EAST MEETS WEST
From the East side of the country, we have Neil who is 18 and from Edinburgh. From the west side of the country, we have Fiona who is 18 and lives near Glasgow. Both are very passionate about swimming.
If Fiona and Neil were to have an imaginary virtual swimming competition:
Fiona starts in Glasgow, Neil starts in Edinburgh. Halfway between the two cities: Whitburn.
If it was the butterfly stroke Neil would win hands down. He will get bored waiting for Fiona to meet him at the finish line as the butterfly is her worst stroke. Now if it were the breaststroke that would be a different story – that might be a very interesting and exciting race and a close call. Fiona and Neil are hoping to have a swimming race at some point in the future!
About Neil by Fiona
Neil comes across as a friendly nice guy, very intelligent of course: you must be technically minded, good at maths and science and enjoy problem-solving to be able to do a mechanical engineering course which he started studying in August at Napier University. We wish him all the best of luck for the future as it takes 4 to 5 years to get a master’s degree.
Neil is not sure yet what type of job he wants to do as mechanical engineering is a very diverse field, but he has got plenty of time to see where his interest suits him best.
Doing a mechanical engineering course is certainly very rewarding and can be very challenging at times.
So, it is no wonder in Neil’s spare time he likes to spend some of it chilling and relaxing which can be anything from watching football to his favourite tv series set in the olden times like Merlin or the Last Kingdom. Neil likes to de-stress by going for long walks around the beautiful city of Edinburgh. He’s even got a favourite place where he likes to visit often and says it’s very beautiful in the snow.
Neil is a very sociable person who thinks the world of his friends and family; they mean everything to him. He really enjoys meeting up with his friends but of course during lockdown he’s not been able to do that as much but loves keeping in connect with them, regularly texting and video calling.
Neil is also very sporty and is a very talented para- swimmer with an S6 classification. He has been swimming since the age of 9 and is currently at Musselburgh ASC and Lothian Racers where he also competed in competitions with his favourite butterfly stroke.
Before lockdown Neil was doing his level 1 coaching course with Musselburgh ASC and is halfway through the course. Neil really enjoys helping out and learning to teach the young kids how to swim and dive and see them come on each time and improve their techniques.
Neil’s biggest achievement is learning how to talk again, putting sentences together after he had a stoke at the age of 13.
He certainly is a very brave and determined young man and through his recovery he never gave up. If he puts his mind to something, he will do it no matter how long it takes him to achieve it.
Neil joined the Young Persons Sports Panel because he wants to encourage other young people with disabilities to take part in disability sport.
Neil and Fiona are both hoping to get their hands on a PlayStation 5 soon, Neil is fed up waiting on stock coming in as his PlayStation 4 has been broken for a long time now. He cannot wait to play FIFA online with his friends again!
About Fiona – written by Neil
Fiona is currently keeping her days busy by going to college; she is studying sports and fitness at New College Lanarkshire, which is really relevant to her general interests! She enjoys doing fitness classes, walking her red-fox-Labrador Bailey and as a change from all this exercise, reads a lot of fantasy books and enjoys video games. But whilst that sounds a lot, that’s nothing compared what she used to do before the pandemic!
From defending herself at taekwondo, to powering up the pool in swimming, Fiona achieves everything she puts her mind to!
Fiona originally took up Taekwondo, following on from her brother; she has been participating since early in secondary school. Attaining a red belt at taekwondo was her hardest task, It was her first adult grading she was the highest belt there, So she had to do 45 minutes on her own in front of 4 black belts on the judging panel which was quite a challenge!
Swimming is another of Fiona’s sports, with Breaststroke being her favourite stroke. Fiona was delighted to win a Silver medal for Breaststroke in the Scottish Disability Sport event. As well as competing, she started coaching a year ago, this is her dream job. Fiona has done Rookie lifeguarding, so is a safe pair of hands to have poolside!
Her most grand achievement is helping young swimmers improve, she is poolside helper at Hamilton dolphin swimming club, where she is learning how to become a coach, she enjoys improving their technique and wanting them to succeed.