Coach wins top award

Tina takes Scottish title

A wheelchair basketball coach from Bathgate has been named Coach of the Year at the Scottish Women in Sport Awards.

Tina Gordon, who is the wheelchair basketball development officer at Basketball Scotland, was recognised with the award following years of dedication to the sport.

The former Lothian Phoenix coach admitted she was surprised to receive the accolade - and hopes it leads to more girls and women taking up the sport.

Tina was modest about her win and said it’s a great honour.

She commented: “I was shocked to be honest.

“I’m usually the person nominating people for awards, not receiving them, so it was a pleasant surprise to say the least.

“It was obviously a tremendous honour to receive the award and I’m overwhelmed and very grateful to all those who believed I was deserving of it.”

And she said the award indicates a growing interest in wheelchair basketball across the country.

Tina added: “It might be an individual award but I feel strongly that it reflects the growth of wheelchair basketball that the sport and those within the sport are being recognised at the top level.

“It’s a sport that is really growing fast and has a great base throughout the country that we keep adding to.

“There’s the Lothian Phoenix in Armadale, obviously, but there’s great teams all over the country in places like Paisley, Aberdeen and Dundee.”

She added: “There’s a real and genuine player pathway now in the sport for youngsters to work their way right through to senior level with their team and hopefully country as well.

“We had our first ever medal at the School Games this year when Scotland’s under- 19 side took bronze which was a great achievement and things like that really help to raise the profile of the sport.

“There’s now more and more role models for girls to look up to, like Robyn Love and Jen Scally, who are brilliant ambassadors for women in our sport.”

But Tina said those involved with the sport will not rest on their laurels and will continue to drive its growth.

She said: “We all want to keep up the hard work that has got wheelchair basketball into the position it’s in just now and hopefully help it to continually grow.”

It was obviously a tremendous honour