Tag: Dundee

Poster that is split with text and a photo. The photo on the right is of a young boy smiling and participating in sport. The text is on the left and says, get out get active impact report: supporting healthier, happier and more active lives.

Thousand More Active Thanks to the Power of GOGA

Get Out Get Active (GOGA) has released its latest impact report, showing thousands of people across the UK have been given the opportunity to be active thanks to the programme.

Designed to support disabled and non-disabled people to enjoy being active together, GOGA has reached more than 55,000 people since its inception in 2016.

Funded by Spirit of 2012, Sport England and London Marathon Foundation, with Activity Alliance as the creator and lead partner, it has transformed people’s lives. From swimming clubs in the south of England to walking groups in Northern Ireland there have been 3,331 activities and interventions in its seven years.

It strengthens communities, with six in 10 GOGA participants saying they are now more connected within their community. Seven in 10 have continued to be active and maintained their activity levels outside of the GOGA programme.

In Scotland, GOGA Tayside is a collaboration between NHS Tayside and Scottish Disability Sport with the unique opportunity and approach to strengthening links between physical activity and health.

“GOGA provides fun, free and inclusive activities with the aims of improving health, self-esteem, mood and energy levels, whilst fostering community connectedness,” – GOGA Tayside.

GOGA Tayside is now proudly funded by Tayside Health Fund from October 2023.

As well as participants there have been more than 4,000 volunteers engaged at sessions, with almost three in 10 volunteers having a disability.

Adam Blaze, CEO of Activity Alliance said:

“Get Out Get Active proves time and again how inclusive activity can benefit people across the UK in more ways than just becoming active. As the creator and lead partner it perfectly encapsulates ways to achieve our vision of fairness for disabled people in sport and activity.

“By focussing on creative and innovative ways to engage people GOGA is leading the way. A flexible and fearless approach to trying and testing new activities has led to remarkable results.

The impact on individuals and communities has been incredibly rewarding to see. With local expertise thousands of the least active people in society have been given a chance to enjoy a happier and healthier life. GOGA uses activity for good and we can’t underestimate the impact of the programme.”

Ruth Hollis, Chief Executive at Spirit of 2012, said:

“As the founding and principle funder of Get Out Get Active, Spirit’s largest funded project, we are delighted to share the impact of the programme. GOGA has enabled thousands of people, young and old, disabled and non disabled, to be active together across the UK – focusing on reaching those with the highest barriers to taking part.

“This report shows that GOGA has had a demonstrable impact on the wellbeing and sustaining participation in physical activity for people in communities across the UK. It should be a call to action for others in the physical activity sector or wanting reduce health inequalities to learn from GOGA’s signature person-centred approach in all future programmes that set out to tackle inactivity.

“I want to thank the team at Activity Alliance and Wavehill and all those that delivered the programme across the UK for delivering this to the people that need it most.”

Whilst aiming to get some of the UK’s least active people moving more, the financial benefits are brought to life in the latest impact report. It shows that for every £1 invested, GOGA has delivered more than £4.60 in social, environmental, and economic value.

The report showcases the insight gathered throughout GOGA’s lifetime, providing valuable information for those that want to mirror the successes seen. It shows that GOGA has become much more than an activity programme. It is an approach to helping organisations and communities, across the UK, to support the least active disabled and non-disabled people in activity.

You can read the full Get Out Get Active Impact report on the Get Out Get Active website here.

Photo of patients sitting on yoga mats in a garden outside, participating in yoga and mindfulness. They are sitting in a circle on the grass at Carseview Hospital.

GOGA Tayside Advocating ‘Movement in Medicine’

By William Moncrieff, Communications Apprentice

May has been themed “Moving For Mental Health” by sportscotland. This is providing the sporting community with fantastic opportunities to highlight the relationship that physical activity has with improved mental health. 

Get Out Get Active Tayside (GOGA Tayside), one of Scottish Disability Sports’s (SDS) partners, has been at the forefront of this ongoing pursuit, using physical activity as a resource to improve physiological and psychological wellbeing.  

GOGA Tayside are delivering several classes per week in mental health wards throughout their region. These consist of two sessions per week on four wards at Murray Royal Hospital and one session per week on four wards at Carseview Centre.  

Lee-Anne Herbert, GOGA Tayside instructor, often delivers these classes with the goal of providing more people with opportunities to become physically active as well as supporting the inpatients to feel confident participating in the sessions and applying the tools once discharged, which has been the case on several occasions.  

Lee-Anne explains: “Physical activity plays a crucial role in personal wellbeing as it is a simple tool to help improve overall quality of life and general wellbeing. A phrase I often share with clients is Movement in Medicine.” 

Lee-Anne’s classes started a little over two years ago at Moray Royal Hospital and due to their success, they have since expanded. This is seen as a huge achievement.  

“Activity supports the mental wellbeing of every individual & the benefits of simple movement shouldn’t be underestimated. The more that people can get moving in some capacity, the healthier our communities will be”, said Lee-Anne.  

When classes are being delivered, there is a great opportunity to provide participating patients with an opportunity to be socially interactive. 

“Social interaction is a huge part of many of the sessions. The closed ward sessions that I deliver are an easy way to encourage people out of their rooms and into a supportive environment to enable peer group interaction. It’s important to be able to give that opportunity”, commented Lee-Anne. 

The sessions delivered are yoga and mindfulness. These provide every participant with an opportunity to become more physically active, whilst giving them practical breathing routines that they can implement into their everyday life. This has resulted in some great feedback. 

“The ward activity coordinators often tell me that clients have been using the breathing techniques that I teach when they feel under stress. In a few specific cases, staff have offered feedback that the client is much more at ease in the ward and around other people since starting the sessions”, said Lee-Anne. 

She went on to say: “Every session I see a difference from how people present at the start to how they present at the end. Sometimes, it’s a simple change in how high they are holding their shoulders and sometimes there’s such a difference in their whole personality, much more relaxed and open.” 

GOGA Tayside’s work has been well received by many. Their work in the Amulree wards in Moray Royal Hospital received the Mental Health Nursing Practice & the Johnathan MacLennan Excellence Awards for ‘Innovations in Improving Physical Health and Wellbeing’ at the 2023 Scottish Mental Health Nursing Forum. 

 If you would be Interested in finding out more about Get Out Get Active (GOGA) Tayside, and how you can get involved, please visit here.  

Boccia at the 2016 festival

Tayside Parasport Festival Set to Soar in Dundee

The 3rd annual Tayside Parasport Festival is set to take place in Dundee on Wednesday 15th March 2017. The event will be hosted at Dundee & Angus College, Gardyne Campus and will be supported by Scottish Governing Bodies, coaches and Dundee & Angus College students.

The Parasport Festival is a great opportunity for children with a physical or sensory impairment to come and try a range of sports and meet other children. It is open to children at both primary and secondary school.

For further information, please contact Jennifer Scally on 07703 793 901 or jennifer.scally@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

Online application form

Group photo of 2017 winners

2017 SDS National Carpet Bowls Championships

The 37th annual Scottish Disability Sport National Carpet Bowls Championships took place at Dundee International Sports Complex (DISC) on February 4 2017.

This event traditionally is one of the first major events in the competition year and brings together many of the nation’s leading indoor and outdoor bowlers. The quality of the bowling on show was frequently of the highest level and yet again demonstrated the standard of bowler regularly playing in Scotland.

Leisure & Culture Dundee and Dundee City Disability Sport proved to be excellent hosts and DISC is a venue ideally suited to the hosting of this Championships, indeed we hope to return in 2018 to the same venue. Many thanks to all staff involved in the set-up of this event, especially Gordon Quinton, Darren Thomson, Carol Duncan and Sam Thomson.

This year saw players from Highland, Fife, Lothian, Glasgow, South Lanarkshire and host branch Dundee compete over 5 sections to determine the leading carpet para-bowlers in the country. It was gratifying to see an increase in the sections with a learning disability and to welcome back the bowlers from a branch with a strong bowling history, South Lanarkshire. More development work is required to unearth bowlers with a physical and sensory disability and SDS and Bowls Scotland will continue to identify bowlers through the grassroots programmes within schools, clubs and branches. SDS Bowls Performance Development Manager Ron McArthur is gathering a picture of provision and accessibility amongst bowling clubs in Scotland and is developing the Regional Indoor Hubs with 4 clubs evidencing progress. Allied to an extensive Coach Education programme and the comprehensive national events programme the sport is well placed to ensure existing and new para-bowlers in all classifications are well catered for in accessible sessions and competition structure.

Interestingly, none of last year’s title winners were able to retain their trophy this year, which only serves to prove the level of competition evident each year at these championships.

Team Highland were celebrating their first trophy in almost two decades with Evan MacKintosh victorious in the Wheelchair section. With previous champion Wullie Harrison in the draws it was certainly well contested. It was, however, another Fife bowler who won through to contest the final with Evan. In a group where three bowlers finished on the same points, Theresa Wyse from Central Fife progressed to the final thanks to her superior points difference, partly achieved with her victory over her stablemate Wullie, however, Evan proved too strong in the final emerging the victor by 11 shots to 4.

In the Mixed Ambulant & B3 section the clever money was on a repeat of the 2016 final between Fife’s Billy Allan – a Commonwealth Games 2014 representative and a member of the current Games squad for 2018 – against Lothian’s Jimmy Restorick. Billy won the 2016 final which brought his title tally to four and he was keen to add the fifth this time around, however the roles were to be reversed this year with Restorick, the Prestonpans bowler in scintillating form and not allowing his experienced opponent from Cowdenbeath a foothold in the final.

In the all-Fife section for restricted ambulant & B2 bowlers two former champions went head to head. Eleanor Clark from Kirkcaldy lost a narrow final to Central Fife’s Neil Laughlin

Fife’s Craig Donaldson has shown incredible consistency in the section for male bowlers with a learning disability, contesting many finals over the years and has also won titles in this section. He was beaten by Lothian’s Alan Gordon – who exited at the semi-final stage this year – in 2016 and it is worth noting that the quality of bowler in this section is remarkable. Andrew Harrison, a previous multiple winner in this section and conqueror of Alan Gordon in the semis, from South Lanarkshire was the man to defeat Craig on this occasion in an incredibly tight affair, Harrison completing the victory 21-19 in a match that kept a ferocious pace throughout.

Thanks as ever go to our Fife office – Norma Buchanan and Richard Brickley MBE who prepared the programme and draw for the event, with Norma providing crucial administration support on the day. Further thanks to Ron McArthur, Bob Christie – Director of Development at Bowls Scotland, and Gordon McCormack OBE, Chairperson of the Glasgow Disability Sport branch for their support of this event.

Officials from local Bowling Clubs all provided officials for the day and without this input the event simply would not be possible. The support was again significant with 30 officials attending on the day and SDS are indebted to all who attended.

This continues to be an incredibly exciting period for bowls in Scotland as preparations for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast gathers momentum and on national attention turns to the new SDS National Indoor Championships in April at Falkirk IBC.

Photo Credit: James Mackie

Photo: L to R: Christine Fisher (Dundee), Evan MacKintosh (Highland), Amanda Craig (Lothian), Neil Laughlin (Fife), Andrew Harrison (S. Lanarkshire) and Jimmy Restorick (Lothian).

Neil Laughlin bowling

Fife Bowls Team Maintains Record at Scottish Championships

Fife sections were contested at the 37th Scottish Carpet Bowls Championships organised by Scottish Disability Sport at the Dundee International Sports Centre on Saturday 4th February. Ten players contested the five section finals and 50% of the finalists were representatives of Disability Sport Fife. Last year Team Fife won four titles and the Team of 2017 maintained the impressive Fife record with one title and four runners up medals. Fife Bowls Team Manager John Collins was pleased with the all round performances of the squad of 16 players.

Theresa Wyse from Central Fife CSS lost out in the final of the mixed section for wheelchair bowlers to Evan MacKintosh from Highland by 11 shots to 4. In the all Fife final for restricted bowlers with a physical or visual impairment, Neil Laughlin from Central Fife CSS defeated Eleanor Clark from Kirkcaldy by 10 shots to 8 in a closely contested final. In the mixed non restricted final for physically visually impaired bowlers, Billy Allan from Cowdenbeath lost out to Jimmy Restorick from Lothian by 5-21. Billy was the defending champion and has won the title on four occasions in the past. Jimmy won the title in 2007 and 2009.

Craig Donaldson from Central Fife CSS and Kinghorn BC won the title for bowlers with a learning disability in 1998, 2006 and 2014. Only one other Fife bowler has won the title in 34 years and this was John Kennedy in 1984 and 1985. Craig came up against Andrew Harrison from South Lanarkshire in the final of the 2017 Championships and lost narrowly 19 – 21. This was Andrew’s third title having won it in 2002 and 2008. However this was another outstanding performance by Fife’s leading bowler with a learning disability who has an excellent record outdoors, indoors and on the short carpet.

The SDS National Carpet Bowls Championships were first held in 1981 at the Lochgelly Centre in Fife as part of Fife Regional Council’s contribution to the International Year of Disabled People. The 2017 Championships were the 37th occasion that SDS has held the event in venues throughout Scotland. The Dundee International Sports Centre (DISC) has been the venue for six of the last nine years. All bowlers qualified to compete at DISC by reaching the final stages of their local area Championships. The Fife Championships are supported by the Fife Sports and Leisure Trust and held at the Michael Woods Sports and Leisure Centre in Glenrothes in November.

Richard Brickley MBE
President Disability Sport Fife