The Scottish Disability Sport/Lothian Disability Badminton Club Championships were held at Napier University on Saturday 28th January. Disability Sport Fife (DSF) had nine members on the start list this year, a considerable increase on previous tournaments..
DSF plans to target the championships each year and build on the 2017 entry. DSF weekly sessions at the Michael Woods Sports and Leisure Centre and the Cowdenbeath Leisure centre led by Alex Bird, Julie Hogg and Euan Bell are flourishing and growing in numbers on a weekly basis.
Prior to the start of the event players with a learning disability are classified into appropriate sections and all six Fife entrants had to go through this process. Player results were excellent. In singles Lloyd Simpson (Methil) defeated Robert Anderson (Glenrothes) to take the Division 2 title and his Fife team mate Briony Clark (Kinglassie) repeated the performance with a win in the equivalent women’s division. Two singles titles in their first tournament was a great achievement.
In mixed doubles Steven Anderson (Glenrothes) teamed up with Jazmine McNeill (Rosyth) to win the Division 2 title and Jazmine partnered Rebecca O’Callaghan (Kirkcaldy) to win the women’s doubles. Steven and Lloyd were assigned a place in Division 1 men’s doubles but on this occasion they found the competition too tough.
Mary Wilson, the Fife Women’s Champion from Edinburgh, is a member of DSF. Mary partnered Colin Leslie to the combined XD title. Skye and Finlay Davidson from Inverkeithing competed in singles, mixed double and doubles.
All players now look forward to the Fife Championships organised by Disability Sport Fife and scheduled to take place at the Kirkcaldy Leisure Centre on Wednesday 15th March. The Championships are supported by Fife Council and the Fife Sports and Leisure Trust and are part of the Annual Disability Sport Fife Sports Festival.
Richard Brickley MBE
President, Disability Sport Fife