Category: A News

Sweden undefeated in 2019 Stirling Wheelchair Curling Tournament

The 2019 Stirling Wheelchair Curling International was won by Sweden who went undefeated for the week winning all seven of their round robin games.  The Swedes secured victory with one match to spare when they won a tight match against England on Thursday and then rounded off their week with a win against title contenders Norway on Friday. Many thanks to Stirling Council baillie Douglas Dodds who was on hand to present the trophy.

The 8 team international event was a great success with some fantastic curling on show over four days at the Peak.  Scotland finished strongly, winning their last two games to end 4th in the standings.  We look forward to welcoming the best wheelchair curlers back to Stirling in 2020.

All details of our event including the draw are on our website.

http://stirlingwheelchaircurling.btck.co.uk/

Stirling Wheelchair Curling Club hold wheelchair curling sessions weekly every Wednesday from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.  Please contact Jacky McLaren if you would like to try out the sport jackymclaren@talktalk.net

Chair SWCII 2018

Andy Hemming

MOB: 07971 769851

Fernando wins Silver at INAS Global Games

The news we have all been waiting for arrived from Brisbane this morning that Sam Fernando had won silver in 3,000 metres steeplechase at the INAS Global Games. Sam ran a personal best time and was in contention for gold down the final straight. Earlier in the week Sam finished 7th in 10,000 metres and we all knew he was in an excellent form going into his strongest event, the steeplechase. Congratulations Sam we are all so proud of you.

1 Foratier T20, Quentin 97 France 9:57.24
2 Fernando, Sam Ruwan 98 United Kingdom 9:58.82
3 Gomez Lucas, Manuel 97 Spain 10:36.50
4 Martinez Morote T20, Jos 84 Spain 10:48.19
5 McIntosh T20, Kyle 94 Australia 10:53.10
6 Mengual, Sebastien 93 France 11:19.70

Quentin Foratier from France and Sam finished well ahead of the remainder of the field in this most demanding of events for T20 athletes with intellectual impairments. Sam has enjoyed considerable success in steeplechase over the past couple of years but this was the first occasion he has run under 10 minutes. Sam travelled to Australia with a PB of 10:04.25 and to day he lowered his personal best time by almost five seconds. There will be lots of excited Fife Athletic Club members and coaches thrilled but not surprised by this performance.

Sam as we all know has enormous family support. Congratulations to the Fernando family and all relatives and friends who have contributed so much to this special moment.

The INAS Global Games are the world’s biggest sports event for athletes with an intellectual impairment. More than 1,000 athletes from all around the globe gather every four years to compete for medals and titles. The sports contested are athletics, swimming, table tennis, rowing, basketball, futsal, tennis and cycling. Demonstration events are also included at every Games. These reflect the most popular sports of the host nation not already on the INAS programme. The Global Games are also an important event in the build-up to the Paralympic Games. Many athletes who have made their major international debut at the Global Games have gone on to win Paralympic titles.

The first multi-sport event for athletes with an intellectual impairment were held in Harnosand, Sweden, in 1989. Named ‘the 1st World Games for Athletes with an Intellectual Disability’, they took place three years after INAS was formed. Over the following years the focus shifted to getting on to the Paralympic programme, adding sports and countries. More information about this can be found on the history of INAS page. Then after more than a decade of continued development of sport for athletes with an intellectual impairment, the Global Games returned to their roots in Sweden.

The 2019 INAS Global Games are expected to be the most successful to date. The Games are being hosted by Sport Inclusion Australia – INAS member organisation in Australia. The organisers are working with many national and international sporting bodies. More than 1,000 athletes were expected to travel to Brisbane just under one year ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

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

Fife Para Athlete Plays Part in Distance Running Success

Disability Sport Fife owes so much to the late outstanding volunteer John de Courcy plus Shona Malcolm OBE from Scottish Athletics. These two individuals played a very significant role in establishing the very successful East Series Cross Country programme that now plays such an important part in the DSF calendar of events.

The 2019/2020 programme is now about to get under way over the winter with three events in Lothian and one in Fife early next year at the Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy. Dates have been widely publicised and appear on this Facebook page. Entry forms have been circulated. These events are organised by SDS and Scottish Athletics along with the National Championships at Bellahouston Park next year.

Fife athletes will hopefully access in significant numbers the leg of the East Series and the Fife Championships organised by DSF and Fife Athletic Club. Both of these events are held at the Beveridge Park.

Over the years the number of athletes involved in cross country has risen significantly. The increase in interest has had a major impact on the strength of the Fife track and field squad. There are more Fife athletes training for distance events or longer sprints in 2019 than ever before and this has had a major effect on our ability to contest a wider range of events at the National Junior and Senior Championships. The two most successful Fife AC athletes who have come through this system are Owen Miller and Sam Fernando from Woodmill High School and Bell Baxter High Schoolrespectively. Each of these athletes has been inspired by GB Paralympian Derek Rae.

There is now a fourth Fife AC athlete who is making his mark in distance running, having already achieved considerable success in swimming, cycling and in particular water skiing. Carter Taylor from Dunfermline is enjoying his most successful season to date and last weekend at theLochore 10k he finished 6th overall and 2nd senior athlete. Carter’s time was 00:37:24, just over a minute behind the winner. Fantastic progress for the west Fife athlete who goes from strength to strength with every event and cannot wait for the cross country season to get under way.

Carter is a relative newcomer to distance running but he is improving with every competition and following in the footsteps of Owen who is one of the world’s leading 1500m runners and Sam who excels in 3Km steeplechase. Derek of course won silver in T46 marathon at the IPC World Championships held during the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon.

Hopefully this season’s cross country programme will highlight some new distance athletes with potential and perhaps some girls to strengthen team Fife. The DSF partnership with Fife AC and the role played by coaches Ron Morrison and Steve Doig in particular has contributed considerably to this very unique athletics story.

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

Adam appreciates the benefits of regular walking

Adam Faulds is a former pupil of Balwearie HS and a most trusted and valued GOGA in Fife peer mentor volunteer. Adam is a qualified walk leader who offers up hours of his leisure time every week to support participants with additional support needs in particular. Adam is also a most accomplished all round sportsman.

Just over 12 weeks ago Adam embarked on the Paths For All “Feeling great, one step at a time” programme promoted by GOGA in Fife. His commitment to the programme has been amazing. GOGA in Fife is supported by Spirit of 2012.

Every day he completed the Paths for All diary and recorded the time he spent walking, the number of steps recorded on his pedometer, where he walked and how he felt. Adam recorded over 10,000 steps at least every day and on several days he was over 20,000 with family and friends. What a star.

Richard Brickley OBE MBE Chairman DSF Board of Charity trustees

GOGA in Fife recruits another new volunteer

Welcome to Andy Mathieson the latest volunteer to sign up for GOGA in Fife. Disability Sport Fife has known Andy for a number of years as a volunteer marker at DSF bowling events organised in conjunction with the Beveridge Park Bowling Club. Andy is a keen bowler and the secretary of the Beveridge Park Club.

Andy volunteered his services to support DSF members and he has successfully been deployed to the inclusive weekly multi sports session at the Michael Woods Sports & Leisure Centre for adults with additional support needs. The session is supported by Spirit of 2012 through GOGA.

In the past year weekly attendances have grown to 80 – 90 participants of which 50 – 60 have additional support needs. For many participants it is the highlight of the week. On Andy’s second session the programme included a very varied warm up and cool down, Nordic walking, badminton, unihoc, boccia, carpet bowls and unicurl. Andy has added so much to the team of volunteers delivering the bowls session.

Volunteers, peer mentor volunteers and significant others are so important to the delivery of the weekly programme of multi sports sessions in Fife. Andy is yet another quality recruit to the GOGA in Fife volunteer team.

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

7th place for Fernando at Global Games

Not surprisingly Sam Fernando from Gateside and Fife Athletic Club ran strongly in his first event at the Inas Global Games 2019 at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in Brisbane earlier in the week.

Japanese athletes dominated the T20 10,000 metres INAS World Championships final, winning all three medals. Kazuhiro Morito won the race in 31:53.04 and Sam finished seventh in 33:56.77. The sixth placed athlete finished in a time that was six seconds faster than Sam’s personal best for 10K. Eighteen athletes contested the final.

Sam started the race comfortably and after ten laps was running with the pack. One Japanese athlete was well out in front but the other competitors were sensible enough to let him go. The pace was intense and not surprisingly Sam lost confidence in his ability to stick with the pack and he sensibly allowed a gap to open. The next ten laps were not his best but as other athletes tired he picked up again and made his way back into contention. Two of the runners he ran against at the INAS European Championships in Paris last year were well ahead of him but in a couple of laps, he caught and then passed them which boosted his confidence.

It cannot be underestimated how challenging it is for an athlete with additional support needs to compete over 10,000 metres when the ability of the competitors varies considerably. Athletes were spread over the full 400 metres of the track and in this particular race the winning Japanese athlete lapped all other seventeen competitors. Sam became confused and stopped one lap early and lost at least 10 seconds. Interventions from officials and Team UK staff and supporters encouraged him to start running again but the delay undoubtedly influenced his finishing time if not his finishing position. My understanding is that despite this unbelievably challenging situation, Sam managed to put in a very strong final lap.

Sam ran very well in his first INAS Global Games event. Processing information and coping with the many changes that happen in distance races are just some of the challenges faced by athletes with intellectual impairments. Sam had lots of decisions to make but he coped admirably. The heat also made the setting more demanding and Sam did well to finish ahead of top T20 athletes from Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, USA, Australia and New Zealand.

Sam has enjoyed some quality steeplechase training in preparation for his major event on Thursday over 3K plus of course the barriers and water jump. All of us in Fife and beyond wish Sam all the very best in his strongest event of recent times.

The 10K was another learning experience for the young Fife athlete. He will now be even better prepared to take on the world’s leading athletes over the barriers and water in his second event at the INAS Global Games. Come on Sam we are all behind you.

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

Disability Bowls Hub in Lothian Region

A regular bowls session for players with a disability is back up and running across East and Midlothian. This opportunity is open to players with a physical, visual/hearing or learning disability regardless of age and experience.

These sessions will be delivered across two venues – East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club and Midlothian Indoor Bowling Club. I have highlighted the dates below –

Sunday 27th October (East Lothian IBC) – 12pm – 2pm

Sunday 24th November (East Lothian IBC) – 12pm – 2pm

Sunday 15th December (Midlothian IBC) – 10am – 12pm

Sunday 22nd December (East Lothian IBC) – 12pm – 2pm

Each session will cost £3 and be delivered by new lead coach Megan Kivlin.

If you are interested in attending, please confirm with Billy Mellors on development@bowlseastlothian.uk or 07930 716073. This confirmation is essential as this will allow the session to have appropriate equipment available for all players.

World Championship Bronze for Shooter Ritchie

Grampian Clay Pigeon Shooter, Allan Ritchie, has scooped a Bronze medal on day 2 of this year’s World Shooting Para Sport Championships.

The event, held this year in Sydney, Australia, showcases the very best of shooting talent from across the globe, and Allan has done Scotland proud by bringing home 3rd place in the Para Trap 1 event after facing some stiff competition from 2018 silver medalist, Italy’s Orsete Lai, and Finland’s Juha Myllymakim, who claimed the gold & silver positions respectively.

Allan is an extremely dedicated athlete who puts in an incredible amount of mileage and effort to train with the national squad whilst working full-time, and devotes some of his limited spare hours to inspiring the next generation of athletes through volunteering with Aberdeenshire Sports Council.

Well done, Allan! What an incredible achievement.

If you, or anyone you know, lives with a physical, sensory or learning disability in Grampian & is interested in getting involved in sport, please get in touch with Alison on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or 07828 744 848.

Surge in Grampian CPD Requests

Organisations, local authorities, clubs, schools & individuals in Grampian are keener than ever to be inclusive, which has been demonstrated in a recent surge in requests for informal and formal training opportunities.

In the period May to October, there were a total of 10 CPD opportunities offered, which included informal inclusion sessions for school teachers and pupil support assistants, practical training for senior pupils completing their Sports Leaders Award, Primary Education students and Sports Coaching students, UK Disability Inclusion Training workshops which were opened up to a range of clubs, organisations and individuals, and a youth boccia leader workshop aimed at equipping primary-aged pupils with the skills to run peer-led boccia sessions.

We’re looking forward to hosting a further Disability Inclusion Training workshop and 3 Boccia Leaders workshops in Grampian over the final 2 months of the year, and are excited to see the Grampian Active Schools Coordinators pass on their skills to teaching staff & pupils in an effort to grow the sport of boccia in mainstream schools throughout the region.

Watch this space for more inclusive opportunities coming to Grampian in 2020!

If you, or anyone you know, lives with a physical, sensory or learning disability in Grampian & is interested in getting involved in sport, please get in touch with Alison on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or 07828 744 848.

Orianne Retains Gymnastics Title

Grampian para gymnast, Orianne Slater, has retained her title of British Senior Champion (Class II) at this year’s British Gymnastics Disability Senior Artistic Championships.

The event, held at Leicester, saw Orianne fend off tough competition from gymnasts around the UK to gain silver medals in Vault, Bars & Floor, and a Gold (by over 3 points!) on Beam!

The Garioch Gymnastics Club member has been working incredibly hard with her departing coach, Jamie Czop, over the past year, and it’s fantastic to see her efforts pay off.

Whilst Orianne was training, her mum, Lydie, was helping to fight a decision by British Gymnastics to cut the Artistic Disability Masters event from the British programme from 2020 onwards. Lydie’s equally admirable efforts (which included a train trip from Aberdeen to Birmingham) were not in vain and we’re delighted that the event has been reinstated with the added benefit of a Disability Gymnastics Committee being formed to look after para gymnastics events for future years.

Well done to Orianne & Lydie on their successes – you’ve both done Grampian proud!

If you, or anyone you know, lives with a physical, sensory or learning disability in Grampian & is interested in getting involved in sport, please get in touch with Alison on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or 07828 744 848.