Delhi 2010 started to become a reality for Scotland’s athletes today when the first full Team Scotland preparation camp got underway. With the Commonwealth Games only 10 months away, more than 230 athletes and staff representing 17 sports gathered at the University of Stirling despite the wintry weather conditions. The purpose of the day was to ensure all those with aspirations to be selected for Team Scotland are involved in the vital planning and preparations from the outset, aimed at maximising their chance of success at this year’s Games.

One of the highlights of every Games for an athlete is finding out what kit they will wear when they represent Scotland, particularly for the very first time. For Delhi, Commonwealth Games Scotland is delighted to announce it has established a partnership with adidas to design and manufacture its delegation wear. adidas is the premium sportswear manufacturer in the UK and is the preferred choice of many of Scotland’s top athletes including Sir Chris Hoy.

Welcoming adidas on board with Team Scotland, Jon Doig, Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) Chief Executive and Team Scotland Chef de Mission said: “We are delighted to have established a partnership with adidas to supply our delegation wear for Delhi tailored to our own design. adidas has a first class reputation for technological innovation and a commitment to performance which is in line with Team Scotland’s own philosophy and we look forward to working with them over the coming months. We are also confident it will prove to be a popular choice with our athletes.”

Robin Money, Head of Sports Marketing, adidas UK & Ireland said: “adidas is proud to be supplying Team Scotland with delegation wear for Delhi 2010. We have a long heritage in supplying teams at major sporting events and Team Scotland athletes will receive the very best bespoke team apparel.”

However the day started with the all important decision to finalise the Scottish anthem which will be played, when athletes representing Team Scotland win gold and stand on top of the medal podium in Delhi. With no official Scottish national anthem, it is up to individual sports teams to select the anthem which best reflects their sporting endeavours. Up until 1958, Burns’ ‘Scots Wha Hae’ was used to mark Commonwealth Games success and since then ‘Scotland the Brave’ has been the preferred anthem.

The choice of anthem has been revisited again for 2010 with guests attending the Commonwealth Games Awards Dinner last November whittling down the short list of four to a final two. Gymnastics gold medallist from 2002, Steve Frew, shared his thoughts on the issue before ‘Scotland the Brave’ and ‘Flower of Scotland’ were played to prospective Delhi 2010 team members. This was accompanied by a photo montage of past Scottish medal success, to enable athletes to visualise that special moment and make an informed final decision. There was much excitement when it was announced that by a landslide vote of 211 to 15 Flower of Scotland will be the new Team Scotland anthem for Delhi 2010.

Reacting to the decision Michael Cavanagh, Chairman CGS said: “We felt it was important to give team members the opportunity to choose their anthem and the athletes have made a clear choice. Whilst we are not particularly surprised that they have chosen Flower of Scotland the margin of the vote was surprising.”

It was then down to business, with a series of lectures and interactive workshops throughout the day, giving a flavour of what Delhi will be like as the host city and addressing many of the concerns raised over recent months, including facilities, safety and security, health and wellbeing. Commonwealth Games Scotland team staff and specialist advisers gave briefings, sharing their experiences of the team’s preparation visits to Delhi and answering questions athletes had. Issues raised will also be referred back to the Delhi Organising Committee to help them in their preparations.

Commenting on the importance of the Team Camp Michael Cavanagh, Chair of CGS said: “Commonwealth Games Scotland aims to deliver the best prepared team possible, creating the right environment and giving athletes every opportunity to excel at the Games. The excellent team spirit in Melbourne was a major factor behind our success and today’s camp provides an excellent opportunity for potential Delhi athletes to build a strong team unit right from the start, reinforcing the team’s unique position of ‘17 Sports, One Team’.

“Being held at the turn of the year, the camp marks an important milestone in the countdown to the Games. With just 10 months to go it will focus the whole team on the exciting times ahead, and hopefully inspire our athletes to strive even harder to achieve the selection targets set for their sport and secure a seat on the plane to Delhi.”

Potential Team Scotland athletes for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi gather at Stirling University for the first pre-Games briefing.
Pictured Left to Right are Melbourne medallists Chris Baillie (Silver 110m Hurdles), Susan Egelstaff (Bronze Womens Badminton Singles), David Carry (Gold 400m Freestyle & 400 Individual Medley) and Kate Cullen (Bronze Track Cycling).