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Newsletter Issue
6
MAY 2002
Contents..........
 Grampian Institute of
Sport athlete, Jackie Lockhart (pictured left), made history on 13th April 2002
in North Dakota, USA, by winning the gold medal in the World Curling
Championships with her team of Sheila Swan (WSIS), Katriona Fairweather (TFIS)
and Anne Laird (ESIS).
Jackie and her team became the first Scottish
Women’s rink to win this event in its 23-year history.
This win is even more remarkable in that they
defeated Olympic Gold medallist, Rhona Martin’s rink to qualify for the World
Championships.
Throughout the event, Jackie and her team were
magnificent, finishing top after the round-robin section and then defeating last
year’s winners, Canada, in a nail-biting semi-final, before going on to defeat
Sweden 6-5 in the final with the very last stone of the game.
Speaking on the phone from the USA, Jackie
stated, “This is a very proud moment for myself and the rest of the team. I
would like to thank everybody involved in the Grampian Institute of Sport for
giving me the support I needed and for believing in me. Thanks also to
Aberdeenshire Sports Council for the generous grant aid award and support.”
Phil Reid, Manager of the Grampian Institute of
Sport commented: “Everybody at the Grampian Institute is delighted for Jackie
and her team. Jackie has worked extremely hard this year - both on the ice and
in the gym and is a fantastic example to every athlete in Grampian. Jackied is
talented, dedicated, confident and composed, but most importantly, she believes
that she belongs on the top of a World Championship podium. Jackie has made
history - we are very proud of Jackie and her team mates.”
NB Jackie has been shortlisted for
the Sportswoman of the Year Category at the Aberdeenshire Sports Awards (for
further details see
here.
AFFILIATION FEES NOW DUE FOR 2002/2003
At the recent AGM of Aberdeenshire Sports Council
it was agreed that affiliation fees will remain at £20 for all those electing to
pay by Standing Order, and will rise to £25 for those clubs/organisations/teams/individuals
choosing to pay by cheque. Still excellent value for money!
“We would encourage everybody to pay by Standing
Order whenever possible” explained Chairman, Jim Conn. “This cuts down the
administrative work and allows us to concentrate on providing additional
benefits and services to all our members” added Jim.
Please complete and return without delay -
See
here.
HIGHLY DELIGHTED!
Banff & District Trampoline Club were delighted
to find out that they had won the competition in Issue 5 of the Aberdeenshire
Sports Council Newsletter.
“The prize money has enabled us to place one of
our coaches on the Activ-8-Grampian Coach Education Course - Good Practice &
Child Protection” said Debbie West.
DISABILITY
RIGHTS COMMISSION OFFERS A PRACTICAL GUIDE
The Disability Rights Commission encourages
businesses and service providers to consider a wide range of disabilities,
including sight and hearing impairments, mental-health problems and learning
disabilities. The people who will benefit from improvements made with disabled
customers in mind will not only be existing disabled customers, but prospective
customers as well. In addition, their friends and families will benefit,
as well as customers with pushchairs or with children who may not consider
themselves disabled, but who do appreciate easier access.
The Disability Rights Commission encourages
businesses to talk to their customers, as it is not wise to assume that “one
solution fits all”. A spokesperson for the Disability Rights Commission said:
“Those who say that they have few disabled customers may find that they are
limiting their consideration to stereotypical images of people in wheelchairs or
who are blind. The Disability Discrimination Act covers a much wider range of
people - for example, those with heart conditions, asthma, back problems and
other ‘hidden’ disabilities.” The Disability Rights Commission has produced a
practical guide which contains a range of advice as well as examples on how to
make improvements.
• Timing of Improvements
The guide suggests that businesses
make a start on making improvements now. It is also important to then take a
long-term view, which will mean creating a long-term plan of gradual
improvements. It is helpful to make use of additional input and advice to help
make any changes - for example, from local access groups or even technical
advice from professionals.
• Non-Physical Adjustments
Making goods and services available
by alternative methods can also be very important. Access can be improved by
providing a means for avoiding physical features which cause real barriers or by
providing reasonable alternative methods of making services available to
disabled people. Changing the way you run your business through your staff
management and policies can also be beneficial to disabled people. Attitudes
towards serving disabled customers are as important as the premises themselves.
Staff should be aware of the Disability Discrimination Act and be appropriately
trained.
• Entrance/Exit To The Premises
Steps to an entrance door can be the
biggest single barrier to independent access for people with mobility
impairments. Besides possible structural improvements - ramps or handrails, for
example - smaller changes can also help. Marking steps more clearly and
improving lighting can help improve an entrance. If staff can not easily see a
customer outside who needs assistance, it may also help to install a call bell
or entry-phone system.
• Making Doors Easier To Use
A few changes to an entry system can
make a real difference. Repositioning a door handle or replacing it with one
that is easier to grip can help some disabled people when entering your
business. Making entrance straight and flush can make life easier, for example,
for wheelchair users. Also glazed doors may not be easily visible to people with
impaired vision, but can be made easier by adding safety markings half-way up
the door.
• Moving About Within The Premises
Aisles, corridors, and so on, are
often unnecessarily restricted by the positioning of furniture and fittings,
displays, deliveries, rubbish or storage. Improving circulation may be as simple
as making sure these areas are kept uncluttered and will benefit wheelchair
users, as well as people with walking sticks or frames. Fitting handrails - for
example, where there are one or more internal steps - will also help movement
within the premises, as will clearer markings of internal steps and safety
hazards such as protruding features. Surfaces should be as level as possible,
particularly around junctions of floor surfaces and fitted mats. And businesses
should ensure that cleaning and polishing does not make slip-resistant surfaces
slippery. Businesses should ensure that redecoration of interiors does not
compromise a carefully selected colour scheme designed to impart information to
people with visual impairments or compromise contrast with features such
as door frames, control panels, signs, and so on.
Consider the above in terms of what your
organisation provides for people with disabilities. Could improvements be
made in most cases? The answer is probably “Yes”.
For further information contact:
John Wills, Aberdeenshire Disability Sport
Tel: 07813 967878
A STRATEGY FOR SPORT & PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN
ABERDEENSHIRE 2002 - 2005
(A Joint Development Initiative Between
Aberdeenshire Council and Aberdeenshire Sports Council)
It was hoped to put out the draft strategy for
consultation earlier in the year, however, a number of changes to the format and
structure of the draft were required, which lead to some delay.
Affiliated clubs/organisations/individuals will
all receive a copy of the draft towards the end of May with responses required
back around mid July. The draft will then be amended as required with the
proposed final document going forward to the Aberdeenshire Council Education &
Recreation Committee on 29 August and to the Aberdeenshire Sports Council
Executive Committee in August. It is hoped that the document can be launched in
September.
Aberdeenshire Sports Council are keen that all
affiliated members have an opportunity to take ownership of the document and
respond to the draft via the consultation questionnaire. Please ensure that your
organisation has the opportunity to do so and if necessary, you may wish to
convene a separate or special meeting of your committee.
DANES ARE A BIG
HIT!
A recent visit to Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen by
two top badminton coaches from Denmark proved highly successful.
The coaches were kept very busy undertaking
sessions with and for all ability levels including schools, clubs, Activ-8
Squads, etc.
The visit, organised by Joan Prieur, Badminton
Co-ordinator for Aberdeenshire Council also included a day workshop for
teachers, club reps and coaches.
HUNTLY
COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOPEFUL RECEIVES CHEQUE BOOST
A Huntly woman, aiming to be in Scotland’s
shooting team at the Commonwealth Games later this year, has received a cheque
for £300 from Aberdeenshire Sports Council to assist with travel costs incurred.
Sheena Sharp, who was selected for the Scottish
and British training squads at the end of last year spends most weekends
travelling to training events and competitions throughout the country, and once
a month she travels 600 miles to Bisley to train with the British Squad.
In March, Sheena travelled to Munich with the
Scotland Squad for a training camp, as well as benefiting from expert coaching
from former Olympic medal winner, Alistair Allan.
Over the next few weeks she will be competing in
the Isle of Man, Headley Park and Bisley, all of which will count towards her
selection for the Commonwealth Games. The final decision on the Commonwealth
Games Team will take place on 16 May.
SPORTS AWARDS EVENING - 17 MAY 2002 - BANFF SPRINGS HOTEL, BANFF
Over 75 nominations were received for the various
categories and shortlisting which took place on 17 April proved incredibly
difficult, (particularly for the Junior Sportsman and Junior Sportswoman
categories which attracted the highest levels of nominees).
“Once again we are delighted to have received so
many nominations, particularly for the Junior categories. The vast majority of
those nominated were outstanding, which goes to show the wealth of sporting
talent in Aberdeenshire”, said Jim Conn, Chairman.
Aberdeenshire Sports Council would like to
acknowledge and thank the sponsors of the award categories who are -
• Banff Area Network Development Group
Limehillock Development Company, Grange - 2 categories
Sangs (Banff) Ltd - 2 categories
Scott the Chemist, Banff
Sean Jones and Partners
Macduff Shipyards
Masson & Glennie, Peterhead
sportscotland in partnership with the Scottish Association of Local Sports
Councils.
Turriff Printing Services
Also thanks go to -
• Banff Springs Hotel for subsidising the
arrival drinks
• Exhibition & Event Strategy for
sponsoring & producing the display boards
• Garioch Indoor Bowling Club for
contributing to the costs of other aspects of the evening.
All the above will receive Patron of Sport bronze
awards with the exception of Exhibition and Event Strategy who will receive a
silver award.
AWARDS FOR ALL
GRANT FOR ABERDEENSHIRE TENNIS FORUM
Aberdeenshire Tennis Forum are celebrating a
recent grant aid award of £3,400 from Awards for All.
‘We are delighted to have received this grant
which will enable us to develop a range of initiatives in Aberdeenshire focusing
particularly on coach and volunteer education and development,’ explained Iain
Craigie, Chairman.
The Forum in partnership with Aberdeenshire
Council is working hard to ensure the development of and support to Tennis
Assistants (who are actively working in clubs & schools), recognising the need
to increase the pool of qualified coaches in the area. It is hoped that some of
the Tennis Assistants will wish to go on to undertake the Development Coach
Award.
A series of workshops and courses (sport specific
& generic) will be organised through the year supporting club personnel, primary
teachers, Tennis Assistants and those progressing on to their Development Coach
Award.
In addition some of the grant will be used to
purchase a pool of equipment which will be available to coaches and clubs to aid
their teaching/coaching and development and also an amount to enable clubs in
rural areas to establish new competition opportunities.
It will be up to the Forum members to finalise
the allocation of the grant aid in the near future.
If you have suggestions for particular sections
or articles in future newsletters, or have news from your club/organisation that
would be of interest to others please contact the Sports Council Office, 1
Church Street, Macduff, AB44 1UR. Tel: 01261 813383
NEW
OPPORTUNITIES FUND - YOUR LOTTERY - YOUR COMMUNITY
New Opportunities For PE and Sport Initiative
What is the New Opportunities Fund?
The New Opportunities Fund was created in 1998 to
distribute grants for health, education and environment initiatives. The
fund delivers programmes across the UK that are designed to improve the quality
of life for people and communities, address disadvantage, encourage community
participation and complement Government strategies.
What is the new Opportunities for PE and sport
initiative?
The New Opportunities Fun will commit a gross
total of £87 million to the new opportunities for PE & Sport in schools
initiative in Scotland. This initiative consists of two separate
programmes, Facilities and Activities.
1
Facilities Programme
From this funding, a gross amount of
£52 million will be committed to the new opportunities for PE and sport
facilities programme. This funding will be used to support projects
designed to bring about a step-change in the provision of sporting facilities
for young people and for the community generally by:
• Modernising existing, and building new,
indoor and outdoor sports facilities for school and community use;
• Modernising existing, or building new,
outdoor adventure facilities to benefit young people who do not currently have
ready access to these facilities
• Providing initial revenue funding to
support the development and promotion of these sporting facilities for wider
community use.
Who will benefit from the programme?
The primary beneficiaries of the programme will
be children and young people. All projects must demonstrate that the
facilities developed will be used by children aged 5 to 16, both within and
beyond the curriculum. Wider community use (in other words, use by the
non-school population) will also be essential for all but the smallest projects.
What does the programme aim to achieve?
We have developed a set of six key outcomes that
we aim to achieve through the new opportunities for PE and sport facilities
programme. These outcomes are as follows:
• improved physical education and sport in
schools
• higher standards across the whole school
through PE, sport and other forms of structured and unstructured activity (as
set out in school development plans)
• better opportunities to increase the
levels of physical activity among the school age population and, more generally,
local communities (supporting the health recommendations for levels of physical
activity for young people and adults)
• improved collaboration, co-operation and
partnership between schools and between schools and their communities
• promotion of social inclusion through
access to and use of sports and outdoor adventure facilities by all groups in
society
• innovation and best practice in the
design and management of facilities.
What is the funding process for this programme?
To ensure the most strategic use of funds for
this initiative, we have decided to allocate each local authority area an amount
based on population, and deprivation both urban and rural. Each local
authority in Scotland will be co-ordinating applications for their area and
undertaking consultation with interested parties.
Aberdeenshire have been allocated £2,085,000
2
Activities Programme
The fund will also commit a gross total of £35
million in Scotland to the activities programme, which will support projects
that fall into two different strands: one for out of schools hours activity (OSHA)
projects and the other for active steps projects.
i OSHA will offer children and young people
aged 5 to 16, a wide range of sporting and cultural activities, including dance,
outdoor education, adventure and other challenging activities and
ii Active steps will fund activities designed to
promote the role of sport in diverting children and young people aged 5 to 16
from crime or behaviours likely to lead to crime
Who are the beneficiaries of this programme?
The beneficiaries for OSHA projects are children
and young people, aged 5 to 16 particularly those living in areas of high social
deprivation. The priority beneficiaries for active steps projects are
people who are deemed to be at risk of becoming involved in criminal or
anti-social activity.
What does the programme aim to achieve?
The activities programme is intended to offer
more than just sporting and cultural opportunities. We have developed a
range of key outcomes setting out the impact that we expect the projects we fund
to have in areas such as developing children’s talents and abilities, and
promoting social inclusion. We would also expect projects to promote
citizenship, lifelong learning, physical activity and help build links between
schools and communities. We have also developed additional specific
outcomes for active steps projects setting out the role we expect these projects
to play in promoting positive behaviour and diverting young people from crime.
These outcomes are as follows:
For OSHA:
• Provide more opportunities for children
and young people to develop their personality, talents and mental and physical
abilities to their fullest potential by promoting effective links between
learning and sporting and cultural activities.
• Promote social inclusion through the
provision of sporting and cultural activities.
• Improve opportunities to increase the
levels of physical activity among young people
• Establish new links between schools and
their communities that encourage young people to enjoy lifelong involvement in
sport and cultural activities
For active steps:
• Use sport to divert young people from
criminal activity or behaviour likely to lead to such activity
• Promote positive behaviour to aid in the
reduction of truancy and exclusion from schools
What is the funding process for this programme?
We will give each local authority a provisional
allocation to fund grant scheme activities from 2003 (the term “grant scheme” is
used to describe one overall scheme which may include a variety of projects and
delivery sites). Grant scheme activities can run for up to three years.
Local authorities will act as the lead organisation for the grant scheme in
their area and will be expected to work in partnership with a range of local and
national organisations in developing and implementing their grant scheme to
ensure the most strategic use of the funding available. Aberdeenshire have
been allocated £944,000
Contact Information
If you wish to be involved in discussing local
priorities or wish to be considered for inclusion in the application process for
either programme, please make direct contact with local authority. Details
of the appropriate contact(s) for each local authority will be available shortly
from our general enquiries line on 0845 0000123.
General Information
For general information on this and other New
Opportunities Fund initiatives please visit our website at www.nof.org.uk or
telephone our general line on 0845 0000123.
GRANT
APPLICATIONS RECENTLY APPROVED (FEB & MAR 2002)
|
Club/Org’n/Individual |
Category |
Grant |
|
Banff &
District Trampoline Club |
Coaching |
£125 |
|
Mearns Community
Centre |
Coaching |
£87.50 |
|
Martin Jowett
(Motor Cycle Racing) |
Travel |
£250 |
 |
|
Calum Coombs
(Orienteering) |
Individual |
£200 |
|
Duncan Coombs (Orienteering) |
Individual |
£300 |
|
Michael Reid (Boxing) |
Individual |
£300 |
|
Laura Towler (Squash) |
Individual |
£300 |
|
Richard Towler (Squash) |
Individual |
£300 |
|
Katherine Ward (Sailing) |
Individual |
£200 |
|
Thomas Ward (Sailing) |
Individual |
£200 |
|
Deveron Amateur Boxing Club |
Club Starter |
£200 |
|
Banchory Trampoline Club |
Coaching |
£ 55 |
|
Lesley Mathieson (Swimming) |
Coaching |
£200 |
|
Jill Wilshaw (Three Peaks Triathletes) |
Coaching |
£ 25 |
|
Banff Academy |
Travel |
£150 |
|
Stonehaven Tennis Club |
Development |
£240 |
|
Gordon Adam (Peter Nicol Squash Centre) |
Individual |
£200 |
|
Richard Adam (Peter Nicol Squash Centre) |
Individual |
£300 |
|
Claire Brownie (Turriff Ladies Netball)
|
Individual |
£100 |
|
Fraser Clarke (Banchory Tennis Club) |
Individual |
£200 |
|
William Collins (Banchory Tennis Club) |
Individual |
£100 |
|
William Duncan (Athletics, Banff Academy) |
Individual |
£200 |
 |
|
Jillian Gill (Turriff Ladies Netball) |
Individual |
£100 |
|
Andrew Musgrave (Huntly Nordic Ski Club) |
Individual |
£150 |
|
Allan Ross (Banchory Tennis Club) |
Individual |
£200 |
|
Emily Skitmore (Huntly Nordic Ski Club) |
Individual |
£300 |
|
Stephen Smith (Three Peaks Triathletes) |
Individual |
£300 |
|
Grampian Special Sailing Association |
Development |
£500 |
|
Grampian Special Sailing Association
|
Coaching |
£500 |
|
Peterhead Canoe Club |
Development |
£500 |
|
Peterhead Canoe Club |
Coaching |
£200 |
|
Stonehaven Amateur Swimming Club |
Coaching |
£175 |
|
Alistair Gorrie (Squash) |
Individual |
£300 |
|
Lyall Paterson (Squash) |
Individual |
£300 |
|
Robert Prince (Skiing) |
Individual |
£100 |
|
Jackie Lockhart (Curling)
|
Individual |
£200 |
|
Betty McMillan (Swimming) |
Individual |
£300 |
|
Stuart Corsar (Rugby Union) |
Individual |
£200 |
 |
|
Grace Macrae (Equestrian) |
Individual |
£100 |
|
Annella Cowan (Equestrian) |
Individual |
£100 |
|
Kate Robertson (Equestrian) |
Individual |
£100 |
|
Mhairi Mitchell (Tetrathlon) |
Individual |
£120 |
|
Banff Tennis Club |
Club Starter |
£200 |
|
Lawrence Dance School (Highland Dance) |
Travel |
£300 |
|
Deveron
Gymnastics Club |
Travel |
£150 |
|
Inverurie Academy
(Boys Football) |
Travel |
£300 |
|
Gordon Riding
for the Disabled |
Development |
£225 |
|
Marie Cheyne (Broch
Seals ASC) |
Coaching |
£200 |
|
