Christmas Jumpers take to the walking football field

Santa’s helper joined the Kirriemuir squad for a walking football session.

The Kirriemuir Walking Football Group is made up of 20 or so hardy souls who play all year round outdoors no matter the weather. Ages of the players range from 52 to 79 years old with Bill Morrison being the oldest player aged 79 years young, who is joined every session by his son, also Bill weighing in at 56 years, young.

Bill senior was out with the group last Monday for the festive walking football session proudly sporting his Christmas jumper alongside a few others as can be seen. Temperatures were hovering just above freezing and Bill joined in with his usual gusto and everyone had an enjoyable session with a special Christmas atmosphere.

The photographs were taken by Alan Edwards who is taking over the organising of group in January, replacing Tony Smith who started up the group in 2016.

Many thanks to Kirriemuir for sending in their story and Walking Football Scotland are delighted to pass it on along with our Christmas best wishes.

We remind other groups to please, send in articles on your group and we will try and use them. It helps everyone to see walking football developing across the country.

Hearts 56 Winners of the Walking Football Scotland National League

Hearts 56 captain Jimmy Bremner receives the National League Trophy from David Hay.

Congratulations to Hearts 56 on retaining the Walking Football Scotland National League trophy today (December 5) at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility.

An exciting final day saw Hearts 56 win the trophy after holding off Hearts 98, Gala Fairydean Rovers and Glasgow Sport West, with only two points separating the top four positions.

This is the second National Walking Football League hosted by North Lanarkshire Leisure and supported by Health & Social Care North Lanarkshire and yet again proved to be a huge success.

Walking Football Scotland would like to thank all the participating teams, the referees, coaching staff of North Lanarkshire Leisure for making this such a fabulous event and to David Hay who presented the trophy to the winners, for his continued support.

The Final League Positions.

Football Legend David Hay presenting the victorious Hearts 56 team with the League Trophy today.

Final Scores

Ravenscraig League Fixtures for 5th December 2018

The final walking football League meeting of the current season held at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility is due to be played on Wednesday the 5th December.

The league title is still up for grabs and with some cracking fixtures left to play, it is looking like nothing will be decided till the last games are finished.

Football legend David Hay has kindly agreed to present the trophy once again and we are looking forward to a fantastic day of walking football and the social gathering at the end of play.

Many thanks to the clubs and players for their support and we hope you have enjoyed yourselves as much as we have. WFS urge all the participants to enjoy the games and to remember the quote from famous sports author Eduardo Galeano from one of his books. “ We lost, we won, either way we had fun.”

Walking Football Scotland would like to thank Nicky Laughlin, Scott Currie and all the staff from North Lanarkshire Leisure who make this event so enjoyable. The referees for their patience and participation and to Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire for their continued support.

Your support enables a lot of over 50’s to keep active and engaged.

THANK YOU!

Ravenscraig League Table Positions and Results November 2018

Hearts 98 pull slightly ahead today in the League with one session left to be played on the 5th December. It is all still to be played for with the top three so close together.

Action from the Hearts 56 V Gala Fairydean Rovers 1-1 draw today

Ravenscraig League Fixtures for the 21st November

Two points separate first and fourth place in the league with only two more set of fixtures left to play. It has never been tighter at the top of the walking football league, with both Hearts teams sitting joint first and second on the same amount of points and Gala Fairydean Rovers in third. The top three teams are being chased by a Glasgow Sport West in superb form after winning all their games at the last session in October.

Good luck to everyone taking part next week.

Football Memories Scotland National Convention

l-r Robert Craig, Chair of Football Memories Scotland and Scottish Football Museum, Matt Ramsay WFS, Gary McLaughlin WFS and Richard McBrearty, Football Memories Project Director.

Walking Football Scotland was represented at the Football Memories Scotland - 1st National Convention at Hampden Park last week by Chairman Gary McLaughlin and Trustee Matt Ramsay.

Robert Craig welcomed everyone and Joe Fitzpatrick MSP, Minister for Public Health and Sport addressed a packed room at Hampden Park, before splitting up into workshop groups.

Robert Craig, chair of Football Memories Scotland and Sports Heritage Scotland, said: “The convention is a celebration of where we’ve got to, and also a learning event,”

The workshops were designed to help with understanding and learning and proved to be a huge success and provided a wonderful opportunity to network and exchange ideas.

Workshops

1    “Functional Activities for All” - Care Inspectorate -

2    “Active Memories” - Hampden Sports Clinic -

3    “Walking Football” - Walking Football Scotland -

4     “Deaf and Dementia Awareness” - BDA Scotland -

5     “Football and Dementia” - Alzheimer Scotland –

6     “Football and Social History” - Football Memories Scotland –

Walking Football Scotland presentation

Walking Football Scotland Chairman Gary McLaughlin said: “The day was a great success and we were delighted to be a part of it. It was especially pleasing to be asked to speak on Walking Football Scotland and the physical and mental health benefits enjoyed by walking football participants.”

“Football memories has a special place within the walking football community and the work carried out by Richard McBrearty and everyone involved with this project is simply awesome”

Walking Football Scotland Trustee Matt Ramsay said : “This was a terrific event for networking, as well as the opportunity to present the developments and benefits of walking football to an already interested audience.”

First Ever Walking Football Competition for Over 65's

Some of the walking football participants at Toryglen Regional Sports Centre

Congratulations to Glasgow Sport for hosting the first ever walking football tournament for over 65’s at Toryglen Regional Football Centre on Wednesday 7th November.

The successful event saw 16 teams from across the country compete for the inaugural Glasgow Cup. Walking Football Scotland were delighted that 150 participants representing clubs from the Borders as far as Dundee supported this great initiative. It was so well received that WFS will look to roll out more events for our older aged participants.

The eventual winners were Ayr United, who triumphed after winning 2-0 against Gerihatricks in the final. Both semi finals were closely fought with Ayr United defeating Heart of Midlothian on penalties and Gerihatricks beating hosts Glasgow Sport 1-0.

Glasgow Sport’s, Sport Participation Officer Matt Ramsay said: “This has been an event which has brought much reward seeing so many happy faces and starts the introduction of a new Over 65 competition - one which we hope to see now annually. 

Working closely with WFS I am delighted that we in Glasgow could host the first proper competitive Over 65s event. The future is certainly bright and there’s no reason why this can’t be the start of things to come”

Gary McLaughlin chair of Walking Football Scotland said: “This has been a tremendous success today, it is especially pleasing to see 150 players over 65 having a wonderful time playing walking football. Competition brings its challenges, and even at 65 there is still a huge will to win. It is credit to the teams who took part that we can still enjoy playing football and Matt and his team were so organised that everything ran so well.”

Walking Football Scotland was delighted to support our charity partners Prostate Cancer UK who took the opportunity to speak to all players as well as receive donations totalling £241.87.

Nicola Davidson, Fundraising Coordinator Scotland said: “It was a brilliant day and we are looking forward to attending future games across Scotland. Our Volunteers loved the experience and our staff team are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to raise awareness and funds for Prostate Cancer UK.”

Walking Football Scotland would like to thank Matt and his staff for what was a terrific day and we all look forward to being back at next year’s Glasgow Over 65’s Cup.

The winning Ayr United team at their presentation.

A series of photographs from the successful over 65’s event.

All images are copyright of Walking Football Scotland 

Walking Football Partnership with Drinkaware

Helping walking football participants across Scotland make better choices about their drinking.

l-r Andy Gould, Scottish FA Head of Football Development, Gary McLaughlin, Chairman of Walking Football Scotland, Ian Maxwell, Chief Executive of the Scottish FA, Elaine Hindal, Drinkaware Chief Executive and Craig Brown CBE.

The Scottish FA welcomed national alcohol education charity Drinkaware as a new research partner of walking football and Walking Football Scotland are delighted to play their part in the partnership.

Working together, Drinkaware will gather vital information from walking football participants on their health and alcohol consumption, allowing them to monitor participants’ drinking habits and subsequently try to improve them.

Drinkaware will also distribute information on drinking and its effects on health to our participants in order to educate them on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption and the benefits of regular exercise.

The partnership was launched at Lesser Hampden on 23 October, with a team of Drinkaware ambassadors, watching a walking football match, organised by WFS Trustee Matt Ramsay and meeting former Scotland National Team manager Craig Brown CBE and others passionate about walking football.

Great to see the players enjoying walking football at Lesser Hampden.

Gary McLaughlin, Chairman of Walking Football Scotland said: “This partnership encourages us to talk about alcohol and drinking habits. Drinkaware provides easy access to tools and information to help work out the amounts we are drinking and to educate ourselves and be more aware of the risks of misuse.

“Walking Football Scotland are delighted to be working with both these organisations to deliver better informed choices about drinking”

Elaine Hindal, Drinkaware Chief Executive, said: “Drinkaware is delighted to be the headline partner of walking football in Scotland.

“Walking football is an increasingly popular and fun way for older people to improve their health and wellbeing and we are committed to finding new and innovative ways of reducing the harms caused by alcohol.

“Working in partnership with Walking Football Scotland and the Scottish Football Association is a fantastic new opportunity, which allows us to work directly with communities across Scotland to help people make better choices about their drinking.”

Ian Maxwell, Chief Executive of the Scottish FA, said: “Walking football is a fast-growing initiative with clear health benefits, which dovetails with Drinkaware’s mission of promoting healthier lifestyles through a reduction in alcohol consumption.

“The health benefits of both responsible, informed drinking and increasing participation in sport are obvious. We are extremely pleased to welcome Drinkaware on board to both help to grow this wonderful sport and improve knowledge and awareness of responsible drinking.”

Craig Brown, who is also a patron of Walking Football Scotland, said: “Walking football is a fantastic way for people of my generation, who are perhaps no longer able to play at a quick pace, to participate in this wonderful sport and remain active.

“Drinkaware’s mission of promoting healthier lifestyles ties in perfectly with the ethos of walking football, which is to provide a platform for as many people as possible to remain fit and enjoy a healthy lifestyle.”

Supported by the Scottish FA and Walking Football Scotland, the sport aims to improve, maintain and promote the physical, mental and social wellbeing of older adults through a slower-paced version of the beautiful game.

FOOTBALL FOR LIFE

l-r Gary McLaughlin, Elaine Hindal and Andy Gould at the launch

Drinkaware Ambassadors joined Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA Chief Exec., Craig Brown and others pitch side at Hampden park.

For further information on Drinkaware, please go to link below;

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/

Ravenscraig League Table Positions and Results October 2018

It is getting tighter at the top of the walking football league, with both Hearts teams in 1st and second positions and Gala Fairydean Rovers in third. The top three teams are closely followed by a Glasgow Sport West in superb form after winning all three of their fixtures today.

Photographs courtesy of Derek McCabe

RESULTS

Walking Football Scotland celebrate Age Scotland's 75th Anniversary

Walking Football Scotland Trustees with Age Scotland CEO Brian Sloan

l-r Brian Sloan, Vivian Wallace and Gary McLaughlin

Walking Football Scotland Trustees Vivian Wallace and Chairman Gary McLaughlin were delighted to accept an invitation to a birthday party at a special parliamentary reception in the Scottish Parliament, sponsored by Christine Grahame MSP, to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Age Scotland.

WFS are affiliated to Age Scotland and proud to be part of the big family that came together to enjoy the celebrations for this landmark occasion.

The event looked back at where Age Scotland came from, what they are doing just now for older people across the country and more importantly to the future. The new Minister for Older People, Christina McKelvie MSP, thanked the contributions of hundreds of charity supporters over the span of Age Scotland’s 75 years.

Walking Football Scotland Trustee Vivian Wallace said :
“Fantastic to be a part of the 75th celebration for an important organisation that has helped to change the lives of older people throughout Scotland and such an interesting evening hearing of all the achievements made over the years.” 

Brian Sloan, Age Scotland’s Chief Executive said:
“We’re delighted to celebrate this significant anniversary with so many older people’s groups, supporters and volunteers who’ve built and contributed to our work over the last 75 years. It is especially welcome that Scotland’s first Minister for Older People will help lead this celebration and to Deputy Presiding Officer Christine Grahame for hosting this reception in the Scottish Parliament.
“Over the last 75 years, Age Scotland and predecessor charities from the Scottish Older People’s Welfare Committee, to Age Concern and Help the Aged have been at the forefront of campaigning to improve the lives of older people in Scotland. The history is fascinating and the issues affecting the lives of older people have broadly remained consistent. Housing, poverty, health and loneliness are all issues which affect older people as much today as they did 75 years ago. We have come far, but there is still a long way to go.

Christine Grahame MSP and Lord George Foulkes Chairman of Age Scotland

photographs by Ellie Clinch http://www.elliemorag.com

Let's Celebrate Good Mental Health

We all have Mental Health and Walking Football Scotland is encouraging groups to be more aware of mental health, by connecting with other players at their next walking football session. Putting five minutes aside to ask someone how they are doing is a simple and easy first step to take.

It’s good to talk about mental health, and this Wednesday the 10th of October is World Mental Health Day, let’s make an extra effort and take a step towards better mental health and awareness.

Walking football brings benefits simply by playing, Health, Social Isolation, Camaraderie and Banter to name a few.

Gary McLaughlin chairman of WFS said “Being active is good for us physically, but it is more than that, it has been proven to have a positive effect on our mental health and well being. That is why we are encouraging our members and groups to make an extra effort and promote World Mental Health Day.”

Let us know if your session spoke about Mental Health.

We are looking for centres across Scotland to get involved.

Let’s celebrate good mental health and do something positive to prevent bad mental health.

Scottish Parliamentary Reception on Yoga: Mental Health and Wellbeing.

l-r Robert Nesbitt SAMH, Colin Mackay, Gary McLaughlin and Angus MacDonald MSP

Bringing to life how yoga can support positive mental health

Walking Football Scotland trustees Colin Mackay and Chairman Gary McLaughlin joined others at a special parliamentary reception in the Scottish Parliament, sponsored by Angus MacDonald MSP on Tuesday 2nd of September.

 The event highlighted the benefits Yoga has on our mental health and acknowledged SAMH, who were celebrating the successful launch of their Mental Health Charter.

 The Charter has now attracted 114 signatories from sports governing bodies, local authorities and clubs from across Scotland.

Lindsey D Porter of Yoga-Nu-U led the discussions and introduced the workshops and demonstrations on the benefits Yoga brings to mental health.

 The speakers were inspirational and included Agnes Houston MBE who has experienced dementia for over 12 years.

She told the audience: “Dementia is about more than memory; yoga is more than exercise."

 John Arthur shared his experiences of a traumatic upbringing, the impacts of this on his life, and his battle with alcohol and drug addiction.  He spoke movingly about the benefits of Yoga and how it transformed his life and both were great advocates for the power of a healthy lifestyle and good mental health through yoga – proving once again that physical activity through sport or recreation has a positive impact on our lives and the lives of others.  

Robert Nesbitt, the Head of Physical Activity and Sport, for SAMH talked about the benefits of physical activity on our mental health.

 He added: “We all have mental health, but that doesn’t mean we have to struggle with it, there are so many opportunities out there within the physical activity and sports communities, but we have to ensure that there is no barriers to engaging, participating and achieving.”

 WFS Trustee Colin MacKay said: “The evening was fantastic and everyone who spoke did so with strength, passion and humour. Agnes and John’s stories were inspiring and will stay with me for a long time.”

WFS were one of the early organisations to sign up to the Charter, declare our support and create an action plan to demonstrate our commitment to promoting mental health and wellbeing.  We have been engaging with SAMH in the promotion of activities, whilst they are providing resources for affiliated groups that supports, raises awareness and makes us appreciate how physical and mental health are equally important to our general wellbeing.

Third biggest Cancer killer in the UK

WFS chairman Gary McLaughlin and Angela Culhane, Chief Executive Officer, Prostate Cancer UK in Glasgow.

Walking Football Scotland met with Prostate Cancer UK’s Chief Executive Angela Culhane to discuss the way forward for both organisations... and education was top of the agenda.

Prostate Cancer UK is WFS’s charity partner and the meeting focused on the how to reach as many men as possible and increase awareness of the disease.

The plans include sharing literature about the disease with the aim of encouraging people to take greater responsibility for their health and wellbeing.

Angela said: “Prostate Cancer UK is delighted to be working with Walking Football Scotland to raise awareness about the disease, especially amongst men over 50, as well as to raise funds towards vital research. 

“It’s great to see the growth in popularity of walking football in Scotland and across the UK. It supports health improvements in so many ways and we are proud to be involved.”

Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer in men and is the third biggest cancer killer in the UK with Prostate Cancer UK leading research into diagnosis and treatment.

About one in eight men will be diagnosed with Prostate Cancer at some point in their lives.

WFS will be coordinating a series of events next year with a fundraising initiative, asking members and member groups to get behind the charity and raise money to help beat this disease.

Gary McLaughlin, chairman of Walking Football Scotland, said: “It was great to meet up with Angela and some of her staff in the offices here in Scotland. We all realise the importance of research into prostate cancer and that funding is crucial. Our members are sadly of the age this disease most commonly strikes and it makes perfect sense to raise awareness and at the same time to raise funds for this worthwhile charity.”

WFS Board will meet soon to discuss putting this plan into action.

For more information on Prostate Cancer please follow the link below:

https://prostatecanceruk.org/

l-r WFS Chairman Gary McLaughlin meeting Gerard McMahon Change Delivery Officer, Angela Culhane CEO and Bronwyn O’Riordan Fundraising Manager - Scotland of Prostate Cancer UK.

Ravenscraig League Table Positions September 2018

No change for the top three teams at Ravenscraig today after a very competitive day and everything to play for with only three more sessions to play.

The dates left to play are October 24th, November 21st and December 5th.

Step forward Dundee

Focus group meeting in Dundee

Walking football took another step forward last night, when the East Region of the Scottish FA hosted another pilot focus group meeting of walking footballers from across the area in their offices in Dundee.

The meeting was chaired by Tony Smith the Walking Football Scotland Trustee for the East and was supported by Kevin Lee the Scottish FA Regional manager and his team.

The delegates in attendance, representing teams and groups from across the region were joined by Walking Football Scotland Chairman Gary McLaughlin and a wide range of issues was covered.

WFS chairman Gary McLaughlin said:

“It was great to be at the meeting and to get first hand information of how walking football is growing in the East Region and to see people travelling from Perth, Scone and as far as Kirkcaldy was impressive. Everyone is passionate about walking football and that is a major factor to the development of the sport.”

 There was a healthy debate on a wide range of subjects and the issue of competition versus health benefits was a major feature. Competitive Leagues, Friendly Festivals, Age and mixed and women only sessions were some of the topics for discussion.

Walking football is still relatively new and is growing fast but lack of numbers still limit the speed of development in areas such as setting different age limits, but that is changing.

WFS Trustee Tony Smith said “I am fortunate that the Area reps in the East Region focus group share a common purpose, which is to try and promote walking football and all the benefits it brings to participants. Discussions are frank and open about concerns and feedback we get from our members. Following on from these discussions we aim to make any necessary compromises to help engage as many members as possible in organised competitive and non-competitive tournaments.