Busy Sporting Weekend Ahead At Westburn

 Aberdeen City, Sport  No Responses »
Aug 232012
 

London 2012 Paralympic Games fever comes to Aberdeen this weekend, with some top class sporting action in prospect in the centre of Aberdeen. With thanks to Dave Macdermid.

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On Saturday Westburn Park Bowling Centre hosts the Scottish Disability Sport Lawn Bowls Championships.

It is supported by Aberdeen Disability Sport and Sport Aberdeen, with the top 70 bowlers from around the country competing for their respective national titles. Players include members of the Scottish National Squad, ranked second in the world.

Play takes place throughout the day with the finals scheduled for 3.50 p.m. and presentation of prizes at 4.35 p.m.

Westburn’s Indoor Tennis Centre takes centre stage the following day, Sunday, with the inaugural Sport Aberdeen Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, part of the Tennis Foundation Wheelchair Tennis Series.

Four players will play a round robin singles event followed by an exhibition doubles. They are Neil Duncan from Kintore, Richard Craig from Inverurie, David Hogg from Midlothian, and last year’s UK Development Series Champion Keith Thom from Dumfries, who plays at the Winning Wheels Club in Edinburgh.

Andrinne Craig, Disability Sport Regional Manager, believes anyone going along on either day is in for a treat.

“The standard in both the bowling and tennis is extremely high and there are some fantastic games in prospect.

“While bowls is not a Paralympic Sport, it is a para sport at the Commonwealth Games and many of those playing will undoubtedly be at Glasgow 2014. We are also very grateful for the support of 30 local bowlers who volunteer at the event.

“Wheelchair Tennis is a Paralympic sport and Helensburgh’s Gordon Reid will take part in the men’s singles in the Paralympic Games at London 2012, starting on 29th August. Anyone local who is interested can get involved in the weekly coaching at Westburn, every Wednesday between 11 a.m. and noon.”

Entry for spectators at both events is free.

For further information contact Dave Macdermid, dave.macdermid@bigpartnership.co.uk  telephone 07805 436988

Image credit:  Wikimedia Commons. Licence info: File:Bowls%26Kitty.JPG

Pavement And Pothole Petition Plea

 Aberdeen City, News  No Responses »
Jul 262012
 

For years, the pavements and roads in the city of Aberdeen have been in a very bad state. This subject frequently comes up in conversation, yet nothing seems to be getting done to resolve the issue. Future Choices Charity wants to change that perception.

Aaron McIntosh & Dame Anne Begg MP near the Town House highlighting the issue
The Charity caters for the city’s disabled community by working towards social inclusion and providing recreational activities.

Its Deputy Chief Fundraiser, Aaron McIntosh, is fronting a petition campaign to highlight the issue and aims to persuade the City Council to commit to a long term solution.

Supporters of Aaron’s petition campaign include Paul O’Connor MBE of Inchgarth Community Centre and Dame Anne Begg MP who, as a wheelchair user, has had first-hand experience of the state of the city’s pavements.

Aaron will be presenting the Council Leader with the results of the petition which already numbers around 150 signatures collected both online at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/fix-our-pavements-and-roads/ and offline.

The results will be handed over in December to coincide with the preparation of the Council’s next budget statement

We hope that this public awareness campaign will persuade Aberdeen City Council to sort out this issue for once and for all.

For more information, contact Future Choices Deputy Chief Fundraiser Aaron McIntosh on 07591598480

 

 

North Team Rounds Off Season In Style

 Featured, News, Sport  No Responses »
Apr 122012
 

The Moray Wheelchair Curling team of Gregor Ewan (skip), Jim Gault, Mike McKenzie and Jackie Cayton round off the season in style with victory in the Tunnocks Trophy in Lanarkshire, emerging unbeaten from their eight games. With thanks to Dave Macdermid.

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The Moray team defeated eight other teams including Stirling, Wales, Lockerbie and runners-up South Lanarkshire.

National World Class Wheelchair Performance Programme Squad members Gregor and Jim (pictured), coached in Aberdeen by Albert Middler, were part of the Scotland squad at this year’s  World Wheelchair Curling Championships in South Korea, where they finished eighth.

Jim (57), from Lossiemouth and Greg (41) from Elgin both took up the sport less than five years ago following industrial accidents, and, as Jim outlines, it did not take long for both of them to become hooked.

“I’ve always loved competition and taking up curling has allowed me to travel to places I’d never been to and make some wonderful friends. We must enjoy it as we travelled around 24,000 miles in the car in the last nine months for training and competitions.”

Greg, a former stonemason, is equally enthusiastic.

“It’s a marvelously strategic game involving move and counter-move and after my accident is really has given me a new focus in life when it would have been easy just to mope and feel sorry for myself.”

While Scottish Disability Sport funded the trip to the Worlds in South Korea and the Sportscotland Institute support ice and coach time, like many sportspeople, the pair are always on the lookout for private sector sponsorship, as Jim explains.

“We travel the length and breadth of the country and would be absolutely delighted to promote a business as we are doing so!”

Their national coach is Tony Zummack, Sportscotland Head Coach for Wheelchair Curling who worked with the players here in Aberdeen last season and will work with them as a whole Scottish Squad in Stirling this coming season. Founded in 2000, Wheelchair Curling has grown enormously in popularity since then.

Anyone interested in learning more about the sport and where they can participate in a ‘come and try’ session, visit www.trycurling.com .