With the Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing fast approaching, we sat down with Scottish Wheelchair Curler, Meggan Dawson-Farrell, ahead of her first Games. As well as talking about her expectations of the Games, Meggan talked openly about her athlete journey from participation to performance, transferring from summer to winter sport and how she fell in love with curling.
Getting involved in sport
Meggan admits it was a slow start for her on the sporting front. Describing herself as a shy girl who was unaware of the opportunities available to her, she believed that with her disability there was ‘no point’ in getting involved in sport and that she went through school ‘none the wiser’ to what she could do.
This all changed when her mum contacted SDS to enquire about opportunities for Meggan, and not long after she was attending an SDS Summer Camp in Largs, an event where Meggan says she was taken along ‘kicking and screaming’. This was however to be a watershed moment, where she participated in a variety of sports mixing with other young people with disabilities. This inclusive and welcoming environment allowed Meggan to come out of her shell, to experience the benefits of physical activity and sport and where she fell in love with her first sport, Athletics. Meggan admits, “If I hadn’t gone to that summer camp I wouldn’t be where I am today”, with it providing a platform for her to build her confidence and realise her abilities, abilities she will shortly be showcasing in the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing.
Soon after the Summer Camp she was contacted to go to Grangemouth after her talent for Athletics was noticed, participating at first in her everyday chair, soon moving on into her first race chair, albeit one that was too big for her as it had been custom made for a thrower. Despite this, she was developing rapidly and once she had a chair made specifically for her she didn’t look back. As she got faster and faster, she had really caught the athletics bug – a rapid ascent from a youngster who saw no potential in getting involved in sport.
Talent transferring from Athletics to Curling
Whilst it was all going well on the athletics front, she was to suffer a setback following the Dubai Marathon in the form of a pressure sore that was to keep her out of action for 5 months. During this time she was confined to her bed, in and out of hospital and a bit fed up. It was during this time her mum got on the phone to SDS again, where she was directed towards Sheila Swann at British Curling – Meggan didn’t know at the time that this was a life altering moment.
Soon she was on the ice at The Peak in Stirling where she threw some stones and ‘fell in love’ with the sport almost instantly. At first Meggan continued to go along to participate as she recovered, expecting to eventually return to athletics but soon she began attending more sessions until she was in almost every day.
It was soon decision time where she realised she couldn’t continue with both athletics and curling, with Meggan saying that in the end “there was no thought about it, curling was the easy choice”.
Immediately she was struck by the differences competing in a team sport where she was used to competing alone in an individual one. It was a big change, not least as she took the unusual route from summer to winter sport, however she found a welcoming, family-like atmosphere within the curling squad and was soon loving being a part of the team.
Due to an unfortunate circumstance, Meggan’s life had taken an unexpected turn, a turn where she was able to turn a situation of adversity into an opportunity to represent her country at the Paralympic Winter Games.
What makes Curling great and why should you try it?
Meggan is keen to promote the fantastic sense of camaraderie that she has experienced in curling, describing it as a family sport where everyone does everything together creating a highly supportive environment for all athletes.
She also wants to challenge the often perceived wisdom about who the sport is for, being seen as a sport usually played by older people. Meggan is keen to set the record straight and promote curling as a ‘sport for everyone, young and old’, adding that because the sport isn’t that grueling on the body, if you get it into it young there is potential to stay in the sport for a very long time. She is also keen to promote more female involvement in the sport, hoping her involvement in Beijing can help inspire women and girls to take up the sport, “If I can help inspire others to go out on the ice and experience the same feeling as I do then it makes the job more fun”. She is also keen to stress that not everyone should aspire to play at the highest level, as playing recreationally is just as rewarding with the love for the game still remaining strong for all competitors.
As for the game itself, Meggan explains how it is a tactical game that is very much played in the brain, but also highly enjoyable to play. Meggan plays ‘Lead’ position, where she plays the first 2 stones and where they land determine the course of the game. For those who really enjoy and thrive under pressure, the Skip (Captain of the team) plays the last stone, the all or nothing pressure shot. Meggan is keen to encourage anyone who is interested in Wheelchair Curling to watch the sport during the games, and of course to look up opportunities to get on to the ice themselves and enjoy the same thrill she does each time she plays.
Beijing 2022 – Preparations and Ambitions
Meggan reports that the preparations for the games are going well with a good working environment between the team of 5 Scots who will be representing ParalympicsGB. Like most athletes, the pandemic has caused its inevitable disruption to preparations, but now they are simply looking forward to getting out there and showing people what they are capable of. In what should be good news for fans, she believes people haven’t seen the best of the team yet with there being ‘plenty more to give’.
As she prepares to leave, she says the feeling is still quite surreal and only when she is in Beijing and has pulled her kit on for the first time will she be able to relax. From there, it is about getting the first game out of the way and then enjoying the experience of competing in a Paralympic Games – she knows she and the team can do it, it is then up to them to show it.
Individually Meggan’s first priority is to enjoy the experience of her first games, particularly as she is new to the sport with many more opportunities ahead of her – competing at this level is huge and she is determined to gain as much as possible from this life-changing experience.
On a collective level, the team ambition is to get on the podium and bring a medal home though she knows there will be a tough level of competition. She says the team’s first priority is to give everything they have and are determined to leave everything out there and have no regrets.
For Meggan, it will be the culmination of a journey in which she started out as a youngster without the confidence to participate in sport to competing on the highest stage, a great demonstration of the power of sport to impact lives positively. We wish Meggan and the Wheelchair Curling team the very best of luck in Beijing.
SDS Paralympic Winter Games Statistics