XXV Sportswear is thrilled to announce their latest collaboration with Scottish Disability Sport (SDS). This partnership is uniquely tailored to provide high-quality sportswear for the dedicated staff at SDS, the Scottish governing and co-coordinating body of all sports for people of all ages and abilities with a physical, sensory or learning disability.  

 SDS plays a vital role in advocating for inclusivity and promoting sports participation for individuals of all levels of ability with a disability in Scotland. XXV Sportswear is honoured to align with their mission and contribute to enhancing the working experiences of the passionate individuals who form the backbone of SDS. 

 Gavin MacLeod, CEO of Scottish Disability Sport said: “SDS is delighted to be working collaboratively with XXV Sportswear to provide quality branded sportswear for the staff team. This is an extension of a long established relationship, which we hope will flourish to the mutual benefit of both organisations”. 

 XXV Sportswear is pleased to be a part of SDS’s journey in supporting its staff, ensuring they have high quality sportswear to reflect their efforts and aid their mission of Inspiring Through Inclusion. 

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) welcomed Elizabeth Lochhead as the new senior administrator, in late January.

By William Moncrieff, Communications Apprentice

Elizabeth comes with a wealth of knowledge, having previous worked in administration at Forestry and Land Scotland. She first became aware of the opportunity at SDS through former SDS employee Sharon MacDowell, who encouraged her to apply.

Although the job and its tasks are not entirely new for Elizabeth, she is embracing this “new challenge” and said, “It will be something new to get my teeth in to”.

As she settles in to the role, she is interested to developing her understanding of boccia.

“I am really interested in Boccia. I’ve been speaking to Jonathan (Boccia Development officer) who is in the office quite a lot and so I am keen to attend one of the boccia events.”

Elizabeth explains that she is into sports and exercising. This is evidenced by Elizabeth planning on completing the West Highland Way from Milngavie to Fort William later this year. It was originally seen as an opportunity to explore more of the country and to keep fit and healthy. However, she has now decided to fundraise for SDS after noticing, “How passionate they all are about fundraising”.

One task in her new role that Elizabeth is really looking forward to is adapting the website, to make it more user friendly for those who are less confident using a computer. She hopes that this development will result in more people being able to access the information online and attend events.

This is something that Elizabeth is keen to help further with. By developing her skillset in using new systems and procedures, she will be able to help others sign up for events or workshops. She said, “It’s something we can help with. We can make sure kids aren’t losing out because they don’t have the amenities to sign-up”.

Elizabeth views part of her role as being, “very visual in the office”. She aspires to be a helping hand to anyone in the organisation and anyone trying to contact Scottish Disability Sport.

By William Moncrieff, Communications Apprentice

On World Radio Day (13th February) SDS celebrates the essential service that radio stations provide globally, particularly to the blind and partially sighted community.

One of these fantastic radio stations is The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) and their station Connect radio (RNIB Connect). They explain that: “RNIB Connect started in 2003 and we have just finished celebrating our 20th anniversary, with an aim to provide an entertaining range of essential information in an easily accessible format to our listeners.”

RNIB Connect is broadcast, “to an audience of blind and partially sighted people across the UK, on Freeview 730”.

The Connect radio team believe that their services are relevant and accurate by providing insight from first hand knowledge and experience: “Our presenters are blind or partially sighted”  and they talk, “to dozens of people from the sight loss community each week, ensuring our content is informed by lived experience”.

In a fast-paced, digital world, radio remains relevant and plays a significant role in society.

“Connect Radio provides an important and entertaining service to a community which can be hard to reach, is potentially isolated and is traditionally under serviced with information and opportunities”.

The Team at Connect Radio believe that they offer a supportive service to members of their targeted community: “People who have sight loss, particularly those who have recently lost some or all of their sight, often have considerable problems accessing important information both about their condition and in life more generally. In addition, the stereotypes that exist in society about what people with sight loss can do and more acutely the assumptions of what they can’t”.

They continued to say, “It’s impossible to overstate the significance of hearing from other people who are going through similar experiences and to know, you are not alone”.

In being inclusive, “RNIB Connect Radio provides blind and partially sighted people with a platform to share their stories, where they can talk about their challenges but also share their general experiences, aspirations and life hacks with other listeners”.

“RNIB Connect Radio is a crucial tool in the RNIB’s armoury of supporting blind and partially sighted people and offers an easily accessible window into all types of information, services, opportunities and support”, they said.

Tune in to the RNIB Connect Radio at 730 Freeview or via their website for international listening. 

By Grace | Member of the 2023-2026 Young Persons Sport Panel

This past weekend (10th – 11th February) was the first residential for the 2023-2026 YPSP (Young Persons Sport Panel) cohort. In this day and age, with so many online meetings, it was also one of the first times many of us had met in-person.

The first thing we did when we all arrived to Inverclyde was a SAMH workshop with Kirsty and Robert. This got a lot of interesting conversations going; our panel is really good at being open and honest, which is such a valuable skill for us all to have.

The peer mentors then ran their icebreaker – based off the TV gameshow, The Cube. This was our first real chance to mingle and have a laugh with our fellow panel members. Thankfully there were no arguments over the ridiculously hard tasks, though we did all enjoy with SDS staff struggling more than us! Later on, the peer mentors also talked to us about their experiences of being on the previous panels. I found this really beneficial, and it made me excited for the next 2 years. We heard all about the opportunities we will be given, and the changes we can make to our communities.

We then went around in groups and reviewed Inverclyde National Sports Centre for Euan’s Guide. Whilst we had our evaluating hats on, it was also good to get moving and get a sense of where we will be staying. Most of us had a very positive first impression of Inverclyde. From welcoming staff to smooth floors and lift access (great for wheelchair users) and floor to ceiling windows creating a spacious atmosphere, with lovely views to the surrounding Largs nature, Inverclyde earned a full five stars from us!

From there we had a wee break to play Boccia. Being the most inclusive sport, this was the perfect choice for the YPSP.

It was then time to venture out to the beach and (more importantly) Tony Macaroni’s and ice cream at Nardini’s. A residential tradition for SDS, this provided yet another opportunity to chat to some new friends and to refuel after our busy day.

Then came this most exciting activity – trampolining! If asked, majority would say this was be the highlight of the residential! There was lots of jumping, leaping and relaxing. Also a lot of falling over and flailing about in foam pits; not the best for our athletes with competition season coming up!

After some rest and recuperation in our rooms for the night, it was time for day two. After catching up over breakfast, we split into our sub-groups and brainstormed some ideas for 2024. I am really excited about our upcoming plans and seeing just how far we can go.

After a short break, William and Emma delivered some social media and content training. With social media being such a big deal these days, it was great to learn about this useful tool. It was especially helpful to learn about how you can make social media more accessible through alt (alternative) text and other practices.

We finished off the day with some First Aid training from Kevin. We covered CPR, defibrillators, recovery position, bandaging wounds and epi pens. Everybody got stuck in and enjoyed themselves. What great skills these are for us to take into the future, especially in a sporting environment.