Month: April 2017

Callum Sloan with coach Pamela Robson after the marathon

Three Minute PB by Young Fife Wheelchair Athlete

Competing in his third Virgin Money London Mini Marathon, Callum Sloan from Dunfermline recorded 00:21:25 in the under 14 boys wheelchair race. Coach Pamela Robson reckons this was a personal best time by over three minutes. Just reward for the many hours of training on the track and on the roads in the past year.

The young Queen Anne HS pupil trains at Pitreavie as part of the Disability Sport Fife weekly programme of run, push, jump and throws sessions, attended by athletes of all levels of ability with a disability. Distance training practice is held on the roads, parks and proms in Fife for the teenage T53 wheelchair athete.

Callum was in London with members of his family and coach Pamela. As well as being a personal best time this year, Callum recorded his highest age group finishing position of 5th. Another very special performance by a very talented Fife athlete. Well done Callum and congratulations.

Richard Brickley MBE
President, Disability Sport Fife

Derek Rae in the 2016 London Marathon

Four Minute PB by Fife Athlete Derek Rae

In the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon, Derek Rae from Kirkcaldy and Fife AC ran a personal best time by over four minutes to record 02:33:24.

Derek was running for Team Great Britain in the World Para Athletics Marathon World Cup and finished third in the T45/T46 class. This was by far Derek’s best marathon performance to date against the world’s leading runners in his class.

The two athletes who finished ahead of him were Alex Pires Da Silva (Brazil) 02:28:20 and Abelhadi El Harti from Morocco 02:29:38. In 2016 they were ranked 2nd and 4th in the world and Derek was ranked 8th. Derek’s 2017 run could move him up at least two places in the world standings.

In each of his London Marathons to date Derek has recorded personal best times. Derek’s long term aim is to gain selection for Team GB for his second Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2020. The run this year clearly indicates the British number one continues to make progress towards his overall goal. Brilliant performance Derek and congratulations.

Richard Brickley MBE
President, Disability Sport Fife

Scott Quin in the IPC World Swimming Championships 2015

British Para Swimming International Meet 2017

Good luck to Scottish team swimmers competing in the British Para Swimming International Meet between Thursday 27 and Sunday 30 April. The event is taking place for the fourth year running in Pond’s Forge, Sheffield.

This event is one of the largest open competitions for para swimmers and will attract teams from all over the world. As British Swimming enters a new Paralympic cycle, athletes will be competing for the title of British Champion. Races will take place over the four days with heat sessions taking place in the morning and finals in the evening.

Scottish Swimming will be taking a team of 25 swimmers to compete in the long course competition. Classification will also be taking place for new swimmers Toni Shaw (Grampian), Jack Milne (Tayside) and Cara Smyth (Fife), and classification reviews will be undertaken by Kayleigh Haggo (West), Hope Gordon (Highland) and Christian Buchanan (East).

Live streaming and results can be accessed on the British Swimming website here:
https://www.britishswimming.org/events-and-tickets/british-para-swimming-international-meet-2017/

Rose Bancroft – West
Lewis Beagrie – West
Christian Buchanan – East
Oliver Carter – Fife
Stephen Clegg – East
Reagan Doig – Tayside
Adam Donnachie – West
Rhys Gill – Grampian
Hope Gordon – Highland
Kayleigh Haggo – West
Genevieve Hunter – West
Kyle Hughes – West
Beth Johnston – East
Abby Kane – West
John Law – West
Stephen McCormick – Fife
Amy McFarlane – West
Jack Milne – Tayside
Conner Morrison – Grampian
Andrew Mullen – West
Laura Pilkington – East
Scott Quin – East
Toni Shaw – Grampian
Cara Smyth – Fife
Erin Swan – West

We wish all swimmers a successful event. If you or anyone you know would like to get involved in disability swimming, please contact Scottish Disability Sport on 0131 317 1130 or email admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com.

 

South Lanarkshire Disability Sport Awards

South Lanarkshire Disability Sport held their annual Disability Sports Awards Ceremony on Thursday 20 April 2017. The event was held at Palace Sports Grounds in Hamilton with a great turnout of supporters of the branch from athletes to sponsors, Local Authority partners, councillors, provosts and many more.

The afternoon was hugely successful with some great speakers including Scottish and GB Table Tennis player Euan McLaughlin and World Champion Boccia player Stephen McGuire. Both speakers inspired the audience with their achievements and journeys in sport which was a fantastic starter to the Awards Ceremony.

It was encouraging to see the success of disability sport in South Lanarkshire and all the achievements of the award winners and runners up. A special mention must go to Millar Stoddart who won the Service to Sport Award. Millar has been involved with South Lanarkshire Disability Sport since the branch formed in 2001 as secretary and latterly as Chairman. Well done to everyone who was nominated or won an award – a full list of the award winners is below. Thank you to South Lanarkshire Disability Sport for hosting another successful awards afternoon

Sports Award Winners 2017

JUNIOR MALE SPORTS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR – Nathan Fleetwod

JUNIOR FEMALE SPORTS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR – Shiona McClafferty

ADULT MALE SPORTS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR – Andrew Harrison

ADULT FEMALE SPORTS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR – Diane Gillan

COACH OF THE YEAR – John Gardiner

CLUB OF THE YEAR – Claremont Colts

JUNIOR TEAM OF THE YEAR – Lanark Grammar Learning Disability Football Team

OUTSTANDING SPORTING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Stephen McGuire

SERVICE TO SPORT – Millar Stoddart

Edinburgh Youngster Serves Up Success in Belgium

Ruairi Logan was in action recently at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Knokke Zoute Junior Roller Open in Belgium, claiming victory in the doubles section and falling just short in the singles and finishing in second place.

Logan, a former player at Edinburgh wheelchair tennis club Winning Wheels, was in impressive form throughout the singles competition recording three victories and falling to just one defeat against number one seed Jef Vandorpe from Belgium.  The 15 year old claimed victories against slightly more experienced players including number 2 seed Justin Peraux (Belgium), adding to the valuable experience gained in 2016.  Logan, a previous winner of the Lothian Disability Sport Junior Sports Person of the Year, was partnered with Dutch player Floor Van Stijn and the pair secured a first place finish with a win in the final against Fleur Gobes and Coen Van Werkhoven (both Netherlands).

First 10K for Fife Wheelchair Athlete

Since securing a new Bromakin wheelchair, with support from Education Scotland through Scottish Disability Sport, Jonny Brown’s commitment to track and field training has taken off in a big way. Jonny from Coaltown of Wemyss has been committed to throwing for several years now and is excited about the forthcoming Throws Grand Prix Series organised by Scottish Athletics. Most importantly however Jonny has signed for his first ever 10K in Edinburgh on Saturday 27th May.

Jonny shares two coaches. His father David has taken on the role of throws coach and with support from Disability Sport Fife David is progressing along the coaching pathway. Jonny’s track coach is DSF’s lead athletics coach Pamela Robson who has decided to run with him in Edinburgh to help him through his first ever road racing experience. They are a formidable coaching team and Jonny is benefiting immensely from their support.

A standard week for Jonny now is a couple of sessions in the gym at the Michael Woods Sports and Leisure Centre plus one or two track sessions at Pitreavie or Glenrothes. Because of his additional interest in road racing, a session on the Kirkcaldy prom or Beveridge Park has been added to the weekly schedule. The progress this young Fife athlete has made in the last couple of years is significant. Jonny has managed to combine training with work and hopes one day to fit in volunteering and perhaps even coaching.

All the very best Jonny as you prepare for the Edinburgh 10K at the end of May. Jonny has decided to seek sponsors for his Edinburgh adventure to raise funds for DSF.

Many thanks indeed Jonny for your support and good luck.

Richard Brickley MBE
President, Disability Sport Fife

All Ages and Abilities Welcome at Glasgow Triathlon Club

Glasgow Triathlon Club is a welcoming and inclusive club open to all ages and abilities (disabled or non-disabled athletes). Triathlon consists of swimming, cycling and running, however some events are swimming and running (aquathlon) or running and cycling (duathlon) so you don’t need to do all three to join us. Many of our members just do one of the sports but like the ethos of the club. Our current athletes range from have-a-go participants  to leading amateurs at European and world age group level. Our team of enthusiastic, knowledgeable and qualified coaches work with each athlete to find what works for them and support them to achieve their goals. The club offers coached sessions in swimming, cycling and running all-year-round.

More information about paratriathlon (http://www.glasgowtriathlonclub.co.uk/paratriathlon/

More information about Glasgow Triathlon Club (http://www.glasgowtriathlonclub.co.uk/)

2017 Fife Sports Festival Review

Back in 1976 the Annual Disability Sport Fife Sports Festival was run over one single Saturday afternoon in March at the Fife Sports Institute. For the first part of the session activities were held in the games hall and then everybody headed through to the swimming pool for the swimming event that lasted just over an hour. Apart from an enjoyable day of physical activity the purpose of the Festival was to raise awareness of disability issues and services available to disabled people in Fife. Education and Social Work Services cooperated to organise the Festival but there was no Disability Sport Fife.

Fast forward to 2017 and the Festival is now run over three weeks. It starts with the Fife Swimming Championships which this year had 175 individual entries and was run over five hours. The Fife Badminton Championships are now held at Kirkcaldy Leisure Centre and this year entries exceeded 60 for the first time. Around the same number participated in Basketball/Netball and Tug of War and the Football/Unihoc 5s and 6s exceeded 130. Archery moved to the new venue of Queen Anne HS and during the Festival period there was also a leg of the 7s Football Series at Kirkcaldy High School. Approximately 566 participants took part in the 2017 Sports Festival in 11 sports in four venues in central and west Fife. Around 200 support personnel and volunteers were engaged over the three week period. This was by far the most successful Festival to date.

Many thanks to Fife Council for grant aid to support the Festival and to the Fife Sports and Leisure Trust for the provision of facilities as part of the Service Level agreement. Many thanks in particular to the young sports leaders from Kirkcaldy High School who make such a significant contribution as Festival officials. DSF members are already asking about dates for 2018 for the longest running event in the DSF calendar.

Richard Brickley MBE – President Disability Sport Fife

Martin Perry in action

BTTAD National Championships 2017

Martin Perry celebrated his promotion last week to the British Performance Squad by taking the class 6 singles title at the 2017 British Para Table Tennis Championships in Grantham, beating the European bronze medallist and three time Paralympian David Wetherill 3-2 in a thrilling final.

“To beat someone like Dave who is top five in the world is a fantastic result for me,” said Perry, who also received the Player of the Tournament Award. “It was a really good match and we both played really good table tennis. It means an awful lot to me to be National champion. I’ve been Scottish champion a few times and that means a lot to me but to say that I am British champion as well is a fantastic feeling.”

For a full report on the Championships, see the Table Tennis Scotland website here.