Tag: women

Photo of Fiona Muirhead within a light purple frame. A text box is overlayed which says, Fiona Muirhead: My Boccia Journey. The photo of Fiona is of her sitting in her wheelchair, wearing a dark blue Scottish boccia top and looking over towards the camera.

Fiona Muirhead Inspiring the Next Generation of Boccia Players

By William Moncrieff, Communications Officer 

What a journey it has been for Fiona Muirhead in boccia, starting the sport as a hobby and now being a mainstay in both Scotland’s and Boccia UK’s boccia squads. 

The 43-year-old started playing the sport in 2018. Little did she know at the time that she would go on to pick up a handful of podium finishes on the international stage, on her way to becoming one of Scotland’s many brilliant female role models. 

Over the past eight years, Fiona has been showcasing her abilities in boccia and in the process, she has made herself a household name on the Scottish boccia circuit. This has resulted in Fiona becoming one of Scotland’s most visible female role models in sport.  

She said: “There aren’t many women, we are still very much a minority in the sport. We were at Scottish camp last weekend, and it was really nice for all of the new women to see myself and Kayleigh Brown, it’s nice to see the way that things could go.”  

Fiona is also very proud of her journey in the sport, coming into it later in life. This is a further reason why she thinks she is a good role model for aspiring athletes. 

“I think also, I came in quite late in life, I am the eldest in both squads, so it is nice to say to the other females that you can start later”, Fiona said.  

One of the most recent additions to the Scottish Boccia Squad is Rachael Page. Being able to look up and see Fiona competing has been hugely inspirational and helpful for Rachael 

“Fiona has been amazing, she is so kind. If there are things that we are not to sure of, we can go to people like her and get some help. Being part of the squad is great. They are all such a lovely bunch”, said Rachael.  

Before becoming one of Scotland’s brightest shining lights on the boccia circuit, Fiona started her boccia journey at the sessions in Hamilton. She reflected on this, saying: “Initially, playing was just a social thing. I had no ambitions; I didn’t really appreciate where it could go.”  

“It’s been very exciting. It’s been quite sudden. I started it as a hobby and then I progressed through the Scottish talent squad,” she said.  

Throughout her journey in school, Fiona was not always involved in sport and physical activity, due to her school not delivering inclusive physical education classes – an issue which still remains throughout schools in Scotland. 

This resulted in Fiona seeking opportunities to take part in sport and physical activity later in life, looking to gain many of the attached health benefits. 

Fiona commented on how it has benefited her, saying: “I have Muscular Dystrophy, so it not only helped to stabilise it but it has also helped me through allowing me to exercise.” 

As Fiona has developed in the sport, she has found herself further benefiting from increased physical activity. A further factor in this, is due to Fiona’s involvement in the UK’s World Class Programme, and the support that she has had access to.  

“I have been able to access physio and strength and conditioning, and it really has impacted how well I can be, compared to before when I wasn’t training,” Fiona commented. 

Fiona has been heavily impacted by the psychological and physiological benefits of boccia. Since her first international tournament in 2022, Fiona has found herself having many life changing experiences through competing. 

Fiona said: “I hadn’t done a lot of traveling without my family before, and I was now going to places I wouldn’t have expected. I went to Canada, Brazil, Croatia. It was really nice, and doing it with international athletes, it was really a dream come true.” 

A further reason why Fiona has been making herself a role model for any up-and-coming athletes, is due to the BC4 classified athlete’s success whilst competing on the international stage. In terms of podium finishes, 2023 was by far Fiona’s most successful year, winning BC4 Pairs at the Montreal World Cup, followed by a silver in the BC4 Pairs at the 2023 European Para Championships in Rotterdam. 

Fiona then went one better, taking gold at the Heraklion Challenger event in Crete. 

These podiums are something that Fiona looks back on with a huge amount of pride, saying, “A real highlight would be those podium finishes. Being on the podium and hearing the British national anthem alongside Stephen (McGuire).” 

 

If you are interested in trying out boccia, contact Scottish Disability Sport’s (SDS) Boccia Development Officer on: jonathan.kennedy@scottishdisabilitysport.com 

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

 

 

 

Hope Gordon smiling on the podium in Paris

Hope Gordon on Her Medal Win in Paris, Representing Scotland and the Importance of Female Influences in Sport

By Bethany Lee

Hope Gordon had an incredible 2024 Paralympics in Paris, leaving with a shiny silver medal in the women’s VL3 200m final alongside her ParalympicsGB teammate Charlotte Henshaw who took the gold.

Hope is now a three-time world silver medalist in Para canoe, storming through the world rankings.

Post-Paris, she hopped on a zoom with Scottish Disability Sport to tell us all about her Paralympics journey, how it feels to represent Scotland and what sport means to her.

 

So, have you recovered from the excitement and exhaustion yet of the Paralympics?

I’ve not really had time to sit by myself and think about it all since I got back. I’ve definitely tried to catch up on some sleep, especially after the homecoming in Birmingham, I had two days just to chill and I think I slept for 23 hours.

That must’ve been very needed. Take me back to that moment when you realised you had just won a Paralympic silver medal.

Well, we’ve kind of had the top two spots for the past few years, me and Char. Obviously we both want to win, but I was happy that she got it, and it was just really cool to get those top spots for ParalympicsGB. This is my first Paralympic medal so that was really special.

I also think to have so many family and friends in the stands, and knowing there’s a lot more watching back home, was really cool. It almost means more to me seeing how much it means to other people.

You were the only Scottish para canoer in the ParalympicsGB team – how does it feel to be able to represent Scotland?

I’m always so proud to fly the flag for Scotland within our team. Hopefully we will get more Scottish athletes within the system, I know there’s a couple that have just started out in a boat now, so hopefully over the next few years we see more racing. Maybe I’m the first, but I definitely don’t think I’ll be the last, so that’s the important thing.

It’s special to be the only one, and my family always makes sure there’s some Saltires in the crowd so that makes it easy for me to spot them!

And obviously you’re a brilliant para Nordic skier as well, did you feel different going into Paris after competing in the 2022 Winter Paralmypics?

It was a bit daunting going to the Winter Paralympics being so new to the sport and racing against massively established athletes. I was definitely a wee fish in a big pond, and it was quite significantly out of my comfort zone; but equally I actually think that benefited me going into Paris this year.

Even though it was a much bigger event, all I need to do is just paddle in a straight line as fast as I can and there wasn’t anybody on the start list in Paris that I hadn’t raced before so I kind of knew what I was doing, which wasn’t the case in Beijing.

You were the first female para-Nordic skier on the ParalympicsGB team. Do you think things have changed for female athletes?

I think with Paris this year what was really good was that we had the same events. In Tokyo within paracanoing, the guys had an extra event than the girls which obviously wasn’t great, especially since it was the event that I probably would have done. So, it’s a big step forward even from Tokyo to Paris and within our sport to have the same amount of events.

Within our team, the girls are super strong and it’s really cool to be a part of that. We got 8 medals, and the girls got 6 of those so it’s a strong team, especially on the female side.

On the Nordic side, it was a bit different being the only one. It’s just about taking opportunities and trying tings and just because you haven’t seen a female that looks like you doing the same sport, it doesn’t mean it’s not possible.

Fitting with that idea, it is Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week, and the theme is leadership. Are there any female coaches or influences in your life that have helped pushed you to where you are today?

I’ve had a few female coaches over my time. For swimming, when I was in Sterling, I had a female coach, Kerry, who got me through some quite tough times in and out of hospital.

I also think that such a big part of performance sport that people forget about is the volunteers, especially in rural areas. We would be absolutely lost without volunteers, and a huge portion of those, in my experience, have been female. My mum is actually one of those volunteers, it’s been a long time since I’ve been swimming at the clubs at home, but she’s still a volunteer coach.

When I joined the GB team, it was heavily male dominant from a staffing perspective, whereas now one of the main coaches is female, and the physio is female and she’s the best sports phsycio I’ve ever had, we would be broken without her.

Quite literally I can imagine! Do you think your younger self would believe where you are today and what you’ve achieved in sport?

I first watched the Paralympics in 2008 when I was in Yorkhill Children’s Hospital in Glasgow. I’d just had a procedure that hadn’t gone to plan, and it left me quite ill, I had to lay completely flat on my back for a long time and I was put into a little side room and there was this tiny TV in the corner, and I watched the Beijing Summer Paralympics. If you’d asked that 13-year-old lying in a hospital bed if I’d go and compete in a summer and winter Paralympics in the space of two years and come away with a meal, there’s no way I would have thought I could do one of those things, nevermind all three of them.

Sport has been massively important, doctors told me that if I wasn’t so active my condition would have spread or gotten significantly worse. There’s also the psychological side of it, it gives you structure in your day, it gives you a reason to get out of bed. I think for me when I was going through quite a tough time, it felt like I could leave my wheelchair at the side of the pool and forget about it for two hours.

I genuinely don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have sport as a bit of an outlet to help me cope with things.

Finally, looking ahead, what is next for you?

I don’t know, is the honest answer, but I definitely hope I’ll be on the team in LA in a boat!