Category: Young Persons’ Sports Panel

Grace Jean Lawther

Grace appointed to the new YPSPAge
17

Hometown
Edinburgh

Branch
Lothian Disability Sport

How did you get involved in sport or what would you like to get involved with?

My parents took me to watch football from a very young age, so I jumped at the chance to start playing at primary school. I’ve been playing with my local team for about 8 years now, and I started playing autism football at Team United 2 years ago.

What motivated you to join the Young Person’s Sport panel?
I am really passionate about sport and disability rights, so when I saw the panel being advertised, I was really intrigued. I felt like it was somewhere I could bring my passions and use them to make a difference.

If you could change anything, what would you change to improve disability sport?
I really want to widen access for young people. I’ve seen first-hand how good an impact sport can have on your health and wellbeing, and I want even more young people to realise this and get opportunities to play.

What are your sporting (or other) highlights?
At U15s, I was accepted into the Edinburgh Sports Academy, and I was playing in the National Performance League. I trained 6 times a week, and I loved every minute of it. It was such a great experience to be playing with, and against, the best young footballers in Scotland.

What are your goals and aspirations?
I really want to continue playing football at university, and I’ve got my eye on a few new sports for fun too. At university, I am going to study psychology and sociology, and I want to use my degree to help make lives better for disabled children across Scotland.

What is your best achievement, sporting or otherwise?
I would say my best achievement was an essay I wrote about my experience of school with undiagnosed autism. It has been used for teacher training in a range of schools, and I’ve got a lot of positive feedback from families of autistic young people too. From this, I started writing a blog, and I’m really proud of how I am sharing my experience as a young, disabled woman.

Finlay Davidson

Finlay new YPSPAge
18

Hometown
Inverkeithing

Branch
Disability Sport Fife

How did you get involved in sport or what would you like to get involved with?
I first got involved with sport at the dwarf sports association national games after that I decided to
join DSF run jump throw and haven’t stopped since.

What motivated you to join the Young Person’s Sport panel?
Through my experiences in disability sport I would like to help make sport more accessible to people with a disability.

If you could change anything, what would you change to improve disability
sport?

One thing i would like to do to improve in disability sport, is trying to reach young
people with disability’s faster who aren’t aware of the opportunities available,this
could be done by making hospitals and schools more aware we exist.

What are your sporting (or other) highlights?
My main sporting highlight at the moment would be competing at the World parapowerlifting championships in Dubai and coming fourth I have also represented Scotland at the school games and Loughborough pathway internationals.

What are your goals and aspirations?
My main goal is getting to Paralympics or Commonwealth Games.

What is your best achievement, sporting or otherwise?
Coming fourth at the World Para- Powerlifting Championships and being number 1 in the world for 100m in my category.

Emma Imrie

Emma Imrie on the new YPSPAge
16

Hometown
Ayr

Branch
Ayrshire Sportsability

How did you get involved in sport or what would you like to get involved with?
I got involved with sports when I was younger and my mum put me into swimming lessons so that
I knew how to swim and I’ve swam ever since.

What motivated you to join the Young Person’s Sport panel?
As soon as I saw that the Young Person’s Sports Panel helped promote disability
sport I had motivation to join the panel.

If you could change anything, what would you change to improve disability
sport?
One thing that I would like to change to improve disability sport is that I would like to
help more people find out about it.

What are your sporting (or other) highlights?
My sporting highlights range from swimming my first ever length of a pool to getting my first ever national medal in July 2023 at the Scottish National Open Championships.

What are your goals and aspirations?
My other goals and aspirations are to one day make Team GB or Team Scotland at world championships/paralympics/commenwealth games etc.

What is your best achievement, sporting or otherwise?
My best achievement in sporting I would say is my getting a silver medal in the 50m free at the Scottish National Open Championships in July 2023.

Is there a role model that inspires you and why?
I don’t really have one role model because a lot of different people inspire me in a number of different ways.

Dana Brand

Graphic of Dana who has been appointed to the new YPSPAge
22

Hometown
Rosyth

Branch
Disability Sport Fife

How did you get involved in sport or what would you like to get involved with?
Growing up I was an extremely active child and had the opportunity to get involved in numerous sports from a very young age. I quickly found my true love in the water and began competing as soon as I joined my local swimming club. Almost every moment when I wasn’t at school, I was in the water. This all changed at around the age of 15 when my health began to decline, and pain/injuries put me in a position where I wasn’t capable to continue the training load. I now stay active recreationally, which is extremely important for my mental health as well as my physical health, but I would love to try anything and everything I possibly can!

What motivated you to join the Young Person’s Sport panel?
As someone who has had a life revolve around sport, I knew nothing about how to stay in sport and be involved in sport when my health took a turn. University gave me the ability to explore new avenues but finding and looking for opportunities on how to get involved specifically in disability sport has seemed rather difficult/slightly overwhelming. Becoming part of the panel will allow me to help those who are in the same position and want to be a part of sport but don’t know where to start, especially when transitioning from education to their next endeavours. Being involved in sport has also been a key element to improving and maintaining my mental health. I think physical activity is fundamental in providing a positive impact to a persons overall wellbeing and ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to find something that they enjoy to stay active is important. This is why I am extremely passionate about promoting sport and physical activity that is accessible and inclusive.

If you could change anything, what would you change to improve disability sport?
Sport and physical activity are widely recognised for their positive effects on mental health. However, numerous barriers including financial constraints, time, lack of confidence and social anxiety often influence participation. For those with disabilities, these barriers are combined by additional challenges, including access, transportation, discrimination, and limited awareness, among others. It is important that we try to break down these barriers so persons with disabilities have the same opportunities to receive the benefits of sport and improve their quality of life.
Although improving disability sport won’t happen overnight, providing appropriate facilities and education to affectively communicate how and where to get involved is extremely important. Additionally, I believe that media coverage is particularly valuable in bringing awareness and acceptance of disability as well as providing sporting role models for the next generation.

What are your sporting (or other) highlights?
Although I am an incredibly competitive person, I think the true highlight for me is the friends I have gained and the people I have met. I have had some incredible opportunities through sport from attending performance swim squads to meeting Olympians and holding the Olympic torch.

What are your goals and aspirations?
It is a goal of mine to explore as many new sports as I possibly can! After finishing university, my weekly routine has a lot less structure and finding a new interest is something I am really keen on doing. Alongside this more casual goal, I also aim to try and grab every opportunity I am thrown in
hopes I can pursue a career within the sport industry.

What is your best achievement, sporting or otherwise?
My greatest achievement so far has to be graduating from university. Completing a degree during a global pandemic was one hurdle on its own but dealing with unpredictable changes to my health alongside grief meant that keeping up with my university workload, schedule and assignments
proved extremely difficult. My personal tutor (Dr Lewis Macgregor) was a blessing during my time at university and provided me a place to speak and ask for adjustments/advice that ultimately made completing my dissertation and therefore my degree that little bit more accessible. I managed to not only meet the goals I set out to meet, but also obtain a first-class honours degree in Sport and Exercise Science. Couldn’t be prouder of how hard I worked and the grade I achieved.

Is there a role model that inspires you and why?
I do not necessarily have one role model or inspiration, however, everyone I know that I am close to has inspired me in some way. I admire those who strive to be their best selves and push to
overcome barriers and challenges that others may not see. I think it is important to notice that
sometimes little things are not always little and seeing people who you care for conquer and move
in the right direction is incredibly inspiring all on its own.

Charlotte Askham

Charlotte. 18. Forth Valley Disability Sport.Age
18

Hometown
Falkirk

Branch
Forth Valley Disability Sport

How did you get involved in sport or what would you like to get involved with?
I played table cricket in my last year of high school. I ended up representing Scotland in the table cricket finals at Lords in London.

What motivated you to join the Young Person’s Sport panel?
To help give people with disabilities a change to take part in sports and not just watch from the sidelines.

If you could change anything, what would you change to improve disability sport?
More information and support given to school without a unit for people with
disabilities

What are your sporting (or other) highlights?
Going to Lords and representing Scotland and my school

What are your goals and aspirations?
To help others with disabilities become more involved with sports.

What is your best achievement, sporting or otherwise?
Representing Scotland and my school at Lords

Is there a role model that inspires you and why?
My P.E teacher Amy, she has taught me so much about accepting who you are as a person and helped my become a more confident person.

Brynn Hauxwell

Graphic of Brynn who is on the next cohort of the YPSPAge
18

Hometown
Tingwall, Shetland

Branch
Ability Shetland

How did you get involved in sport or what would you like to get involved with?
I have always loved sports and being active, working closely with Ability Shetland and more recently Scottish Disability Sport, Red Star Athletics, Shetland Fencing, Disability Motorsport Scotland, has really broadened my sporting opportunities both as an athlete and a coach.

What motivated you to join the Young Person’s Sport panel?
Sports has made such a difference to my life, I want to help in any way I can for
more people to experience the difference taking part in a sport you love can make in
your life.

If you could change anything, what would you change to improve disability
sport?
I would want to help improve the ability for rural and isolated communities, such as
those on the Scottish Islands, to access different disability sports.

What are your sporting (or other) highlights?
I’ve helped to establish the first ever wheelchair racing club in Shetland, by raising money for ability Shetland with endurance challenges which has enabled the charity and myself to provide more opportunities for individuals to participate in local sports they otherwise wouldn’t have
access to.

What are your goals and aspirations?
I want to have a successful career in Motorsport as a driver, and eventually as a coach. And to push my limits in this sport and any other sports that I partake in.

What is your best achievement, sporting or otherwise?
My best achievement would have to be becoming the first wheelchair user ever to complete the full Hadrian’s Wall 84 mile trail. With help from an amazing team I completed this over the course of 10 days, and it really highlighted the importance of teamwork, believing in myself and never giving up.

Is there a role model that inspires you and why?
I have several role models, one being Charis Scott who works for the Ability Shetland branch. She is a fantastic coach and is always enthusiastic in everything that she does. One of my other role
models is Colin from Disability Motorsport Scotland, who works so hard to make Motorsports fully
inclusive for everyone, no matter the barriers in their way.

Abigail Bainbridge

Age
21

Hometown
Ardrossan

Branch
Ayrshire Sportsability

How did you get involved in sport or what would you like to get involved with?
I got involved in sport when I was really young to help keep me out of my wheelchair for longer and now I volunteer with SDS to help out whenever I can.

What motivated you to join the Young Person’s Sport panel?
To help improve inclusion for everyone within sports

If you could change anything, what would you change to improve disability
sport?
A new inclusion course for anyone within education to help improve experiences
with Physical education in schools

What are your sporting (or other) highlights?
Being a part of the womens GB para ice hockey squad.

What is your best achievement, sporting or otherwise?
Getting a channel 4 apprenticeship

Young Persons Sport Panel and Young Start Homeidential

Twenty Nine young people engaged enthusiastically in the Young Persons Sport Panel and Young Start online ‘Homidential’ on Saturday 27 February 2021. Due to circumstances this was in place of the annual two day residential. The young people designed the exciting programme to provide an opportunity to connect and learn. The day started with a Kahoot quiz designed and delivered by the young people, it was incredible to witness the competitive spirit shown by all. This led nicely into three workshops on leadership delivered by Steven Coulter from sportscotland, Jennifer Ross from Scottish Target Shooting and Kirsty Ewen from SDS and SAMH. It was great to hear the insightful comments, questions and feedback from the young people to the presenters throughout the sessions. Huge thank you to the deliverers for putting together a such a great workshop. After lunch Scott Tait, from Weeflea, took the young people on a learning experience on how to make videos on your smart phone. Through the wonders of technology and Ross Foleys technical wizardry we could watch everyone’s short video at the end together. A perfect end to the day. We were delighted to have been able to be together and share such a successful day but we look forward to when we can all get back together in person.

A small group of young people from both programmes have come together to design, develop and deliver a series of three wellbeing sessions. Please see details below and sign up if interested.

Wellbeing & Me Pilot Sessions

The Young Start programme are piloting three sessions as part of a series; Disability, Wellbeing & Me. The sessions are taking place on Monday 8, 15, 22 March, 6:30pm – 8:00pm. Sessions are completely free so please get involved and use this link to sign-up.

Young Persons Sport Panel – Meet Fiona & Neil

EAST MEETS WEST

From the East side of the country, we have Neil who is 18 and from Edinburgh. From the west side of the country, we have Fiona who is 18 and lives near Glasgow. Both are very passionate about swimming.

If Fiona and Neil were to have an imaginary virtual swimming competition:

Fiona starts in Glasgow, Neil starts in Edinburgh. Halfway between the two cities: Whitburn.

If it was the butterfly stroke Neil would win hands down. He will get bored waiting for Fiona to meet him at the finish line as the butterfly is her worst stroke. Now if it were the breaststroke that would be a different story – that might be a very interesting and exciting race and a close call. Fiona and Neil are hoping to have a swimming race at some point in the future!

About Neil by Fiona

Neil comes across as a friendly nice guy, very intelligent of course: you must be technically minded, good at maths and science and enjoy problem-solving to be able to do a mechanical engineering course which he started studying in August at Napier University. We wish him all the best of luck for the future as it takes 4 to 5 years to get a master’s degree.

Neil is not sure yet what type of job he wants to do as mechanical engineering is a very diverse field, but he has got plenty of time to see where his interest suits him best.

Doing a mechanical engineering course is certainly very rewarding and can be very challenging at times.

So, it is no wonder in Neil’s spare time he likes to spend some of it chilling and relaxing which can be anything from watching football to his favourite tv series set in the olden times like Merlin or the Last Kingdom. Neil likes to de-stress by going for long walks around the beautiful city of Edinburgh. He’s even got a favourite place where he likes to visit often and says it’s very beautiful in the snow.

Neil is a very sociable person who thinks the world of his friends and family; they mean everything to him. He really enjoys meeting up with his friends but of course during lockdown he’s not been able to do that as much but loves keeping in connect with them, regularly texting and video calling.

Neil is also very sporty and is a very talented para- swimmer with an S6 classification. He has been swimming since the age of 9 and is currently at Musselburgh ASC and Lothian Racers where he also competed in competitions with his favourite butterfly stroke.

Before lockdown Neil was doing his level 1 coaching course with Musselburgh ASC and is halfway through the course. Neil really enjoys helping out and learning to teach the young kids how to swim and dive and see them come on each time and improve their techniques.

Neil’s biggest achievement is learning how to talk again, putting sentences together after he had a stoke at the age of 13.

He certainly is a very brave and determined young man and through his recovery he never gave up. If he puts his mind to something, he will do it no matter how long it takes him to achieve it.

Neil joined the Young Persons Sports Panel because he wants to encourage other young people with disabilities to take part in disability sport.

Neil and Fiona are both hoping to get their hands on a PlayStation 5 soon, Neil is fed up waiting on stock coming in as his PlayStation 4 has been broken for a long time now. He cannot wait to play FIFA online with his friends again!

About Fiona – written by Neil

Fiona is currently keeping her days busy by going to college; she is studying sports and fitness at New College Lanarkshire, which is really relevant to her general interests! She enjoys doing fitness classes, walking her red-fox-Labrador Bailey and as a change from all this exercise, reads a lot of fantasy books and enjoys video games. But whilst that sounds a lot, that’s nothing compared what she used to do before the pandemic!

From defending herself at taekwondo, to powering up the pool in swimming, Fiona achieves everything she puts her mind to!

Fiona originally took up Taekwondo, following on from her brother; she has been participating since early in secondary school. Attaining a red belt at taekwondo was her hardest task, It was her first adult grading she was the highest belt there, So she had to do 45 minutes on her own in front of 4 black belts on the judging panel which was quite a challenge!

Swimming is another of Fiona’s sports, with Breaststroke being her favourite stroke. Fiona was delighted to win a Silver medal for Breaststroke in the Scottish Disability Sport event. As well as competing, she started coaching a year ago, this is her dream job. Fiona has done Rookie lifeguarding, so is a safe pair of hands to have poolside!

Her most grand achievement is helping young swimmers improve, she is poolside helper at Hamilton dolphin swimming club, where she is learning how to become a coach, she enjoys improving their technique and wanting them to succeed.

 

SDS Young Persons Sport Panel Website Article

 By Laura Pilkington and Maria Lyle

Q: What is your disability?

Laura: My disability is Brittle Bones Disease (more technically known as Osteogenesis Imperfecta). The name gives away one of the symptoms, which is my bones break more easily. Brittle Bone disease also means I am short in stature, have bone deformities, loose joints and scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine. I also have a difference in leg length with my right being longer than my left.

Maria: I have Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy. It affects both my legs. I also experience tightness down the right side of my neck and hand.

Q: How did you get into sport?

Laura: I got involved in sport quite late not till I was about 11/12. I had always loved being in the water and enjoyed swimming on holiday in the summer; I also did swimming at school and really enjoyed it. None of my family were that keen on swimming so was hard to persuade someone to go with me! So, when I was thirteen, I decided to join a club; it wasn’t originally to become competitive but after I got asked to do my first competition I was hooked and ten years later, I am still loving it.

Maria: My mum was my primary school PE teacher. One day we were to do the multistage fitness test (bleep test) as our lesson. I wasn’t very keen on the idea of the lesson as I normally struggled a lot with physical activity. However, I managed to complete the whole test and be one of the only people who hadn’t been eliminated. That was the first time I felt a sense of achievement. From then I joined the local running club and haven’t looked back since.

Q: What challenges have you faced while being involved in sport?

Laura: One challenge I have faced is definitely the number of injuries I have had; so far, every season I have had to have some time out of the water due to injury. Having to build back up after an injury was something; I found very frustrating and challenging. Although, through strength and gym work as I have gotten older it has reduced the amount of muscle/ligament injuries I have had. Over the years I have learnt to focus what I can do when injured and to deal with what I can control, which has made it a little easier. I have also faced challenges in sport within my mental health, over the last few years it is something I have struggled with and at times it has had a big impact on my training and competitions. I have been seeing positive improvements in the last few months though, and I hope that continues into the new year!

Maria: My biggest challenge has been my mental health, specifically anxiety. Around the time I started high school, I started to become aware of how people viewed me, especially as someone with a disability. I’d think people didn’t like me. This resulted in me removing myself from social situations that made me feel anxious. I put all my time, effort and thoughts towards my running career. However, I couldn’t escape from my anxiety and it started to affect my performances on the track. In 2018, it became too much for me and I was really upset. I felt very isolated and down most of the time. Along with the support of my parents, coach and governing body (British Athletics), I got professional help. I realised that I needed to face up to my worries and push myself out of my comfort zone. I needed more of a balance in my life and sport isn’t everything. I’m in a much better place now. From time to time, I still suffer a bit from anxiety but I’m grateful for the support I have from my inner circle.

Q: What advice would you give to someone wanting to get involved in disability sport?

Laura: Just try it, if you don’t you it will never know and there are multiple sports out there. Try a lot of different ones and find out what one you enjoy the most. Also, speak to your local disability sport branch manager and they can advise what opportunities are in your area, so you know all your options! Getting involved in sport was the best decision I made so don’t be afraid to give it a try.

Maria: From my experience, you have to go out and look for opportunities rather than wait for them to come to you. Contact you regional SDS branch to find out what opportunities are in your local area.

Q: How have you adapted your training during lockdown?

Laura: My sport is swimming so without a pool I had to find other ways to keep fitness levels up. During lockdown, I got involved in team workouts on Zoom, went on pushes in my wheelchair, got the old childhood trike out as well as using the weights I had at home. That was all going well until I was on a push and fell out my chair and broke my leg…! A couple of days after, I got back into the workouts but this time upper body only. Being able to still make progress towards my goals as well as still being able to enjoy some form of exercise was a big relief for me, as I was worried, I would struggle without that outlet.

Maria: Before the first lockdown was announced, myself and my coach expected this to happen. I was given some gym equipment to borrow so I could try to replicate my usual strength programme. I’m also quite fortunate that I don’t live in a city and have plenty of open spaces to continue my running training. I actually have a grass track that I can use that is only a 5-minute walk from my house. It was hard at times as sprinting is a technical sport that requires a lot of analysis. However, I would film my runs and send them over to my coach so we could discuss them.

Q: Who is your biggest influence on your sporting career?

Laura: This is a hard one as there has been so many people throughout the years that have helped me in so many ways. I’d say my current coach Andrew has had a big influence on me in general and within swimming. He is a great coach to work with and has helped me achieve so many things within swimming over the years, even if he does like to be annoying! I am definitely thankful for all his support.

Maria: I would have to say my mum. My mum was my PE teacher at primary school and got me into athletics. When I was younger, she would give up a lot of her time to take me to competitions and training session. I’m very grateful for all her support and wouldn’t be where I am today without her.