Month: July 2017

Para Bowlers set for Northfield

Scottish Disability Sport is delighted to be invited by Bowls Scotland to include para-bowls events in the National Championships at Ayr Northfield on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 July 2017.

Previously we have had competition in the Men’s B6 and Men’s B7/8 classification, as well as a ladies Open class competition.  However, 2017 is a land mark year, as we will have competition in the men’s and ladies B2/B3 classification for bowlers with a visual impairment.  This gives us an extended programme, covering the vast majority of para bowls classification groups.

At the present time the event is by invitation only and we have selected the best players within Scotland to compete.  As we progress, we hope to introduce a qualification system in order to gain a place at Northfield.

We are in a vitally important phase within the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games cycle, with places in the B6/B7/B8 Open Triple and the B2/B3 Mixed Pair being fiercely contested ahead of the squad announcement in November.  The National Championships in Ayr provides another opportunity for our players to showcase their talents, whilst also allowing the coaches to assess player performances as part of our selection process.

Please see the full draw here.

Success for West of Scotland Sailer

West of Scotland athlete Rory McKinna is a well-known swimmer within disability sport. However, it is the sport of sailing wherehe has been excelling in recent months.

The Clyde Cruising Club member recently won the Hansa UK National Championships in the 303 Single Person class. The competition was held at Spinnaker Sailing Club in the New Forrest.  It ran over three days and Rory won all eight of the races that he entered.

 

To top of an excellent series, Rory also won the Endeavour Trophy for the 2nd year running.

Another Successful Summer Sports Camp at Inverclyde

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) joined forces with Short Breaks Fund, Wheelpower and the Big Lottery to run a residential sports summer camp for 35 young people with a physical or sensory impairment at the all-new sportscotland Inverclyde Sports Centre. The aim of the camp is to introduce participants to a range of activities in a fun, active and safe environment.

All sessions were led by qualified coaches currently involved in the Scottish Disability Sport programme and supported by SDS staff and a raft of skilled volunteers, including this year Colin Hardie – making a return after debuting in 2016 – and Chris Purcell from Celtic FC Foundation who brought a high level of enthusiasm and coaching expertise to proceedings and ensured the participants were engaged and tested throughout.

The young people were divided into three teams for all activities which included adapted cycling, archery, watersports at Castle Semple – with thanks to Dave Hill and his team there – and a very enjoyable cryptic orienteering course where each youngsters individual skills were utilised to the maximum. Another highlight was the ‘SDS Superstars’ session which served to demonstrate the fact that fitness suites and gyms should not solely be the province of the able-bodied, and indeed, with the very simplest of adaptations you can have meaningful and testing fitness activities in a fitness setting for all ages and abilities. The youngsters also had opportunities to complete significant tasks working collaboratively to achieve a successful outcome in various sporting and team building activities. An interactive quiz was fiercely contested on the second evening with participants answering questions on a range of subjects to find out who the 2017 Summer Camp Eggheads were.

The final activity of the camp involved a squad from the 207 Battery, 105th Regiment Royal Artillery delivering an action-packed programme of activities that challenged the children to problem-solve, organise, take the lead and demonstrate their discipline and confidence at learning new skills. It was a first for the SDS Summer Camp and was universally praised by the participants and staff alike. At the end of the camp the participants enjoyed a final lunch with the new friends they had made over the duration of the camp and winning team was announced following the addition of all the points scored on the individual activities.

The feedback from participants and parents has been extremely positive and the participants gained so much from the refurbished Inverclyde venue and the activities on offer. The camp is scheduled to take place in 2018 on 11-13 July at Badaguish, Aviemore, which offers a very different, yet equally rewarding experience for participants.

Mark Gaffney, Events Manager for SDS, said “We are indebted to Short Breaks fund, the Big Lottery and Celtic FC Foundation for their continued sport of the SDS Summer Camp. The young people have gained confidence and competence across a number of areas which will benefit them hugely in pursuing sport and physical activity at a recreation, development or performance level. They’ve also had to learn to work collectively to achieve a common goal. The element of competition between the three teams ensures that each individual works to their maximum potential. Every individual has learnt a new skill or had a new experience and this is in thanks in no small part to the support we receive from all our funders and the magnificent staff and volunteers that all help make the camp what it is”.

SDS Summer Camp 2017 Photos

 

Warm Tayside Welcome from Finding Your Feet

Tayside Regional Development Manager Jennifer Scally was kindly invited to attend Finding Your Feet’s social club in Tayside & Fife – ampu-tea. Finding Your Feet support families affected by amputation or limb difference, through a range of sporting initiatives and social inclusion projects.

Jennifer shared information with Finding Your Feet regarding sporting opportunities across the area. With a warm welcome, Finding Your Feet kindly shared information regarding their thriving group in Tayside & Fife and their wonderful members.

Scottish Disability Sport look forward to working with Finding Your Feet within the region. If you are interested in finding out more about sporting opportunities in the area, please contact Jennifer Scally at jennifer.scally@scottishdisabilitysport.com . If you would like to find out more information about Finding Your Feet, please contact info@findingyourfeet.net

Gavin and Kerry with medals

Records fall at RaceRunning World Championships

Gavin Drysdale (Red Star) and Kerry Mathers (Grampian) attended the 2017 International RaceRunning Camp and Competition, which was also the CPISRA RaceRunning World Championships, held in Copenhagen from the 9th to the 16th of July. This year 98 athletes from 13 different countries took part in three days of training sessions followed by three days of competition.

Kerry from Inverurie, in her first international event, competed in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m events. Kerry ran a terrific race to win the bronze medal in a very close finish to the 100m final. She also achieved three personal best times (100m, 400m and 800m) and qualified for the 200m final.

This year was Gavin’s 6th time competing in Denmark and he ran superbly to win four gold medals in the 100m, 400m, 800m and 1500m events setting world record times in the 400m and 1500m races. Gavin’s most impressive race was the 1500m when he executed his tactics perfectly to win a very competitive and exciting race with Brazilian Adriano Ferreira De Souza on the line.

Our warmest congratulations to both Kerry and Gavin on their achievements.

Times

Kerry
100m –25.68s
200m – 55.57s
400m –2m00.95s
800m – 4m27.10s

Gavin
100m –18.01s (Too windy to set a new WR)
400m –1m17.54s
800m –2m55.87s
1500m – 5m34.30s

Perth Track & Field Championships

Saturday 02 September 2017
George Duncan Athletics Arena, Gowans Terrace, Perth, PH1 5AZ
11.00am – 4.00pm

The championships are open to any athlete who has a physical, sensory or learning disability. Events will be divided into wheelchair user, race runner and athletes who are ambulant. Separate medals will be awarded for male/female and also for different disability groups.

Please enter the athlete along with gender, disability group, age and a current time or distance for the event entered. Athletes can do up to four events.

Events up to 1500m on the track, long jump, shot putt, softball, javelin and club throw will be available. Please note: softball (and bean bag) is traditionally for lesser able athletes and club throw is for seated athletes with a physical disability only.

Track Events: 40m (RR), 60m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m.

Field Events: Long Jump, Standing Long Jump, Shot Putt, Discus, Soft Ball, Javelin, Club Throw, Bean Bag.

Entry fees are £3 per athlete and cheques should be made payable to PH Coaching.

Please return your entry no later than Thursday 24 August to:

Jim Hunter
33 Viewlands Road
Perth PH1 1NL

Email:  j_m_hunter@btinternet.com

If you have any queries, please contact j_m_hunter@btinternet.com or 01738 633835.

World Para Athletics Championships 2017

Sammi Kinghorn and Stef Reid both won gold at the World Para Athletics Championships on Saturday. A stunning performance by both women, especially as Sammi not only won the gold medal in the T53 200m, but in a new world record time of 28.61.

Stef Reid won her gold with a jump of 5m 40 in the T44 long jump.

Both athletes warmly acknowledged the work of their coaches, Ian Mirfin MBE for Sammi Kinghorn and Aston Moore for Stef Reid.

Congratulations to Maria Lyle on winning a bronze medal in the T35 200m, and Jo Butterfield MBE for her fourth place in the F51 club throw.

23rd Summer Deaflympics set for Samsun 2017

Samsun, Turkey is the city in which the 23rd Summer Deaflympics will be staged in what is sure to be a spectacle of high performance deaf sport.  The games will run from the 18 to the 30 July 2017.

The Deaflympics is the pinnacle for any deaf athlete and it is the second oldest multi-sport and cultural festival in the world, with a proud history stretching back to the first Games in Paris, in 1924. The event ensures that high performance athletes with a hearing impairment get that same Olympic experience as their hearing counterparts.

In recent years, Scotland has a history of producing top level athletes with the ability to represent Great Britain at the prestigious event.  The 2017 Games is no different, with Scotland having 10 athletes representing the country, across four sports

Danielle Joyce – Swimming
Jack McComish – Swimming
Shiona McLafferty – Swimming
John Ruddy – Athletics
Mitchell Graham – Athletics
Stuart Cameron – Football Men
PJ Dolan – Football Men
Olivia Preston – Football Women
Rachel Mallard – Football Women
Steven Cafferety – Golf

DeaflympicGB will be hopeful that they can improve on their disappointing medal haul from the Games four years ago, and in Danielle Joyce and Jack McComish, they have two athletes that represent strong medal prospects.  The pair will be hoping to build upon their success at the 2015 World Deaf Swimming Championships, where they delivered seven medals between them; Danielle clinching gold in the 100m freestyle.

The BBC recently released a documentary profiling some of the athletes that will be competing and it can be found following the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xh12m

The following websites and Twitter feeds will be useful in order to follow the athletes’ progress at the Games:

http://deaflympics2017.org/en/home-page

http://ukdeafsport.org.uk/

Twitter

@deafsport

@deaflympicsgb

@Deaflympics2017



 

Deaflympics and the Paralympic Movement

Why can’t Deaf Athletes join the Paralympics?*

There is currently no Paralympic category for athletes who are only Deaf and have no other physical or learning impairment. The Paralympic Games already faces strict limit on the number of competitors, meaning it wouldn’t be able to absorb such a large number.  To include, would mean a reduction in some of the other classification groups that already exist.  Furthermore, it would consequently result in a reduction of performance athletes, across impairment groups, competing at the highest level.

There is overwhelming support amongst the deaf community to have a separate Games as many deaf people do not consider themselves disabled.  Athletes who are deaf are able-bodied and able to compete without significant restrictions, with the exception of communication barriers.

It is possible for Deaf athletes to compete in the Olympics Games and do so based on their ability to compete at the highest level of mainstream sport, without any adaptions, modifications or rule changes.

 

*Information summarised from UK Deaf Sport

60 Seconds with a Tayside Athlete: Reagan Doig

Name: Reagan Doig

Branch: Perth & Kinross Disability Sport

Sport: Swimming

Club: Stirling

How did you get involved in your sport? Encouragement from a master swimmer who was a life guard at my swimming lessons

How long have you been playing your sport for? 14 years

Biggest Strength (as an athlete): Fly 100m

What’s the best thing about your sport? Good support / encouragement from top athletes

What equipment do you need to take part in your sport? Kit bag and good swimwear

Greatest sporting achievement: Scottish record holder & British record

Favourite Para-athlete: Ellie Simmonds

Favourite athlete to compete against: S15 Danielle Joyce

Any advice for someone interested in your sport? Go down to your local swimming pool and have a trial, its hard work and early mornings but keeps you fit and healthy