Janice Eaglesham wins BBC Sport Unsung Hero Award
UK Sports Association (UKSA) Vice Chair and Trustee, Janice Eaglesham was awarded the prestigious 2011 BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award at a the star studded BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards in December 2011.
The award presented by England footballer, Michael Owen, recognised the work of Janice and her husband Ian Mirfin at grassroots level in athletics, at the club they founded, Red Star Athletics in Glasgow over 21 years ago. The club has since grown with more than 150 disabled athletes having trained and succeeded with the club over the years including some who have gone on to Paralympic success.
Later during an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Janice commented "We're getting disabled sport into sports pages, which is where it belongs. We're talking about elite athletes here, regardless of whether or not they have a disability."
UKSA Chairman, Bernard Atha DBE said ‘Janice is truly an unsung hero. For more years than I can remember she has worked tirelessly without recognition for disabled sports people in Scotland as well as playing a major role in the UK Sports Association for People with Learning Disability of which she is Vice Chair. It is re-assuring to see the system can pick out people like Janice to whom we all owe a deep debt of gratitude’.
To see a clip of Awards Ceremony visit the BBC website.
England Cricket Squad Crowned Tri-Nations Champions
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Learning Disability Squad were crowned Champions at the 4th INAS Tri-Nations Tournament at the De Beers Diamond Oval in South Africa on 22nd November 2011.
The final victory came after England had gone unbeaten throughout the 40-over tournament dominating reigning champions Australia and defeating South Africa twice each, before holding their nerve to claim a 19-run victory over South Africa in the final today.
This is the first time England have won the tournament going one better than 2009 where they finished runners up to Australia who had remained tournament champions since its inception in 2005.
Captain Gavin Randall said:
I didn't know what to do when Chris (Edwards) got that final wicket - jump up and down, run off the pitch, celebrate.
To go unbeaten is such an achievement. I thought we could push Australia and South Africa but I didn't think we could win every game.
On the trophy it lists Australia as the only winners of this tournament. Now it will say England and that's such a good feeling.
Under the guidance of Head Coach Derek Morgan the young squad recorded their most successful Tournament to date, beating Australia for the first time in history and seeing six players make their international debuts.
ECB National Disability Cricket Manager Ian Martin said:
I’m delighted with the result. We have seen some talented cricketers perform out here and it’s fantastic that they get the opportunity to play on the international stage.
The victory pays testament to the hard work and commitment of the players, management team and the investment from ECB, without which the young squad would not have been able to develop to such a level.
Tracey McCillen, Chief Executive, UK Sports Association said;
Our congratulations go to the players, coaches and ECB on this fantastic success! ECB’s vision and commitment to developing the pathway for players with learning disability is a good example of what can be achieved by National Governing Bodies investing in sport for people with learning disability. We look forward to continuing to work with ECB in the weeks and months to come.
Match reports of all England Learning Disability games in the 4th INAS Tri-Nations Tournament can be found at www.ecb.co.uk
Medals for British Team at Global Games
Silver and bronze medals were order of the day for the Great Britain Team who returned on 4th October from the INAS Global Games, Italy where 35 nations competed in a ten day multi-sport Championships.
GB Flag Bearer at the Games - Andrew Kaar
In swimming Craig Moate (Barking) fought hard to take silver in the 1500m freestyle and bronze in the 200m butterfly. Athletics saw Emily Rawlins (Longsight) take home bronze in the hammer.
Swimmer, Lucy Chenery (Aylesbury) the youngest member of the British Team at 16 years old, made the final in the 200m backstroke and the 400m freestyle where she set a new personal best in her international debut. Stephanie Bird (Lowestoft), Claire Ryan (Bradford), Andrew Kaar (Solihull) and Stephen Morris (Cardiff) worked hard to achieve their respective sports finals, but medals escaped all on this occasion.
Tennis player Peter Miller (Tranmere, Wirral) in his debut put in some strong performances winning 9 out of 12 single matches and the Team finished 4th place overall narrowly missing out on bronze. Table Tennis saw Adam Thompson (Sale, Cheshire) making it to the top of his group, reaching the knockout rounds eventually finishing in 16th place.
Tracey McCillen, Chief Executive UK Sports Association said "The Games were fiercely competitive as you would expect at this level. British athletes need to build on performances and move forward with strength and at pace. Given sports specific classification is in place, access to training, events, funds and the myriad of expertise through NGB's that contribute to creating gold medallists is crucial to enable athletes with learning disability to build performances for future Championships including the London 2012 Paralympic Games."
Sports specific classification in athletics was implemented at the Global Games representing a significant milestone in the action plan agreed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and INAS at the 2009 IPC General Assembly where the agreement for inclusion in the London 2012 Paralympic Games was reached. Classification in swimming and table tennis was already in place.
There are just three sports in the London 2012 Paralympic Games for athletes with learning disability - swimming (S/SB14) (100 backstroke, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke), athletics (T/F20) (shot, 1500m, long jump) and table tennis (T11) (singles).
The Great Britain Team to the Global Games was selected by the UK Sports Association for People with Learning Disability (UKSA), in conjunction with the Tennis Foundation, and led by former Commonwealth Champion Verona Elder MBE. UKSA collaborates with its four Home Country members all of whom work to support athletes to progress on the performance pathway. UKSA members are Scottish Disability Sport, Welsh Sports Association for People with Learning Disability, Disability Sports Northern Ireland and Mencap in England.
For further information on the Great Britain Team contact the UK Sports Association. View the full list of athletes and staff on the Great Britain Team. For full results visit www.globalgames2011.it
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