Month: January 2018

West Schools Cross Country Series

The second event in the West of Scotland Schools Cross Country Series was held on Wednesday 25th January at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow.  The series is part of the West of Scotland Schools calendar of events, which is supported by the Inspiring Sport Project from Celtic FC Foundation.

After all the recent adverse weather, Bellahouston was bathed in sunshine, with minimal wind, but with a chilly bite to the air. Conditions underfoot were muddy, to say the least and a few shoes were lost coming in to the home straight!

226 pupils from schools across the West of Scotland competed across the 1km, 2km and 3km races and once again proved that Cross Country is still a favourite when it comes to the sports events throughout the year.

There were some great performances from the West’s leading runners, Sara Stevenson from Merkland School and Alexander Thomson from Hamilton Grammar, notable winners in the 1km races.

Cormac O’Hara from Williamwood High School crossing the line first in the 2km race and Darren Carruthers from Victoria Park AC making his mark in the 3km event.

Both Alexander and Darren have recently been selected for the World Special Olympics Games in Abu Dhabi next year.  Congratulations go to them.

 

The final event of the series, where series medallists will be decided, takes place on Thursday 22nd February at Chateauherault Country Park in South Lanarkshire.

Lothian Athletes Selected to Represent Great Britain

Swimmer Shannon Crosbie was amongst the athletes selected to represent Great Britain at the upcoming Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi in 2019.  Judo players Philip Brodie and Harrison Lovett are joined by golfer Caitlin Dodds, taking the number of athletes selected from the region to four.

The athletes will be joined by Head Coaches Jamie McDonald (Golf) and Jo Imrie (Judo) who have been selected to lead the Great British team in their selected sports.  Johnny Imrie has also been selected onto the judo coaching team.  Congratulations to those selected, a wonderful achievement.

The World Summer Games will be held in March 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.  The Games will feature seven days of competition in 24 sports with around 7000 athletes with an intellectual impairment participating over the course of the Games.  More information on the Games can be found by following the link below –

https://www.specialolympics.org/Games/2019_World_Summer_Games.aspx

For more information surrounding sporting opportunities with Lothian Special Olympics please follow the highlighted link – http://www.lothianspecialolympics.org/

Reid and Hewitt Reach Fifth Grand Slam Final Together

Brits Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett reached their fifth Grand Slam men’s doubles final together on Thursday at the Australian Open when the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champions beat Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina and Shingo Kunieda of Japan 6-1, 4-6, (10-6).

Top seeds Reid and Hewitt will face French second seeds Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer in Friday’s final at Melbourne Park.

Hewett and Reid put the disappointment of bowing out of the men’s singles on Wednesday’s first day of wheelchair tennis competition firmly behind them as they reeled off six games in a row to take the first set. Although they were unable to wrap up the second set from 3-0 up, they were never behind in the deciding match tie-break and completed victory after an hour and 23 minutes.

“It feels good to be in a final again and have another opportunity to showcase what we can do on a tennis court, but I think the main satisfaction for us is how we played, especially in that first set and a half and the enjoyment we had on court and the teamwork we showed,” said Reid, who completed a career Grand Slam of doubles titles in Melbourne last year, when he and Hewett were on opposite sides of the net in the final.

“We said no matter what happened we wanted to go out there and enjoy ourselves and work as a team. To come out after yesterday and play some of the tennis we did in that first set and a half was just incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed it out there today,” said Hewett, who partnered Fernandez in last year’s Australian Open final, when Reid and Belgium’s Joachim Gerard came out on top.

Should Reid and Hewett win the trophy on Friday it would seal a first British Grand Slam title of the year. That would continue a run of unprecedented success for players on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis World Class Performance Programme that saw Great Britain win seven Grand Slam titles in 2017 after a record medal haul at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

 

East of Scotland Para Sport Festival 2018

The annual Para Sport Festival is on the horizon for 2018, welcoming young people from across the East of Scotland with a physical or sensory impairment and providing them with an opportunity to try a range of Para Sports, delivered by some of the best clubs and coaches across the country.  This year’s festival is scheduled for Friday 23rd March at Forrester / St Augustine’s High School, Edinburgh – event details can be found below.

Event:   East of Scotland Para Sport Festival 2018

Date:     Friday 23rd March 2018

Venue: Forrester / St Augustine’s High School, Edinburgh, EH12 9AE

Format: This 2018 event will take a slightly different format to previous years, offering an opportunity for young people with a physical impairment to try swimming, tennis, triathlon and wheelchair basketball during the morning of the event.  The afternoon session will welcome children with sensory impairments to try sports athletics, goalball, judo and swimming.

Powerchair users are also encouraged and welcome to attend the event and sports such as athletics, boccia and powerchair football will be available for individuals to try on the day.  The timings of these sessions are yet TBC due to hall availability, however we will let all participants using a powerchair know as soon as possible.

The event, previously named the Paralympic Experience Event, is entering its seventh year and is a fantastic opportunity for primary and secondary aged young people to experience some of the sports that are successfully showcased at major events such as the Paralympic Games.  The activities selected reflect the strong club structure in the region and will aim to ignite the transition from the event to more regular sporting activity with one or more of the session’s being delivered.

The festival is a partnership event between Scottish Disability Sport, Edinburgh Active Schools, Lothian Disability Sport and Edinburgh Leisure who work together, along with local club coaches, to offer sessions to the children and young people from East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, the Scottish Borders and West Lothian.  This year’s event will also be supported by Celtic Community Foundation.

During the 2016 event, video footage was captured highlighting the aims and potential impact of the event featuring testimonies from young people, parents, club coaches and professional officers.  We hope this footage will prove a useful tool in providing an accurate insight to the event.

 

An entry pack for the event can be downloaded here in PDF format.  Additionally, an online version of the form can be accessed by clicking here.

If you require further information relating to the event, please contact Neal Herbert on 0131 625 4414 or neal.herbert@scottishdisabilitysport.com.  Entry forms will be circulated early in the New Year.

Football Festival puts Grampian Kids on Winning Form

Aberdeen FC Community Trust, in partnership with the Scottish FA, Sport Aberdeen and Grampian Disability Sport, ran the latest ASN Football Festival for primary and secondary schools in the North East of Scotland.

In the first of three festivals to be held in 2018, over 50 secondary school pupils and 30 primary school pupils, all with additional support needs and disabilities, enjoyed a day of fun skill challenges and small sided games at Aberdeen Sports Village.

The festival brought together pupils from 8 schools across the age groups, with schools based as far as Fraserburgh joining those in Aberdeen City for the day.

Harley Hamdani, Diversity & Inclusion Officer at AFCCT, commented, “Not only was this a fantastic opportunity for children and young people with additional support needs to participate in sport, it also allowed for greater social integration and new friendships being formed.

“This could not have been possible without the support from CNR International.”

Well done to the pupils, teachers, AFCCT and the volunteers for their efforts.

If any people living with a physical, sensory or learning disability are keen to get involved in Para Sport, please contact Alison Shaw on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or on 07828 744 848

Harley Hamdani, Diversity & Inclusion Officer, AFCCT|

Para Cycling Track Sessions

Glasgow Life has Para Cycling track sessions available at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. Para Cycling sessions are dedicated coaching sessions for riders with physical and learning disabilities who want to keep fit and develop their skills and technique through coached sessions. Both experienced and new riders of any age will be eligible to attend the sessions.

Do you know of someone that has visual impairment and is interested in cycling? We have recruited several pilots to support tandem riding.

Sessions are one hour long, limited spaces available!

  • Solo riders > 4 riders per hour maximum
  • Tandem stokers > 6 riders per hour maximum
  • New and beginner riders / 6-7pm
  • Regular and experienced riders / 7-8pm

The next available dates are:

Thursday 1st February / Thursday 15th February

Thursday 1st March / Thursday 15th March

Thursday 29th March / Thursday 12th April

Cost: £6.10 per hour

For more information please speak to one of the velodrome staff. Sessions are very popular already and require advance booking.

For more information contact: gordon.watson@glasgowlife.org.uk

Forth Valley Disability Sport

Forth Valley GOGA 2018 Timetable

Forth Valley Disability Sport are delighted to launch their 2018 Get Out Get Active timetable. There are walking, fitness, cycling, swimming and sports club opportunities for individuals of all ages with a physical, sensory or learning disability. These are a great way to make friends, develop new skills and encourage disabled and non-disabled individuals to be active together.

The full timetable can be downloaded here.

Team Scotland Announce Para-Swimming and Powerlifting Selections

Selected for his second Games, powerlifter Micky Yule will be looking to make the step onto the podium after a fourth place finish at Glasgow 2014. Previously a competitor for the Army Weightlifting team, he was injured by an improvised explosive device while serving with the Scots Royal Engineers in 2010. After a year out to recover from his injuries, he returned to training, becoming the first Scot to compete at a Commonwealth Games in Para-Sport Powerlifting. He was also the first British athlete to win gold at the 2016 Invictus Games, taking titles in both 2014 and 2016. After several injury setbacks in 2017, he is on the comeback trail and, if he can recapture the form that places him second on the Commonwealth rankings, he is a true medal contender in the Heavyweight division.

Micky Yule said: “I am proud to be selected for my second Commonwealth Games. I finished fourth in Glasgow last time out and felt how close it was to miss out on those medals. I go to the Gold Coast with one mission and that’s to come home with a medal. Nothing else will do!”

Two young Para-Swimmers are also named to today and will be aiming to emulate the success of swimming sensation Erraid Davies at Glasgow 2014. Holder of an incredible 14 Scottish records in the S9 and S10 categories, 14 year old Toni Shaw is the youngest athlete named for Team Scotland for Gold Coast 2018 to date. Selection comes on the back of an outstanding 2017, where she won multiple medals at the World Para-Swimming Series and earned selection to the senior team for the World Para-Swimming Championships in Mexico.

Toni will swim the SB9 100m Breaststroke, the event in which Davies won her memorable bronze in Glasgow, as well as the S9 100m Freestyle, S9 100m Backstroke and the SM10 200m Individual Medley. She is joined by 16 year old Beth Johnston in the 200m Individual Medley. Beth took two gold and a silver at the penultimate World Para-Swimming Series event in Indianapolis and set Scottish records over 50m and 100m Backstroke in 2017.

Ally Whike, Performance Director at Scottish Swimming said: “Both Toni and Beth have upped their game throughout the qualification period and I’ve been impressed by their approach to each meet they have competed in. This will hold them in good stead to perform at their best come April.”

SELECTED ATHLETES

PARA-SWIMMING)

Beth Johnston, Galashiels
Toni Shaw, Aberdeen

POWERLIFTING

Micky Yule, Musselburgh / Southampton