Tag: club

Photo of a volunteer official and participants playing boccia at Crieff boccia club

The Boccia Community in Rural Scotland

By William Moncrieff, Communications Officer. 

One of Scottish Disability Sport’s member branches, Perth And Kinross Disability Sport, have been working hard to ensure that they are providing opportunities for individuals to participate in sport throughout rural Scotland. One opportunity that Perth and Kinross Disability Sport has provided is a session in Crieff and this club caters for individuals throughout the region, providing inclusive opportunities, whilst creating a community spirit. 

One of the coaches that has been an integral member of the club, has been Sam Medley. Having been with the club since it started, Sam has found her involvement to be very rewarding, commenting: 

“It’s a great sport and it’s nice being able to see so many different people play it. This brings a lot of the enjoyment, and when you can see some of the players getting some of the things you are doing, that is just fantastic.” 

With the boccia club being located in a rural area of Scotland, one aspect of the club that Sam has noticed to be particularly impactful, has been the social element.  

“A lot of the players know each other. It’s not just about playing boccia, it’s about getting people together.” Sam explained. The community spirit of the club is something that Sam has really enjoyed seeing develop.  

She said: “It’s that community because they all come together, and they all do something together. It is good that they get that opportunity, and that they can get to do something different.”  

The club is held weekly, on Monday nights from 5pm to 6pm, at Crieff Community Campus who is always looking for new members. 

The club has a real range of participants, from 14 years old to 75 years old. With a range of participant ages, ability and disabilities comes a range of motivations for attending.  

One of the many motivations is the physical benefits that boccia can provide.  

“We had one player with a physical disability and it’s been great seeing her, when she first initially came she couldn’t get the ball next to the V line*, and now she is getting stronger and she is learning techniques and improving hand-eye coordination. We are really seeing her improve and that is great,” Sam said. 

“She gets a lot out of that (participating), you can see that she knows that she is able to do something that she hadn’t been able to do and she is absolutely delighted,” said Sam. 

Sam’s son, Alex Medley, is a member of the Scottish Boccia Squad for the 2025 season. With Alex having the opportunity to come through the boccia pathway and perform at a national level within the BC2 classification, Sam has had an opportunity to watch how boccia can impact participants of all levels, from grassroots to high performance. This has motivated Sam to stay involved in Crieff Boccia Club as well as trying to help provide more opportunities in rural Perthshire.  

Sam commented: “I can see the benefits of doing sport, for people who have disabilities, that is the bit that really motivates me at times because I think that sport should be for all.”  

The community spirit that has been surrounding Crieff Boccia club, is not just one that is being noticed by participants. Sam reflected on how it has been impacting coaches, saying, “We had a young person coaching with us, and they were doing it for their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award by volunteering.  

“She got so much out of it. To begin with she was resistant and didn’t quite know how to interact with other people and how to do things. It didn’t take her long to find her confidence and seeing the relationships that she built with other people was really rewarding as well.” 

This social nature of the club can further be seen by the willingness of parents to get involved.  

“The parents are actually coming on board to help because we can’t always be there every week,” Sam said, before expanding: “It’s not just about playing boccia, it’s about getting people involved and seeing the positive aspects of participating.” 

 

* The V line is the minimum distance the Jack ball has to be thrown onto the boccia court, measuring  1.5 metres from the start of the court. 

 

 

If you would like to get involved with Crieff Boccia Club, you can email Graeme.Doig@scottishdisabilitysport.com to find out more information and to register your interest. 

If you would be interested in finding out more about boccia opportunities in your local area, you can do so by reaching out to your Regional Development Manager. This manager will be able to provide you with information on how to get involved as a volunteer, coach, official or player. 

Alternatively, you can contact SDS’s Boccia Development Officer, Jonathan Kennedy, by email: jonathan.kennedy@scottishdisabilitysport.com.  

To keep up-to-date with all things disability sport across Scotland, follow Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, Instagram and X. 

 

Martin Perry about to hit the ball during a table tennis match at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

Martin Perry Eyes Up LA 2028 After Paris Paralympics

“I definitely enjoyed my experience and I can’t wait to relive it in four years’ time in LA.” – Martin Perry reflects on his debut Paralympics performance. 

By William Moncrieff, Communications Apprentice  


Martin Perry was part of the ParalympicsGB squad for the 2024 edition of the Summer Games in Paris. Martin qualified for the table tennis squad where he competed in both singles and doubles, partnering up with Will Bayley. 

“From start to finish, Paris was just an unbelievable experience, I couldn’t believe how well catered everything was”, said Martin. 

The Paralympics kicked off for Martin with the doubles round of 16. “My doubles partner Will Bayley and I had a great win against Germany winning 3-0”, explained Martin.  

Next up was the quarter finals where Martin and Will found themselves up against the French, who went into the match as second seed. “We found ourselves 2-0 down. We had an incredible rally where I jumped off the court. That was the catalyst that got us back into the match… we managed to get it back to 2-2.”  

He continued to recap the match: “We went down to the wire at 9-9 in the final set, and France just happened to pip us to the post and win 11 – 9. That was really tough and it was heartbreaking”, he recounted. Losing the game was the end of their doubles campaign in Paris. However, Martin still had the opportunity to compete in the singles.  

His first match was against the reigning champion  in his category (Class 6). “It was never going to be an easy match”, said Martin. “Just the way the system works, we actually hadn’t played each other in the last five years, so it wasn’t as if we’d had loads of opportunities to work each other out. He got the better of me, I never really got going until the third set and by then it was too little too late.” 

As much as it hurts it has definitely given me a platform to learn from and to hopefully take forward”, commented Martin. 

Being able to represent ParalympicsGB was a career highlight for Martin and the team dynamics certainly didn’t disappoint. 

“As the competition was just about to start they put stickers up on the outside wall (of the team house.), really cool graphics which were actually the ParalympicsGB medal tally and they updated it every single day. It was so cool to see those numbers rising and rising.” 

Whether someone had a good or bad day, you were always there to offer a helping hand or say well done and that was just amazing to be amongst that and be part of one team”, explained Martin. 

With the Games being held in Paris there was a fantastic opportunity for fans to travel over. “Wow, the support I had was unmatched, it was amazing. This is the closest I am ever going to have to a home Paralympic Games.” 

He continued to say, “To have my wife, Siobhan, and daughter, Byra, both there and to have my in-laws Andy and Jacqueline, my own dad and then half of Drumchapel Table Tennis club from Glasgow come out. The support I had, it was just incredible and that means so much to me because they are the folks that have been in my life a long time, they mean the most to me.” 

The fact that they got to see me do what I love doing, on the biggest stage in the world just meant so much.” Martin said. 

Despite the Paralympics just concluded only one month ago, Martin already has his sights set on the next edition. “I definitely enjoyed my experience, and I can’t wait to relive it in four years’ time in LA (Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games).”  

Martin said: “I thought I was hungry for Paris, but wow, LA is going to be awesome and I am so motivated to go again and to be a two-time Paralympian.” 

If you are motivated to get involved in sport after hearing all about Martin’s experience in Paris, contact your Regional Development Manager to find out about any opportunities in your area.  

Make to follow Scottish Disability Sport on FacebookX and Instagram, as well as on the SDS website.

Get Involved and Try Goalball!

HAVE YOU BEEN INSPIRED BY THE PARALYMPIC GAMES?

Northern allstars Goalball club, based at Sport Central, Northumbria University, Newcastle are welcoming new players! Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for people with a vision impairment. The Northern All Stars sessions are open to anyone regardless of their goalball experience and the club would like to promote their sessions to Scottish players owing to their proximity to the border! Upcoming sessions are as follows:

  • Saturday 12th October
  • Saturday 9th November
  • Saturday 14th December

(All sessions are 11am until 4pm).

If you have any further questions, please contact: goalballnorthernallstars@gmail.com

 

Poster that invites people to join Northern All Stars. The poster includes the details listed in the caption. The sessions are open to people of any goalball experience. The poster includes a QR code to email directly if you have any questions.

sportscotland Coaching, Officiating & Volunteering Awards 2023

The annual sportscotland COV Awards 2023 is soon to open for nominations, and we would like to encourage our clubs, Branches, participants, athletes, partners and supporters to nominate those who make a difference in the world of disability sport.

This year’s categories are:

  • Young Coach of the Year
  • Community Coach of the Year
  • Disability Coach of the Year – The Janice Eaglesham Award
  • Performance Pathway Coach of the Year
  • High Performance Coach of the Year
  • Coach Developer of the Year
  • Young Official of the Year
  • Official of the Year
  • Young Volunteer of the Year
  • School Sport Volunteer of the Year
  • Volunteer of the Year
  • Lifetime Contribution Award

Disability sport has been strongly featured in previous years and last year’s winners include para swimmer and Young Person’s Sports Panel member, Laura Pilkington (Young Volunteer of the Year), Grampian para swimming coach, Marie Cheyne (Disability Coach of the Year), and athletics coach, Jim Hunter (Lifetime Contribution).

Awards open at 4pm on Wednesday 14th June and details including nomination forms can be found at https://sportscotland.org.uk/coaching/recognition-and-reward/coaching-officiating-volunteering-awards/