A top award has come the way of Angus-based coach Bob Christie to cap his year as the guiding hand behind Scotland’s para bowls Commonwealth Games success.
The former bobbie was head coach for the team that recorded a clean sweep of gold medals at Birmingham 2022.
And he has been named as Scottish Disability Sport’s coach of the year for his role in the achievement.
The players who tasted glory on the green also picked up a string of accolades.
Bob, from Brechin, has been Scotland’s para bowls co-ordinator since 2019.
He said the latest honour was the icing on the cake of a terrific year.
But he feared he might miss seeing the Scots in action after catching Covid in the lead up to the Games.
Run of success
Garry Brown and Kevin Wallace started the ball rolling with victory in the B6-B8 men’s pairs.
Rosemary Lenton and Pauline Wilson matched the feat in the women’s competition.
And the Team Scotland gold rush was completed by Robert Barr and Melanie Inness with directors George Miller and Sarah Jane Ewing in the B2/B3 mixed pairs.
At 75, George became the oldest Commonwealth Games gold medal winner as lead director to partially-sighted Melanie Inness.
Busy schedule
Bob has already set his sights on making sure the Scots maintain their winning form at the World Championships in Australia next year.
“This is a great honour and a very nice surprise given the quality of the other contenders in the running for it,” he said.
“It’s a recognition of the hard work and dedication of the whole team over the entire build-up and at the Games themselves.
“But there’s never time to stop trying to improve so we’re working on a number of things at the moment.
“We’re in the middle of a review of the high performance programme with the build-up to the worlds.
“And of course we are already thinking about the next Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Australia in 2026.”
Bob, 62, spent 30 years on the beat in Angus.
He was an accomplished bowler himself before becoming heavily involved in the coaching and administrative side of the game.
And he hopes the Birmingham success might encourage more para players to take up the sport.
He received the SDS Fife Trophy as coach of the year from Scots para swimmer Toni Shaw and Sportscotland CEO Stewart Harris.
The men’s pair of Gary Brown and Kevin Wallace were named as athletes of the year.
And there was a special recognition award for the entire Scottish para bowls team.
