11.11.24 – GOGA-Tayside-Programme-Administrator-2024-Updated
Are you a dynamic and enthusiastic team player who has a passion for inclusion?
Scottish Disability Sport (SDS), in partnership with NHS Tayside and the Tayside Charitable Foundation is seeking to appoint a Get Out Get Active (GOGA) Tayside Programme Administrator to support disabled and non-disabled people to take part in fun and inclusive physical activity across Tayside.
The post holder will work in partnership with local partners to develop and deliver physical activity opportunities.
Click on the link above to apply and submit your application.
GOGA Tayside on active representation throughout the Tayside region and the importance of physical activity for everyone.
“If you are going to attract a more diverse group of people, then you’ve got to be representative of a diverse group yourself.”
This year’s Scottish Women and Girls In Sport Week will run from Monday 30th of September to Sunday 6th of October. The theme this year is leadership; This is something that the Get Out Get Active Tayside programme (GOGA) is aware of, with it being a female-led organisation “Everyone should feel represented, women make up 50% of the population” said Iona McKay, the Programme Manager for GOGA Tayside. Iona went on to say, “It is a shame that there are a lot of things that actually have to target more women and girls, because they are so under-represented in many aspects of society.” “If you are going to attract a more diverse group of people, then you’ve got to be representative of a diverse group yourself.”
One method that GOGA are currently using to try and target more women and girls into their classes is providing a selection of services “we have got mixed classes and we have got women-only classes, The feedback has been that some women often find those classes to be more comfortable, in a female-only environment.” Iona said before continuing “Anything that we can do like that, like a female-only swimming class to reduce any of the barriers has got to be a good thing.”
Iona and the rest of the GOGA team are aware of the importance of finding out what barriers to participating in activities there are, and then mitigating them accordingly “We know that there is a huge drop off in participation in teenage girls, even before they get to that leaving school sort of age, we know that is even more heightened if people have disabilities.” “It’s about trying to target people at that younger age to keep them going, just moving in any way that works for them.” Iona said before adding “as I mentioned before the female-only yoga class is really good, because it is led by a female instructor in a safe space. If you have somewhere where you know, you can close the blinds and close the doors and they feel like they are safe when they come into the class, so that they can exercise freely and just be themselves.”
Along with being a partner with Scottish Disability Sport, GOGA Tayside is also a partner with NHS Tayside. This partnership has led to GOGA being in a position to implement classes and opportunities for the region to be more physically active, with an aim that an increase in physical activity throughout the Tayside area will reduce some of the strain and pressure on the NHS “We know that the burden of physical inactivity is huge not only in costs to the economy alone, but obviously the impact of the burden of diseases and health conditions. It is evidenced that physical inactivity is just as harmful as smoking.” Said Iona. This impact of physical inactivity is something that GOGA is directly combating through providing new opportunities to become more physically active for all under-represented groups, including women and girls. This can be evidenced by seeing that GOGA have achieved a total of 28, 394 participants attending their classes.
Through being a female led organisation GOGA view their role as being a lot more than just providing opportunities to be physically active “I think it is not just about delivering or providing opportunities for a whole range of people, including women and girls or any inactive groups, but it is really about doing the education and awareness of the damage you can do by just not moving.” Iona explained. “it’s about saying that just doing something each day is better than nothing, it’s about reinforcing that it is so important for people to feel better within themselves and get more confident overall.” Iona concluded.
If you are currently within the Tayside region and want to find out more about GOGA Tayside and their classes, you can do so by visiting their website. Link to website – https://gogatayside.co.uk/
The PKDS champs were competed over two weekends in August due to the venue needing to be changed. The event was held at the UHI Perth at the Academy of Sport and Wellbeing on the Saturday 10th and Sunday the 18th of August. Due to the new venues numbers had to be capped to ensure the competition ran smoothly for all the competitors. In the end 74 players competed in three categories. Across both weekends there were close matches from the beginning to the very end.
Graeme Doig the PKDS branch co-ordinator had this to say “It was great to see so many people from across the country come together to play competitive against each other. I am delighted to see the numbers grow locally across all categories which shows the work we are putting in to develop boccia in Perth & Kinross is starting to generate more confident, skilful players. It’s also brilliant to welcome such high calibre officials to support our event, again with a large cohort from our local sessions”
Boccia was also a featured in the Muscular Dystrophy UK event in Grangemouth on the 24th of August. Where participants got to engage in boccia and get coached and a Q&A with Scott McGowan who is one of the Scotland boccia coaches.
Day Two: was another fun day! We started it off playing boccia, goalball and football, the latter which was definitely a group favourite! After lunch, we trekked around 5km to do a circular route to/from the Green Loch. It was quite tough in places – we had to climb a few hills but we rose to the challenge and had a great time!
We were set some team tasks to complete on the expedition, one being to come up with a team song or chant. Ours was: “Red team is on fire!” Alicia Keys eat your heart out!
Day Three: That’s a wrap on camp! And what a way to bring it to a close with a BBQ in the sun with our families and carers! Just after the BBQ we got a group photo and then it was the prize giving ceremony – to find out which team won the John De Courcy Trophy. With 8601 points we sealed second place, not far behind the blue team who won the trophy with 8937 points. We’re very proud of ourselves and can leave camp with our heads held high.
On our final day, before lunch, we enjoyed adaptive cycling and taking part in the summer camp assault course. The cycling was fun, as you could go very fast on the bikes! We kept up the same momentum in the assault course – trying to complete it faster than both the green and blue teams.
It’s been a whirlwind three days and we’re leaving camp with new friendships and lasting memories. We’re already buzzing for Summer Camp 2025!
Day Two: we loved day two! It was great fun playing different sports in the morning, especially boccia where we got to practice are target skills. In the afternoon we travelled to Glenmore Lodge where we started and ended our expedition to the Green Loch. We had to push ourselves as some of the terrain was quite challenging but we found that singing helped! We even created a cool chant for our team:
“Captain Moss went up the hill to find the lost Green Team,
They went to the Green Loch and found the flock,
And the rest of the summer camp teams!”
Day Three: We’re so sad that camp is over! But we’re leaving with an abundance of great memories and friendships!
On the final day, after packing and breakfast, we headed to the sports hall where we got to take part in a summer camp assault course and adaptive cycling. Both were lots of fun but the cycling especially! It was super cool to try adaptive bikes that could go really fast. A few of us will definitely want to try it again!
After the morning’s sport activities, our families and carers started to arrive – just in time for the BBQ. It was a great opportunity to show them our new friends and share some stories from the past three days.
After we got a big group photo, Josh from SDS, announced the winners of the John De Courcy Trophy. It was a very close competition but the blue team took the title, with us proudly finishing in third place.
Summer Camp was amazing and we already can’t wait for next year!
Day Two: was ace! One of our favourite parts was hiking to the Green Loch. We were the last team to set off but we soon caught up with the green and red team, to arrive at the loch pretty much all at the same time.
We were really proud of our team chant, which Harris led on and we repeated back. It went like this:
“We’re the Blue Team (we’re the Blue Team),
We’re the best team (we’re the best team),
And we’re going to win! (And we’re going to win).”
Day Three:
We can’t believe that camp is finished! Where did the time go?
We had an absolute blast over the past three days and finished with a high – we won the John De Courcy Trophy! During the camp we earned 8937 points, just enough to pip the red team to claim the title. What made it extra special was that our families, parents and carers were all there to see us awarded the trophy, as they joined us for a lunchtime BBQ!
Before they arrived, we had a busy morning. After breakfast we had to be packed and out of the lodges before 9:30am, to make sure we were ready for the morning activities. Cycle Ability brought a great range of adaptive bikes to try out – we really enjoyed cycling them!
There was also a great summer camp assault course to take part in. It involved us army crawling under nets and boccia target games. The sun even popped out a few times!
It really was a great three days – filled with adventures, new friendships and lasting memories.
Research from Activity Alliance has revealed disabled people are still being left behind when trying to access sports and physical activities. With a summer of sport on the horizon, including the Paralympic Games and the increased awareness it brings, the national charity is leading calls to make meaningful changes so many more disabled people can enjoy an active lifestyle.
The report from the latest Annual Disability and Activity Survey shows disabled people are twice as likely to be inactive than non-disabled people, a disparity that has remained consistent since the first report was released five years ago.
With the world set to celebrate the sporting achievements of Paralympians in Paris this summer, the latest report highlights a significant ‘activity gap’ remains between disabled people and their non-disabled peers. Only four in 10 disabled people feel they have the opportunity to be active as they want to be, compared to seven in 10 non-disabled people.
The importance of harnessing the legacy of the Paralympic Games is clear, with three quarters (76%) of disabled people expressing a desire to be more active. Respondents in the survey praised the Games as an example of much-needed positive representation of disabled people. However, the extraordinary achievements of the country’s top athletes felt far removed from disabled people’s own lives and experiences.
With over 2,000 disabled and non-disabled adults aged 16+ taking part, the report offers in-depth insight into the day-to-day barriers disabled people face when trying to be active. Finding such as the fact that disabled people want to take part in physical activity in outdoor spaces like parks, countryside, or woodland. However, the reality is that less than half of disabled people say it is easy for them to physically access outdoor spaces.
Sharing their experiences with Activity Alliance, disabled people have made clear the significant barriers that make equal access to sport and physical activity feel far removed from their everyday lives. Reports within the survey include experiences of those who “dare not even put the heating on” let alone invest in their physical and mental health, and multiple reports that disability access remains “one of the forgotten things”.
Key findings include:
Adam Blaze, Chief Executive at Activity Alliance, commented on the latest report:
“We know that the nation will get swept up by Olympic and Paralympic fever this summer, so what better opportunity to use this moment and finally address the stark differences in opportunities disabled people face in sport and physical activity.
“As we cheer on medal winners, I urge people to recognise that three-quarters of disabled people in our country want to be more active. Not everyone wants to be or can be a gold medal winner. Everyone has the right to be active where and however they choose to be, but this is not reality when you look at the latest findings in our survey. There are some fantastic examples across the country that challenge this trend, whether within the local community or national programmes, and these need to be available to everyone who wants to be active.
“There are more than 16 million disabled people in the UK, and the reality is that three in four want to be more active. This is not only an untapped market but shows there are vital improvements needed to break down deep-rooted barriers. A summer celebrating sporting achievements is the perfect time to do this.”
David Clarke OBE, Chief Executive of ParalympicsGB said:
“This Summer, as we celebrate the performance of athletes who have reached the pinnacle of their careers in elite sport, we must also ensure that everybody has the opportunity to take part in sport and physical activity. We know being active has so many benefits from health, mental wellbeing, strengthening friendships to community involvement.
“Disabled people continue to feel that they have less chance to be active compared to their nondisabled counterparts. Whilst we wave the flag for the ParalympicsGB team at the Paralympic Games we must also wave the flag for every disabled person in the UK, removing barriers to participation in sport and physical activity and creating thriving inclusive activity provision across the country.”
The full report is available to view at www.activityalliance.org.uk/how-we-help/research/annual-survey
If you would like to be supported to get active, please contact Scottish Disability Sport on admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com / 0131 317 1130.
Support is available to enable you to get involved in an activity or sport of your choice.
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