A new judo hub for visually impaired young people in Clydebank has been given a life-changing kick-start thanks to National Lottery funding, and you can watch the moment the initiative found out the good news, as part of the #RaiseASmile campaign.
The Awards for All grant enables JudoScotland, working in partnership with Scottish Disability Sport, to expand their Disability Hub West, which is led by Movement Park, to bring an exciting new sporting facility for visually impaired young people in the west of Scotland.
The initiative will allow young people to explore the inclusive sport of judo while trialling other pan-disability options.
Sam Ingram, two-time Paralympic medallist, will be coaching at the hub in his role as programme co-ordinator for the JudoScotland Visual Impairment Programme, I Do Judo. He said: “Those who are visually impaired like myself can sometimes struggle to find a suitable sport but judo has so much to offer.
"The Clydebank judo hub will really benefit young people with visual impairment, help build their confidence and allow them to potentially discover a sport for life.
“From the funding we’re able to create a new sporting opportunity and I can’t thank The National Lottery enough.”
News of the funding award formed part of a Raise A Smile video by The National Lottery which captured the emotional moment Sam discovered the project had been successful.
Jonathan Tuchner from The National Lottery said: “National Lottery players have raised a massive £3 billion to fund projects which make a life-changing difference right across Scotland.
“The Raise A Smile video is thanking lottery players for making Scotland a happier place to live. Without them none of this would have been possible. We want to make National Lottery players aware of the thousands of fantastic projects across Scotland that would never get off the ground if it weren’t for their money.”
Find out more
Raise A Smile can be watched here; can you watch it without smiling? #RaiseASmile
