SDS Athlete Academy

SDS Athlete Academy

The Scottish Disability Sport Athlete Academy is a support structure for talented athletes, who have the potential to progress onto World Class Performance Programmes (WCPP). The Academy offers financial support at an integral stage in the athlete’s development and underpins the sportscotland Institute of Sport (SIS). Furthermore, SDS works in partnership with the SIS and other key partners to develop a programme of workshops and training opportunities in order to best prepare the athletes for when they progress to a UK Sport funded programme.

SDS has a strong working relationship with Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport (SGBs) and we invite nominations from them for our Academy. Athletes are selected based on strict criteria relating to performance levels, attitude to training and commitment to their sport. Each athlete must be eligible to compete for Scotland and have aspirations of reaching podium level for Great Britain.

Over the years the SDS Athlete Academy has grown and this year represents our largest programme to date, supporting 36 athletes across 8 sports. The sports include, archery, athletics, badminton, boccia, cycling, swimming, table tennis and wheelchair basketball. We are also delighted to welcome three cycling pilots onto the programme as we recognise the importance of these individuals in supporting our most promising visually impaired riders.

Gary Fraser, SDS Performance Manager, commented: “It is an exciting time to be involved in performance disability sport, and the standard of athlete that has been selected for the SDS Athlete Academy indicates a promising future for Scottish para athletes competing on the international stage. Last year the programme supported six athletes onto a World Class Performance Programme which demonstrates the significance of support at this stage of the pathway. The programme continues to grow and we thank our SGB partners for their commitment to para sport”.

For a full list of athletes see below and for further information, please contact Gary Fraser on gary.fraser@scottishdisabilitysport.com

Sport Athlete Town Local Authority
Archery Frank Maguire Cumnock East Ayrshire
Archery Brad Stewart Ladybank Fife
Archery Kate Murray Hawick Scottish Borders
Athletics Meggan Dawson-Farrell Tullibody Clackmannanshire
Athletics Lewis Clow Pitmedden Aberdeenshire
Athletics Shelby Watson Johnstonebridge Dumfries & Galloway
Athletics Owen Miller Dunfermline Fife
Athletics Ross Paterson Paisley Renfrewshire
Athletics Ewan Waite Carlisle Cumbria
Athletics Steven Bryce Cambusnethan North Lanarkshire
Athletics Nathan Fleetwood Stonebyers South Lanarkshire
Athletics Paul Davidson Inverness Highland
Badminton Fiona Christie South Queensferry City of Edinburgh
Badminton Colin Leslie Dalkeith Midlothian
Badminton Alan Oliver Tweedbank Scottish Borders
Badminton Bobby Laing Livingston West Lothian
Boccia Peter McGuire Hamilton South Lanarkshire
Boccia Reegan Stevenson Glasgow Glasgow
Cycling Laura Cluxton Tullibody Clackmannanshire
Cycling Fraser Kane Largs North Ayrshire
Cycling (Pilot) Louise Haston Edinburgh City of Edinburgh
Cycling (Pilot) Andrew Louis East Kilbride South Lanarkshire
Cycling (Pilot) Bruce Croall Edinburgh City of Edinburgh
Swimming Stephen Clegg Edinburgh City of Edinburgh
Swimming Kayleigh Haggo Maybole South Ayrshire
Swimming Toni Shaw Aberdeen Aberdeen City
Swimming Oliver Carter Cupar Fife
Swimming Conor Morrison Turiff Aberdeenshire
Swimming Cara Smyth Dalgety Bay Fife
Swimming Kyle Hughes Wishaw North Lanarkshire
Table Tennis Martin Perry Glenburn Renfrewshire
Table Tennis Conor McAdam Dundonald South Ayrshire
Table Tennis Euan McLaughlin East Kilbride South Lanarkshire
Table Tennis Neil Innes Aberdeen Aberdeen City
Wheelchair Basketball Morwenna Hastings Tunstall Stoke on Trent
Wheelchair Basketball David Ion Cramlington Northumbria