The 2017 Central Parasport festival was a great success, seeing children with physical and sensory impairments taking part at the event held at The Peak, Stirling. Pupils from P1 – S6 in mainstream schools travelled from across Central Scotland to take part in a variety of sports such as Boccia, Tennis, Swimming, Athletics, Football, Bowls, Judo, Cycling, Goalball, wheelchair curling and Basketball delivered by local sports clubs, national coaches and GB athletes.

The event was a great triumph, hosted in the new venue of the Peak it offered new and exciting sports on the day. Strong partnerships from Forth Valley Disability Sport, Active Stirling, Falkirk Community Trust and Clackmannanshire Council supported the identification of pupils attending this years event. A workshop was also held by SDS Chair Janice Eaglesham for parents, P.E teachers and Active schools coordinators to gain additional insight into subjects such as disability inclusion, pathways and classification.

Inspirational speeches closed the event from local para athletes Meggan Dawson Farrell (2014 Commonwealth wheelchair racer) and Kevin Simpson (wheelchair tennis Paralympian). These athletes hoped to inspire the next generation of athletes from the Central belt.

Cheryl Willet (SDS Regional Development Manager for Central Scotland) said: “The event was a great success and a worthwhile experience for not only many pupils engaging in sports they may never have tried before, but also their parents and teachers alike. The message is certainly getting out there that the pathway from participation to performance for athletes with a disability is in place within Central, from a local level to an international level.  Most of all, it has been great to see so many pupils with a physical and sensory disability in mainstream schools engage in the sports, have fun, and potentially move up the pathway.

A special thank you Active Stirling for hosting this years event as well as Forth Valley Disability Sport, Falkirk Community Trust, Clackmannanshire Council, Scottish Athletics, Tennis Scotland, Scottish Swimming, Scottish Cycling, RCCC, Stirling Wheelchair Curling Club, Basketball Scotland, Forth Valley Flyers, Falkirk indoor Bowling club, MXP Judo, SFA, Denny High School and McLaren High school senior pupils, sportscotland and the Peak for their support.

To find out more about this event or disability sport in Central Scotland, please contact:

 

Cheryl Willet – cheryl.willet@scottishdisabilitysport.com / Phone: 07577 830360

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) is the recognised governing body for para bowls in Scotland and is tasked with selecting a squad that is capable of delivering medals at the highest levels of international competition, including the Home Nations Championships, IBD World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.  Scotland is considered to be one of the leading countries within the sport and our mission is to become the number one para bowls nation in the world.

With the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games less than 6 months away the SDS Para Bowlers head to Gedling Indoor Bowling Club, Nottingham for a test event against England and Wales.  This is the last opportunity for players to stake a claim for the Mixed Pair B2/B3 and Open Triple B6/B7/B8 that will be selected in November.

The bowlers have been involved in an intense 18 months of training and competition and players will want to peak this weekend.

Selection decisions are always difficult and given the strength and depth that we now have in the programme this has become even more challenging, with competition or places extremely high.

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

“The team heading to Nottingham this weekend is extremely strong and we are looking forward to putting in a performance against our Commonwealth Games rivals.  This test comes at a significant time in our preparations and gives us the opportunity to monitor the players closely and trial differing combinations. Selection decisions are always difficult but we feel this group has a good blend of experience, youth and a strong sense of team unity, which is vital for pairs and triples disciplines.”

Open Triples B6/B7/B8

Billy Allan
Mike Nicoll
Garry Brown
Martin Hunter
John Hughes
Michael Simpson

Mixed Pair B2/B3

Billy Edgar
Robert Barr
Maria Spencer
Irene Edgar

Directors

Christine Morrow
Ron McArthur
Grace Whitton
Sarah Jane Ewing

Coaches

Bob Dick (Head Coach)
Bob Christie
Nigel Walker
Eric McMillan
Chris McGready

 

The Mixed Pair B2/B3, Directors and Open Triple B6/B7/B8 will be nominated to Commonwealth Games Scotland prior to the team being fully announced on the 30 November.

Borders Boccia hosted their third Open Boccia Competition with 50 players from as far as Perth and Glasgow along with neighbours Dumfries and Galloway travelling to the Queens Centre in Galashiels.

The competition was again part of Scottish Disability Sport’s Boccia Series, in partnership with Live Borders and Scottish Borders Disability Sports Group, and throughout all disciplines the standard of play was phenomenal with the majority of games being very close.

A total of 125 group games took place before the elimination stages, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, in the learning disability section were played. With the physical disability category totalling 30 group games and then semi-finals and final.

It was in the latter category that Hawick’s own Ryan Evans (Borders Boccia Club) thrilled the home supporters by holding off a strong challenge from Alexander Tavendale (West of Scotland) to be crowned as champion. In his semi-final Ryan won a thrilling close contest against Fiona Hagenbach, West of Scotland.

Following his win Ryan told us: “I’ve been involved in Boccia since it started in the Borders in 2012 and being involved in its development over the years has been wonderful to be part of.

“This is the first time I’ve reached the final and to win the Borders Open event is a fantastic feeling. Boccia is a great sport to get involved with.”

In the learning disability section Hayden Keir (Dumfries & Galloway) retained the title that he won last year comfortably, beating his training partner Christian in a thrilling tactical match.

Over the past few years the sport of Boccia has become increasingly popular in the Borders and has expanded dramatically. The Borders Boccia Club itself is thriving with an additional session in Kelso.

The Open provided the ideal opportunity not only to promote the sport within the region but to welcome players across the region and beyond, allowing Borders players experience a competitive environment after a long time of practicing and playing games amongst themselves.

Further to this a new development session is launching in Peebles for young individuals to get involved in the sport.

Alan Oliver, Live Borders Disability Development Officer, said: “This year’s Borders Boccia Open Competition was a magnificent success and the skill level present was magnificent to watch.

“To have the entry numbers continually this high shows it is a competitive sport and all the matches were played in fantastic spirit”

“The level of play was exceptional and it shows the dedication and commitment of the participants improving in their chosen sport”

“There was constant action throughout the day and many thanks to all competitors who waited patiently for their matches.”

For more information on Boccia in the Borders contact Alan at aoliver@liveborders.org.uk

Scottish Boccia International Open, Day 2

Keep up to date with players, results and photos on our facebook page here.

Final Results of Day 2

BC1
RR3
Niamh Dunphy, IRL, def. William Graham, NIR, 6-1
Reegan Stevenson, SCO, def. Daniel Qvist, DEN, 5-1
Tia Ruel, GBR, def. Jabe Peake, ENG, 6-1

1st Scottish International Boccia Open Results Day 1

Keep up to date with teams, results and photos on our facebook page here.

BC1/2 Teams – Round Robin Group Stages

Boccia UK bt Ireland 8-1
Scotland/ N. Ireland bt England 8-5
Ireland bt Scotland/ N. Ireland 17-0
Boccia UK bt England 13-2
Ireland bt England 6-5
Boccia UK bt Scotland/ N. Ireland 15-1

Orianne Slater of City of Aberdeen Gymnastics Club (COAG) competed in the Disability Artistic Gymnastics 2017 British Championships at Lilleshall National Sports Centre in Telford on Sunday 1st October and retained her national title for the third year in a row!

The gymnast has Perthes’ disease, which has caused deterioration of her hip joint. This didn’t deter her from joining COAG at the age of 10 and head coach, Lorna Presly, accommodated her in the mainstream beginners’ class, continually monitoring Orianne’s progress whilst being considerate of her disability. Orianne was keen to progress and learn more complex skills but as a result of her hip deterioration, she was unable to master the split (essential in mainstream gymnastics) and this is when Lorna suggested moving on to participate in disability gymnastics. Since summer 2015, Orianne has trained monthly with the disability gymnasts of the City of Glasgow Gymnastics Club as well as maintaining her weekly training with COAG.

Orianne is now 2017 British Disability Junior Overall Champion, but she didn’t stop there: she surpassed any of her previous year’s performances and achieved Gold on each apparatus (Floor, Vault, Uneven Bars and Balance Beam).

2017 is Orianne’s last year in the Junior category. All her scores were comparable to competitors in the Senior category and her performance should stand her in good stead for her progression to Senior level.

Many thanks to Lorna for coaching and supporting her all through the Junior years, to City of Glasgow Gymnastics for sharing their specialist training expertise and facilities, and to the organisations, including Grampian Disability Sport, who have provided funding to help Orianne on her sporting journey!

 

Well done to all of the competitors and congratulations to Orianne!

The Grampian Disability Sport Norma Buist Swimming Gala took place at Aberdeen Sports Village on the 28th September and saw school pupils across Aberdeen City and Shire get off to a great start in sport in this first event in the school calendar.

55 swimmers with physical, sensory and learning disabilities from a mixture of mainstream schools, ASN bases and ASN schools, gave it their all to produce a whole host of PB’s and to battle it out for the top spots in each of the 43 events.

The event was also a qualifier for the SDS National Junior Swimming Championships for Swimmers with a Learning Disability and an opportunity for swimmers with sensory and physical disabilities to gain updated times for their National Junior Championships, so all competitors were keen to put on their best performances.

The first event on the schedule was the 100m Individual Medley, which Matthew Scott flew through in an impressive 1:18.53.

Next up were the Backstroke events (both 25m & 50m), which saw no fewer than 29 swimmers promoted up the time classes, and two swimmers promoted to the 50m events from the 25m events.

In the next series of events, 25m & 50m Breaststroke, a number of swimmers were disqualified due to ineligible kicks and single-handed touches to finish. However, Matthew Scott & Jason Cobb swam perfect strokes in an exciting race that saw them finish only 0.16 seconds apart, with Matthew just pipping Jason to the post!

Butterfly was next on the list with just two events – one 25m and one 50m race, which thoroughly tested the endurance of all six swimmers who entered!

Last up were the 18 Freestyle events where 15 swimmers pulled out impressive PB’s to secure promotion up the time classes, and five swimmers achieved times to promote them from the 25m to the 50m race.

The event culminated in thrilling 100m Freestyle race between five of our fastest young swimmers, where Matthew Scott took home gold, Jason Cobb claimed silver and Rhys Gill secured bronze.

Accompanying teachers, parents and fellow pupils provided an admirable level of support to the swimmers by cheering each competitor throughout their races.

The event is operated by a partnership of volunteers from Grampian Disability Sport, members of the Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Active Schools teams, Aquatics Aberdeen Staff & Scottish Disability Sport. A special thanks goes to Marie Cheyne & Pauline Stirling who prepared the competition schedule, coordinated all helpers on the day and started all of the races.

Well done to all and good luck to all of the swimmers selected for the National Junior Swimming Championships!

 

If you or anyone you know would like to become involved in disability sport in the Grampian area, please contact Alison Shaw on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or 07782 874 4848.

Well done to Callum Sloan from Dunfermline who recorded a personal best time of 15. 33 for the 2.5Km course at the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run.

The young Disability Sport Fife wheelchair racer competed on Saturday and found progression through the ambulant athletes very challenging. Callum conceded it was all part of his learning. Both he and coach Pamela Robson were pleased with his performance and of course his time.

Callum was delighted to receive his race reward from GB International athlete Eilidh Doyle.

Well done Callum another fine push in difficult conditions.

Richard Brickley MBE – President Disability Sport Fife