	Week Beginning 25/02/2008

Wheelchair Tennis Anyone??

Winning Wheels, a wheelchair tennis club based in Edinburgh, are looking for more members. Wheelchair tennis sounds difficult but all the members of Winning Wheels Scotland are new to the game in the last 18 months and they continue to come back every week!

Quotes from some of the members:

“The coaches are fun and it’s a great way to meet new people”

“Tennis is great - you get the best of both worlds. In singles it’s all down to you and in doubles it is more of a team game where people with mixed abilities can play against each other”

“I was made to feel really welcome and slotted in easily”

“You soon learn that skill will beat the strongest and fastest”

“The facilities are great and being indoors, the weather is not a problem”

Anna Myatt, the Tennis Development Officer at Edinburgh Leisure, started the club with help from some players from Glasgow. The tennis centre at Craiglockhart in Edinburgh provides outstanding courts and coaching (Andy Murray learned here!). Each 90 minute session comprises a quick warm up followed by a sequence of skills development routines and usually finishing off with a shortened game of doubles - like an extended tie break.

The club was established as a charity called Winning Wheels in July 2007 and has had financial support from the Lloyds TSB Scotland Foundation and the HBOS Foundation. No fees will be charged for the first three sessions and then a nominal fee is charged per session to cover the costs of coaching. The more members we attract the lower the fee will be and fees can be waived if they are a real barrier. We also have funding for some new tennis wheelchairs but want more members before we order them to ensure they are the right size. We hope to introduce a juniors sessions (under 18) this year and another session during the week so don’t be put off if Sunday evenings is not convenient - just get in touch.

Currently sessions are from 7pm - 8:30pm on Sunday evenings. Why not come along and give it a try? For more information contact Anna Myatt on 07793968027 or Ian Hards on 07802168274 or alternatively email ianhards@hotmail.com

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Lothian Schools Regional Football Competition

Gracemount Leisure Centre played host to another exciting Lothian Football Festival & Competition for children with additional support needs. Our entry numbers were again up on the previous year with almost 100 children partaking in a series of skill drills in the morning followed by an extremely competitive tournament in the afternoon. This gives pupils from around Lothian the chance to meet new and old friends in the morning before returning to represent their respective schools in the afternoon.

Pupils from St Nicholas, Kaimes, Pilrig Park, Craigmount, Kingsinch and Royal High in Edinburgh were joined by their counterparts from Saltersgate (Midlothian) and Musselburgh Grammar (East Lothian) in what is an ever-growing list of attending schools. The day started off with a variety of enjoyable and testing skills practices that were marshalled expertly by the enthusiastic and professional coaching staff from the SFA.

Mark Gaffney, the Active Schools Co-ordinator from Midlothian who organised the event said “I am delighted that this has been another successful event. The weather just about stayed nice for us and it is great to see that our attendance numbers are up again on last year. I think these types of events are extremely important for pupils around the Lothian region and a special thank you must go to the schools for making the not inconsiderable arrangements to send their pupils on the day. ”

“A sense of camaraderie builds between the pupils at events like these and many get the opportunity to go on and represent their region and some even go on to the national level. We have a good working relationship with Lothian Special Olympics football who facilitate training and competitions out with school time. Events like this enable players to be identified and progressed to achieve at whatever level they are capable of. Again, these events are only possible due to the partnership working that exists between various agencies such as Active Schools, LSO, Lothian Disability Sport and the National Governing Bodies. It is testament to the efforts of everyone involved that each sporting event in our schools calendar continues to grow year on year.”

One of the many participants, Billy Christie from Saltersgate, expressed his enjoyment of the day, “I really enjoyed the skills in the morning. We didn’t manage to win the tournament but it didn’t matter because I scored over five goals!”

Congratulations go to the winning teams; Royal High triumphed in the S1/2 competition in the afternoon while Musselburgh Grammar claimed the S3/4 title.