	Fife
Andrinne Craig	Aberdeenshire
Jennifer Barsby	City of Edinburgh
Peter McGuire	South Lanarkshire
Michaela Řiháčková	South Lanarkshire

Everyone involved with Scottish Disability Sport would like to take this opportunity to wish all our athletes, coaches, volunteers, partners and key stakeholders a very merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year. We thank you all most sincerely for your commitment, achievements and support during the last 12 months. We all look forward to working with you during what promises to be an exciting 2020.

Scottish is Disability is looking forward to hosting an inaugural Boccia Conference which will take place on Sunday 23 February 2020 at the sportscotland National Training Centre, Inverclyde.  We have an exciting selection of workshops on offer and all information can be found in the programme. This conference is open to all members of the boccia community and there is no cost to attend.

If you would like to register, please do so via the link below:

https://boccia.scottishdisabilitysport.com/2020-boccia-conference/

As part of the SDS Young Start review process I met up recently with DSF member Craig Smith at the DSF office. As always Craig was incredibly upbeat. Our meeting was scheduled just before his teaching/coaching session withGlenrothes Amateur Swimming Club.

Since embarking on his coach education journey Craig has developed into a confident and popular teacher. During his early days with the club Craig benefited greatly from working alongside fellow DSF member Lara Ferguson.

Craig recently travelled to the Tower Hotel in London to represent the Young Start programme at the UK Coaching Awards. As Scottish area winners of the transforming coaching section, the SDS Young Start programme was up against GB hockey and archery submissions with GB Hockey taking the honours.

All of us in Scotland associated with the Young Start programme were of course delighted with the Scottish win and pleased that Craig was selected as the Young Start ambassador. Last week Craig also represented the Young Start programme at a meeting of potential sponsors. When we met Craig explained the role he and others have played in shaping the future of the programme and the importance of raising awareness of mental health issues going forward.

Since successfully completing two Scottish Swimming qualifications Craig has flown. He is now a respected Glenrothes Amateur Swimming Club teacher and the impact that he and Lara Ferguson have had on the club is impressive. Craig is a very special young man and those of us who know him are confident that he will carve out a successful career in swim teaching.

Craig was a successful Para swimmer when he was a pupil at Glenrothes HS. Perhaps he will return to swimming one day and maybe even become involved in Masters Swimming. He certainly has the potential to excel in the sport. Currently his weekly schedule is challenging and he is running up an amazing number of miles driving between Fife, Edinburgh and Glasgow for his job, leisure and studies.

Craig has charisma in abundance and no shortage of intelligence and sparkle. DSF is proud to have Craig as a member and delighted that he is now a volunteer giving lots back to the sport that meant so much to him when he was a teenager. Craig got so much from the Young Start programme and now contributes so much to the development of the programme as well as benefiting from it. DSF is very proud of Craig Smith and believes that he will excel in whatever he decides to do in life.

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

Scottish Boccia were represented at the Boccia England Team and Pairs event at the David Ross Sports Village at Nottingham University on the 14 and 15 December 2019.

The competition afforded the opportunity to take seven players to compete, five of whom, were making their first appearance for Scotland.  The squad were ably led by experience players, Kieran Steer and Ross Munro.

BC3 Pairs
Ross MacNeil (alongside the Vipers English Academy)

BC4
A. Kieran Steer & Scott McIntyre
B. Ross Munro & Tyler McClelland
C. Fiona Muirhead & Paul McIntyre

Remarkably, Ross MacNeil and his father, Stewart (ramp assistant), struck up a formidable partnership with Lewis Fisher and Azhad Fauzi in which they managed one training session prior to the competition.  They pushed England B in their first match, losing narrowly 3-5 in the end.  However, this performance set their tone for the rest of the competition.  The Vipers reached the semi-final, losing to 1-7 to England A.  This set up a bronze medal play-off with Wales, in which they triumphed 6-2.

In the BC4 Pairs competition Scotland had three strong pairs involved in a five team round robin, which inevitably saw the teammates competing against one another, and it is these results that would have a big impact in the overall league standings.  Scotland A (Kieran & Scott) won an engaging contest 13-0 against Scotland B (Ross & Tyler) and followed this up with an 8-0 victory against Scotland C (Fiona & Paul).  Whilst Scotland C beat the Gladiators 3-1 they had to withdraw from the competition due to illness, which meant the finished bottom of the group.  However, Scotland A and Scotland B ensured that we would record a 1-2 finish as gold and silver would come north of the border.

The competition provided an excellent competitive outlet for Scotland’s next generation of performance players and each will have taken lots of learning, as we look ahead to a positive 2020 for Boccia in Scotland.  Scottish Disability Sport would like to thank Boccia England for hosting the event and inviting Scotland to be part of it.

A full list of results can be seen via the link below:

https://www.bocciaengland.org.uk/teams-and-pairs-2019

The Scottish Disability National Badminton Championships will be run by Badminton Scotland at Dalkeith Campus on Saturday 25^th January.

Entries close on 10^th January and all the information you need should be found on the link below. This event started as a partnership event between Lothian Disability Badminton Club (LDBC) and Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) in 2017. Badminton Scotland came on board this year to operate it as their disability badminton championships with input from LDBC & SDS. Please pass this on to anyone who may be interested in entering.

Scottish Disability Badminton Championships 2020

An amazing celebration for Richard Brickley MBE OBE today as he collected his award from Buckingham Palace. This proved to be an extremely exciting day for Richard and his family – especially his grandson, who was thrilled at the prospect of a trip to the palace.

SDS warmly congratulate Richard on his well-deserved recognition following decades of service to disability sport. The following article was written at the time of the announcement.

Congratulations to Richard Brickley on being awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to disability sport.

Passionate and committed, his influence spans every facet of disability sport. Richard was awarded an MBE in 1999 for services to disability sport, however his impact since this time has remained significant as evidenced by his recognition as Volunteer of the Year at the Team Scotland Scottish Sports Awards in 2017. It is universally agreed amongst national, UK and international governing bodies that few, if any, people have done more for the development of disability sport internationally over the last 40 years. Richard was on the Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) Management Board from 1975 until 2006, and between 1998-06 he led Scottish Disability Sport as chair. Richard took the organisation from one that employed a sole administrator as their entire staff base to one that employed a CEO and a number of dedicated staff. He was the key driver in launching SDS’s first website in 2000. This vastly improved communication with members, local authorities and governing bodies. He has been a driver in strategically planning and implementing SDS’s last five strategic plans which has overseen growth exponentially of inclusive practice and opportunities. He implemented the widely-respected events programme for 33 years as the voluntary events-lead, and has ensured that the programme remains one of the flagship programmes of SDS which currently runs over 20 events across 7 sports and caters for over 3000 athletes with a disability at every level of the pathway. After he stepped down as chair in 2006, he was asked to become the inaugural chair of the UK Coaching, Learning and Leadership Group, which was formed in 2007. The group was established to advise the UK Coaching Framework on disability sport and the inclusion of children, athletes and players with a disability. He produced policy papers and implemented positive projects and programmes within coaching at a UK level. He only stood down as chair to allow him time to set up a similar organisation in relation to Scotland, and in 2010 the Disability Sport Coaching and Education Group: Scotland was established. The impact of the groups has been to corral leading experts in coaching and disability to set the vision for coaching and learning within Scotland and contributing the SDS dimension to key documents. He was a key contributor to the development of the Sports Inclusion Model which is a cornerstone of the SDS Strategic Plan 2017 – 21 and it being adopted at a UK level through SDS’s sister organisations in the home nations. Internationally he has attended seven successive Paralympic Games as coach or classifier. In the late 1980s he recognised that his passion for coaching and classification could not co-exist at an international level and therefore made a huge commitment to follow the pathway of an International Classifier, a complicated yet critical aspect of disability sport. In Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 he was a lead classifier, which culminated in becoming the Chief Classifier at the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Paralympics. He was also head of classification for athletics at the International Paralympic Committee. In the 1980s and 1990s he voluntarily worked with a small group of classifiers for the Cerebral Palsy International Sport and Recreation Association to improve and keep current the classification system. He was made an international classifier for the International Bowls for the Disabled (IBD), following his services at the Eight Nations international bowling competition held at Kelvingrove, Glasgow in 2013. This ensured all bowlers were classified for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. He was instrumental in refining the British Athletics classification system and chaired the British Athletics classification panel following Beijing, and he also produced the initial British classification paper for GB Boccia allowing the sport to grow internationally. He and a fellow ex-Chair of SDS, Bob Mitchell, created a simple and robust system for classification within various sports in Scotland. This revolutionised disability sport in Scotland and ensures sport is inclusive and accessible for all people with a disability in Scotland. This is still used 20 years on. This awards was strongly supported by Scottish Disability Sport, the other home nation disability federations and both the Lord Lieutentant and the Lord Provost of Fife.