Lothian Disability Sport News

Edinbrugh Leisure are currently on the look out for a new Disability Sport Development Officer.  If you are interested in this fantastic opportunity, please see the details below and click here for the job description.

Disability Sport Development Officer

Vantage Point

Full time, 35.75 hours per week

Temporary post - 1 year

£25,155 per annum

Nine Lothian bowlers were selected to compete at the first ever Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) National Indoor Bowls Singles Championships held on Sunday 17^th April at Falkirk Indoor Bowling Club.

The inaugural event saw 49 players compete over the weekend as players with a physical disability / visual impairment participated during the Saturday and players with a learning disability battled it out on the Sunday. 

The sole Lothian representation on the Saturday was West Lothian’s Gary Clelland (B6) who left victorious after wins against Billy Allan (Fife) and Fraser Mathieson (Forth Valley).  The Sunday saw the real influx of bowlers from the East of the country and it proved an extremely successful day as Amanda Craig (West Lothian) secured the ladies section A title while Midlothian’s Raymond Brumby took the runner up spot in the male’s equivalent with a spirited show in the final.  The male section B final was played out by two Lothian bowlers as John McMillan (West Lothian) narrowly edged out Edinburgh’s Euan Wright.  Christina McSherry came close to securing the woman’s B section title but was defeated by her opponent from Glasgow culminating in a runner up medal for the West Lothian bowler.  The remaining Lothian contingent were Gordon Graham (West Lothian), Jacqueline Vickers (West Lothian) and Lisa Wilkie (Midlothian).

This event, coupled with the outdoor and carpet bowls events that are offered both regionally and nationally clearly highlight the opportunities available within the sport for participants with a disability.  If you are interested in finding out more information about local opportunities, please contact Neal on 0131 475 2364 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Edinburgh All-ability Bike Centre have relaesed details for their open session programme.  This information gives details of days and times that sessions are open to individuals to come along and try the wide range of bikes on offer.  Group sessions are also available and both will be based from Bangholm Outdoor Education Centre, Edinburgh, EH6 4RJ. 

Edinburgh ABC has a range of bikes, trikes, tandems and adaptive cycles so anyone can come along and enjoy cycling and the sessions are completely free to attend.

If you are interested in booking a place or finding out more information about these sessions, please contact ABC Development Officer David Glover on 0750 006 9357 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To download a flyer highlighting all available times to access this opportunity, please click here.

In the year of Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Scottish Disability Sport invites you to join them in a National Celebration of Para Water Sport and Para Cycling.

Scottish Disability Sport are working in partnership with Scottish Rowing, FABB Scotland/ Blazing Saddles Adaptive Cycling, Scottish Canoe Association, Royal Yachting Association Scotland, Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park and Help for Heroes Sports Recovery to offer people with physical disabilities, hearing and visual impairments the chance to try different sports with family and friends.

A flyer and application pack are linked for more information.

If you are interested in this opportunity then please contact Scottish Disability Sport on 0131 317 1130 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The annual Paralympic Experience Event was held on Friday 18^th March at Forrester / St Augistine’s High School and attracted a record number of young people from across Edinburgh, the Lothian and Borders, reinforcing the popularity of the event in the region.   The day long event is open to school aged young people with a physical or sensory impairment and is facilitated through the strong working relationship between Edinburgh Active Schools, Scottish Disability Sport and Lothian Disability Sport who take the lead in organising, coordinating and planning the event.

Sixty four children registered to participate, however the number reduced to 58 after a few call offs on the day and the youngsters were given the opportunity to try six different sports as local coaches delivered engaging sessions in badminton, basketball, judo, swimming, tennis and wheelchair rugby. The sports sessions were chosen after taking feedback on board from last year’s event with each activity proving successful in the past.  Swimming was included for only the second year after being introduced in 2015 and again allowed many of the participants, regardless of experience or ability the chance to try the sport under the watchful eye of coaches from local club Lothian Racers and staff from Scottish Swimming.  Edinburgh Leisure have spearheaded the swimming element over the last two years, providing experienced swim staff on poolside and in the water to oversee and support the less experienced young people.  The delivery provided by local coaches is a crucial aspect of the event providing an invaluable club link and providing a familiar face for any young athlete looking to make that transition into regular activity.

The event relies heavily on parental support, with the vast majority of participants being accompanied by their parents for the entire day.  This allows both the children and parents the chance to discuss sporting opportunities with coaches and professional staff and highlights the excellent sports sessions that are available in the region.  The quote below was taken from a parent after this year’s event -

“Another really good day this year and lots of positive feedback again from other parents that were present.  Kevin Simpson (ex Paralympic tennis player and this year’s Q&A panellist) is a great speaker and provided much inspiration to the kids, as does the event as a whole.” 

This year’s Question & Answer session saw ex Paralympic Tennis player, Kevin Simpson and Lothian Phoenix and Scotland under 23 wheelchair basketball player Josh Manson discuss their experiences in disability sport aiming to inspire the stars of the future to potentially follow a similar path.  In addition to the Q&A session, this year saw the introduction of a ‘Market Place’ where around 14 organisations attended to promote their programmes, projects and activities and discuss further opportunities with the large number of parents in attendance.  This was further complimented by the CPD Workshop delivered by experienced tutor Richard Brickley MBE, providing an insight into ‘How to Identify and Include Children and Young People with a Disability in Sport’ with over 20 teachers, coaches and volunteers strengthening their knowledge in the field.

Thanks is extended to all parents and young people for their attendance and participation, the club coaches, volunteers and Governing Bodies of Sport for delivering sessions that were engaging and inclusive for all the youngsters in attendance.  The Paralympic Experience Event will come round again in 2017, so please keep a close eye here for all the latest information.

Over the previous two years Tranent Colts have successfully developed their existing session which is aimed at primary school aged young people with a physical, learning or sensory impairment and are now offering an exciting opportunity for players of secondary school age (13 – 17 years).

Details of the secondary aged session can be found below –

Club:     Tranent Colts

Day:       Every 2^nd Saturday (starts 23^rd April)

Time:    10.45am – 12noon

Venue: Ross High School, Well Wynd Road, EH33 2EQ.

Please get in touch with Willie Gilhooley, the club disability officer for further information on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 07905 380029.

A flyer for the session can be dowloaded by clicking here.

Mercat Gait played host to the annual Lothian Disability Sport Swimming Gala, with swimmers turning out in huge numbers; many aiming to improve personal best times while others were experiencing the event for the very first time.

A total of 91 swimmers had registered to enter, however that number was reduced after a number of withdrawals on the morning of the event.  Local clubs have been working tremendously well over the previous few months and this is clearly evident from the huge number of swimmers now accessing the opportunity.  Experienced clubs Lothian Racers, Lothian Waves, Loanhead Swim Team and Livingston & District Dolphins (Rainbow Squad) were able to enter a number of experienced swimmers while also promoting some of their younger swimmers to attend their first gala.  Other clubs like Mercat Greats and Enjoy Leisure continue to develop their weekly sessions and the young people now accessing the competition has increased significantly over the last 12 months, testament to the swimming development work being undertaken in the East Lothian region.  This event also continues to attract some of the region’s most promising swimmers as east regional squad members Christian Buchanan and Shannon Crosbie were in attendance aiming to continue their development and record new PB’s.  The region also welcomed entrants from additional local authorities, as Jenna Brus (Borders Barracuda’s), Jill Hendy (Stirling Swimming) & Mairin Savage (Stirling Swim) came from slightly further afield to swim in East Lothian.

Edinburgh school Braidburn were also present and entered four swimmers who were looking to better their swim times from the school swim qualifier held last October.  The staff from the school supported their swimmers superbly throughout and provided the opportunity for their pupils to access this event which is of course, held out with the school week.

Further support was provided from a whole band of officials, time keepers and volunteers who kindly give up their time to ensure the event runs smoothly and gives the swimmers the best experience possible.  Special thank you goes to John Sluman for organising such a large group of enthusiastic officials and John Brodie for continuing to plan / coordinate the programme prior and on the day of the event.  Jim Anderson OBE was on hand to present the medals to all swimmers and provide all attendees the chance to purchase his recently released book, Jim the Swim.

A full list of results can be found by clicking here.  If you are interested in finding out more information about swimming opportunities in the Lothian region, please get in touch on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The annual Lothian schools disability 5-a-side festival was held on Thursday 10^th March and attracted 57 young people from three local authorities.  Dunbar Grammar (East Lothian) participated for the first time, entering a impressive three teams while there were notable absences from experienced schools and previous winners such as Woodlands (Edinburgh), Donaldson’s and Cedarbank (both West Lothian).

The sun shone throughout the entire event and Portobello Powerleague provided the perfect setting for the festival, with pupils enjoying a skills station format during the morning and a more competitive element in the afternoon, battling it out for the trophies available on the day.  The skills session provides the opportunity for the young people to develop their skills under the guidance of coaches from Street Soccer and the Scottish FA and builds upon the participatory event held in November.  The afternoon session then provides an opportunity for all players to show their competitive side and play competitive 5-a-side matches against their peers from across the region.  This event primarily focuses on grassroots participation but is also used as selection for the Scottish Disability Sport National competition on Wednesday 20^th April in Glasgow where teams from around the country will attend.

Competition was evident throughout and schools played some eye catching football, with Dunbar Grammar securing victory in the S1/2 and S3+ sections ensuring they travelled back to East Lothian happy.  The S3+ competition provided the platform for eight teams to compete against each other with two groups of four playing to secure a place in the semi final stage after a round robin format – Dunbar facing Musselburgh Grammar (East Lothian) and Kaimes (Edinburgh) playing West Calder (West Lothian), with Dunbar and West Calder progressing to the final where the East Lothian school comfortable won 3-0.  The S1/2 competition was contested between the only two schools entered – both from Dunbar Grammar.  This meant the school were all conquering on their first entry to the event.

The day was extremely well supported and continues to be a great partnership event between Lothian Disability Sport and Street Soccer, the football organisation kindly supplying a whole host of coaches to deliver the morning skill sessions which are always well received by the young people.  The Scottish FA also provided their experienced coaches to support with the skill development of the young people and their input at these events are always greatly appreciated by all participants and organisers alike.  This year also saw ten senior pupils from Royal High School (Edinburgh) come along and help with delivery, refereeing and generally provide enthusiasm and excellent support to all the young people involved on the day – many thanks to the school and the Active Schools Coordinators who made this happen and provided excellent help on the day.

Local clubs Broxburn United Sports Club, Spartans Connections FC and Lothian Hibernian also attended to promote their local sessions and if you are interested in hearing more about football opportunities in the region, please get in touch on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..        

History was made at the SDS National Carpet Bowls Championships held in Dundee on 27^th February when Alan Gordon became the first bowler from Lothian to win the SSAD Trophy for male bowlers with a learning disability. He did it the hard way too, having to play 4 ties to reach the final where he then met previous winner Craig Donaldson from Fife. Not only did he take it in his stride he swept the opposition away, finishing with a comfortable 16-6 win in the final to lift the trophy. Gordon Graham also played well in the same category as he made it to the semi final, where he was beaten by Craig.

The other main success of the day was Eileen Restorick retaining the Bearsden Shield, despite her section, ambulant and B3 bowlers (unrestricted), being combined with sections 6/7 (restricted). Husband, Jimmy Restorick, almost made it a family double as he played in the final of the section for male ambulant and B3 bowlers (unrestricted) but he came up against Billy Allan from Fife who proved too strong on the day.

The remainder of the 11 strong Lothian team, Neil Shirley (ambulant and B3 bowlers unrestricted); Amanda Craig, Jacqueline Vickers, Lisa Wilkie and Susan Drummond ( Ladies Learning Disability) and Euan Wright and John McMillan (Male Learning Disability)  all bowled well, most winning at least one tie.

Thanks to Anne Troup and Richard Morrison who helped manage the team on the day.

Helen Bruce, Team manager

A young Lothian team recorded a repeat result of last year, claiming third place at today’s Scottish Disability Sport Sportshall Athletics Championships at Grangemouth Sports Complex, eventually losing out to more experienced Forth Valley (runners up) and Fife (winners) teams.

The branch from the East of Scotland were able to select a strong team after a record entry to the qualification event held at West Lothian College at the beginning of February, with 177 young people travelling from all local authorities of Lothian in addition to a strong representation from the Borders.  Like the regional event, there was a significant West Lothian presence within the Lothian select team with Aaron & Corey McDowell (East Calder PS), Sophie Gault (Linlithgow PS), Christopher Wilson, Euan Borthwick & Caitlin Dornan (Pinewood) and Cameron Playfair & Niomi Brown (West Calder) all using the event to test their run, jump and throw skills against their peers from across Scotland.  Matthew Power (Woodlands) and Steven Stone (Pilrig Park) provided the experience to compliment the youth of the side as both boys are experienced athletes and have represented the branch a number of times previously – Matthew (15) excelling in the speed bounce event and Steven (16) likewise in the javelin throw.  There was also notable point scoring from Aaron McDowell and Sophie Gault in the target throw, demonstrating excellent accuracy throughout.

Neal Herbert, Lothian Disability Coordinator, highlighted, ‘the young people performed superbly throughout, they were a credit to their schools and the region as a whole.  This event is used as a stepping stone towards further involvement in the sport of athletics and the talent and potential to develop was clearly evident from all involved.’

The sportshall athletics events are used as an introduction to the sport and give the young people an opportunity to try the various skills involved when participating in the range of run, jump and throw events offered in track & field.  The event has been a staple in both the regional and national events calendar and

Lothian Disability Sport work in partnership with Scottish Athletics to facilitate a Track & Field Athletics event, scheduled to be held at Meadowmill Sports Centre on Wednesday 27^th April 2016 and this event will be open to junior and senior athletes.  If you are looking to become the next Maria Lyle, then please get in touch on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further details.

Scottish Disability Sport is delighted to be working in partnership with British Blind Sport to announce the creation of an exciting role which has at its heart children with visual impairments.

Funded by the People’s Postcode Trust, this innovative new project in Scotland will have a significant impact on children with visual impairments and their families by helping them take their first steps into an active life. 

The successful candidate will be an experienced project co-ordinator or manager who will take responsibility for devising, shaping and delivering an exciting and ground-breaking project. 

For more information on this opportunity view the job description on the British Blind Sport website.

For more information about the role, please contact Caroline Whitehouse on 01926 424 247 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Closing date for applications: Sunday 13th March 2016 

Interviews will be held on: Tuesday 22nd March 2016 in Scottish Disability Sport, Caledonia House, South Gyle, Edinburgh, EH12 9DQ

East of Scotland sprinter Maria Lyle (Dunbar), who has just turned 16, received the Scottish Athletics Para Athlete of the Year Award in front of a packed Emirates Arena at the Glasgow Grand Prix.

Lyle, who competes in the T35 classification, won three medals at the IPC World Championships in Doha last year, taking silver in her individual events - T35 100m and 200m.  She added gold as part of the combined classification T35-38 4 x 100m relay. 

Given the strength and depth of Para athletics in Scotland this is a very difficult award to win.  Her fellow GB and World Class Podium Programme team mates, Jo Butterfield, Sammi Kinghorn and Derek Rae all short listed for the title. 

For a full report please visit the Scottish Athletics website

Lothian Disability Badminton Club had a fabulous weekend at the Scottish 4 Nations! The team made the club proud, everyone played extremely well and represented LDBC superbly throughout - great performances all round. The club are delighted to announce that we have brought home 10 medals from Ravenscraig, with 6 of them being gold.

Thank you so much to everyone who made the weekend happen and who helped our players. This year was the biggest ever club entry with 19 players entering.  The number of players the club engage continues to increase which highlights just how hard the club are working to consitently develop which is great to see. 

Big congratulations to LDBCs medalists: Alan Oliver, Michael McCraw, Jenny Gray, Connell Greenhorn, Peter Sabine, Andrew Davies, Fiona Christie and Niall Jarvie.

Well done to Colin Leslie, Adam Linton Main, Jamie Munro, David Purdie, Ross Foley, Bobby Laing, Duncan Taylor, Gregor Hardie, Lewis McDonald, Daniel Strang and Sharon Munro who all played so well throughout the weekend. Special mention to our 5 players who competed in their first ever tournament. Hope you had fun and are looking forward to the next one.

Emma Foley

Lothian Disability Badminton Club

We’ve all been there, either playing the wonderful game or being made to watch it on TV, we know the great joys and benefits that football provides. Well, Every Tuesday The Yard hosts football sessions for all disabled children and young people at Meadowbank Sports Centre, for kids aged 7-18 yrs. It’s a brilliant session that we offer to many kids with all abilities, the only requirement is to become a Yard member, and the sessions are as much about learning social skills, as they are about improving football technique.

I am writing to you today on behalf of The Yard adventure play centre and I would absolutely appreciate your help in kick-starting our fantastic footie sessions.

I have attached a flyer in this email for reference and distribution, although I am a fountain of knowledge about this football session, so please do get in contact with me should need anything at all regarding the football session.

The less spaces we have available the better. This means more kids can play, learn and develop together in a full and fun session. I would really appreciate it if you could pass on this opportunity to any children or young people that may benefit from the service, especially those who love a good kick about! Supported by Play2Learn and Awards For All Scotland.

Scott Farkas

Communications, The Yard

t: 0131 476 4506  |  e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Scottish Disability Sport is working in partnership to provide an event for children, young people and adults with visual impairments from across Scotland to host a Visual Impairment Sport Engagement Day. The aim of the event is to provide an introduction to sport and engage participants in sport. RNIB, Haggeye, Guide Dogs Scotland and Visibility are supporting Scottish Disability Sport and governing body partners the Scottish Football Association, JudoScotland, Scottish Swimming and Scottish Athletics to provide a quality experience to participants on the day. 

Many people with a visual impairment are not aware of the opportunities available to them in their local area. Scottish Disability Sport Regional Managers will be on hand on the day to raise awareness and support participants to get involved in their chosen sport in their local area. If you would like to have a chat about the event please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Sports on offer throughout the day are: athletics, bowls, cycling, football, goalball, judo and swimming.

Stalls will provide information on other organisations including Scottish Visually Impaired Skiers, Tennis Scotland, RNIB, Haggeye, Haggeye Juniors, Talking Tandems  and Guide Dogs UK.

If you have a visual impairment or know someone with a visual impairment that would like to get involved in sport and would like to attend please register by telephoning Scottish Disability Sport on 0131 317 1130 or alternatively email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or download the information pack here.

Please note that booking is essential.

Thursday 4^th February saw 175 young people descend on West Lothian College to participate in the annual Lothian Disability Schools Sportshall Athletics Festival, with schools coming from all over the Lothian area and also the Borders.  The event provides an excellent platform for the primary and secondary aged school pupils to try run, jump and throw activities in a friendly and encouraging environment with many youngsters trying the sport for the very first time.  However, the more experienced athletes are given the opportunity to excel in events such as soft javelin, speed bounce and hi stepper with the incentive of qualifying to represent the Lothian region at the Scottish Disability Sport National event, held in March.

West Lothian College again welcomed the masses and were extremely accommodating in the lead up and on the day of the event, providing the opportunity to try out their newly refurbished sports hall.  The event is now a staple within the LDS calendar of events and is an excellent model of collaborative working with a number of key partners, including Lothian Disability Sport, Sports Development & Active School West Lothian, Scottish Athletics and of course WL College.  The event benefits from this close partnership working with disability inclusion and adapted sportshall training being delivered to the students prior to the event.  A tremendous number of 30 students were present to support and encourage the young people throughout and this was a hit with the school pupils and staff alike, with one teacher commenting ‘the students were fantastic with the pupils – they were so helpful, patient and encouraging’.

 The National event will be held at Grangemouth Sports Complex on Wednesday 3^rd March and the young people selected to represent Lothian will be aiming to better their third place finish from last year.

Scottish War Blinded members Robert Harvey and Derek McDonald are fine-tuning their archery skills, at Archers’ Hall in Edinburgh, in preparation for an archery competition in Brighton next month.

Our members have been kindly invited by Lothian Disability Sport to participate in extra sessions at Archers’ Hall to prepare for the trip where they will compete against fellow visually impaired veterans from across the UK.

Derek and Robert attend the weekly session held at Archers’ Hall on a Wednesday afternoon as well as their monthly sessions with Scottish War Blinded. They are benefiting from expert tuition from coaches Nick Murrell, George Steele and Richard Vallis as well as working alongside veterans who are preparing from the British team trials for the Invictus Games which will take place in Orlando later this year.

The group works closely with a number of veterans charities and brings active service personnel and ex-servicemen of all ages together, many of whom have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Whilst some prepare for trials and competitions, others use archery as part of their recovery plans back into active service.

Archery Coordinator for Lothian Disability Sport said:

“We are delighted to welcome Robert and Derek to our Wednesday archery group and provide additional coaching for their forthcoming trip to Blind Veterans Brighton. Both Derek and Robert have some peripheral vision and we coach them to maximise using their remaining vision to the best of their abilities.”

Both Robert and Derek are National Service veterans who joined Scottish War Blinded after losing their sight in subsequent later life. Our members discovered their talents for archery after attending a taster session organised by the charity.

Robert, a former professional footballer and qualified sports coach, embraces the opportunity to re-engage with competitive sport.

Robert said:

“We were delighted to be offered the opportunity of shooting at Archers’ Hall with veterans from the Personal Recovery Unit based at Craighall Headquarters, The British Legion and Help for Heroes. The additional practice will help greatly in our preparations for our trip next month. I am very optimistic of achieving a great result.”

Derek enjoys many sporting activities organised by the charity including bowling, acoustic shooting and is a regular in the Linburn Centre Gym.

Derek said:

“Archery is a sport suitable for all ages and all abilities. I'm delighted that I can still compete in a competitive sport and am looking forward to making the trip to Brighton next month.”

*article courtesy of Scottish War Blinded.

Scottish War Blinded provides free support to veterans of the armed forces who have a visual impairment sustained either in conflict or subsequently to their service. We support ex-service men and women who have served in the Armed Forces, including Reserves, Queen Alexandra Nursing Corps and National Service.

Edinburgh’s Jack Kane Centre provided the venue for this year’s Lothian Schools Boccia Festival, welcoming 78 young people from across the Lothian region.  The primary and secondary aged pupils were given the opportunity to try the sport in a friendly, non competitive environment as they participated in six skill stations that were tailored to introduce new skills and techniques.  Boccia is a precision target game that requires individuals or teams to score points by propelling their coloured balls onto the court and position them closer to the jack ball than their opponents.  Boccia became a Paralympic sport in 1984 and a host of players from Scotland are aiming to represent Great Britain in Rio later this year. 

This year’s event saw Edinburgh Active Schools and Lothian Disability Sport (LDS) take the lead after the previous two festivals were planned, co-ordinated and delivered by the Edinburgh Leisure Sport and Physical Activity Development Team.  Event organisers Jill Coleman (Active Schools Co-ordinator, Disability & Inclusion) and Neal Herbert (LDS Disability Sport Co-ordinator) called upon the services from a whole host of partners to ensure the smooth running of the festival, with support from Edinburgh College, Lothian Disability Sport, Edinburgh Active Schools and Portobello HS imperative in achieving this.  A special mention to the staff from Edinburgh Leisure who were out in force to support the event and provided much of the delivery on the day.

The event helped produce many smiling faces throughout and seemed to be a hit with the young people and staff alike, with one teacher highlighting ‘our youngsters had a great day and I was very impressed with the input and support provided from the senior pupils from Portobello HS’.  Jill Coleman stated ‘this was a great event to be part of, it was fantastic to see such a large turn out and the genuine enthusiasm for Boccia from both those new to the sport and those with previous experience’.

The Lothian region offers a range of opportunities in the sport of Boccia with active sessions being delivered across all four local authorities in the region.  If you are interested in any local Boccia opportunities, please contact Neal Herbert on 0131 475 2364 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Musselburgh Sports Centre is delighted to introduce Boccia and New Age Curling sessions which are scheduled to begin on Thursday 4th February (4pm - 5pm) and will run through until Thursday 10th March 2016.

The session will welcome players of all ages and abilities and no previous experience or knowledge is required, providing the ideal environment for new players to try a new activity.

If you are interested in attending this session or for additional information, please contact Musselburgh Sports Centre on 0131 653 5208.  Please find the session flyer attached here.

Lothian Disability Sport Carpet Bowls Championships

Sunday 17^th January 2016

With only one no show, 32 bowlers competed in this year’s LDS Carpet Bowls Championships, the qualifying event for the Scottish Disability Sport National Carpet Bowls Championships.

Although held at Musselburgh Sports Centre carpets had been brought from Prestonpans Community Centre and from West Lothian and all were of a very good standard. The width of the boxes on some of the carpets from West Lothian were narrower than the recommended dimensions and this led to some issues but did not affect the overall running of the event.

The most keenly contested category was the Men’s Learning Disability section which had 18 entries from four different clubs plus two independent bowlers. Following a round robin competition of 2 sections of 5 and 2 of 4 the winners of each section went forward to the semi finals. There was a very high standard of bowling in all of the sections demonstrated by the fact that two of the four sections had to be decided by shot difference as there was no overall winner.

The two semi finals saw Alan Gordon (independent ) v Gordon Graham (Kirkton) and Euan Wright (independent) v John McMillan (Kirkton) with Alan and John winning through to the final. This proved to be a very close contest which required an extra end to separate the two and it was John McMillan who emerged as the winner by 8 shots to 6. John has been a regular competitor in this event over many years but this is the first time he has won and congratulations to him on a well won victory.

Nine ladies from 3 different clubs took part in the Ladies’ Learning Disability section of the event. This took the form of two sections played in round robin format with the winner of section A playing the runner up of section B, and vice versa. As with the men’s event Kirkton Service Centre proved the strength of its bowlers as three out of the 4 semi finalists were representing the Centre. The line up for these matches was Amanda Craig v Gillian Donald and Susan Drummond v Lisa Wilkie from Lothian Special Olympics. An extra end was required again to decide the winner of this second semi final and Lisa won out by 6 shots to 5. The Ladies final was then won by Amanda Craig with a fine display of controlled bowls. Amanda is a bowler of many years experience and a past winner of both this event and the SDS Championships, but it was a tremendous achievement by Lisa to reach the final as she only took up bowls recently and this was her first ever competition.

Bowlers with a Physical Disability competed in the third and final section of this year’s Championships. With only one lady entrant the PD section was combined and the 5 bowlers contesting it all played each other. Emerging victorious with 4 wins out of 4 was Jimmy Restorick from the Prestonpans & District Disabled Bowling Club while Neil Shirley from Musselburgh took second spot with 3 wins out of 4.

Trophies and medals were kindly provided by the Musselburgh Riding of the Marches Committee and representative, Colin Forbes, came along to make the presentations, including a medal to every participant. The Riding of the Marches is an event that only comes along every 21 years and the organising committee is keen to support different sports in the run up to the event which takes place over a week from 24^th June.

As well as thanks to Colin and the Riding of the Marches Committee, the biggest thanks was reserved for tournament referee Richard Douglas and the other volunteers who came along to mark the ties.  With ten different people on hand to help out the overall smooth running of the tournament was ensured and, although it overran slightly, the event passed off very successfully. Thanks were also given to the suppliers of the carpets, to the staff at Musselburgh Sports Centre and to Neal Herbert for all his organisation leading up to the event.

Full Results

LD Men

Section A : Alan Gordon  8 points,  Ronnie McLintock 6 points, Campbell Ridge 4points, Michael White & Jonathan Brown 1 point each

Section B : John McMillan 6 points, Stewart Martin 5 points, Danny Masterton & Brian Butler 4points each, Colin Robertson 1 point

Section C : Gordon Graham (shot difference +14),  Frankie Green (shot difference +1) and Angus Maitland ( shot difference - 12) all 4 points, Murray Alexander 0 points

Section D : Euan Wright ( shot difference +6, shots for 21), Peter McPhee (shot difference +6, shots for 19) and Scott Bruce (shot difference +3) all 4 points, Jimmy Watson 0 points.

Semi final 1               Alan Gordon 9 v Gordon Graham 3

Semi final 2               John McMillan 9 v Euan Wright 4

Final                           John McMillan 8 v Alan Gordon 6 (after extra end)

LD Ladies

Section A : Amanda Craig 8 points, Susan Drummond 6 points, Gillian Brown 4 points, Karen Stewart 2 points, Jacqueline Vickers 0 points

Section B : Lisa Wilkie (shot difference 10) and Gillian Donald (shot difference +7) both 4 points, Carol Whyte and Christina McSherry both 2 points

Semi final 1               Amanda Craig 8 v Gillian Donald 3

Semi final 2               Lisa Wilkie 6 v Susan Drummond 5 (after extra end)

Final                           Amanda Craig beat Lisa Wilkie

PD Combined

Jimmy Restorick 8 points, Neil Shirley 6 points, Robert Kelly 4 points, Robert Harvey 2 points, Eileen Restorick 0 points