Golf Aberdeen, part of award-winning charity Sport Aberdeen, is celebrating a historical golfing anniversary this month with the help of a kind donation.
April 2021 marks 100 years since Balnagask Golf Course reopened after a period of closure during World War One and local golfer and sanddollar café co-owner, Garry Millard, is helping the charity to celebrate the centenary milestone by gifting a historical golf club to the course.
The century-old club (a mashie iron, the modern equivalent of this being the 5-iron) was designed by Tom Whyte who was the Professional at Balnagask Golf Club around the time of reopening one hundred years ago.
Balnagask Golf Course, which is run by Golf Aberdeen, is widely acknowledged as one of the best municipal 18-hole courses in Scotland. James Braid, Archie Simpson and the Hawtree family all had a hand in carving out the coastal golf experience.
“It is fantastic that we have been able to mark the centenary with this extremely kind and historical gift from a fellow golfer. The fact we are celebrating this landmark anniversary at a time when golf has never been more popular in Scotland highlights our ongoing national affection for the sport and we are extremely proud of the range of golfing opportunities available in Aberdeen City.”
Alistair Robertson, Sport Aberdeen Managing Director
Garry Millard commented: “My father-in-law found the club in an antiques shop in Bury St Edmonds. He is a keen golfer and visits us in Aberdeen a couple of times a year and we play golf together. When he realised the club was from Aberdeen, he brought it home last year and gifted it to me and I’m delighted to donate this to Balnagask Golf Course to mark this occasion.”
Balnagask Golf Course was originally opened on the 9 August 1905 by J. W. Crombie MP, however in 1915 membership declined as people got involved in the war effort. The course was officially reopened post-war on 13 April 1921 and since then has proved to be one of Aberdeen’s best loved courses. Golf Aberdeen has invested over £0.5m in the city’s courses since 2014, ensuring that a consistently high-quality experience is available to the local golf community.
Coby Needle, Marine Golf Club Secretary, added: “We are proud to be associated with a course that is such a key part of golf in the north-east of Scotland and I am pleased to be celebrating this milestone. I started Marine Golf Club in 2007 as a small, non-course-owning club, and we have remained active at Balnagask ever since. It is a fantastic course in an excellent location, and a constant challenge – even after all these years there are still holes which consistently defeat me.”
Graham Freeland, Nigg Bay Golf Club Captain, said: “Nigg Bay Golf Club has had a long-standing association with Balnagask Golf Course, around 67 years and it’s fantastic that the course is celebrating 100 years of catering for golfers from all over Aberdeen and the world.
“I have been the Captain of Nigg Bay for the last 10 years and have nothing but praise for all associated with the course. Nigg Bay has been spoilt for choice with great golfers to have graced Balnagask Golf Course. We have seen junior golfers develop into becoming great players and I’m sure the course played a major part in developing their skills.
“The course is a strong test for all who play on it at any time of year. All at Nigg Bay look forward to continuing to enjoy our great association with Balnagask Golf Course.”
Image caption (L to R) Allan Rae Sport Aberdeen Group Operations Manager, Garry Millard sandollar café co-owner and golf club donor and Coby Needle Marine Golf Club Secretary.
Award-winning charity Sport Aberdeen has created activity packs aimed at improving the mental and physical health of the city’s care experienced children and young people through the power of sport.
Sport Aberdeen’s SPACE (Supported Physical Activity for Care Experienced) project teamed up with Children 1st, Scotland’s national children’s charity, to introduce physical activity to an initiative which was delivering ‘wellbeing packs’ to young people, working alongside Aberdeen City Council’s Virtual School.
The SPACE project is a pioneering initiative which uses sport and physical activity to help care experienced children and young people reach their full potential through bespoke interventions.
The sports packs, funded by Sport Aberdeen, have been specifically tailored, where possible, for individual participants as identified through the SPACE project.
Sport Aberdeen funded the sports packs with a key focus on getting children and young people active and improving mental and physical health and wellbeing through sport.
Between Sport Aberdeen and Children 1st almost 250 requests from social work and education were received and packs have now been distributed throughout the city.
Sport Aberdeen staff have been distributing sports packs alongside helping to deliver the wider wellbeing packs.
Graeme Dale, Sport Aberdeen Head of Sport and Active Communities, said: “As a corporate parent Sport Aberdeen has a commitment to care experienced young people within the care of Aberdeen City Council, and by using the positive effects that sport has on mental and physical health, we can play our part in supporting this group.
“After identifying the same joint goal as Children 1st and with the backing of Aberdeen City Council’s Virtual School we have been able to work in partnership to create and deliver activity packs to as many people as possible.
“We have been able to create tailored packs for specific participants, with a focus on getting young people out and active which has been especially important during periods of lockdown.”
“We were delighted to partner with Sport Aberdeen and the Virtual School to provide these sports packs to young people and families in the local community. All sports packs included a range of equipment for indoor and outdoor activities, along with activity cards to help get the children started.
Lindsay Jessiman, Children 1st Service Manager
One family member who received an activity pack, commented: “They are so grateful for the stuff they got, especially the pump. The kids liked everything, the scrapbook and the goalie gloves. Thank-you to you and the team, it was so unexpected.”
Lindsay Jessiman, Service Manager for Children 1st in Aberdeen said: “We know that winter in lockdown has had a significant impact on the wellbeing of many of the children and young people that we work alongside.
“We were able to create and deliver these packs thanks to support from Abernecessities and our partners within the FitLike Hubs. The children and carers were delighted with their doorstep drops offs and we have had some really positive feedback.”
Adventure Aberdeen is set to make a splash in the city once again after the announcement of a reactivation date for sport as Scotland moves out of lockdown.
Outdoor adventurous activity will reactivate, with enhanced safety protocols following national guidance on Covid-19 safe operation, on 1 April and after the successful launch of several new activities last year, the charity is anticipating a wave of interest in the coming weeks.
In September last year canoeing, and later in the year stand up paddleboarding, sessions kicked off at the city’s historic Rubislaw Quarry which was once ‘the deepest man-made hole in Europe’. This marked the first time that the public have had access to the quarry since it closed in 1969.
In the first three months of launching, the charity saw over 1,000 people take to the quarry water with extra sessions added due to popularity. Nearly all sessions were sold out with people braving the north-east’s famous weather to take part in the activities.
Graeme Dale, Sport Aberdeen Head of Sport and Active Communities, said:
“The demand for these sports has highlighted the community’s drive to participate in outdoor and adventurous activity in Aberdeen and it is my hope that as we move out of lockdown and into warmer weather that even more people, of all ages will be able to enjoy what’s on offer locally.
Graeme Dale
“We were overwhelmed by the response to the launch of these exciting new water sports last year and it was great to be able to showcase and make the most of assets like Rubislaw Quarry on our doorstep.
“We are delighted to be able to offer an increased number of sessions over the Easter holidays, to give families in Aberdeen something different and exciting to take part in after months of staying at home.
“The support we have received over this challenging year from our members, and the wider community, has been incredible and we can’t wait to welcome everyone in the city back to sport. Outdoor education and participation in physical activity is vital for people of all ages and abilities and we hope that continued support can be offered as we move out of lockdown.”
From April, Adventure Aberdeen will also offer coasteering, gorge walking and rock climbing, providing the public with opportunities to safely experience and enjoy the unique landscape that the north-east has to offer while Learn to Bike sessions for children aged three to eight have already kicked off.
Click here for more information.
Sport Aberdeen has launched a new programme of outdoor fitness classes, completely free of charge, after official restrictions eased last week to allow for outdoor activities to resume.
In line with government guidelines, classes will launch on Monday 29 March at Get active @ Beach Leisure Centre and on Monday 5 April at Get active @ Alex Collie in Bridge of Don.
“The support we have received from our members over this challenging year has been fantastic and I know how keen they are to get back to live exercise classes. We will be operating with enhanced safety protocols in place to ensure the safety of our staff, volunteers and members and I know the whole Sport Aberdeen team is eager to welcome everyone back.”
David Selkirk
The sessions, which will be held in the grounds outside the venues, will follow strict Covid-19 guidelines, will be socially distanced and accommodate a maximum of 14 participants. All classes are free to Sport Aberdeen Get active members and non-members, with an eight-day advance booking option for members.
David Selkirk, Sport Aberdeen Director of Community Leisure Operations, said:
“This is a really exciting first step in allowing us to get back to providing opportunities for the whole community to take part in fitness classes in a safe and welcoming environment. Our members are very excited, and we saw all of the Get active @ Beach Leisure Centre week one classes booking up within the first hour of going live.
Award-winning charity Sport Aberdeen has said it is “extremely proud” of its staff for their commitment to supporting the local community throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
The local leisure trust, which operates over 30 citywide venues, has seen more than 35 furloughed employees take on volunteer or secondment roles, supporting partner agencies, since the lockdown restrictions forced venues to close last March.
Sport Aberdeen employees have turned their hand to several different roles in positions supporting the NHS, Aberdeen City Council, Grampian Assessor & Electoral Registration and Aberdeen Health & Social Care Partnership. These roles include; Contact Trace Practitioners, Logistics Coordinators, Call Handlers, Refuse Loaders and Temporary Electoral Registration Assistants. This support is vital to these organisations and has been very gratefully received.
Nickie Scorgie, Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development, said:
“This last year has been extremely challenging for Sport Aberdeen and so many charities and businesses, despite this I am extremely proud of our team for stepping up and helping local organisations. So many have been willing to come forward and assist our partners.”
Aimee Beatie, a Sport Aberdeen employee, said:
“During the first national lockdown I was supporting the child services team within Mile-End Primary School. It was really great to get out and support my local community in such uncertain times and it was very positive for my mental health, giving me purpose during the first lockdown.”
“Thank you for being here with us. We’ve had so much fun with [Active Schools], they’ve helped us in the classrooms and played really fun activities outside.”
A young person from Kaimhill Primary School
Sport Aberdeen’s Active Schools team have also been supporting children of key workers and vulnerable children in over 10 schools across the city, delivering physical activity outdoors following the appropriate local and national guidance as well as supporting young people in the classroom.
A number of Active Schools coordinators have been working with targeted young people to support their overall wellbeing, delivering sessions and creating new ways for young people to stay active during the lockdown.
Sport Aberdeen’s SPACE (Supported Physical Activity for Care Experienced) programme Project Activator staff have been delivering one-to-one sessions both in specific schools or within the local community, engaging with those most at risk.
Graeme Dale, Sport Aberdeen Head of Sport and Active Communities, said:
“Allowing and encouraging young people to continue to stay active and improve their mental and physical wellbeing throughout this challenging time has been at the forefront of our efforts.
“The Active Schools workforce have played a key role in helping to keep young people in Aberdeen active by working in schools and hubs throughout the city and we are extremely proud of each and every one of them.”
Read more about how Sport Aberdeen supports the community here.
Award-winning charity Sport Aberdeen has provided grants of up to £400 to local sports clubs to help alleviate the negative effects of Covid-19.
This funding is aimed at supporting local clubs to reactivate after the devastating impact the lockdown restrictions have had on the sporting community.
The support is available to clubs that are linked to any of the five Community Sports Hubs, supported by Sport Aberdeen, based within Aberdeen City.
Community Sports Hubs is a national sportscotland initiative that aims to bring together sport clubs and community organisations that want to develop and grow the sporting offering locally.
Graeme Dale, Head of Sport and Active Communities, said:
“Creating opportunities for people to participate in physical activity within local communities is at the heart of the charity and we are delighted, with support from sportscotland, to be able to offer some help through these grants to the clubs who are part of the various Community Sports Hubs in the city.”
Graeme Dale
“The impact that Covid-19 has had on the whole sporting community, from grassroots clubs to professional athletes is devastating and will take quite some time to recover from.
Aberdeen Bon Accord MBC Hockey Club said:
“We know how hard the pandemic has been on everyone and members of our hockey club, we have continued to remain positive throughout by providing virtual support and luckily for us at the tail end of 2020 we did manage to get onto a hockey pitch to play our beloved sport.
“We applied for the Covid-19 Re-activation Fund from our local hub and were successful in gaining £400 which we have put to good use and are grateful for and encourage all clubs to find their nearest hub and become a member as we have found it a useful community membership.”
Northstar Community Football Club said:
“Thanks to the Sport Aberdeen Community Sports Hub reactivation grant of £400, the club has been able to continue to invest in equipment and volunteer development for our latest and youngest age group.
“This grant has helped purchase equipment for training such as training balls, training bibs and cones and been utilised to provide first aid and coaching badges to ensure that the team and coaches are ready to hit the ground running when the government relax current restrictions.
“The funding has been hugely beneficial as a starting age group requires funding for initial set up which would have not been possible to generate during this time without the funding from this grant. Everyone from Northstar Community Football Club are grateful for this support and we will continue to support the hub and our local community.”
For more information on support available for your club, please email: communitysportshub@sportaberdeen.co.uk
Award-winning charity Sport Aberdeen has developed a programme to specifically support people with respiratory conditions to be active and live well, in partnership with NHS Grampian.
The programme is aimed at people with a lung condition whose ability to be active and participate in exercise is affected by breathing difficulties, including those with Bronchiectasis, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Respiratory Disease (COPD).
Participants will be offered the opportunity to attend virtual exercise classes online or alternatively receive one-to-one phone call support.
Qualified exercise instructors will work with participants to build confidence and activity levels safely whilst talking through any concern’s patients may have about introducing exercise into their daily lives; helping to improve lung capacity and overall fitness so participants can feel more confident doing everyday tasks.
Andrinne Craig, Sport Aberdeen Healthy Communities Manager said:
“Working in partnership with NHS Grampian has allowed us to develop this programme, specifically aimed at helping a group of people who can really benefit from engaging in activity. Although physical activity won’t offer a cure, it can result in hugely positive changes for individuals living with certain respiratory conditions and we are thrilled to be able to deliver this in the city.
“Sport Aberdeen is committed to creating opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to take part in exercise and lead a healthy and active life. For people living with a respiratory condition even simple tasks can become testing, so by helping participants to improve lung function and muscle strength we believe we can make a real difference to many lives in the north-east.”
Andrinne Craig
Anyone living with a lung condition can refer themselves into the programme by completing an online referral form or by contacting Sport Aberdeen’s Active Lifestyles team on 01224 047924. Health Professionals can also refer patients who would benefit from the programme by completing an online referral form.
Click here for more information on the Winter Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programme.
Sport Aberdeen’s Active Lifestyles programme creates opportunities for everyone to get active and participate in physical activity regardless of whether you are starting out, recovering from injury, living with a long-term health condition or an older adult.
Adventure Aberdeen has been working hard to support schools throughout the north-east over the last few months, with over 2,000 pupils taking part in outdoor learning in and around schools from Aberdeen City.
Outdoor learning provides different environments for pupils to thrive in while working on personal and social development alongside learning lifelong skills that can be transferred to school, the workplace and everyday life. From climbing mountains to jumping in the North Sea, pupils have achieved things they would never have thought possible.
Graeme Dale, Sport Aberdeen Head of Sport and Active Communities said:
“Scotland has an abundance of world class outdoor learning opportunities which can help children and young people both in and out of the classroom and we believe it should be available to all. We would like to thank the staff and pupils that we are currently, or have previously, engaged with and we look forward to continuing to provide these opportunities in the New Year.”
Graeme Dale, Head of Sport and Active Communities
“Now is an ideal time for schools to develop, create and deliver outdoor learning which can be easily embedded into an existing curriculum. Adventure Aberdeen will support with this and create learning opportunities from the school grounds and surrounding streets, to forests, farmland, coastlines and the mountains.
Please contact Adventure Aberdeen on 01224 270990 if you would like to explore outdoor activity learning opportunities for your pupils or visit the website for more information.
Award-winning charity Sport Aberdeen was able to breathe life back into a number of bicycles belonging to a local children’s care home, completely free of charge, thanks to funding secured through the ‘Scotland Cycle Repair Scheme’.
A total of five bikes from Barnardo’s Linksfield Residential Service, an established childcare service in partnership with Aberdeen City Council, were taken to Adventure Aberdeen’s bike workshop in Kingswells.
Adventure Aberdeen, part of registered charity Sport Aberdeen, was the first organisation in the city to sign up to the ‘Scotland Cycle Repair Scheme’, a free bike repair and maintenance service funded by the Scottish Government and delivered through Cycling UK. The scheme aims to remove barriers such as cost while encouraging active travel; allowing more people to take part in cycling through access to free bike maintenance.
Graeme Dale, Sport Aberdeen Head of Sport and Active Communities said:
“After a hugely positive response, this is the second round of funding we have secured to deliver free maintenance to people in the north-east who may ordinarily struggle to gain access to bike servicing.
“Thank you so much to Adventure Aberdeen for the service. We are really happy that the bikes have been fixed and it means we can go for long bike rides and socialise with our friends.”
A young person from Linksfield Residential Service
“We are targeting this latest funding towards those who are really in need of the services and I’m absolutely delighted that we could help and breathe life into their five bikes. Sport Aberdeen has a responsibility as a Corporate Parent for these young people, so it is only right that we ensure that they have bikes in a condition that they are able to enjoy.
“A key aim of the scheme is to give more people of all ages access to safer cycling – encouraging participation in physical exercise, while educating people on the benefits of greener travel. Working with services such as Linksfield Residential Service underpins Sport Aberdeen’s commitment to breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for more people to get active, regardless of challenges they may have.”
Rebecca Christie, Linksfield Residential Service Senior Practitioner, said:
“We would like to extend a massive thanks to Sport Aberdeen, and the staff at Adventure Aberdeen. It’s great to work in partnership and to have such a good service which will help to promote health and well-being for the young people we support.”
Registered charity Sport Aberdeen took the top spot in the Team Aberdeen category at last night’s HEART Awards (Thursday 3 December), an annual event organised by Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership, recognising people working and volunteering in health and social care in Aberdeen.
The Active Lifestyles programme, run by Sport Aberdeen, won the ‘Team Aberdeen Integrated Working’ award at a virtual ceremony following the postponement of the awards evening in March.
The programme provides inclusive opportunities for everyone to get active and participate in physical activity regardless of whether they are starting out, recovering from injury, living with a long-term health condition or are older adults.
Sport Aberdeen was nominated for the award by colleagues in the NHS CAARS (community adult assessment and rehabilitation service) team for the way in which the charity works collaboratively with them and service users on a range of co-produced projects.
Sport Aberdeen have been heavily involved in several joint initiatives and projects over recent years, of note, the co-design and delivery of the Carer’s Stable and Able Group which runs on a weekly basis with support from NHS occupational therapy staff.
Part of Sport Aberdeen’s Active Lifestyles programme, Carers Exercise classes were developed in response to a need for ongoing support for carers and those being cared for, as identified by NHS Grampian colleagues.
Working in partnership with participants, the organisations developed parallel classes which allow both carers and cared for to participate at the same time, mitigating anxieties around leaving loved ones alone and allowing for more people to improve health and wellbeing, reducing risk of a fall and the potential for re-referral back to stretched NHS services.
Andrinne Craig, Sport Aberdeen Healthy Communities Manager said:
“This award really highlights that by working collaboratively we can change people lives through the many projects, services and programmes that we deliver and is testament to the incredible work that is carried out by the Active Lifestyles team year after year.
“I am thrilled that we have been named ‘Team Aberdeen’ and would like to congratulate all the other nominees and winners from this year’s HEART Awards. I would also like to thank our valued partners at NHS CAARS for nominating us for this award. It really is fantastic to see the sheer amount of partnership working that is carried out in the north-east, and I am proud that Sport Aberdeen can play a key role in this.”
“Sport Aberdeen certainly embody the values of the partnership and are prepared to go that “extra mile” to make collaborative working with them so seamless.”
Sandra MacLeod, Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership
Speaking at the virtual ceremony, Sandra MacLeod, Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership Chief Officer said:
“The team at Sport Aberdeen have made every effort to work in partnership with many different teams in Aberdeen but have certainly become an important and consistent partner to AHP’s working within the partnership. This is reflected in the reciprocal referrals that are regularly made between the services and the confidence with which these referrals are made.
“Sport Aberdeen certainly embody the values of the partnership and are prepared to go that “extra mile” to make collaborative working with them so seamless.”