Disability Sport Fife nominated over 20 athlete members for one of the three 2020 Area Sports Councils Awards. Dunfermline and West Fife was the first Sports Council to present awards and last week Owen Miller from Dunfermline was the winner of the East Kilbride Sports Council Disabled Athlete of the Year award. The standard of competition is exceptionally high in west Fife and congratulations to Owen on his award. Tokyo 2020 is of course his aim and ambition for 2020.
Richard Brickley OBE MBE Chairman DSF (SCIO) Board of Charity Trustees
Owen Miller
Inclusion on the British Athletics Paralympic Futures Academy Programme for the 2018/2019 season came at exactly the right time for Owen Miller and coach Steve Doig from Fife Athletic Club and they have taken full advantage. Owen was disappointed when he missed out on selection for the Paralympic Games in London in 2012 but he has never given up hope of one day achieving his dream of Paralympic Games selection.
Owen competed on Saturday 25th May in Manchester at the BMC Grand Prix at Sport City. Owen knocked 0.4 off his PB for 1500m for a time of 3:56.32. The Dunfermline athlete was then ranked number one in T20 class on the WPA world rankings following this run. Owen is now second on the all time British T20 1500m list. This opened up the opportunity to compete at the very highest level of world Para athletics and earn him his very first full Great Britain vest later in the year.
Owen also secured a fine second place in T20 1500 metres at the Manchester International Meet. Owen’s time was 3.59.98 in an event that was won by the world champion Michael Brannigan from the USA. Owen was the first T20 British athlete to cross the line. Coach Steve Doig was pleased with Owen’s run considering he had to pull back on training because of injury. Owen ran two sub four minute runs within a matter of a few days.
Owen rounded off an amazing year by finishing 6th in a field of fourteen at the WPA World Athletics Championships T20 1500m in Dubai. Owen was in the mix for a medal with 300 metres to go and committed totally in the run in. The last 80 metres were a real challenge and he finished in a very creditable 6th in 3:59.87. Owen crossed the finish line ahead of the world number 1 Michael Brannigan from the USA and the reigning European champion Cristiano Pereira from Portugal.
Owen has been a massive influence on the Disability Sport Fife cross country and middle distance programmes and he has always been a superb role model for emerging young athletes. Owen has dominated Scottish T20 middle distance running for a decade.
Connor Brown
Connor Brown from Dunfermline is Fife’s leading all round ambulant physically disabled sportsman, excelling in track and field, cross country, rugby, swimming and karate.
The former Woodmill HS pupil rounded off his most successful year to date with a 4th Para kata gold medal and the 2019 individual trophy as overall Grand Prix Grand Slam Champion at Ravenscraig. A most fitting end of season outcome for a very dedicated young sportsman whose commitment to daily strength and conditioning is exemplary.
Connor is coached by Paul Giannandrea at the very inclusive JKS Scotland club in Dunfermline. Paul and his team promote karate for players of all levels of ability including those with additional support needs. Connor has been a club member for many years and has been inspired by club members and coaches to commit fully to the training regime expected of high performance karate players.
Connor (T37 and F37) is also a member of Fife AC and is coached by Steve Doig. Under Steve’s guidance, Connor has enjoyed his most successful track and field season ever. Connor retained his Fife and Scottish cross country, track and field titles and recorded a series of first places in invitation athletics meets.
Kieran Steer
Kieran Steer from Crossgates made an impressive return to international boccia in Scottish colours at the Czech International Open in 2019. Kieran was paired with fellow Scot Ross Munro and finished in a creditable fourth position in the pairs competition. The Scots defeated Germany and Czech Republic but lost out to a second Czech team during qualification. Eventually the Scots lost out to Germany in the bronze medal match.
In the individual competition, Kieran topped his qualifying group with three wins in a tough section. Kieran’s scores were 8-1, 3-2 and 10-1. At the quarter final stage Kieran lost out to an opponent whom he reckoned “deserved to win”.
Later in the year Kieran was selected for Team Scotland to compete in Nottingham at an international competition involving teams from England and Scotland. Kieran displayed the skills and confidence that earned him a place in Team GB for the Rio Paralympic Games. Along with his partner Scott, Kieran won the BC4 pairs gold medal.
These international experiences, return to the national boccia squad and a competition in Northern Ireland have confirmed that Kieran is on the way back to the highest levels of performance boccia in the UK. Kieran learned recently that he is included in the 2020 Scottish boccia squad along with young Tyler McLelland from Windygates. Kieran has influenced and inspired Tyler enormously since he started playing three years ago. For the first time ever Disability Sport Fife has two players in the national boccia squad.
Callum Sloan
Callum Sloan from Dunfermline recorded PBs in 100m (19.6), 400m (78.9) and 800m (2.58) at the Muller Para-track Grand Prix at Kirkby, Liverpool. Callum is coached by DSF lead athletics coach Pamela Robson and supported by DSF athletics coach Gayle Sloan.
In 2019 Callum headed south once again for the London mini marathon and recorded a personal best time. The event is held as part of the Virgin Money London Marathon. Callum is the only junior wheelchair racer from Fife ever to compete in the mini marathon.
Callum was a member of the Disability Sport Fife Sportshall team that retained the national title in 2019. Callum enjoyed another successful year in wheelchair track racing at the Disability Sport Fife Track and Field Championships at Pitreavie, SDS Track and Field Championships at Grangemouth and invitation meets throughout Scotland. Callum retained his status as the country’s leading junior T53 wheelchair track athlete.
Wheelchair racers and handcyclists headed to Jedburgh in October for the Annual Jed Renilson 10km. The event is organised by Borders Disability Sport and is supported by Scottish Athletics and Scottish Disability Sport. Callum (T53) competed in the race for the first time and was third Scot across the line in 41.47 for a personal best by 1.37. Coach Pamela Robson was pleased with Callum’s performance, considering he hit a pothole at 5km and his steering was all over the place for the final half of the race.
Cameron Adam
Cameron Adam from Dunfermline and Fife AC is one of Scotland’s leading junior Para athletes. Last year Cameron competed in his first British Championships for athletes with cerebral palsy in Doncaster and returned with two PBs and two silver medals. Competing in the T37 class, Cameron recorded 16.2 for 100m and 34.6 for 200m. Cameron also competed in shot and had a best throw of 6.1m. This was Cameron’s first entry into the British Championships and he performed exceptionally well. The opportunity to compete against other athletes with cerebral palsy was very inspiring.
In 2019 Cameron was Fife’s leading ambulant junior track and field athlete with a succession of wins at the Fife Championships and invitation meets around Scotland.
Cameron was a member of the Disability Sport Fife Sportshall team that retained the national title in 2019. Cameron’s progress as a sprinter and thrower has been significant under the guidance of Steve Doig at Fife AC and Disability Sport Fife lead athletics coach Pamela Robson.
Glen Livingston
Glen Livingston achieved something very special at the 2019 SDS Lawn Bowls Championships at the Westburn Park in Aberdeen be winning and retaining the open men’s singles championship for physically disabled bowlers on his first two attempts. Glen from Cowdenbeath Bowling Club is a relative newcomer to Disability Sport Fife (DSF) but in no time he has made an impact. Glen is following in the footsteps of other outstanding Fife Para bowlers and has his sights set on representing Scotland at the 2020 IBD World Championships in New Zealand at the end of the year.
Glen was introduced to bowls as a 16 year old at Tanshall BC in Glenrothes. After two years he moved to Coalton of Balgonie BC where he played for 10 years before moving to Buckhaven Bowling Club in the mid 90s. From 2002 – 2005 Glen was working in Kent and playing indoor bowls for Kent County. A move back to Glenrothes in 2005 resulted in him playing outdoors at Cowdenbeath BC and indoors at East Fife Indoor Bowling Club and Abbeyview Bowling Club.
Glen has an impressive history in mainstream bowls including membership of the East Fife indoor team that won the under 35s title two years in a row. Watching the Para bowls triples competition at the Commonwealth Games in Australia had a major influence on Glen’s decision to put himself forward for consideration for a parallel career in Para bowls. A call up for the national Para bowls squad soon followed.
As a member of Team Fife Glen started 2019 perfectly with a win in the men’s open section for physically disabled players at the Scottish Disability Sport Carpet Bowls Championships. In 2019 Glen returned from the Home Nations competition in Cardiff where Scotland defeated Wales twice, lost to England twice and had to settle for the runners up position. Glen and Billy Allan from Fife won three from four matches as part of the Scottish triple and collected valuable points for Team Scotland.
Glen is already established as one of Scotland’s leading Para bowlers. As well as the IBD World Championships Glen will be trying to gain selection for the Bowls Scotland Para bowls team that will travel to Potters in Great Yarmouth for the 2020 Home Nations.
Pamela Mitchell
Pamela Mitchell from Dunfermline and Headwell BC has been Scotland’s leading indoor and outdoor lady bowler with a learning disability for over 30 years. In 2019 however she enjoyed one of her most successful seasons indoor and out to date.
At the start of the year Pamela won the Scottish Disability Sport Indoor singles title for the third year in succession at Falkirk Indoor BC and then went on to retain her Fife title at East Fife Indoor BC in September.
The Munro Cup is a new competition between the Home Nations involving players with learning disabilities. Pamela and Darryl Stewart from Cowdenbeath BC were selected for Team Scotland and although England won the competition narrowly, Pamela had an outstanding tournament.
Pamela retained her Fife Lawn Bowls title at the Beveridge Park BC in June and then helped Team Fife to retain the Inter Area team title with two wins from three in Musselburgh. Team Fife has dominated the inter Area competition since it was set up seven years ago and Pamela has been the outstanding lady bowler during that period. Pamela rounded off her outstanding year in outdoor Para bowls by winning the SDS National Lawn Bowls single hand competition for bowlers with learning disabilities at the Westburn Park in Aberdeen in September.
As well as success in indoor and outdoor disability bowls Pamela continues to thrive as a Headwell BC mainstream club representative in ladies indoor and outdoor competitions. Headwell BC prides itself on promoting inclusive practice and Pamela is the outstanding example of Headwell’s inclusive ethos in action. Pamela is part of the Headwell BC ladies team that has reached the national indoor semi finals. What a year for an outstanding Para bowler.