THREE-TIME Paralympic gold medallist Simon Jackson and Olympic Silver Medallist Craig MacLean were the stars of the show in Glasgow on day three of Bank of Scotland’s National School Sport Week.
Photograph SNS / Sportsbeat. - Representatives (from left) Miles Moran, Kieran Merrilees (Bank of Scotland) and Jacqueline Lynn (sportscotland) join Paralympian tandem cyclists Craig MacLean (back,2nd from right) and Simon Jackson (back,3rd from right) and with pupils from Hazelwood High School at Scotstoun Leisure Centre
All eyes were on the Scotstoun Leisure Centre for the event, which centred on a Paralympic Pathway Festival designed to both unearth a potential future Paralympian, while also introducing disabled youngsters to new sports.
School children were encouraged to try their hand at events ranging from judo to football as part of the sportscotland and Bank of Scotland scheme that will see over 700 schools across the country involved during the week 7 - 11 June.
Fraser Penman, a pupil from Uddingston Grammar School, was left delighted with his opportunity to speak to a Paralympic champion. “It was great to talk to Simon,” said 15-year-old Penman. “He gave me the address to his website because I was interested in maybe trying to get involved with judo.”
And while Penman was the only representative from his school on the day, he was not the only Uddingston Grammar face since former pupil Michael Kerr, now a GB wheelchair rugby player and a Bank of Scotland Local Hero, also attended. “It’s fantastic for the kids to be down and trying new things,” said Kerr.
The Paralympic Pathway Festival was overseen by Scottish Disability Sport and Glasgow Active Schools representatives. And despite enduring a hectic day at Scotstoun both Becky Bisland, West Regional Manager for Scottish Disability Sport, and Kat Toal, Active Schools Coordinator for Glasgow insisted the event had been a success.
“It went really, really well and everyone enjoyed the activities,” said Toal. “It was important for us to show the kids that there are avenues and clubs that they can play the sports that they had tried out at and I think it worked well,” echoed Bisland.
And what better man to sum up the Paralympic-themed third day of Bank of Scotland’s National School Sport Week than three-time gold medallist Jackson – now bidding to be part of the London 2012 Games as a cyclist. He said: “I think what is great about these events is that it gets lots of people involved and introduced to new sports. Not just to try and uncover some talented players but also to get kids involved in sport to play at a local level and just enjoy it."
Research released by Bank of Scotland on Wednesday highlights that although awareness for Paralympic sports overall across children and parents are low – there is definite interest from kids to learn more about lesser known sports. In particular boccia (31 per cent would like to know more versus three per cent awareness) and goal-ball (24.5 per cent would like to know more versus four per cent awareness).
Bank of Scotland National School Sport Week takes place from 7-11 June 2010. To find out more visit www.schoolsportweekscotland.org