Latest news with #ParalympicsGB
BBC News
7 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Disability golf champion calls for Paralympic nod
Disability golf champion Brad Smith has called for the sport to be included in future Paralympic June, Smith won the English Open for Golfers with a Disability for the second successive year at Ramside Hall in Durham."There's definitely enough players to make it into the Paralympics," he told BBC Radio Norfolk."One day, it should be in. When? No one knows. It's frustrating but there's nothing we can do about it." Golf returned to the Olympics at the 2016 Rio Games after a 112-year absence. The sport has never been included in the Paralympics despite calls from 2021, the International Paralympic Committee said Para-golf did apply for Paris 2024 but "was not fully compliant with the set of requirements for inclusion".Los Angeles will host the next Olympics and Paralympics in 2028 - but in 2023 a bid for Para-golf to be included was again rejected by the IPC. It's clear Smith would be a candidate to represent ParalympicsGB if and when the sport does gain Paralympic status. The 27-year-old started playing golf as a teenager but had to have his right leg amputated at the age of 22 and said the transition to disabled golf was difficult."I lost my leg to a rare form of bone cancer and I had to learn to walk again," Smith said."I found out about disability golf and started playing - and it got bigger and bigger every year."It was a struggle. Getting back into golf with one leg, there was a lot of bad shots and a lot of trial and error."Smith is the golf professional at the Royal Cromer course in Norfolk and said winning back-to-back English Opens was a dream come true."To win the first time around was one of my goals, to win it again the next year was a very, very good feeling," he said his perspective on the sport has changed since losing his leg and that he is now more capable of controlling his emotions on the course."When I had two legs I was quite an angry golfer," he said."If I had a bad hole, I'd be angry for the next hole. Now I don't get anywhere near as angry as I used to. By the next shot it's completely forgotten."England Golf runs more than 50 tournaments, external a year for disabled golfers and Smith says the sport is on the rise."The future is looking bright for disability golf - growing the game, getting kids into it and promoting it on a bigger scale," he said.
Glasgow Times
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Women in Sport charity founder says she and Anne discussed how sport has changed
Dr Anita White, founder of the Women in Sport charity, the International Working Group on Women and Sport, and the Anita White Foundation, was among those honoured at Windsor Castle on Tuesday. In the hallway of the royal residence she reconnected with the ParalympicsGB chef de mission, who two decades ago was selected for a leadership development course that Dr White was arranging. Dr Anita White after being made a CBE (Andrew Matthews/PA) Penny Briscoe had also just been made a CBE and Dr White said they had not seen each other since the course. Describing her discussion with Anne, Dr White told the PA news agency: 'We spoke about how sport had changed, how it used to be a lot of old grey men running sport and how gradually it is changing.' The Princess Royal asked what sports the former captain of the England field hockey team had played. Dr White, who was left wing, told PA: 'I was captain of the England team and we won the World Cup in 1975 and we didn't get much recognition at the time – that made me aware of the kind of gender divide that there was, and I've been campaigning for women in sports ever since.' The 'huge change' she has witnessed in her career has been 'at the top level'. This can be seen in the attention garnered by the Lionesses squad, as well as the number of female sports presenters and women in leadership roles, she said. Dr Anita White is made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle (Aaron Chown/PA) Dr White added: 'Inevitably there's still a certain amount of inequality in the way that girls are socialised. 'So they are terribly concerned with their appearance on social media, and not getting out there, maybe missing out on the pleasure and fun and good things that there are in sport.' 'There might be some regression of people thinking, well, because we see women in the media, we've cracked it – women in sport has been done and dusted – but of course that isn't the case,' she added. Ms Briscoe is the director of sport at the British Paralympic Association and has been selected as chef de mission for Los Angeles 2028. Dr White said people like Ms Briscoe 'ending up in a very senior position' is 'exactly one of the things that I continue to work for'. She added that, during their conversation at Windsor Castle, Ms Briscoe offered to help 'in any way she can with future work'. Dr White said she is particularly working on getting women into high-performance coaching. Anne said 'not you again' as Ms Briscoe collected her medal, the chef de mission told PA. Penny Briscoe is made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle (Aaron Chown/PA) ParalympicsGB last year finished second in the medal table for the third consecutive summer Games after winning 124 medals – 49 gold, 44 silver and 31 bronze – across 18 sports in Paris. LA 2028 will be Briscoe's 12th Paralympics and sixth as chef de mission – a role she first fulfilled at the 2014 winter Games in Sochi. Paralympic sport 'stepped out of the shadows' at the 2012 London Olympics, she said after collecting her honour for services to Paralympic sport. 'I definitely feel like I've been part of two eras of para sport, the pre-London era, where we had great athletes, we delivered great performances, but the media hadn't embraced para sport. 'It wasn't until our home Games, where every stadium was full – venues, the sport presentation, and the media, every kind of media, embraced para sport.' She added: 'I think the growth of the ParalympicsGB hasn't just been on the field of play, it's been what it's enabled off the field of play. Penny Briscoe after being made a CBE at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, Berkshire (Andrew Matthews/PA) 'So the platform that the Games provides for our athletes to have that voice, to demand changes in society.' Before joining ParalympicsGB in 2001, she was an athlete and then a coach in canoeing, which took her to the Olympics in 1996 and 2000.
Western Telegraph
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Western Telegraph
Women in Sport charity founder says she and Anne discussed how sport has changed
Dr Anita White, founder of the Women in Sport charity, the International Working Group on Women and Sport, and the Anita White Foundation, was among those honoured at Windsor Castle on Tuesday. In the hallway of the royal residence she reconnected with the ParalympicsGB chef de mission, who two decades ago was selected for a leadership development course that Dr White was arranging. Dr Anita White after being made a CBE (Andrew Matthews/PA) Penny Briscoe had also just been made a CBE and Dr White said they had not seen each other since the course. Describing her discussion with Anne, Dr White told the PA news agency: 'We spoke about how sport had changed, how it used to be a lot of old grey men running sport and how gradually it is changing.' The Princess Royal asked what sports the former captain of the England field hockey team had played. Dr White, who was left wing, told PA: 'I was captain of the England team and we won the World Cup in 1975 and we didn't get much recognition at the time – that made me aware of the kind of gender divide that there was, and I've been campaigning for women in sports ever since.' The 'huge change' she has witnessed in her career has been 'at the top level'. This can be seen in the attention garnered by the Lionesses squad, as well as the number of female sports presenters and women in leadership roles, she said. Dr Anita White is made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle (Aaron Chown/PA) Dr White added: 'Inevitably there's still a certain amount of inequality in the way that girls are socialised. 'So they are terribly concerned with their appearance on social media, and not getting out there, maybe missing out on the pleasure and fun and good things that there are in sport.' 'There might be some regression of people thinking, well, because we see women in the media, we've cracked it – women in sport has been done and dusted – but of course that isn't the case,' she added. Ms Briscoe is the director of sport at the British Paralympic Association and has been selected as chef de mission for Los Angeles 2028. Dr White said people like Ms Briscoe 'ending up in a very senior position' is 'exactly one of the things that I continue to work for'. She added that, during their conversation at Windsor Castle, Ms Briscoe offered to help 'in any way she can with future work'. Dr White said she is particularly working on getting women into high-performance coaching. Anne said 'not you again' as Ms Briscoe collected her medal, the chef de mission told PA. Penny Briscoe is made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle (Aaron Chown/PA) ParalympicsGB last year finished second in the medal table for the third consecutive summer Games after winning 124 medals – 49 gold, 44 silver and 31 bronze – across 18 sports in Paris. LA 2028 will be Briscoe's 12th Paralympics and sixth as chef de mission – a role she first fulfilled at the 2014 winter Games in Sochi. Paralympic sport 'stepped out of the shadows' at the 2012 London Olympics, she said after collecting her honour for services to Paralympic sport. 'I definitely feel like I've been part of two eras of para sport, the pre-London era, where we had great athletes, we delivered great performances, but the media hadn't embraced para sport. 'It wasn't until our home Games, where every stadium was full – venues, the sport presentation, and the media, every kind of media, embraced para sport.' She added: 'I think the growth of the ParalympicsGB hasn't just been on the field of play, it's been what it's enabled off the field of play. Penny Briscoe after being made a CBE at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, Berkshire (Andrew Matthews/PA) 'So the platform that the Games provides for our athletes to have that voice, to demand changes in society.' Before joining ParalympicsGB in 2001, she was an athlete and then a coach in canoeing, which took her to the Olympics in 1996 and 2000.
BBC News
30-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Equestrian body lifts Sir Lee Pearson's suspension
British Equestrian and British Dressage have lifted 14-time Paralympics gold medallist Sir Lee Pearson's suspension after an internal investigation into his did not take part at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris but is now free to compete internationally after his membership was reinstated."With immediate effect, Sir Lee will return to the British Equestrian World Class Programme and his membership of British Dressage is fully reinstated which enables him to compete and coach nationally and internationally," a statement from British Equestrian 51-year-old is Britain's third-most successful Paralympian with 14 gold medals, only bettered by cyclist Dame Sarah Storey and swimmer Mike a Great Britain flagbearer at Rio 2016, had stated his desire to compete at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, something ParalympicsGB said it was open to in a statement released last year."Lee has publicly stated he did not seek to qualify for Paris 2024 for personal reasons," it read."This is a matter for him and British Equestrian and in no way detracts from his past achievements or possibility that he may seek to qualify for future Paralympic Games."Pearson's suspension was in place before a four-strong British para equestrian team was named for the Paris Olympics last year. He had not competed since March 2023 and therefore was not eligible for suspension was not connected in any way to equine welfare.
Scotsman
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
ParalympicsGB athlete Stephen Clegg visits Cadder Primary School for special workshop
ParalympicsGB athlete Stephen Clegg made a special appearance at Cadder Primary School yesterday to help deliver an exciting workshop on the importance of energy saving in partnership with British Gas. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The visit formed part of British Gas' Get Set for Positive Energy Roadshow which aims to educate pupils across the UK on energy saving behaviours and habits. Through an engaging session led by Stephen and British Gas representatives, 84 pupils at Cadder Primary School participated in a range of activities including designing posters to encourage energy saving at home and school, spotting ways to prevent energy misuse, and suggesting improvements to make their school a greener place. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad During the summer, the Get Set for Positive Energy regional Roadshow will see British Gas and a group of Olympic and Paralympic athletes visit a selection of other schools across the UK, leading workshops and inspiring the minds of the future to get involved in energy saving from a young age. Cadder Primary School children taking part in energy saving workshop Damian Nicholas, headteacher at Cadder Primary School, said: 'The energy saving workshop hosted by Stephen Clegg and British Gas was such a fantastic opportunity for our students, and we can't thank everyone enough for their time and passionate attitude which certainly inspired the children. 'We believe it's so important to shape the minds of tomorrow and encourage them to engage in energy saving habits from a young age and it was great to see our pupils so engaged in activities on the topic!' Hannah Lawrance, Strategic Brand Partnerships Lead at British Gas, said:'We really enjoyed visiting Cadder Primary School yesterday alongside Stephen Clegg for our Get Set for Positive Energy workshop. We met some brilliant pupils who threw their all into the energy saving activities we had planned which was great to see. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The programme aims to educate children on building a more sustainable future, which helps us to create a more sustainable community for all. We're using our partnership with Team GB and ParalympicsGB to inspire schools to get more active and consider different ways to create a positive impact.' British Gas team leading energy saving workshop at Cadder Primary School The Get Set for Positive Energy Roadshow makes up part of British Gas' wider Get Set for Positive Energy initiative, a free cross-curricular programme that aims to educate young people aged five to 11 on the importance of saving energy to drive change, getting active and building healthy everyday habits. Through Get Set for Positive Energy, British Gas aims to reach up to 8,500 schools and 1.5 million young people and families across the UK by 2028, taking inspiration from the Olympic and Paralympic values to motivate young people to be active in creating a greener future for themselves and their community. The partnership between Team GB, ParalympicsGB and British Gas launched in 2023. The five-year collaboration will last up until the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028.
