Young athletes with a range of physical disabilities and sensory impairments took part in Scottish Disability Sport’s ‘Tayside Parasport Festival’ at Dundee & Angus College, Dundee.

Coaches from Scottish Athletics, Badminton Scotland, Tennis Scotland, Scottish Swimming, and clubs from across the region including the Tayside Dynamos Powerchair Football Club, Dundee Dragons Wheelchair Sports Club, Arbroath Athletics Club, Discovery Swimming Club, and Dundee Boccia Club, delivered coaching sessions in a range of sports, ably assisted by HND Sports Coaching & Development students from Dundee & Angus College.

The event, run by Scottish Disability Sport and supported by Active Schools teams in Dundee, Angus, and Perth & Kinross, was a great opportunity for all the young athletes to have fun and try sports they may not have experienced before.

GB Boccia player Joshua Rowe, and Scottish wheelchair basketballer Gemma Lumsdaine, were at the event giving expert coaching advice and inspiring our athletes of the future with their own personal experiences in sport.

Tina Gordon, SDS Tayside Regional Officer, commented, “It was great to see that we have such potential sporting talent throughout the Tayside Region, and I’m sure we will see many of the participants here today taking up sport in our local clubs.  The students from Dundee & Angus College have certainly put on an event which the young athletes have clearly enjoyed, and I know that Joshua and Gemma have inspired everyone with their experiences”.

If you would like to find out more about disability sporting opportunities throughout Tayside please contact Jennifer Scally, SDS Tayside Regional Officer on 07703 793901 or jennifer.scally@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

Ski lessons in Aberdeen for children with additional support needs start on 11^thJanuary for 5 weeks. To find out more please see the attached flyer.

Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Glasgow

There was great representation from the Lothian Team at the National Junior Swimming Championships at Glasgow’s Tollcross International Swimming Centre on Wednesday 23^rd November. Twenty two young people from 10 schools across Edinburgh and the Lothians participated with fantastic performances from all. A total of 20 medals (seven gold, seven silver and 6 bronze) were won by the Lothian team, an encouraging performance following the successful regional trials earlier this year. The young swimmers were fortunate enough to have their medals presented to them by none other than Jim Anderson OBE, Scotland’s six times Paralympic Champion.

There were stand-out performances from George Forbes (Cedarbank) who won gold medals in both the boys 50m Freestyle Back Class 2 (40.72) and the 50m Freestyle Front Class 1 (33.63), the latter a big winning margin of over four seconds from team mate Chad Stewart (silver; 37.81) of Saltersgate School.

There was another double gold medal haul for swimmer Keira McLeod of Woodlands School. Keira won gold medals in both the girls’ 50m Freestyle Back Class 3 (51.38) and the 50m Adapted Breast stroke (58.02). These performances were backed up by a further 15 medals across the Lothian Team, a remarkable achievement. Three Lothian athletes were also involved in record breaking races, as Christian Buchanan (Spark of Genius; 34.43) came 4^th in the boys class 1 50m butterfly behind Tayside’s Jack Milne, in a new national record of 29.89s. Similarly in the girls 50m Freestyle Back Class 1, Sarah Bleakley (Ross HS) and Shannon Crosbie (Braidburn) finished 3^rd and 4^th respectively behind Highland’s Tammy Neef who blazed to gold in a new national record 35.07s.

Performances were excellent right across the board and we hope to see another strong Lothian Team at the event next year. For the full list of results from the championships click here.

Lothian Disability Sport would like to thank all the coaches, volunteers and parents who came along to help and support the Lothian team. Furthermore we wish to once again congratulate all the athletes who competed and who put in the hard work and commitment to allow them to qualify for such a great event. Following the success of the GB swimmers in Rio 2016 we hope this event will serve as an excellent stepping stone to the next generation of young swimmers.

For more information on swimming clubs and events in Edinburgh and the Lothians, contact Andrew Raeburn on 0131 475 2364 or admin@lothiandisabilitysport.co.uk.

Partnerships mean an enormous amount to Disability Sport Fife (DSF). Major local partners are Fife Council, the Fife Sports and Leisure Trust and inclusive sports clubs across Fife. National partners are Scottish Disability Sport, sportscotland and several of Scotland’s Governing Bodies of Sport. DSF is thrilled to be working with Spirit of 2012 and the UK consortium that is part of the Go Out and Get Active (GOGA) programme. DSF is dependent on funding partners such as the Association of Rotary Clubs in Fife, the Russell Hogg Trust, the Order of St John in Fife, the Russell Hogg Trust, the Bill Pullar Trust and the many families and friends of DSF who regularly fundraise on our behalf.

Partnerships are the backbone of so much of what we do. One weekly DSF session depends so much on a range of partners. The Fife Sports and Leisure Trust invariably provides the indoor, outdoor or aquatics facility. The lead DSF coach is supported by DSF volunteers, peer mentors, family members or significant others. Sometimes essential support is provided by staff from Education Services, Health and Social Care or the voluntary sector. DSF rarely if ever goes it alone and in fact goes out of its way to encourage young people to give up some time and support the programme.

Partnerships with families are worthy of special mention and often on this platform DSF has highlighted exceptional examples of partnership working. Jonny Brown from Thornton has cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user. Jonny has been involved with DSF since he was a Fife Primary School pupil. Initially Jonny played basketball, swam and was involved in some throwing activities. Jonny always demonstrated promise as an athlete but only when his father’s work situation changed was he able to commit to throwing specifically and over the past couple of years he has improved considerably. Thanks to support from Scottish Disability Sport and Education Scotland, DSF was able to secure a racing chair for Jonny and his athletics options changed overnight. In addition to athletics Jonny is committed to racquet sports and independently he travels to the gym to train to compete.

As all this was going on with Jonny, father David embarked on the coaching pathway with Scottish Athletics through DSF. David is now the lead volunteer throws coach for the DSF physically disabled throws squad. David works with seated and standing throwers and is determined to grow the Fife squad and identify throwers from Fife with podium potential. Already a number are showing promise and it is only a matter of time before individuals shine like Michel Mellon from Cardenden and Pitreavie AC who is a 40 metre plus javelin thrower. There is nothing better than a partnership involving child and parent where both develop simultaneously within a sport. At the 2016 Awards evening both were recognised for the significant role they are now playing within Disability Sport Fife.

Richard Brickley MBE
President, Disability Sport Fife

With support from the Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, the 2016 Disability Sport Fife (DSF) Carpet Bowls Championships were held at the Michael Woods Sports and Leisure Centre Glenrothes. Thirteen singles sections for junior and senior players with a physical, sensory or learning disability were contested and a significant number of bowlers were introduced to the event for the first time. DSF will select the Fife team for the Scottish Carpet Bowls Championships to be organised by Scottish Disability Sport at DISC in Dundee on Saturday 4^th February from results recorded at the Fife event.

Lochgelly HS provided all the junior players for the three sections for junior players with a learning disability. Kayshaleigh Lambert and Brandon Cuming won the girls and boys “A” sections with Emily Cowan and Ryan Pollock finishing as runners-up. The boys “B” section was won by Jordan Mitchell and Adam Montague was runner-up.

The section for bowlers who use a wheelchair was keenly contested. DSF welcomed back Robbie Craig to competitive bowls after a long absence and Theresa Wyse confirmed her position as the leading female wheelchair bowler in Fife. The final however was contested by Central Fife CSS bowlers Jim Donaldson and Wullie Harrison with the latter winning the title.

Kenny Dow and Neil Laughlin once again contested the final in the section for restricted bowlers with a physical impairment with Kenny retaining the Fife title. Scottish outdoor international Billy Allan retained the Fife open title and blind bowler Eleanor Clark played brilliantly to finish runner-up.

Craig Donaldson and Michelle Wallace from Central Fife CSS won the men’s and women’s open titles in the sections for bowlers with a learning disability and Gary Lindsay and Wendy Thomson from East Fife CSS finished as runners-up. The men’s B section final was an all East Fife CSS affair with Craig Bernard defeating Craig Houston in the final. In the equivalent women’s section final newcomer Erin Johnston from West Fife CSS defeated Roberta Buchan from Central Fife CSS.

West Fife CSS bowlers dominated the men’s C, D and E sections with Wayne Sammut, Tristen Rankine and Kevin Rowe winning the three titles. East Fife CSS bowlers Wayne Moreland, David Scott and George Goodsir finished as runners-up in each of the three sections.

Disability Sport Fife is indebted to the 18 volunteer markers from bowling clubs in central Fife who officiated non-stop throughout the five hours of the Championships. The Fife team for the 2017 Scottish Carpet Bowls Championships will be announced early in 2017.

Richard Brickley MBE
President, Disability Sport Fife

PKDS are searching for a very special runner!  We were successful in our application to be awarded a sought after place in the Virgin Money London Marathon 2017 to help us raise much needed funds.  We support both young people and adults with physical, learning and sensory disabilities to maximise their full potential in sport and fundraising through this prestigious event will ensure we continue to facilitate athletes participating in their sport of choice.

So who are we looking for?  We recognise that a significant amount of our work has a focus on athletes who have congenital disabilities so for this opportunity we are specifically looking for an ex-service man or woman who has had to leave their profession due to an acquired disability.  We believe this opportunity could be pivotal in an individual’s recovery and perhaps give a new purpose to their life.

The main purpose of the awarded charity place is to raise funds for Perth & Kinross Disability Sport but as important, is the impact the training and running in such a tremendous event could have on an individual.  We are completely unaware of what the demand may be for this place but ideally we are looking for our runner to live in Perth & Kinross.  There is only one place we can offer but if demand is high, we can explore new opportunities for others to take part in, whether that be an existing sports opportunity or developing new ones.

Any runner has to be aged 18years at the date of the marathon on 23 April 2017 and must raise their fundraising through PKDS Virgin Money Giving page.  Unfortunately we cannot accept applications from individuals who would require to take part in the wheelchair race – only because we would then have to enter an additional ballot to secure a place and there are no guarantees with this.  We can accept applications from anyone who has a visual impairment as we can apply for them to be allocated a guide.

PKDS aren’t setting down a specific fundraising target until we have chosen our runner and this will be negotiated later as we understand that in the current financial climate, large fundraising targets are not always achievable

PKDS would also like to make an appeal to any local business who feels they could offer additional support to our runner in the run up to or during the weekend of the event e.g. accommodation , travel, kit, personal training, physiotherapy etc.

We can offer training support to our chosen runner – Branch Project Manager Caroline Ness has completed 5 marathons, including the Virgin Money London Marathon twice, and 2 ultramarathons, is a Level 2 Athletics Coach and the Head Coach for Athletics with the Tayside Special Olympics team who are attending the National Summer Games in Sheffield in 2017.

Anyone interested should get in touch with Caroline at carolineness@perthandkinrossdisabilitysport.com