Effective from Monday 2 November 2020 Dundee Dragons sessions are changing, although equipment cleaning, hand sanitising and the need for screening information remains unchanged.

In accordance with current Scottish Government guidelines Dundee has moved into Tier 3 restrictions, therefore the following will apply.

This is, of course, subject to change depending upon the prevailing conditions around the virus.

• People who live outwith Dundee City cannot attend sessions due to the travel restrictions preventing people travelling from other areas into a Tier 3 area
• Adults, over 18, are unable to participate in indoor or outdoor group activity.
Adults can still assist with coaching activity but as lead or assistant coaches.
(If you want to attend as a coach or assistant please let us know ahead of each session)
• Adults can attend for one to one coaching e.g. One coach to one adult participant, Tennis and Badminton are probably the best examples of this type of activity.
(Attendance for one to one coaching must be agreed beforehand please do not simply turn up at a club session as we may not be able to accommodate you)
• Young people 12 to 17 can attend for group activity and if doing Basketball can share equipment e.g. Basketball provided, they are effectively cleaned before during and after sessions.

The coaches must also ensure that they remain socially distanced and apply the same procedures we have been adopting e.g. wearing face coverings during briefings
(Please let us know if you are planning to attend any of the sessions enabling us to plan content, this includes Wednesday 6pm to 8pm, Saturday 10am to 12noon and Sunday Tennis 10am to 12noon_
• Young people under 12 can also attend group sessions with no requirement for social distancing as before.

Should you require any further information please contact
kevin.rattray@dundeedragons.net or
gemma.lumsdaine@dundeedragons.net

We are very excited to share the first issue of the brand new Dundee Dragons Newsletter, which you can view by clicking the link below. This issue features a club update and an interview with Club Chair Elizabeth Ferris!

Following on from today’s HM Government COBRA Briefing we have taken the decision to cancel all club activities until further notice.

This is understandably a very trying time for everyone in our community, and as a club we want to encourage everyone to take time to look after eachother’s mental as well as physical health.

During this time we’ll signpost members to online resources promoting fitness for wheelchair users, and our members-only discussion group will still be operating so that players and volunteers can stay in touch.

For now, may we take this opportunity to wish all our members and supporters well: let’s all keep as safe as possible, and look forward to happier times in the months ahead.

DDWSC Committee, 16-3-2020.

I’d like to take this opportunity to reassure all members that we are keeping a close eye on the guidance from our National Governing Bodies, Local Council and The Scottish Government regarding the novel corona virus COVID-19, and continually assessing how their directives may impact upon the club’s activities.

At present we encourage all members to adhere to the current advice to self-isolate if experiencing symptoms of possible infection (fever, persistent cough) regardless of how mild: this of course means avoiding all club activities during that time.

Should there come a time that we have to cancel club sessions we will try to let you know via all our social media platforms with as much notice as possible.

In the meantime we ask the following of all players, volunteers and attendees at club sessions:

• Take care to wash your hands with soap and water before and after each session (there are sink & hand drying facilities in the toilets next to our regular gym hall).

• Ensure players take responsibility to wipe down the seats slings, cushions & backrests of the sports chair they have used with the hard surface wipes provided.

• Take extra care to wipe down the handrims of sports chair wheels after their use with the provided hard surface wipes.

We’ll stay in touch with updates as they become available, and also with tips about how to stay active if we can’t facilitate organised club sessions.

Fingers crossed we all get through the next few weeks with but a little disruption – stay safe folks!

Time to top up your tan and pump up our tyres!

The club will be on Summer Break within the following dates:

Wednesday Sessions 
Last session Wednesday 17 July
Restart Wednesday 28 August

If you looked at our website lately you’d be forgiven for thinking we’ve been very quiet – not the case though, honestly!

The club is as busy as ever, with the same amount of travel to fixtures, fun at training plus national and international representation by players in lots of disciplines.

We haven’t been able to post about these individually here purely due to lack of manpower, but if you follow us on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, you’ll always be up to date with the latest from DragonsHQ.

We love to interact with our followers so be sure to give us a Like or Subscribe next time one of our posts catches your eye. Our Social Media feeds are live-linked in the margin of this site, but to make it even easier, here they are just waiting to be clicked on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DundeeDragons

Twitter: www.twitter.com/DundeeDragons 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dundeedragons

We love receiving questions and emails from potential new members!

Usually they will always include at least one of these questions, so we thought we’d take this opportunity to re-post our FAQ’s page. Enjoy!

I’m not a full time wheelchair user, can I still come to your club? 

Absolutely! It doesn’t matter if you use a powerchair everyday or if you’re able-bodied; as long as you can push a manual wheelchair and you’re game for some fun, you’ll be welcome at Dragons. 

I read that you have able-bodied people on the team alongside disabled players. Can you tell me more about that? 

In the spirit of inclusivity, we don’t see why being able-bodied should stop someone from joining in with their friends or siblings and having fun playing team sport. 

The classification structure of our sports reflects this, with Wheelchair Basketball assigning a 5 point title to those players with no disability, and Wheelchair Rugby League’s rules stating that two able-bodied players are allowed on court per team at any one time.

 I’m the parent of a child with mobility problems. We encourage our child to use aids as little as possible, so I’d worry that participating in wheelchair sport would work against this, can you advise? 

Wheelchair Sport participants come from all walks of life, with all manner of conditions and abilities. We know from first hand experience that children who struggle to take part in running sport find that using a wheelchair to play sport serves only to empower them, helping their confidence and growing their self-belief. We also find that as their fitness and strength increase from participating in wheelchair sport, so too does their stamina for physiotherapy and activities of daily living. 

My condition is deteriorating and I’ve been trying to stay out of a wheelchair. I’m struggling with making the choice to use one for sport. 

Track athletes wear spikes to run, and kayakers need a paddle to get from a-b, so why look at a wheelchair as something different? It’s a piece of sporting equipment that enables the athlete using it to get the most out of their time on court. Give it a go and we’re sure you’ll look at it the same way. 

I’m used to watching Rugby on the TV, how does the sport you play differ from that?

Wheelchair sports like Basketball and Rugby League are merely adaptations of the “running” versions of these games. A lot of the referee calls, scoring structure and tactical decisions are exactly the same. Wheelchair Rugby is a little different from either the 13 or 15 a side running games; you can read more about it here.

How much does a sports wheelchair cost? 

As for any sport there are budget, middle and top of the range bespoke options when it comes to sports wheelchairs. Generally speaking most chairs cost around £1200, with that figure increasing to over £5000 for a bespoke rugby wheelchair.  

Is the hoop really 10ft off the ground in wheelchair basketball? 

Yes it is indeed, just like in the running version of the game. 

I’m not from Dundee, can I still be a member?

DDWSC has members from all over Tayside; including Perth and Kinross, South Fife and North Angus. We don’t mind where you live; if you’re up for the journey to Dundee, we’ll see you on the court!

Wheelchair Rugby! I saw that at the Paralympics. Isn’t that very rough? 

You’re right, there are some big hits in top flite wheelchair rugby, but really these aren’t what the sport is about, and just like in running rugby, any bruises you take from the field, or court in our case, are hard earned! 

I don’t own a sports wheelchair, can I still participate? 

We have a stock of club chairs which you are welcome to use during club activities.