Scottish Hockey is inviting clubs across the country to an information workshop on how to broaden access to the game to include people with disabilities.

The national governing body is hosting a gathering on April 16 at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre to launch Flyerz Hockey in Scotland, with a number of clubs having already registered their interest. The hour-long session beginning at 6.30pm will focus on the fundamentals of getting started, and include the opportunity to try out specialised equipment.

Flyerz Hockey is the name widely associated with disability inclusive hockey across the UK. It utilises traditional and adapted equipment during regular club sessions at local volunteer-led community clubs.

Flyerz got started in the UK in 2011 at Waltham Forest Hockey Club in London and has grown significantly since then. It is backed by Access Sport – the legacy fund from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London – which is also supporting the roll-out of Flyerz in Scotland.

Katie Brown, Regional Development Manager in the West of Scotland for Scottish Hockey, said the programme will include those with learning or physical disabilities. The focus is on having fun, learning new skills, making friends and promoting the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle.

“Research has shown that those with disabilities are twice as likely to be inactive as those without disabilities,” Brown said. “In addition, seven out of 10 disabled people surveyed said they would like to be more active.

“So there are the obvious fitness and physical benefits, but also there is the social element. A lot of disabled people feel isolated from their community, so this is a way to engage and make new connections.”

The launch of Flyerz forms part of Scottish Hockey’s wider strategic plan covering 2019-2023. As an organisation, Scottish Hockey is committed to ensuring that everyone can access the game.

Although the programme is in its infancy, it has already signed up its first pilot club. Western Wildcats – Scotland’s oldest existing hockey club – will hold its first session between 2-3pm on Sunday April 28.

Brown said Flyerz stays as close as possible to the traditional format of the game, with variations on equipment or setup introduced only when necessary. Flyerz participants will be an integrated part of their club receiving the same experiences, such as kit and club days, as other players.

Anyone interested in finding out more about Flyerz Hockey in Scotland should contact katie.brown@scottish-hockey.org.uk.

The 47th Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) Championships for swimmers with a physical or sensory disability were held at Grangemouth Sports Complex on Saturday 13th April.

For almost 50 years swimmers with a physical and sensory disability have competed with distinction and the beauty of this event means that Paralympians can swim alongside those at the beginning of their swimming journeys in what could be their first competition. This event has featured a phenomenal list of swimmers through the years and has been developed and enhanced chiefly by Richard Brickley MBE in a volunteer capacity and SDS thanks him for his considerable input to this event for so long. Richard and Norma in the SDS Fife office continue to contribute so much to the SDS Events Calendar and the other three national swimming championships.

As the competition calendar has grown for swimmers with a disability, particularly at a performance level, it becomes relevant to offer those swimmers training regularly in specific and inclusive clubs and sessions opportunities to access ratified times to be used for further competitions and the experience of swimming at events that use electronic timing. The time was right to make amendments to the criteria for this event and allow swimmers aged 10 and over access to this competition. It was heartening to see a very healthy entry of over 60 competitors. The event aligns more with the Scottish Swimming entry and technology they use at their meets and SDS really appreciated the input from the individuals from Scottish Swimming and Grangemouth Swimming Club who assisted on the day and provided the technology and expertise required. Further changes include the addition of 100m events in all strokes which again replicates events available to developing swimmers on the competition pathway.

Previously, junior swimmers competed as guests and were not eligible for medals or team points. This year, all swimmers were eligible for medals and claimed points which were allocated to their representative teams in the Team Trophy competition.

Thanks to the addition of new events and the extension of the age criteria then new championship records were inevitable. Leading the way was surely going to be Abby Kane, the Paralympic silver medallist at the Rio Games. And so it proved as the West of Scotland swimmer proceeded in establishing a number of new CRs across events including her contribution to a very fast West of Scotland 4 x 50m relay time. Other swimmers to claim records on the day were Kyle Hughes also from the West of Scotland and Kate Bolan and Aaron McDowell from Team Lothian.

There were teams from all the SDS regions and all regions won medals throughout. Natalia Chociaj from Grampian hd some outstanding swims and would have claimed more golds if it wasn’t for the spectacular Abby Kane. Highland’s Li Kennedy was a one-mad band for the region and claimed a number of golds in his class. The team event was ultimately won by the very strong West team, however, the east of the country completed the podium positions with Lothian and Borders -with impressive swims from an ever growing band of swimmers – in silver and bronze respectively.

It was great to see Craig Smith returning to action for Fife, SDS always love seeing swimmers returning to action after a break from the sport. Other swimmers would be made very welcome back at this event as we approach its 50th birthday in the next few years.

SDS is as always indebted to all Scottish Swimming officials plus the many volunteers who turn out year after year – including many family members of the competing swimmers – in support of the Scottish disability swimming programme. Thanks to Jean King for co-ordinating the officials.

Best of luck to any of the swimmers competing in the British Para-Swimming International in Glasgow at the end of April.

Full results will follow soon.

Photo: The successful West of Scotland team with the Team Trophy.

Reegan Stevenson has made significant progress in the sport of boccia and this was highlighted at the recent European Open in Croatia.

As a member of the Boccia UK transition programme he made his Great Britain debut in the BC1 individual and BC1/2 Team competitions. Individually Reegan was competitive in each match and although he lost all three group games each were by the tightest of margins. (Katinka Langauer (HUN) 3-2, Aurelie Aubert (FRA), 2-2, Serafin Rodriguez (ESP), 4-2)

However, Reegan made his mark as a member of the BC1/2 Team competition, alongside David Smith MBE and Claire Taggart. After a disappointing 5-4 defeat against Turkey they responded well against host nation Croatia with an 8-4 victory. Knowing that victory against Spain would see them into the semi-finals they bounced back magnificently after losing 4 in the first end to win 9-4. They took this energy and momentum into the semi-final against Ukraine, where a dominant display earned them a 10-3 victory and a place in the final against Slovakia. In a tight match, that came down to the wire, GB made it over the line with a 4-3 victory.  As a combination, all three players performed exceptionally, and it was great way to finish the first tournament of the year on a high for Great Britain.

Elsewhere, experienced campaigner, Scott McCowan, was a late addition to the individual competition and came in as the top seed. Winning his group games in comfortable fashion (10-0 v Elisabeth Wilhelmsen (NOR) and Viktoriia Shcherbyna (UKR). He then faced German, Petra Benharket in the quarter finals winning 5-1 to set up a semi-final against GB debutant Will Arnott. After losing 3 in the first end, Scott fought his way back into the game so that it was all square going into the final end. It came down to the last ball and after a tight measure Will won the game 4-3. Scott bounced back well to secure Bronze with a 4-1 victory over Christoffer Hagdahl of Sweden.

Other results involving Great Britain players:

BC2 Individual Silver: Claire Taggart
BC3 Individual Silver: Will Arnott

Photo courtesy of Claire Morrison