2016 was a great year, I balanced my work (Forth Valley Disability Sport), university (Canterbury Christ Church/YMCA George William College), training (athletics – preparing for Deaflympics 2017) and volunteering (SDS Young Persons Sport Panel).

The highlight of my year was focusing on my training because I believe that I can achieve at the Deaflympics in 2017.

I train five times a week, four of those sessions are with the club and the other session is flexible. Training with Falkirk Victoria Harriers club and my training is based at Grangemouth Stadium for track sessions. I have been selected to represent Great Britain to compete at Deaflympics in Turkey in July 2017 and GB Deaf Athletics do not received any funding from National Government or UK Sport therefore we have to find funding for ourselves. This was a challenging task however, one fundraising idea I came up with was to give a signed photo of a high performing sportsperson to anyone who donated money. I suggested donation amounts for each prize photo and entered donator names into a prize draw to determine who won the photo. Sourcing the signed photos was sometimes difficult but I met lots of great athletes on my search!

I have been working for Forth Valley Disability Sport since 2013 and studying at the same time. I am studying a Youth Work in Community Sport/Social Pedagogy degree so it is an exciting and challenging year ahead for me in 2017.

I am looking forward working in 2017 because there are many exciting projects in the year ahead for the Branch. For example, Forth Valley Disability Sport are taking a team of athletes and players to the Special Olympic Games in Sheffield in the summer, are hosting an AGM and awards night in February and many other events and projects that will be ongoing throughout the year. Personally, I will be completing my Level 5 Degree, starting my Level 6 Degree in May, competing at the Deaflympics in Turkey in July and finishing 2017 higher than I did in 2016.

 

As a member of the Lothian Disability Sport committee, I helped to deliver the SDS (non BISFed) Boccia Open which was held at the Napier University Engage Sports Complex.

For those unfamiliar with the sport of boccia, it is similar to that of bowls and the word boccia itself is derived from the Latin word bottia meaning ball. Originally, it was a sport played by individuals with cerebral palsy but has now been widened to include other disabilities at some non BISFed events such as this one in Lothian. BISFed is the governing body for boccia and also manages the classification system used for international competition. More information can be found here: http://www.bisfed.com/about-boccia/

This particular event brought entrants from across Britain which really improved the level of competition and saw up to 60 participants compete. The Open incorporated both those with physical and learning disabilities as the event was categorised. It was great to see so many young people really expressing themselves and enjoying the competition. As a venue for accessibility I was extremely impressed as I had never been before but for future events in the Lothian region I would highly recommend it.

I was also involved in managing the social media pages for SDS at the Central Parasport Day held at Grangemouth in October. The event was a huge success with a wide range of sports being delivered such as swimming, boccia and football, to name just a few.

There were over 60 young people at the event which was more than had attended in previous years and it was really good to see several school pupils supporting the event as volunteers on the back of attending Senior Pupils Disability Inclusion Training and showing so much enthusiasm.

That was the main thing I took away from the event – that from the senior pupils attending the Inclusion Training they were all keen to learn more and gain an insight into disability sport first hand. Richard Brickley MBE also delivered a talk to some of the parents present and I believe some new young talent was identified. I came away from the day feeling so positive as I saw myself in many of the young kids just loving making new friends and experiencing sport for the first time.  I thought it was also a really nice touch that two of our Commonwealth Games para athletes delivered a Q & A session which definitely inspired a few youngsters.

Apart from volunteering, I also follow the Scotland football team passionately around the world with 2016 seeing me visit Malta, Luxembourg, France, Prague and Slovakia. This month however it was slightly closer to home and a short visit to London.

The accessibility in London proved interesting and I had a narrow escape on an escalator but I survived. I would not hurry back but what the trip did do was inspire me to start a general travel blog for disabled people. This would include the do’s and don’ts in terms of accessibility in resorts, restaurants, airports and generally negotiating local areas. I will keep you posted if I get this idea off the ground.

This month, and the last few months, have been the busiest time for me. I began my 4^th and final year at Stirling University and it wasn’t long before I had to begin work on my honours project. Working on my work for my final year has taken over a lot of my time. However, this has not stopped me from volunteering for most things that come my way.

I have recently started to volunteer every week for PLUS (Forth Valley) in which I work at their After School Club events for primary and high school students that have disabilities. This has been an amazing opportunity for me to meet new people, gain new skills and experience which will hopefully stand me in good stead for graduating next year!

Along with volunteering for PLUS I have also had opportunities to volunteer in my role as a Young Person’s Sport Panel member. Although not being able to volunteer this month in my role I did get to volunteer at the very first Wheelchair Sports Extravaganza. This event was amazing, as it saw a lot of young people come and try a range of different sports, from archery to athletics to wheelchair rugby. One of the other opportunities I got involved in as a Sport Panel member was the media training held at Stirling University. Both of these events got me thinking more about my future in sport.

Having had a lot going on in my life, and at University, I have had to seriously thinking about my sporting career. With many injuries and low points during the last few years of my athletics career I found myself becoming less enthusiastic about the sport. However, wanting to remain active and fit got me thinking about other opportunities, and with the help of the media training and the Sports event, I decided to try something new.

And so, here I am, almost 6 months later into my journey, having started a new sport- basketball!

I have, also, not officially mentioned anywhere that I have started this new sport, and transitioned from athletics. This being the first time, is pretty scary I must admit!!

This month has been great for myself in this new sporting chapter. I have recently been on a weekend trip to Nottingham to play basketball in the British Women’s League for Angels of the North 3. This league was the most fun as I was able to meet many new people in the sport from all over the country and also got a chance to watch GB Paralympians play in the first division- which was an amazing opportunity. Managing to play four games while I was away and meeting great people along the way, I can honestly say that starting basketball was a great decision for myself at this time.

Colette Martin

Well what can I say about this season so far? For me it’s been an amazing season so far and I hope it continues. It shows that hard work does pays off. It shows that all the hard work that I put in during winter training is starting to show in my performance at competitions.

It started to really show at one of my biggest competitions of the year at the Mencap Games in Barnsley at the end of June. I got three golds and one silver medal.

My first event was the 100m, I came in second and my time wasn’t my best but I tried my best. Next was shot putt, I came in first with a personal best of 8.10m. This was my first time over the 8m mark and I was so happy that if I could do cartwheels I would have done them!

The next event I had was discus which I won gold in and I was so close to my personal best. It was frustrating since I had done so well in my shot putt.

My last event at the Mencap Games was javelin where I won gold. I didn’t think I would get it as javelin isn’t my strongest throwing event but then I remembered what my coaches told me at training, to relax, and I managed to break the National Games Record for my age group which I had got last year.

The next competition I was competing in was Forth Valley Flyers Championships.

I won four gold medals. My first event was the 100m where I was first. I was a lot faster than I was at the Mencap games the week before. I then had to go straight to shot putt as I had been shouted for that at the same time as the 100m.

Shot putt went well but it wasn’t my best throw, however it was close to my personal best. The next event was javelin and I did not do too well as I was a bit further away from my personal best. My last event of the competition was discus and it was an amazing end to the competition. It was my best throw of the day with a new personal best of 21.18m, I was over the moon with this achievement as I was only aiming for 20m as my last personal best was 19.94m.

My next competition is the Wishaw Games on 13 August 2016 and I hope to keep up my success and hope to keep getting better and breaking my personal bests.

Caitlyn Ross
Scottish Disability Sport Young Persons’ Sport Panel

This month has been pretty busy for me with a mixture of events. I competed in the SDS National Performance swimming championships and also the Scottish National Open Championships. I performed several decent performances at both these meets which seen me getting season bests, personal bests and also a couple of medals along the way. It was great to see a huge number of English para swimmers coming up to Scotland to compete at Scottish Nationals, this made it a real world class event, which is always great to compete at. It was also fun to catch up with friends who I won’t now see until after the Rio Paralympics – but I will definitely be shouting them on through my TV!

June also seen me complete my HND (Higher National Diploma) in Health, Fitness and Exercise at Forth Valley College. The few months beforehand had been pretty stressful completing my Graded Unit and getting the remainder of course work handed in, whilst also training and racing, but I managed and I am leaving with an overall A. It will be strange to not return to Forth Valley College after summer, as I have now been a student there for 5 years completing various courses. I have accepted an offer to Edinburgh Napier University and will entering year 3 of a Sport and Exercise Science degree. While my time in Stirling is now coming to a close, I am looking forward to a new adventure training and studying in Edinburgh.

Another highlight for me during June was the wheelchair sports extravaganza day held at Stirling University, this was the first event of its kind and seamed to be a major success. I was lucky enough to be volunteering at the event as part of the young persons sports panel. It was great to see children, and individuals of all ages and abilities, given the opportunity to try out and participate in a range on sports – from athletics, to table tennis, archery to wheelchair rugby. I managed to try out a couple of new sports myself . . . although I think I should stick to swimming!

Hope Gordon

ParAthletics IPC Grand Prix – Switzerland Open Nationals 25th-30th May 2016

Can I just start off by saying I don’t like flights!! I think I’ve watched too many disaster movies! Apart from that my flight to Switzerland was exciting because at the other end is like this lifetime supply of amazing chocolate….Not going to lie I filled my bag, on the way there and back!

I didn’t get to see too much of Switzerland when Janice and I first arrived, as we got there in the early evening. When we got to the hotel room we unpacked Wilson (racer) and got down to the track as soon as possible to set my compensater for the following day’s competition. After a couple of laps around the track (amazing track) my compensater was set and I felt ready for the competition. Janice and I headed back to the hotel room for food and then we soon retired for the evening as I had an early start in the morning ready for the first day of the competition.

Day 1

I woke up at about half past seven. I was nervous but excited at the same time. I put on my Scotland strip and my lucky tartan socks before heading for an athlete’s breakfast (they didn’t do Coco Pops so I settled for fruit and fresh juice). The weather was lovely for the first day of the competition but, as a Scot, I wasn’t used to the heat. My first races were the 100m and 400m heats (hate the 400m). I came first in both races and then later discovered that I had broke world records in both distances and set a PB in the 100m. I was surprised and shocked at the news but it was too hot for me to jump about with excitement, so I settled for a free sausage from the food stand (couldn’t find the ketchup…gutted).

Day 2

The day started off much the same (still no Coco Pops so I had fruit again). Today was the 200m and 800m heats so I was excited to get onto the track and race. Again the weather was lovely but still too hot as I’m used racing in colder temperatures but I still raced well and came first in both races, setting PBs and breaking some more world records. Again I was excited and ecstatic but free sausages were no longer available at the food stands (once again left gutted) so I went inside for my lunch, which I’m not complaining about because I then met my hero Tatyana McFadden (world’s fastest T54 female wheelchair racer) – I even got a picture with her! I may have come across as a stalker as I got way too excited to meet her.

Competition Days 3 and 4

It chucked it down…I’ve never felt so at home. Downside being that I got no PBs in my finals but I got first finishes in all my events and I was happy with my performances.

I had an amazing time in Switzerland. I’ve never seen so many racers in one place! It’s been an amazing experience and I loved every second of it. Janice is an amazing travel companion and we have lots of funny stories to share (when we dropped the racer onto someone in the queue). I enjoyed catching up with some old friends and making some new ones. The Switzerland meet has allowed me to come home with four new world records, which now means I hold five official world records. I couldn’t be happier. Switzerland has also allowed me to come home with more experience and knowledge of my sport….and also a bag full of chocolate.

On the 5th and 6th of March 2016, British Wheelchair Basketball held the third annual University Championships. Sixteen teams from across the UK took part in what was a fierce but fun tournament which pitted novice players alongside experienced basketballers in this two day competition.

As Assistant Coach of the Scottish Universities Representative team, I knew that this was not going to be an easy tournament for the players, some of whom had never played wheelchair basketball before, as we would face the might of the University of Worcester teams featuring top GB players such as Jude Hamer and Leah Evans. The weekend started well with Scotland winning all their pool games. The slightly stunned team started day two with the hope of maybe progressing to a medal match but first faced tough opposition from the University of East Anglia. Managing to keep their cool, they won 31 v 16 and therefore progressed to the semi-final where they met the first of the Worcester squads.

This was one of the most tense matches I have ever helped coach as we were massive underdogs yet had gelled both on and off court and therefore were playing with passion and real determination which gave us a real chance against this experienced side. Throughout the match the team worked together to maximise chances and some incredible phenomenal performances helped secure Scotland an incredible win. We were ecstatic!

Getting to the final was a massive achievement for the team. They had played their hearts out in the semis and in some ways this took its toll as the final match saw  the experienced Worcester 1 pull ahead quickly creating fast breaks from the start. Despite this Scotland rallied and battled hard to keep the game relatively close, and the final score was 24 v 34 to the University of Worcester 1.

All in all it was an incredible weekend and I was so proud to be part of this team.

Photo: silver medallists!

Scottish Disability Sport launched its first ever Young Persons Sport Panel at the Branch Conference on Sunday 15 November 2015.

The panel will consist of 12 members from across Scotland who were nominated by SDS member branches. The aim of the panel is to give young people with disabilities a voice in sport, to develop as individuals and gain some experience across various areas in sport. The panel will meet again in February 2016 where they will complete a training needs analysis, be part of the SDS new strategic plan consultation and create subgroups of the main group.

Members of the Young Persons panel are: Alan Gray, Hope Gordon, Colette Martin, Lewis McConnell, Stefan Hoggan, Mitchell Graham, Caitlyn Ross, Callum Sloan, Gemma Lumsdaine, Shelby Watson, Ross Foley, Danielle Joyce