West Lothian’s Neil Atkinson has been chosen to be part of the British Blind Sport (BBS) See My Voice programme.
A national sports leadership programme for young people with a visual impairment, the project will support leaders to develop life skills that will inevitably increase confidence, enhance their employability prospects and ultimately have the potential to change lives. This will be second cohort and follow an extremely successful inaugural programme where many young people with sight loss were provided with meaningful volunteering opportunities that have helped to equip them with leadership skills and increased confidence.
Atkinson, who is also part of the BBS Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) which acts as a voice for young people with a visual impairment to become more involved with sport in the UK. As this project develops, BBS hope that the YAP will be in a position to influence a range of sports organisations on how they can operate more inclusively when working with individuals with sight loss.
The current Napier University student’s commitment to developing sporting opportunities and volunteering is undoubted, having acted as a volunteer with Royal National Institution of Blind (RNIB) since the age of 16 using his experience of visual impairment and sport to welcome new members, make them feel comfortable and encourage them to develop and thrive regardless of their level of impairment and experience. This led to him becoming a Connect Lead with RNIB, a role which has enabled Atkinson to develop particular sporting opportunities in areas where provision is limited across Scotland; for example, partnerships were established and developed with key organisations, including the SDS, SFA, Dundee United Community Trust & Rangers Community Trust, to offer visually impaired football sessions for individuals with varying levels of sight loss.
A keen sportsman, Atkinson currently plays with North West Scorpions and helped the team claim their first British Partially Sighted Futsal League title in 2019 before following this up with a hat trick to help his side win the 2019 FA Cup Final. Prior to this and despite his visual impairment, Atkinson played mainstream football from a very young age until his early 20’s and is now coaching in youth football in Scotland via the coaching pathway. Furthermore, a qualified Personal Trainer, Atkinson has used his skills to voluntarily support the SDS Regional Swim Squad with land training sessions.
A significant contribution to the sporting community already, Neil Atkinson will undoubtedly encourage, motivate and inspire many young people with a visual impairment to follow in his footsteps and become involved in sport and physical activity in the future.
If you are interested in finding out more about opportunities in visually impaired sport, please contact SDS Regional Development Manager (East) on 0770 939 3514 or neal.herbert@scottishdisabilitysport.com.