Walking for Health project, Walk Aberdeen, run by
Minister for Mental Health, Maureen Watt presented Walk Aberdeen’s coordinator, Brian Harrison, and his team of caring Volunteer Walk Leaders with their Dementia Friendly Accreditation on behalf of national walking charity Paths for All. Brian and his team have worked together with other dementia service
This accreditation standard from Paths for All means anyone living with dementia can be assured that
People living with dementia benefit from being outdoors and in contact with nature as it can help to relieve stress, increase self-esteem, produce vitamin D, and exercises the brain, helping with memory and cognitive functioning. Even 10 to 15 minutes of daily walking outdoors can improve the overall wellbeing of people living with dementia.
Maureen Watt, Minister for Mental Health said:
“I am very impressed with
Brian Harrison, Walk Aberdeen’s Co-ordinator said:
“We understand the positive impact physical activity can have on people’s lives and as such we are delighted to have been able to work with Paths for All to enable people living with dementia, and their carers, to live more active lives to help manage their health and well-being.
“I am thrilled that through this project we have been able to develop and deliver a series of regular walks across Aberdeen City that are accessible to people living with dementia.”
Ian Findlay, Chief Officer with Paths for All said:
“
“I would like to congratulate Brian and his team of fantastic volunteers for making small changes to their activity programme which make a huge difference to the lives of people living with dementia in Scotland.”
Around 1,400 pupils from 45 city primary schools converged on Aberdeen Sports Village on Friday 25 May, as the annual Aberdeen Youth Games culminated in a Festival of Sport.
In the run up to this year’s Aberdeen Youth Games, children from all 45 schools were given the opportunity to submit a medal design for the games.
The winning entry was that of Ryan Lee, a P5 student of Middleton Park Primary. Ryan’s design was selected from a shortlist of 10 entries which was narrowed down by a panel of 5 judges.
As the winner of the competition, Ryan was presented with a bespoke copy of his winning design as well as having it feature as a logo on all this year’s certificates. The prize was awarded by Sir Ian Wood and Dame Katherine Grainger.
Steven Campbell, Active Schools Coordinator for Oldmachar ASG said:
“The panel was very impressed with the high standard and range of designs submitted for this year’s competition.
“We chose the winning design based on its professional look fitting of a high-profile sporting event.
“We particularly liked the logo and trophy on the backdrop of the Scotland flag as it captures the significance of the Aberdeen Youth Games’ which we believe deserves to be recognised nationally for its celebration of sport amongst primary school aged children.”
Primary school pupils from across Aberdeen had a ball this week at the culmination of a unique sports and health project for children in the Granite City, cheered on by Chair of UK Sport Dame Katherine Grainger DBE.
Around 1,400 pupils from 45 city primary schools converged on Aberdeen Sports Village on Friday 25 May, as the annual Aberdeen Youth Games culminated in a Festival of Sport.
Dame Katherine Grainger DBE said: “It is wonderful to see so many young people taking part in such a variety of sports and physical activities across the day. Their enjoyment today was clear, and I hope that enthusiasm for sport and physical activity is something they each take forward beyond this festival.
“I must also give huge credit to the coaches from RGU and NESCol, who have inspired so many young people and helped them with their passion for sport.”
This year’s event also saw the launch of the national Big Fit Walk – taking place for the first time in the North-East – with around 100 walkers joining the youngsters for Scotland’s biggest daily mile, before continuing their own route around Old Aberdeen.
Launched by Robert Gordon University’s (RGU) Sport and Exercise Science team and Sport Aberdeen in 2013 – with support from North East Scotland College (NESCol) and The Wood Foundation – the Aberdeen Youth Games is an innovative and multi award-winning programme which promotes physical activity, health and wellbeing amongst young people.
At the festival, pupils participated in a number of team-based sporting activities, such as rugby, basketball and tennis. Each activity used the skills they have learned from in-school coaching by RGU and NESCol students over the course of the term.
Graeme Dale, Senior Development Manager (Young People) with Sport Aberdeen, said: “The Aberdeen Youth Games has become a hugely anticipated and enjoyable event in Aberdeen’s sporting calendar.
“The games underline the importance of keeping young people active in a fun environment, and our partnership with RGU and NESCol encourages a healthy lifestyle and helps get more children, more active, more often.
“In the Year of Young People, there’s no better time to celebrate our fantastic young role models who are inspiring others to take part in and enjoy sport and physical activity.”
Dame Katherine Grainger DBE returned to the festival this year to cheer on the pupils, having been an inspirational ambassador for the Aberdeen Youth Games since its launch.
Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympian was joined by fellow ambassador and supporter Sir Ian Wood CBE, as well as invited guests including Maureen Watt MSP and Commonwealth Games participants from RGU, NESCol and the University of Aberdeen.
A Legacy 2014 programme, the Aberdeen Youth Games initiative sees second year BSc (Hons) Applied Sport and Exercise Science students from RGU deliver over 900 hours of skills-based coaching to pupils as part of their work placements with Sport Aberdeen’s Active Schools Team.
Bryan McCann, lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at RGU, leads the university’s involvement in the programme.
He said: “The Aberdeen Youth Games is made possible by our exciting and innovative partnership approach to allow students to act as community assets. It provides them with invaluable work-related, real-life learning opportunities, which enhances their employability whilst making a huge difference to the lives of young people in Aberdeen.
“Having so many primary schools taking part again this year – along with launching alongside the incredible Big Fit Walk – just goes to show the powerful and positive impact that sport and exercise can have on society.
“Add in the valuable bonus that the young people can interact with Dame Katherine and Commonwealth Games heroes from all of the city’s higher education institutions and it all adds up to a fantastic day for everyone involved.”
Ian Findlay, Chief Officer at Paths For All said: “Launching the Big Fit Walk is one of the highlights of our year because it sees communities, groups and individuals come together to enjoy the many benefits of simply going for a 30-minute walk.
“Last year, over 200 walks took place across the country involving people of every ages and ability.
“Paths For All are committed to promoting everyday walking as one of the easiest ways to improve your overall health and wellbeing through physical activity. The Big Fit Walk is a great way for us to spread this message, bring people together and nourish a sense of community.
“We’re so pleased to have kick started this year’s campaign with all the young people involved in the Aberdeen Youth Games, and we hope this year will be bigger and better than ever before.”
Maureen Watt MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Mental Health, visited Aberdeen Sports Village to launch the Big Fit Walk and to see the Youth Games youngsters in full flow.
She said: “The scale and impact of the Aberdeen Youth Games has been very impressive since its launch in 2013. Not only does it provide the young people involved with important life and sporting skills, it does so in a fun and active setting.
“As we celebrate the Year of Young People, partnership-led programmes like this can create a really beneficial culture amongst the next generation, with physical activity and a sense of community at its centre.”
Funding for the 2017-18 Aberdeen Youth Games has been provided by The Wood Foundation, the RGU Foundation and First Aberdeen, with the latter also committing transportation and logistical assistance for schools to and from the festival.
In 2015, The Wood Foundation committed to provide £50,000 to the Aberdeen Youth Games over a five-year period, following an initial £10,000 award to support the scheme.
Sir Ian Wood, Chairman of The Wood Foundation, added: “The scale and impact of AYG activity across Aberdeen City is impressive. The programme provides significant benefits to participating young people across all Aberdeen primary schools, whilst also providing invaluable work experience for our university and college students who have been so actively involved in the coaching.
“AYG provides both sets of learners with the opportunity to develop new skills and the focus upon nutrition and healthy lifestyle for the young people through fun activities is invaluable. The Wood Foundation is pleased to continue to support this initiative.”
Find out more about the Aberdeen Youth Games.
We have updated our Privacy Policy and that update will take effect on 25 May 2018. We recommend that you read the updated version. For your convenience here is a summary of the main changes we have made and how they benefit you:
- We set out the legal grounds for how we use your information
- Increased Transparency: as technology evolves so does the information that technology is able to collect. We have therefore updated our Privacy Policy to reflect the current information that we collect through our website software applications (including On-Line joining, On-Line bookings and On Course and devices, including cameras and CCTV
- GDPR provides customers with a robust set of right regarding the collection, use and sharing of their personal information. These include the right, under certain circumstances, to:
- Access their personal information
- Correct inaccurate personal information
- Request erasure of their personal information without undue delay
- Request the restricted processing of their personal information
- Receive the personal information that they have provided us with, in a structured commonly used and machine-readable format and you have the right to transmit that information onto another controller without hindrance or ask us to do so
- To object to the processing of that personal information
We have updated our Privacy Policy to reflect this framework of rights and how users can contact Sport Aberdeen to exercise these rights.
The Privacy Notice will apply to any of
The BHGE 10k Running Festival is continuing to make significant changes year on year with a view to making the event one of the most environmentally sustainable events in Scotland.
After receiving a letter from Aberdeen South MSP, Maureen Watt, enquiring about the volume of single-use plastic bottles available at the event, organisers are keen to reassure all participants and members of the community that environmental sustainability is of the highest importance.
Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE) and Sport Aberdeen continue to make improvements to the sustainability of the event and 2018 sees more emphasis placed on this than ever before.
This year’s race will see a reduced number of single-use plastics overall, smaller water bottles at the water stations to reduce waste, and biodegradable goody bags with fewer plastic items inside them.
The organisers are also working closely with Aberdeen-based One Stop Waste Solutions to ensure there is a sustainability plan in place for race day on Sunday 20th May.
All plastic debris left behind on race day will be picked up by a team of dedicated volunteers and recycled accordingly.
Jill Franks, Director of Business Development at Sport Aberdeen said:
“Every year we strive to be more environmentally friendly. We understand the importance of reducing our plastic use and are making positive changes to help make this year’s race one of the most sustainable yet.
“We are also working closely with our race village suppliers to make sure our sustainability ethos is understood and followed.
“There are small ways our entrants can help with our plans on the day too, such as using the green recycling bins provided.
“We’d like to thank our participants and spectators for their support and look forward to seeing them on race day!”
Lesley McMullan from BHGE said:
“BHGE are proud of the way we invent, develop and deploy technologies that are more environmentally friendly than ever before and we continuously improve our sustainable and efficient use of resources.
“This also applies to the community events we are involved with and so each year we work hard to ensure the race is as green as possible whilst still providing an excellent experience for our runners.”
Dionne McCombie – a teacher at Stracathro Primary School – is running in this month’s BHGE 10K race alongside her husband to raise £300 pounds for one of the pupils in her school who is battling against cancer.
5-year-old, Carson suffers from Desmoplastic Medulloblastoma – Who Grade 5 Non Metastatic cancer and has spent the last 11 months travelling back and forth to Edinburgh Sick Kids Hospital with his family for surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy to treat the tumour on his brain.
Dionne, who has herself recently lost someone close to cancer, was keen to do whatever she could to show support for Carson and his family. Her and her husband Gavin have so far raised over £350 and hope to see this number continue to rise in the run up to the race.
On her motivation to raise the money, Dionne said:
“As a primary school teacher part of my job, I believe, is to inspire the children in my class. However, sometimes, it’s the children who inspire me, that is certainly the case with Carson.”
Jill Franks, Sport Aberdeen’s Director of Business Development said:
“It’s always great to see people using the BHGE 10K to raise money for a cause close to their hearts, whilst setting new challenges for themselves in the process. The support the race receives each year is inspiring and people like Dionne are shining examples of what the race aims to bring out in the community”
The BHGE10K takes place at the Aberdeen Beachfront on Sunday 20th May and is a not-for-profit event organised by Sport Aberdeen in partnership with BHGE.
Although charities including Aberdeen Cyrenians and Alzheimer Scotland are official affiliated charities, runners are free to raise money for any cause or charity they wish to on the day.
Move More Aberdeen (MMA), a physical activity programme designed for people living with long-term health conditions, has been shortlisted as a “Pioneering Project” at the 2018 Scottish Charity Awards.
Members of the public can also vote for their favourite entry across the eight categories in the People’s Choice Award. Vote for Move More Aberdeen here.
MMA is a partnership between Macmillan Cancer Support and Sport Aberdeen which has been called a ‘game changer’ by participants and is the first ever cancer-specific physical activity programme in Aberdeen, offering a person-centred package of activities including walks, gentle movement classes, circuit-training, walking football and gardening.
Run annually by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, the awards are open to any voluntary organisation, charity, community group or individual charity volunteer or staff member, and celebrate the life-changing work they do and their dedication to making Scotland a better place to live.
Josefine Björkqvist, Sport Aberdeen’s Macmillan Development Officer said:
“It is an honour for Move More Aberdeen to be a finalist for this prestigious award. Physical activity has been called a ‘wonder drug’ and Sport Aberdeen are passionate about creating opportunities for everyone to be active in their community in to gain the associated health and wellbeing benefits. The success of Move More Aberdeen would not have been possible without cross-sector partnership work and our dedicated team of volunteers.”
Joanne Adamson, Strategic Partnership Manager, Macmillan Cancer Support said:
“The positive impact of Move More Aberdeen has been inspiring. It is fantastic to see the hard work of all those involved within the team pay off. Congratulations to everyone who are rightly having their hard work recognised by the wider community.”
Winners of all categories will be announced at the award ceremony on 14 June 2018 at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
The awards will take place on Thursday 14 June 2018 at the EICC, Edinburgh and voting closes on Friday 18 May 2018 at 5pm. To vote for Move More Aberdeen to win the People’s Choice Award, please click here.
An Aberdeen partnership project has rolled out an initiative aimed at boosting confidence in participants with additional support needs at a Granite City swimming pool.
Registered charities Me Too! and Sport Aberdeen recently launched Boost Bands, discreet wrist bands which can be worn during your visit to the Beach Leisure Centre which subtly notify trained staff of any hidden disabilities.
Boost Bands, which are free of charge and optional, are thought to be the first of their kind Scotland and have been designed by the local charities to encourage people of any age or ability to participate in sport and physical activity.
The initiative aims to create an environment of understanding and is designed to boost independence and confidence in the users with all staff at the Beach leisure Centre familiar with the bands.
The long-term plan is to see all Sport Aberdeen venues across the city taking part in the initiative.
Sport Aberdeen and Me Too! have previously taken steps towards breaking down barriers to participation, regardless of ability, by introducing relaxed swimming and skate sessions and featuring virtual tours of venues on the website which can be viewed prior to visiting.
Keith Gerrard, Director of Operations and Asset Development, said:
“Boost Bands are designed to empower those who chose to wear them by creating communication and common understanding between participants and staff.
“Sport Aberdeen is proud to be working with Me Too! to champion a move to get more people more active regardless of age or ability and we are committed to inspiring people to take part in sport and physical activity in the North East. It is our hope to eventually roll out Boost Bands in all of our venues across the city.”
Phionna McInnes, Me Too! chief executive, also commented:
“Me Too! is delighted to see our ongoing relationship with Sport Aberdeen continue with the introduction of boost bands. Boost Bands can empower parent/carers to have confidence to allow their cared for to have increased independence without having to explain to multiple staff members of their additional support needs.
“This is a discreet communication tool that allows staff to understand they may have to adapt their approach or language with the wearer. This may be beneficial for hearing impaired participants who remove their hearing aids when entering the water, for example.”
Would you like to improve your game? Increase your power or maximise flexibility? Our new golf clinics are just the ticket!
The golf clinics run every Monday night from 6.00pm onwards at the Beach Leisure Centre.
During the 30 minute appointment, you will be professionally assessed by our Health and Wellness Advisor, Briony Stewart, who is TPI qualified.
The assessment will involve running through low impact exercises and afterwards you will be supplied with a gym programme, specifically tailored to you which will target your key improvement areas.
- Improved power = greater shot distance
- Improved strength = less aches and pains while golfing
- Improved flexibility = less chance of injuries
- Improved balance = more efficient swing and transitions between back swing and follow through
Commenting, Sport Aberdeen Health and Wellness Advisor, Briony Stewart said:
“I have been playing golf for 12 years and gained my Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) qualification for golf specific training in 2016.
“Since gaining this qualification, and coupled with my Level 3 Personal Trainer qualification, I have been applying that specialist knowledge to my own training and to members of Sport Aberdeen who play golf and are looking to improve their game by also training in the gym”
For more information, or to book an appointment, please email BrioStewart@sportaberdeen.co.uk
Secondary school pupils from across Aberdeen have been taking part in the popular Aberdeen Youth Games today (Wednesday 25th April).
The annual event, held at Aberdeen Sports Village, saw Bucksburn Academy being crowned the overall winning school of the event.
The Aberdeen Youth Games gives pupils the opportunity to represent their school in their chosen sport. Eight secondary schools from across the city took part in the games, competing in five different sports, including swimming, basketball, table tennis, football and dodgeball.
Jill Franks, Director of Business Development at Sport Aberdeen, said:
“The games are designed to keep young people active in a fun environment and encourage a healthy lifestyle, with the ultimate aim to inspire people and change lives through sport and physical activity.
“This initiative gives young people the opportunity to take part in physical activity throughout the city, be fantastic roles models to their peers, and enjoy different kinds of sport.
S1 – S3 pupils from Aberdeen Grammar, Oldmachar, Bridge of Don, Dyce, Harlaw, Cults, Northfield and Bucksburn Academies took part in the sporting events, which were undertaken alongside with Scottish Swimming, Basketball Scotland, Aberdeen & District Table Tennis Association, Aberdeen Football Club Community Trust and Granite City Guerrillas.
Since launching in 2013, the Aberdeen Youth Games have become a hugely anticipated and staple event in Aberdeen’s sporting calendar. The initiative is delivered in partnership by RGU, Sport Aberdeen and North East Scotland College (NEScol), and is funded by the Wood Foundation and the First Aberdeen.