With two and a half years until the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) have published the General Selection Policy and Standards document which will be used to select the athletes who will represent Team Scotland at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Clear, consistent selection policies and the Team Scotland ethos, bringing together all sports as one team, have been a major factor in the increasing success of Team Scotland over past Games cycles, culminating in the team’s record breaking performance at Glasgow 2014 and best ever overseas Games at Gold Coast 2018. Continuing the same approach, the selection policy for Birmingham has been produced following extensive consultation with the performance directors of the 19 sports on the Games programme with the aim of selecting a team that performs with distinction in 2022.

The selection standard set out in the General Selection Policy is based on a performance level of the ability to show a top six performance at the Games with the key aims of achieving a higher percentage of athletes meeting the selection standards when in competition at the Games than in 2018 and for each sport to meet its stated performance aims. In addition, CGS has set the aim of all team members having a positive experience within Team Scotland at the Games.

To ensure representation across the full programme of sports, all individual sports will be represented at the 2022 Commonwealth Games by up to four athletes and all team sports will be represented by a minimum of one team, subject to invitation by the Commonwealth Games Federation.

CGS will now work with the sports on the Birmingham sport programme to develop the Sport Specific Selection Policy and Standards throughout 2020 so that they are available well in advance of the selection period which will open on 1st March 2021. These will include a detailed breakdown of the specific times, distances and competition results required, the dates between which these standards must be achieved and any other factors which will be taken into consideration for each sport.

Endorsing the General Selection Policy, CGS Chief Executive Jon Doig said; “Following extensive consultation with sports, we have produced a policy that will select a team which will perform with distinction and ensure consistency between sports. Next, this will be supplemented by sport specific standards, ensuring all athletes in Scotland with the aspiration and potential to compete in Birmingham know exactly what they must do to make the team ahead of the selection period opening.

“This is an important milestone in our preparations for Birmingham 2022 and the first step towards our aim for all team members to have a positive Games experience.”

A copy of the General Selection Policy is available on the Selection page in the Birmingham 2022 section of this website. Individual sport policies will be added as they are published.