Tag: review

17/12/2025

Some of 2025’s Best Moments in Sport Across Scotland

By William Moncrieff, Communications Officer.

What a year it has been for disability sport in Scotland. With Scottish Disability Sport’s (SDS) contingent of committed Regional Development Managers (RDMs) working hard to facilitate inclusive sporting opportunities, develop partnerships and support clubs across the country.

Here are some of the regional team’s favourite moments from 2026.

Lanarkshire

In Lanarkshire, hosting its first ever Parasport Festival was the biggest highlight. The festival, which took place in March, was a massive success with 43 participants registering. The day saw participants with a physical disability, vision impairment or hearing loss take part in sports including athletics, judo, table tennis and boccia. Following the success of the region’s first festival, everyone is already getting excited about next year. Ravenscraig will host the region’s second Parasport Festival in March 2026.

West of Scotland

The year of incredible performances began with SDS’s Young Persons’ Sport Panel member, Aidan Moody (of Glasgow Disability Tennis), reaching the semi-finals in the Australian Open in the II1 Category (a category for players with a learning disability).

Red Star Athletics Club’s Melanie Woods also had a year to remember. The Glaswegian won two bronze medals at the World Para Athletics Championships in India – her first ever international medals.

The West’s Layla McCloskey also had a memorable year. Layla was selected as a wildcard to compete at her debut UK Boccia Championships, which was held in Northern Ireland. The BC2 boccia player impressed as she went toe to toe with some of the UK’s finest athletes. These achievements are wonderful examples that highlight the importance that both local clubs and strong disability sport pathways can play in athlete development.

Grampian

In Grampian it has been great to see ongoing projects come to fruition throughout 2025, with the Rural Aberdeenshire Boccia Inclusion Project getting underway. The project was established to expand accessible sporting opportunities across isolated communities by introducing boccia into local bowls clubs. With funding of £5,000 from Sport for Change provided by Live Life Aberdeenshire, the project empowered rural bowls clubs to provide inclusive, disability-friendly activities that promote participation, social connection and community wellbeing through boccia.

All participating clubs received the Boccia Leaders Award, giving volunteers and club members the confidence and competence to deliver high-quality person-centred sessions.

At the start of the project, a Boccia Taster Day was held, bringing all ten clubs together. Participants were introduced to boccia through fun drills, mini-games and guided practice. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with clubs being so taken by it that many immediately began planning regular sessions. The sessions have already had an extremely positive impact, becoming valuable social and physical activity opportunities, particularly for older adults and individuals with disabilities.

Fife

Throughout Fife, it has been an amazing year, helping individuals with disabilities feel empowered and confident enough to use their voice to impact change. This has been due to Fife’s regional team working hard to create the Fife Inclusion Forum.

The Fife Inclusion Forum brings together partners from different sectors and people with lived experience of disabilities.

So far in 2025, the forum has been working hard to come together and: share knowledge, identify barriers, exchange best practices and work to promote the rights, opportunities, and inclusion of disabled people in Fife. Through centering the voices and experiences of disabled people throughout the region, the Fife Inclusion Forum not only promotes awareness and understanding but also drives tangible change.

The Forum’s mission is to ensure that people with disabilities in Fife are empowered to thrive and contribute fully to society. If you would like to find out further information, you can call 07592533163 or email kirsty.byrne@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway

The Ayrshire Sports Abilities Summer Activity Programme was a big event in the region. The programme provided adults with disabilities in Ayrshire with opportunities to take part in a range of inclusive sports. It was fantastic to see that there was a desire for participants to get involved in sport and physical activity throughout the region, with all sessions being incredibly well attended.

In Dumfries and Galloway, it was exciting to see Dumfries and Galloway Disability Sport (DGDS) host their first ever awards ceremony. The event highlighted the fantastic work that took place across the region, showcased by the final award of the night which was awarded to Sandra Proudfoot. Sandra was instrumental in setting up the Member Branch and has been a key part of the fantastic team at DGDS ever since.

Tayside

In Tayside, it was also their events that proved to be highlights, with the regional team working hard to partner with Member Branches, local, regional and national partners to deliver a fantastic calendar of events.

2025 saw the first ever Tayside Student Team Boccia Championships, in partnership with Active Campus Coordinators, UHI Perth, Dundee & Angus College, Perth & Kinross Disability Sport and Active Dundee. The Event had 36 students with a disability from UHI Perth and Dundee & Angus College Gardyne, and Arbroath Campuses compete in a fantastic day of boccia in a friendly and supportive environment. The event also brought in HNC Sports students to gain valuable experience working with students with a disability, supported by top boccia referee Darren Thomson.

It was a great day had by all, especially the group from Dundee Gardyne Campus who won a thrilling final to be crowned Champions for 2025. Following the success of the event, the devoted regional team are already planning for an Athletics event at UHI Perth in February.

Highland

For the Highland’s regional team, one of the many highlights is being able to watch boccia continue to grow throughout the area. It has been great to see boccia being played in more settings throughout Highland and Orkney. This has included increased participation in schools, care homes and charities, such as Myself management groups.

Additionally, it has been great to see links being strengthened with partners. One of these partners is UHI Inverness, who are keen to help the sport grow throughout the region, which is evidenced by them committing to host the Highland Schools Regional Championships in March 2026.

East of Scotland

One of the foremost highlights has been seeing both competitive athletes and grassroot participants continue to develop in their respective sports. For Lothian Disability Sport, it has been great to see local athletes flourish on the international stage, in the form of Finlay Menzies who won a bronze medal whilst competing at the World Para Athletics Championships. Following this terrific success, Finlay has been selected for the Scottish Athletics National Academy.

Whereas for Borders Disability Sport it has been great to see bowlers at Peebles Bowling Club continue to develop. For everyone who has managed to see their continued development, it has been fantastic to see them all grow from being players who at one point couldn’t deliver a bowl the length of the rink, to now taking part in events throughout the local area.

Central Scotland

In 2026, a considerable highlight has been seeing events flourish throughout the region. With Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire all running their school Boccia events, which will lead into the Forth Valley Disability Sport (FVDS) Boccia events at the beginning of January 2026. It has also been great to see that Forth Valley Disability Sport’s (FVDS) events calendar has been extended to include more sports in 2026 and better links to club pathways, providing more opportunities to get involved in sport and physical activity throughout the region. The team has worked hard to strengthen and grow relationships with partners, including: Forth Valley Tridents, Forth Valley Flyers, Forth Valley Right on Target, The Sporting Aces, Springburn Harriers, West Dunbartonshire Boccia Club, all of which are working hard to provide amazing development opportunities in 2026.

To get involved in sport throughout your region, reach out to your local SDS Regional Development Manager to find out about any local opportunities.

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

27/12/2024

Boccia 2024 Recap: A Year of Sport

By William Moncrieff, Communications Coordinator

What a year it has been for boccia across Scotland. Throughout the year, events, partnership working and sponsorships along with new playing opportunities and developing clubs have all played a factor in increasing the interest in this rising sport.

EVENTS

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) would like to thank all coaches, volunteers, officials and athletes for the role that they have played in the event schedule this year. It would not have been possible without their ongoing support.

SCOTTISH SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The national events calendar kicked off on March 20th, with the Scottish Schools Championship. The event went well and there was no drop in the number of entries from the inaugural championship (in 2023). It was a great day at The Peak, Stirling, with branches being able to showcase their talent and put forward the same representation as previous years.

Across the day there was some great boccia on display, with athletes keen to come up trumps in all classifications. Starting with athletes with an Assistive Device, gold went to Sophia Walsh, silver to Ellie MacLaren and bronze to Logan Millar. In the athletes with a Learning Disability classification, gold went to Eleanor Little, silver to Scott Chafey and bronze being won by Kate Burton. In the final classification, athletes with a Physical Disability, Layla McCloskey came out on top to take the gold medal, followed by Emma McManamon with silver and bronze going to James O’Brien.

SCOTTISH OPEN

Next up was the Scottish Open, which took place on the 5th October. It was a great championship with athletes from all over Scotland coming together to showcase their respective boccia abilities.

In the BC2, Perth and Kinross’s Alex Medley came out victorious, winning gold. Kayleigh Brown (nee Haggo) finished second and bronze was awarded to Lewis McConnell.

In the BC3, gold went to Paralympics GB’s Patrick Wilson and Meredith Greenwood. In second place and picking up the silver prize was the duo of Ross MacNeil and Stewart MacNeil.

In the BC4, gold went to Paralympic champion Stephen McGuire. Silver was won by Tyler McLelland with bronze going to Fiona Muirhead

The Open had a Development Draw which acted as a further opportunity to develop young talent across Scotland. The event also enabled up-and-coming athletes to experience a national tournament, which gave them valuable exposure.

In the Development Draw, the Physical Disability Competition gold went to James O’Brien, silver to Murrin Widley and bronze being won by Layla McCloskey.

In the Development Draw, Assistive Device Competition, gold went to Zac Cameron and Kevin Davidson, silver to Ellie McLaren and Lisa Mclaren, and finishing in bronze was Caoimhe Potter and Katie Macmillan.

SDS NATIONAL NON BISFED SCOTTISH OPEN

Next up was the SDS National Non BISFed Scottish Open. The event took place on October 26th, with athletes from Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland competing.

Starting in the athletes who use an assistive device competition the Scotts had a strong Showing, with Ross & Stewart MacNeil winning gold with Becky and Fiona Tyler winning the silver.  The junior athletes with a physical disability winner was Oliver Hastings from England with silver going to Emma McManamon and bronze to James O’Brien.

Next up was the Senior athletes with a physical disability. The winner was Duncan McIntyre, silver was won by Connor Dixon.

The female Learning disability Champion was Sarah Digby, with silver going to Zoe Irving and bronze won by Casey Wilson. The event finished with the male learning disability competition. The champion being Hayden Keir, silver going to Jordan Shepherd and the bronze medal going to Jean Pierre Cossigny.

UK CHAMPIONSHIPS

On the 15th of November the UK Championships began. Taking place at the renowned facilities owned by Sportscotland at Largs, Inverclyde. It was a great championships with 39 players arriving on the west coast of Scotland in a bid to come out victorious. The day had 7 Scottish athletes. With Paralympic trio winning medals. Winning BC3 Gold was Patrick Wilson. Finishing on top in the BC4 and taking home Gold was Stephen McGuire. Kayleigh Brown had another strong compitition and finished Silver in the BC2.

BOCCIA DEVELOPMENT DAY

The Inaugural Invitational Boccia Development Day took place on the 30th of November. This day saw five of Scotland’s up and coming athletes being invited along to learn from two of Scotland’s most prolific boccia coaches from the national set up. The day served a purpose of getting young athletes and providing them with an opportunity to develop their skills and abilities, with a possibility that this will result in the athletes being able to continue along the national performance pathway.

PARIS 2024 PARALYMPICS

The Paralympics took place from the 28th August to 5th September. Three Scots were selected to represent ParalympicsGB: Kayleigh Brown, Patrick (Paddy) Wilson and Stephen McGuire.

What a Paralympics this was, with Kayleigh Brown achieving her childhood dream and becoming the Paralympian she always wanted to be. Kayleigh put in a really strong showing throughout the group stages and was defeated in the Individual BC2 quarter finals, 8 – 2 by Gischa Zayana. In the BC1/2 team competition Kayleigh Brown was joined by Claire Taggart and David Smith. The team had a good run to take them through to the quarter finals. Despite being down early in the match the trio battled back to take the game down to a nail-biting finish where they were beaten by the BC1/2 Indonesian team in a 7 – 7 tie break.

Paddy Wilson qualified for the Paralympics through a bipartite slot. Paddy put in an impressive showing in the group stages to finish in second place. However, Paddy was defeated in the quarter finals despite a strong performance, going down 4 – 1 to Damien Iskrzycki.

It will be hard to forget about BC4 athlete, Stephen McGuire’s tournament. From qualifying through a bipartite slot, to being the first Scottish athlete to win a Paralympic medal in boccia. A dream he has waited 20 years to fulfill.

Stephen wasn’t the only McGuire making waves out in Paris with brother Peter commentating in the BC4 final, giving all the McGuires a moment to look back on with pride.

NATIONAL BOCCIA DAY

National Boccia day took place on 27th of September. The day saw each home nation pick their own theme to engage the boccia community. SDS chose to raise the topic of communities. Boccia plays a vital role in growing and connecting communities, from friendships to support networks. Throughout the day, SDS member branches, clubs, athletes, volunteers and officials all showed how the community of boccia has impacted them.

SPONSORSHIP AND PARTNERSHIP

In 2024, Scottish boccia had a first by receiving financial support from Shepherd Chartered Surveyors. This was provided to support further boccia development throughout Scotland. The backing from Shepherd will help fund SDS’s ongoing commitment to providing opportunities for people of all abilities, to try and participate in boccia across the country.

Throughout 2024, SDS have continued to work with Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland. The organisation has worked hard to develop the sport of boccia within their network to ensure that more individuals can continue to gain the psychological and physiological benefits of boccia. Currently the organisation has got over 300 regular participants playing boccia in their bases, with 20 boccia sessions being delivered within their peer groups.

SDS made decent progress in 2024, in the education sector. Working alongside the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA), updates were made to the list of activities in which young people can assessed as part of their PE qualifications at National 3 through to Advanced Higher level in school.

This has resulted in school pupils throughout the 2024 -25 school year being able to have their performance assessed in Paralympic sports such as boccia, goalball and other wheelchair, powerchair and Parasport activities.

CLUBS AND OPPORTUNITIES

In 2024 Forth Vally Right on Target boccia club were made an associate member club of SDS. This was due to the club continuing to provide a service that is up to date with relevant legislations, policies and procedures. Furthermore, the club committed to continually meeting SDS’s minimum operating requirements.

Throughout 2024 SDS has received feedback from organisations, about the rising popularity of boccia. This can be seen by the work that Scottish Student Sport have put into developing a strong playing base; with boccia being their fifth most popular sport in 2024, with 181 sessions and over 2000 participants taking part across their associated Universities and Colleges.

The popularity, interest and demand for boccia has continued to grow throughout 2024. The 2023-2024 boccia audit showed that there is currently 39 opportunities to get involved in boccia. These opportunities are found within 18 local authorities across Scotland.

If you would be interested in finding out more about these opportunities, you can do so by reaching out to your Regional Development Manager. This manager will be able to provide you with information on local opportunities 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

Make sure to stay uptodate on all opportunities throughout Scotland, by following Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, X and Instagram, as well as on the SDS website.

16/12/2024

“It was a year where dreams came true.”

2024 – a year in sport, for Claire Morrison.

By William Moncrieff, Communications Coordinator

What a year 2024 has been for Claire Morrison, a current board member of Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) and performance coach with Boccia UK. Claire attended the Paris 2024 Paralympics, helping Paralympics GB reach new heights on the boccia court.

However, the year started off with uncertainty, with Paralympic qualification looming over athletes and coaches: “The year started off with a focus on trying to qualify the BC4 pair (Stephen McGuire and Fiona Muirhead)”, Claire explained.

Things were looking good when Kayleigh Brown achieved her lifelong dream and qualified for the Paralympics. However, this news was followed quickly by a disappointing result where the BC4 partnership of Stephen and Fiona didn’t manage to qualify as a pair. Meaning Claire’s and the coaching team’s plans had changed. “When the pair didn’t qualify the focus shifted to Stephen trying to qualify as an individual.”

For Stephen, things were still looking turbulent as his only option of going to Paris was via a bipartite slot; the first time that World Boccia had done this.

On July 1st, Stephen found out that both he and fellow Scot, Patrick Wilson (BC3), received bipartite slots. To mark a fourth Games for Stephen.

“I was absolutely delighted, because he was sitting 3rd in the world rankings at the time, having won one world cup, having come second in another and won a Challenger in the season so far. It was one of those ones where you thought, there should be no reason why he doesn’t get a slot, based on his form that year, his position in the rankings and overcoming injury.”

The Paris Paralympics started on August 28th, and Stephen was continuing his form, nicely working his way through the pool stages to advance to the quarterfinals. “The quarter final was going to be one of his biggest tests as he was probably going to be facing a Paralympic medallist and he just absolutely blew him away. Stephen just went out on court and played one of the best games I’ve ever seen him play”, reflected Claire.

Next up was Stephen’s semifinal and despite a shaky end to the game, he found himself proceeding through to the BC4 Paralympic final. On the morning of the final Claire said: “I remember saying to him, ‘whatever happens today, it is going to be a good day. You’re going to get your Paralympic medal’ ”, said Claire.

In the final Stephen took the first end 3-0, against Colombia’s Edilson Chica Chica. The Colombian fought back in the second end drawing level (3-3). Stephen remained calm and bounced back, dominating the third end with five points (8-3). The Colombian had to pull something special out of the bag to leapfrog into the lead. However, Stephen only allowed him to score two points, resulting in Stephen claiming the title, 8-5.

The win for Stephen was a 20 yearlong dream coming true. “It was amazing, it gives me goosebumps now even just thinking about it. All that work, all that perseverance has come together. To be in that moment with him was unreal”, Claire said.

What made the moment extra special was that Stephen’s brother, former Paralympian Peter McGuire, was commentating on the BC4 final with Channel 4.

“At the time, I thought to myself that once that day was finished, that’s my tears done. Then I heard Peter’s commentary piece and that just set me off again”, said Claire.

At the same time, Kayleigh was making strides at her first Paralympics. Claire took the time to reflect on Kayleigh’s debut Games.

“That first game that Kayleigh played, where she went out there and became the Paralympian that she always wanted to be, in some ways for me that was as big as Stephen winning the gold medal.”

Claire continued to say: “She narrowly lost her first game but the way she held herself, the way she embraced that environment was fantastic.”

Kayleigh put in a fantastic shift, to make it to the quarterfinals but Gischa Zayana (INA) put an end to her individual Paralympic campaign, taking the game 8-2.

For Claire to be selected to represent ParalympicsGB as part of the coaching staff is always special. “It is such an honor, I’ve always loved sports and I loved the Olympics but as soon as I got involved with disability sport and SDS, the Paralympics became such a big part of my life, as a spectator and now as a coach.”

“Even now when I go to something like a training camp it means so much when I put my GB kit on, I have to pinch myself.”

For Claire it has been an amazing year. “We hear so much about the power of sport and that has played out so much throughout my life, there is such a sense of pride.”

Now coming to the end of 2024, it is moving into award season and Claire picked up Coach Of The Year at the SDS, Scottish Women In Sport and Sportscotland award ceremonies.

“Again, that is something that I am proud of. Being in the spotlight isn’t something that sits naturally comfortably with me. It has been amazing to get the Scottish Disability Sport Coach of the Year Award and now the Scottish Women in Sport award, purely because you know that I know that the athletes really value what I have done.”

However, for Claire these awards mean a lot more than personal recognition: “It is really important as you know, being in different environments – whether it’s being a women in sport or being involved in Parasport – these are amazing experiences and opportunities for everybody. If I get a bit of recognition, it’s not really about me, it’s about boccia and it’s about Parasports.”

Reflecting on the year, Claire remarks: “It was a year where dreams came true. I know that sounds cheesy, but in a sentence that’s what it was and it’s truly remarkable.”

If you have enjoyed hearing about Claire’s journey throughout 2024 and would like to get involved as a coach, participant, official or volunteer, please contact your Regional Development Manager or contact SDS by email: admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com or call: 0131 317 1130.

Make sure to stay uptodate on all opportunities throughout Scotland, by following Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, X and Instagram, as well as on the SDS website.