These fun sessions are open to all individuals with physical disabilities affecting all four limbs and trunk. If you are looking to get more active and meet new friends, these sessions are for you!

When: Mondays, 6.00-8.00pm

Where: Dundee & Angus College, Gardyne Road, Dundee DD5 1NY

Cost: Free

• All ages and abilities welcome
• No previous experience required
• Equipment will be provided.

For more information contact Jennifer Scally, SDS Regional Manager, on 07703 793 901 or jennifer.scally@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

Scottish Disability Sport are pleased to announce that local company, Allardyce Healthcare, are sponsoring the 2018 Tayside Parasport Festival. The event is taking place at Dundee & Angus College, Gardyne Campus on Wednesday 14^th March.

The Tayside Parasport Festival is about providing a range of opportunities for young people with a physical, visual or hearing impairment to try new and exciting sports and learn more about the pathways that are available in the region. It will be delivered by some of the best clubs and coaches available in Scotland. Furthermore, the event will highlight the opportunities for young people with disabilities to achieve at the highest level and hopefully inspire them to become our stars of the future.

Allardyce Healthcare’s support has enabled the Tayside Parasport Festival to hire a professional photographer, whose role is to document the experience of the children and provide photographs that can be sent to participants as a reminder of the event.

Allardyce Healthcare is a fourth generation family business with over 125 years of experience in the supply of healthcare products. Allardyce Healthcare’s Director, Steve Allardyce commented: “Allardyce Healthcare are delighted to be supporting the Tayside Parasport Festival at Dundee and Angus College. We hope everyone has a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoys themselves. You never know we might be seeing some future Paralympians.”

Scottish Disability Sport Tayside Regional Manager, Jennifer Scally added: “It’s wonderful to see a local organisation support a local event. This sponsorship ensures that we provide the best experience possible for our participants. We are grateful to Allardyce Healthcare for their support.”

With no indoor facilities our group does not ride during the winter months. We finished our 2017 sessions on a high note with a very successful Big Ride and a celebration party to mark the 25 anniversary of the Group. Plans are now well in hand for 2018.

We are organising a Training Day at Knockdarroch on 16 April, and start riding on 23 April. We are finalising riders from three schools and the ponies which are very kindly lent to us. We have two new volunteers (so a total of 14) and hopefully one of them is applying to train as a coach. It would be wonderful to find another Trainee so that they could go forward together.

We are also becoming a SCIO on 2 April, which is quite a triumph!

We lost our week at the Aberfeldy Thrift Shop this year which accounted for more than two thirds of our income, and so we are organising alternative fund-raising, such as a table-top sale, packing bags at the Pitlochry Co-op and having a raffle at Aberfeldy Show and Blair Horse Trials (by kind permission of W & C RDA) and are hopeful that these efforts will make up for the loss of the Thrift Shop. They will certainly raise our profile across our catchment area. We have also applied for funding for our Emergency First Aid at Work Course on March 12. We have qualified for Round 2 on 17 March when we will have to fight our corner and get enough votes – more publicity!

We are a happy band, but we are a small group and the endless paperwork is burdensome! We would like to find someone who could help with this.

If you would like to get involved with any aspect of Breadalbane RDA then please contact: Jennifer Valentine: valentinejennifer95@gmail.com

Goalball UK have recently launched a new club in Edinburgh so are looking for potential players, coaches, officials and volunteers (no previous experience is required).

If you would like to get involved, come along to the next training session:

Date: Saturday 24^th March

Time: 1pm – 3pm

Venue: Edinburgh College (Sighthill Campus), Bankhead Avenue, Edinburgh, EH11 4DE

Nearest train station: Edinburgh Park

Nearest tram stop: Bankhead

More information: Kathryn Fielding (Tel. 07795 263642 or email kathryn@goalballuk.com)

 

 

Congratulations to Stirling University undergraduate Lucy Walkup from Glenrothes who has just passed her Level 2 swimming teachers award. Lucy has been teaching swimming in the Stirling area since she became a student at the university following retirement from international deaf swimming. Lucy established herself as one of the leading deaf swimmers in the world and was a regular pick for Team GB. Lucy’s selections included the Deaflympics.

Congratulations to Oliver Carter from Cupar and Carnegie SC who has broken another Scottish S10 short course record at the Hearts meeting in Lothian last weekend. He lowered the Scottish 400m freestyle record to 4:24.16. Oliver is geared up to attend life guard training over the Easter holidays at Lochgelly HS and thereafter pursue a career in swim teaching. Oliver is following in the footsteps of ex Fife and Scottish team mates Lucy Walkup and Stefan Hoggan.

One of our most improved Fife swimmers of the past year is Cameron Hemphill from Ladybank and InCas. Since the Bell Baxter HS teenager was taken under the wing of coach Garrie Roberts he has progressed significantly. Cameron plans to target the 2018 Scottish National Open Swimming Championships, at Tollcross International Swimming Centre at the end of June. He has qualifying times for 50 free, 100 free and 400 free. Cameron had a great experience at the beginning of February when he swam at the 2018 East District Age Groups round 3, where he achieved new Long course personal bests for 50m free 37.42 and 100m free.1:23.71.

Para athlete Abbie McNally from Inverness Harriers has been invited to run as a guest in the Muller Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow, incorporating the IAAF World Indoor Tour Final, on Sunday 25th February 2018.

British Athletics were delighted to confirm the inclusion of some IPC events as part of the programme and Katie Jones, Paralympic Podium Potential Manager, was keen to offer a place to Abbie to give her some experience in that arena of competition against some of the world’s top Paralympians.

The sixteen-year-old athlete from Ross-shire who attends Alness Academy was identified by Scottish Disability Sport’s Regional Manager for Highlands and Islands Charlie Forbes, and was referred to a local athletic club to help improve her development where she has shown she has potential to achieve greater things. She had also been prior selected last year to the British Athletics Parallel Success Academy which has weekend camps at Loughborough University and had also been selected for the Athlete Academy of Sporting Excellence (AASE) at Manchester.

Abbie, who normally competes in the 100m and 200m outdoors, will compete in the women’s T37/38 60m which is for athletes with cerebral palsy. She has made tremendous progress over the last two years and has been selected twice now for Scotland in the British School Games winning two gold medals and also won medals in the British Age group Championships at Bedford.

Abbie stated: “This has come out of the blue and I am absolutely thrilled to get this invite from British Athletics and for this opportunity to compete on live BBC TV and also in front of a large home crowd.”

Charlie Forbes said: “This is a great opportunity for Abbie to experience the reality of top athletics in front of a large crowd against top athletes and she should savour the moment.”

The event will be broadcast live on BBC and includes some of the best athletes in the world, including a host of stars from the 2017 IAAF World Championships who will compete at the glittering Emirates Arena, offering the British public an opportunity to see the world’s best track and field athletes on show in an intimate indoor setting.

A Parashooter from Aberdeen has set a new Scottish Record at a top competition in Spain.

Allan Ritchie, who only transferred to the Olympic Trap discipline in early 2017, scored a record 108/125, taking gold in the Class 1 (sitting) category and the overall Para High Gun at this year’s IV Olympic Trap Grand Prix International held in Malaga.

This event is the first major shooting Grand Prix to integrate Para Trap alongside the mainstream competition, and Allan was delighted to place 73^rd out of a total of 238 mainstream and Para Trap shooters with a score equating to =15th out of 54!

Allan has his sights set on continued Para Team GB status, representing the country in International World Cup Events, the next being Al Ain, UAE this March, and future Paralympic Games. We wish him all the best in his journey to the top!

If you’re interested in sponsoring Allan, or if you know of any people living in Grampian with a physical, sensory or learning disability who are keen to get involved in Para Sport in the Grampian area, please contact Alison Shaw on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or on 07828 744 848

Aberdeen FC Community Trust, in partnership with the Scottish FA, Sport Aberdeen and Grampian Disability Sport, ran the latest ASN Football Festival for primary and secondary schools in the North East of Scotland.

In the first of three festivals to be held in 2018, over 50 secondary school pupils and 30 primary school pupils, all with additional support needs and disabilities, enjoyed a day of fun skill challenges and small sided games at Aberdeen Sports Village.

The festival brought together pupils from 8 schools across the age groups, with schools based as far as Fraserburgh joining those in Aberdeen City for the day.

Harley Hamdani, Diversity & Inclusion Officer at AFCCT, commented, “Not only was this a fantastic opportunity for children and young people with additional support needs to participate in sport, it also allowed for greater social integration and new friendships being formed.

“This could not have been possible without the support from CNR International.”

Well done to the pupils, teachers, AFCCT and the volunteers for their efforts.

If any people living with a physical, sensory or learning disability are keen to get involved in Para Sport, please contact Alison Shaw on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or on 07828 744 848

Harley Hamdani, Diversity & Inclusion Officer, AFCCT|

Glasgow Life has Para Cycling track sessions available at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. Para Cycling sessions are dedicated coaching sessions for riders with physical and learning disabilities who want to keep fit and develop their skills and technique through coached sessions. Both experienced and new riders of any age will be eligible to attend the sessions.

Do you know of someone that has visual impairment and is interested in cycling? We have recruited several pilots to support tandem riding.

Sessions are one hour long, limited spaces available!

• Solo riders > 4 riders per hour maximum
• Tandem stokers > 6 riders per hour maximum
• New and beginner riders / 6-7pm
• Regular and experienced riders / 7-8pm

The next available dates are:

Thursday 1st February / Thursday 15th February

Thursday 1st March / Thursday 15th March

Thursday 29th March / Thursday 12th April

Cost: £6.10 per hour

For more information please speak to one of the velodrome staff. Sessions are very popular already and require advance booking.

For more information contact: gordon.watson@glasgowlife.org.uk

Forth Valley Disability Sport are delighted to launch their 2018 Get Out Get Active timetable. There are walking, fitness, cycling, swimming and sports club opportunities for individuals of all ages with a physical, sensory or learning disability. These are a great way to make friends, develop new skills and encourage disabled and non-disabled individuals to be active together.

The full timetable can be downloaded here.