Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) is saddened to note the passing of our former Vice Chair, Dr Fiona McEwan after a short illness.
A mentor and friend to many Team Scotland athletes , staff and Board members, Fiona was Team Scotland Badminton Team Manager in the 1994 Victoria and again at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Games where Scotland won a bronze medal in the Badminton Women’s Doubles.
At the 2000 Millennium Youth Commonwealth Games, Fiona took on the role of overall Village Manager at Heriot Watt University, helping all the young athletes from around the Commonwealth to feel at home, ensuring these inaugural Games were a great success which have endured to this day.
In 2002 she took on the role of Team Scotland Assistant General Team Manager with responsibility for Village operations at the Manchester Commonwealth Games. At these Games, daughter Kirsteen won a bronze medal in the Badminton Team event alongside her teammates, which included her other daughter Deirdre’s future husband, Craig Robertson.
Initially a Badminton Scotland delegate to the Council of Commonwealth Games Scotland, Fiona was first elected as a Board director in 2001 then subsequently served two terms as CGS Vice Chair standing down in 2015. Fiona brought with her an analytical mind and a strong commitment to the needs of the athletes, reflecting her position. Outwith sport, Fiona had a successful career as a scientist and lecturer.
During her time with CGS, Fiona was a delegate to the Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly and European Commonwealth Games Association meetings, as well as a trustee of the Scottish Commonwealth Games Youth Trust. In 2010 and 2014 Fiona chaired the CGS Team Scotland Games selection panel, implementing many of the procedures to ensure selection of our most successful Games team ever. In her position as a CGS Board member Fiona took an active role throughout the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games bidding and delivery process.
A leading national sporting administrator with Badminton Scotland becoming their first female president from 1999-2001. Fiona also had a deep interest in philately and was an enthusiastic photographer, a passion which she shared with husband Duncan, who was a strong supporter of Fiona in all her Games and other activities.
Fiona will be sadly missed by all her friends at CGS and beyond. Duncan’s great loss, along with that of daughters Kirsteen and Deirdre, son-in-laws Mark and Craig, and her grandchildren, Ewan, Ruaridh, and Isla is shared by us all. All of Scottish sport owes Fiona and her family a huge debt of gratitude for her commitment and passion for sport in Scotland.
The McEwan family have asked us to advise that Fiona’s funeral will be held on Thursday 6th April, 11.00am in Bishopton Parish Church, then 12 noon at Woodside Crematorium, Paisley.
Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) is proud to be part of a new UK wide collaboration to make anti-doping education a mandatory requirement of selection for a major multi-sport Games. The “Clean Games Policy”, facilitated by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), covers all athletes and athlete support personnel who will be part of any Olympic, Paralympic or Commonwealth Games team.
CGS joins the British Olympic Association (BOA), British Paralympic Association (BPA), Commonwealth Games England (CGE), Commonwealth Games Wales (CGW) and Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council (NICGC) in showing firm commitment to protecting clean sport by formally signing the Clean Games Policy.
As signatories to the Policy, those responsible for selecting and managing teams for major multi-sport Games will ensure that the appropriate measures are in place so that anyone on those teams, between now and the end of 2020, are in the best possible position to compete and win clean.
The Clean Games Policy requirements will be met through the implementation of the Major Games Programme, “Clean Sport, Clean Games, Clean Conscience”, led by UKAD.
UKAD Chief Executive, Nicole Sapstead, said: “This is the first time that such a policy has been put in place in the UK. It sends a strong message from our leading sports organisations that there is a firm and unwavering commitment to protecting everyone’s right to clean sport.
“The Clean Games Policy forms a critical part of our prevention strategy. It will help to ensure that all athletes and support staff heading to a major Games over the next three years will receive the appropriate support and education, in order protect them from inadvertent doping.
Commonwealth Games Scotland Chief Executive Jon Doig OBE, said: “We are delighted to sign up to the Clean Games Policy and believe that this joint initiative sends out an important message across the world about our commitment to clean sport.
“As part of this, all Team Scotland athletes and staff for Bahamas 2017 and Gold Coast 2018 will have undertaken anti-doping education as a condition of selection, in a clear demonstration that they are committed to participating in a clean Games.”
UKAD’s Major Games Programme was initially developed ahead of London 2012 to support athletes and support staff attending the London 2012 Games. The Programme has since been implemented in the build-up to the Sochi Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2014, Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014, and more recently the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games where every athlete who represented Great Britain was educated prior to the Games.
The first Team Scotland athletes to come under the new policy will be those selected for the Commonwealth Youth Games taking place in the Bahamas in July 2017 and will undertake anti-doping education as part of their build up to the Games.
A packed night of action will see 15 Scottish Champions crowned at the sixth event in the Team Scotland Series, as Scotland’s top boxers go head to head at the Boxing Scotland Elite Finals at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility on Saturday.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Reece McFadden heads the line up as he takes on Lochend’s Matty McHale for the Men’s Flyweight title, with Glasgow 2014 team mate Aqeel Ahmed up against Scott Wotherspoon in the Light Flyweight.
Commonwealth Youth Games gold medallists in 2015, John Docherty and Sean Lazzerini have made a successful transition to the senior ranks, with Docherty out to defend the Middleweight title he won last year and Lazzerini going for Light Heavyweight glory.
There is also a wealth of talent on display in the women’s events and the first bout of the night will see Glenrothes star Emma McCulloch take on Nasreen Anderson of Lochend for the Light Flyweight crown. McCulloch comes in full of confidence after taking gold at Europe’s biggest female tournament – the Golden Girl Championships – in February.
McCulloch’s Glenrothes team mate, Efiychia Kathopouli, took silver at those Golden Girl championships in Sweden and goes up against Hayfield boxer Cassidy Todd in the Featherweight final on Saturday while Stephanie Kernachan, the first Scottish female boxer to win GB Elite Championship gold, faces Bellahouston’s Farah Jamil for the Bantamweight title.
In a fitting finale, the final bout of the night will see reigning Scottish champion Lee McGregor make a defence of his Bantamweight title against Jack Turner of Hayfield and, like many of Saturday’s finalists, the Meadowbank boxer will have the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games firmly in mind.
In addition to Scottish Championship titles, crucial qualifying points are on offer as boxers stake their claim for a place on Team Scotland in Gold Coast. Boxing is the only sport in which Scotland has won medals at every Commonwealth Games since their inception in 1930 and, with just one year to go to until the Games open in Gold Coast, the countdown is on to select the boxers who will attempt to carry on this proud tradition.
Part of the Team Scotland Series, a ground-breaking collaboration which brings together Scottish Championship events across 13 Commonwealth Games sports, the Boxing Scotland Elite Finals take place at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility on Saturday 1 April from 8pm.
Ticket information can be found at: http://www.boxingscotland.org/2017-elite-finals-ticket-update/
One of the success stories of Team Scotland’s record breaking performance at Glasgow 2014, Athletics took its best medal haul for 24 years, heralding the start of a remarkable period for the sport in Scotland. With the next Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast on the horizon, scottishathletics Performance Director, Roger Harkins, believes that competition for places on Team Scotland is set to drive domestic standards even higher.
Scottish athletes have been hititng the headlines over recent months with a string of record breaking performances. Added to the record numbers of Scots selected for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the signs are good for a strong showing Down Under. The qualification period for selection standards for Gold Coast 2018 opened at the start of 2017 and, just three months on, several athletes have already posted one of the two qualifying standards that would put them in the frame for selection.
Selection standards have been based around the potential to finish in the top six in each event – raising the bar from a top eight performance which was sought in the countdown to Glasgow 2014.
And while that will mean reduced numbers in terms of athletes, Harkins believes a ‘leaner’ Team Scotland should have more medal contenders at Gold Coast 2018.
“We’re now just over a year away from Gold Coast 2018 and it is always exciting at this stage in the cycle for each Commonwealth Games,’ said Rodger, who will lead the Athletics team in Australia next April.
“The selection period is open for most of the rest of the year and that means opportunities for athletes to put themselves into contention for selection.
“So many Scottish athletes have stepped up over the past 18 months or so that we’ve more than a few now who are performing at what I would call a global level – we saw that with the big representations in Team GB for the Olympics in Rio and in the recent indoor season at the British Champs and the European Champs.
“A Commonwealth Games in the southern hemisphere at that time of the year – normally it could be difficult to prepare for. But I’m seeing quite a few indications from athletes in various recent performances out of kilter from the ‘normal’ track and field season to give me an awful lot of encouragement for next April.”
Callum Hawkins is one athlete who already has a qualifying standard in the bag – posted when finishing an outstanding 9th in the Rio 2016 Olympic Marathon. With a Scottish Half Marathon Record in Japan last month, and silver at last weekend’s New York Half Marathon, just four seconds behind Olympic Marathon silver medallist Feyisa Lelesa, his preparations for the 2017 World Championships in London and Gold Coast 2018 are right on track.
Hawkins is by no means Scotland’s only chance of Athletics success in Gold Coast and, such is the depth of talent in some disciplines, making the team could prove really tough. The Men’s 1500m is just one example – where youngster Josh Kerr won the NCAA Indoor title in Texas earlier this month to stun American athletics audiences yet will face severe competition from Chris O’Hare, Jake Wightman and Neil Gourley.
Harkins believes this battle for places will ensure that those who do go on to represent Team Scotland in Gold Coast will be formidable opposition for their Commonwealth rivals.
“Glasgow 2014 was an exceptional circumstance in many ways,” he said. “Selection then was based on the potential to finish in a top eight place. This time, for Gold Coast, the Commonwealth Games Scotland General Selection Policy is looking for the potential for a top six finish. That is across all sports and those are the parameters we need to work within.
“Inevitably, that is going to mean there is a real fight on for places in Australia. It is going to be tough to get on the team but what I would say is that those selection standards will drive up performances – and that’s good for our sport.
“Effectively, those that make it will be real contenders for the podium or the final in their events and I think I can safely say – even at this distance – that Scotland will have a very strong team.”
As Team Scotland aims for its most successful overseas Games in Gold Coast, Jon Doig OBE, Chief Executive at Commonwealth Games Scotland and Team Scotland Chef de Mission for Gold Coast 2018, said:
“Across all sports, getting to Gold Coast 2018 will be challenging, but athletes are looking past this to performing at the Games themselves. Athletics have had fantastic success since Glasgow 2014 and it’s exciting to see both well-known names and rising stars making their mark as the next Games approach.
“I look forward to welcoming a strong squad of athletes onto Team Scotland and watching them do the country proud in Gold Coast next year.”
Commonwealth Day celebrations in London today (Monday 13 March) had a distinctly Australian flavour with the official launch of the Gold Coast 2018 Queen’s Baton Relay on the historic forecourt at Buckingham Palace. Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Edward The Earl of Wessex, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II heralded the start of the relay, by placing her ‘message to the Commonwealth and its athletes’ into the distinctive loop-design Queen’s Baton which then set off on its journey around the globe.
A key feature of every Commonwealth Games, the Queen’s Baton Relay unites the nations and territories of the Commonwealth and its launch today signalled the start of the official world-wide countdown to the Games next year in Australia. Thousands of baton bearers will carry the Batonon the longest Queen’s Baton Relay in Commonwealth Games history, covering 230,000km over 388 days, as it makes its way through the six Commonwealth regions of Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Oceania, to its final destination, the Opening Ceremony of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018) on 4 April 2018.
As it makes its way through Europe, the Baton will be in Scotland this summer between 22-28 August 2017 and the arrival of the Baton on Scottish soil will bring the Games one step closer for athletes and supporters, as Team Scotland aims for its best ever overseas medal haul in the Gold Coast.
An exciting range of celebrations are being planned with a strong youth and sport theme, showcasing our rich heritage, links to Australia and the Commonwealth and Glasgow 2014 legacy. Details of the events will be announced over the coming weeks, but with only five days on the ground compared to the extensive 42 day tour of the country in 2014 as Games hosts, the focus will be on maximising community engagement at events. Clyde, recently adopted as the new Team Scotland mascot, will be front and centre of the programme.
In 2014 the passionate support of the Scottish public spurred Team Scotland’s athletes onto their best Commonwealth Games performance in history at Glasgow 2014 and the Queen’s Baton Relay played a key role in building awareness and support for the team. With the 2018 Games taking place on the other side of the world, the Queen’s Baton Relay will be a fantastic opportunity for the nation to get behind Team Scotland once again and show their support in the lead up to and during the Games.
Attending the event at Buckingham Palace and looking forward to the Baton’s arrival in Scotland five months from now, Paul Bush OBE, Chair, Commonwealth Games Scotland said: “The Queen’s Baton Relay is an iconic symbol of the Commonwealth Games and today’s launch signals the official world-wide countdown to the start of Gold Coast 2018. We look forward to welcoming the Baton to Scotland in August, with the celebrations marking a fantastic opportunity for our local communities, schools and athletes to engage with the Games on a personal level.
“The support Team Scotland had for Glasgow 2014 was phenomenal and I look forward to seeing that passion again later this year. I hope everyone the length and breadth of the country will get behind the team and play their part in supporting Scotland’s athletes as they prepare to compete with distinction on the other side of the world.”
Ahead of the landmark celebrations in London and in the spirit of the ’Friendly Games’, Gold Coast mascot ‘Borobi’ visited Glasgow last week and hooked up with Clyde, Games organisers and Scottish track and field star Eilidh Doyle, to find out what made the 2014 Games such a huge success.
The double Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Eilidh Doyle said: “I can’t quite believe that the next Commonwealth Games is just over a year away. Glasgow 2014 was amazing in every way and being the very first person to carry the Queen’s Baton when it crossed the border from England to Scotland was extremely special.
“It will be fantastic to see the Gold Coast 2018 Baton in Scotland in August and it will certainly spur on all the athletes, including myself, to book their place on Team Scotland and on the plane to Gold Coast. Being part of Team Scotland is a unique experience and the only time we get to represent our country at a multi-sport Games. The public support means so much to us and certainly played a huge part in the Team’s success in Glasgow and it would be great if everyone can get behind Team Scotland once again.”
The day also included visits to challenge youngsters at Caledonia Primary School (recently awarded Gold Sport Award status by sportscotland) to an ‘Aussie style’ dance-off, before meeting gymnasts from the City of Glasgow club at the iconic ‘Big G’, relocated to Glasgow Green. The day concluded with a tour of some of the Glasgow 2014 Games venues to meet prospective Team Scotland athletes and wish them well in their quest for selection for the Gold Coast 2018 Games.
Both youth and experience enjoyed success as the Team Scotland Series came to the Edinburgh Sports Club this weekend for the Sterling Trucks Scottish Senior National Squash Championships.
Sixteen-year-old rising star Georgia Adderley put in a superb performance to win the women’s title for the first time, while in the men’s event two-time Commonwealth Games competitor for Team Scotland, Alan Clyne, outperformed his domestic rivals to take a seventh national title.
Edinburgh teenager Adderley, who has also played age-grade football for her country, is seen as Scotland’s best squash prospect – and it is easy to see why. She showed determination and skill to defeat 20-year-old Elspeth Young from Kinross 11-4, 5-11, 11-6, 12-10 to lift the trophy in front of an appreciative audience.
It looked as if the final was going all the way to five games with Young, at 10-5 up, poised to take the fourth and force a decider. An impressive display from Adderley however, saw her fight back to take it 12-10, and with it the Scottish title.
After the match, a delighted Adderley said: “Coming into the event aged 16 as number one seed brought its own pressures, but I had played in this event last year for the first time and that helped me with nerves and what to expect out there.
“I played well in my semi-final on Saturday and that left me feeling good about the final. Elspeth is a few years older than me and more experienced, so I knew it would be hard.
“We had some really good rallies in the first game, but she then came back in the second. At that point I had to hold my nerve, but I did and got a good start to the third game. I then managed to go on and win and the feeling at the end was amazing.
“At the moment it has not quite sunk in, but I have had loads of texts from friends and my family are really proud.”
In the men’s event Scottish number one Alan Clyne, who has risen to world number 32, defeated Edinburgh’s Douglas Kempsell to lift his fourth successive national title.
It was Clyne’s seventh victory at this event overall and he was on top from the off in the final, winning in three games 11-5, 11-5, 11-2.
The champion, 30, from Inverness, said: “To say you’re Scottish champion is a prestigious thing and it’s very important to me. I felt good going through the rounds, but I knew that Douglas would put up a real fight in the final because we all know he is a battler.
“That was the way that it panned out, but I managed to get on the front foot and take the win.
“I am often playing abroad, so I love getting a chance to play in Scottish tournaments and I am very proud to be national champion for a seventh time.”
The Team Scotland Series is a ground-breaking collaboration which brings together Scottish Championship events across 13 Commonwealth Games sports. The next event in the series will be the Boxing Scotland Elite Finals on April 1 at Ravenscraig.
Photo credit: Roberts Sports
here was a glimpse of the future of Team Scotland for spectators at the Scottish National Artistic Gymnastics Championships at Bell’s Sports Centre in Perth, as more than 100 gymnasts competed in front of a sell-out crowd at the two-day Team Scotland Series event.
Two new champions were crowned as Kelvin Cham and Shannon Archer won the Scottish national artistic men’s and women’s all-around senior titles. Both have their sights set firmly on representing Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Australia’s Gold Coast next year.
For 18 year-old Cham, it was a case of starting his first senior season in the same way he finished his junior years, having won the age-group title 12 months ago. He finished marginally ahead of his City of Glasgow team mate David Weir to take the title, while Frank Baines, an integral part of Scotland’s historic first gymnastics team medal at Glasgow 2014, took the bronze.
With the defending and three-time champion Dan Purvis out of contention for the all-around title, as he was only competing over three apparatus – pommel horse, parallel bars, and floor – Cham took advantage of the chance to shine.
“It feels really good to be Scottish champion,” he said. “Some pieces went really well and on others there were a few mistakes that I can fix. I was nervous but I felt good and I’m so happy with the result.
“It would be a dream to be on Team Scotland for Gold Coast 2018, it’s what I’ve been training for over the past few years. It’s so good to compete alongside the guys who competed at Glasgow 2014, they are such good gymnasts and you can learn from them.”
Like-wise in the women’s championship, defending champion Cara Kennedy was only contesting the asymmetric bars on her way back from injury. Archer was third last year and was delighted with gold ahead of Sofia Ramzan from Dundee 2K and her City of Glasgow team mate, Carly Smith.
Archer took full advantage of her first opportunity to post a Gold Coast 2018 Games qualifying standard with her total of 49.084 over the required mark. Delighted with such a promising start as she aims for a place on Team Scotland she said: “I am very happy with how it went. I’ve never won the all-around title before so it was a personal goal.
“It would be an honour to be on the team in Gold Coast. I missed out on the last Games with an elbow injury so to make it to these Games would mean a lot to me. Since the last Games, it has all been about working on the upgrades to get to the level you need. I’ve still got a few upgrades I can add into my routines but it’s looking good so far.”
The victories for Archer and Cham were a double celebration for the City of Glasgow Gymnastics Club, who enjoyed a hugely successful weekend. Pavel Karnejenko won the junior men’s and Crystelle Lake won the espoir all-around titles while their women’s team picked up gold, and several of the club’s gymnasts won apparatus finals at different age levels on Sunday. The second day of competition also saw 21 year-old Ramsay Meiklem and 16 year-old Sophie Crawford earn the men’s and women’s disabled titles.
The Scottish National Table Tennis Championships, also part of the Team Scotland Series, taking place at the same venue embodied a key aim of the Series in bringing Commonwealth Games sports together outside Games time. Having experienced Team Scotland’s ‘17 sports – One Team’ ethos at Glasgow 2014, Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games medallist Dan Purvis was full of praise for the initiative.
“At the Commonwealth Games it was fantastic that the whole team were together,” he said. “Seeing people from other sports working just as hard as we are and getting good results as well it’s such a great vibe, so to support each other outside the Games and then hopefully see each other in Australia is amazing and it’s just a great experience overall.”
The next event in the Team Scotland Series will be the Boxing Scotland Elite Finals on April 1 at Ravenscraig.
Scottish sports fans are spoilt for choice this weekend as the Team Scotland Series continues with an exciting trio of Scottish Championship events.
Building on successful events for judo and athletics in January, Team Scotland’s Glasgow 2014 stars in gymnastics, table tennis and squash go head to head with their domestic rivals in a bid to be crowned Scottish Champion and stake a claim for a place on Team Scotland at Gold Coast 2018.
Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games medallist Daniel Purvis leads the line-up of stars competing at the 2017 Scottish National Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Perth on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 March.
Winner of the All-Around title for the past three years, the 26-year-old returns to the Bell’s Sports Centre seeking more Scottish Championship success, with competition set to come from his Southport club team mate Frank Baines and City of Glasgow’s Liam Davie.
The trio joined forces with the now retired Adam Cox and Dan Keatings to claim an historic first Commonwealth Games gymnastics team medal for Team Scotland at Glasgow 2014, and their thoughts will now be firmly on next year’s Games in Gold Coast, with this weekend marking the first opportunity for gymnasts to post a qualification standard.
Based south of the border for training, Purvis said: “It’s always fantastic to come back to Scotland for the national championships and it will be exciting to see who the new champion will be this year.
“The last four years have been tough and it has been good to have a little break after a hard Olympic cycle. I’m now getting my body back into competition, and building up to Gold Coast 2018. It would be nice to reach qualification standard in the first event this year. It is a new routine, so I’m just looking to put in clean performances and hopefully some good qualifying scores.”
Two further Team Scotland Glasgow 2014 competitors, current Scottish champion, Cara Kennedy, and Carly Smith, both from the City of Glasgow Gymnastics Club, will lead the charge for the women’s title in Perth.
Also taking place at Bell’s Sports Centre, the Scottish National Table Tennis Championships will see eleven-times Scottish Champion Gavin Rumgay try to match Euan Walker’s record 12 singles’ titles.
The London-based player returns to his home city as number one seed for the men’s singles on Saturday, with his chances of retaining the title and equalling Walker’s record boosted by the absence through injury of Scottish number two Craig Howieson. Robert Gordon University student and number two seed Colin Dalgleish is tipped to push him all the way.
In the women’s singles, Kilbirnie’s Rebecca Plaistow is out to repeat her remarkable achievement of last year, when she won both senior and junior titles.
She faces a considerable challenge with established Scottish international players Linda Flaws from Shetland and Perth’s Gillian Edwards also vying for the title. Both represented Team Scotland at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and will provide formidable opposition.
Over in Edinburgh, World Doubles champion Alan Clyne goes into the Scottish Squash National Championships as defending champion and number one seed with action beginning on Friday evening at the Edinburgh Sports Club and concluding on Sunday.
With Clyne’s partner in that World Championship win, Greg Lobban, side-lined through injury, the challenge will come from Edinburgh’s Douglas Kempsell, Team Scotland Glasgow 2014 competitor Kevin Moran and rising star Rory Stewart.
Top seed in the women’s competition is Georgia Adderley, runner up last year at the age of just 15. Juggling two sports, the multi-talented teenager spent last week playing football for Scotland U16 and now turns her attention back to the squash court in a bid for the national title. Other names in the mix are likely to include Robyn Young, Elspeth Young and Katriona Allen.
Jon Doig OBE, Chief Executive at Commonwealth Games Scotland and Team Scotland Chef de Mission for Gold Coast 2018, said:
“The Team Scotland Series is an exciting collaboration between our member sports, aimed at profiling these important Scottish Championships events and the part they play on the road to representing Team Scotland in the future.
“With a packed weekend ahead of us, I look forward to the opportunity to see both athletes who represented Team Scotland in Glasgow and the rising stars ready to make a breakthrough, as they aim for a place at Gold Coast 2018 and beyond.”
The Team Scotland Series is a ground-breaking collaboration which brings together Scottish Championship events across 13 Commonwealth Games sports. Part of Team Scotland’s work to support member sports and champion the ongoing success of Scots on the national and international sporting stage, it aims to bring these domestic events to a wider audience, inspiring more Scots to excel.
Details for each of this weekend’s events can be found below:
Scottish National Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Bell’s Sports Centre, Perth
Sat 4 March: All-Around Competition; Sun 5 March: Apparatus Finals, Women’s Team Competition & Disability Masters
Tickets start from £6 and are available from scottishgymnastics.org or at the event on 4 and 5 March, subject to availability.
Scottish National Table Tennis Championships, Bell’s Sports Centre, Perth
Sat 4 March: Men’s & Women’s Singles Championships. Sun 5 March: Doubles Finals, Junior Championships
The men’s singles competition begins at 10am on Saturday and the women’s event at 12 noon. Entry to the event is free.
Click here to find out more.
Scottish National Squash Championships, Edinburgh Sports Club, Edinburgh
Fri 3 March: Preliminary rounds from 5pm; Sat 4 March: Preliminary rounds from 11am, Men’s & Women’s Semi-Finals from 3pm; Sun 5 March: Men’s & Women’s Finals from 2.45pm
Click here to find out more.
Team Scotland athletes at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games are set to draw on a wealth of sporting pedigree, with Olympic curling gold medallist Rhona Howie and World Indoorathletics silver medallist, Jamie Bowie, among five sport specific team managers announced today.
Commonwealth Games Scotland has worked closely with the governing bodies of Athletics, Lawn Bowls, Gymnastics, Netball and Squash to select the team managers who will lead these sports, both in the build-up and during competition at the Gold Coast Games. All five have a strong track record, with both Rhona and Jamie bringing their own experience as athletes, to sports outside those in which they made their names.
Millions watched as Rhona (then Rhona Martin) launched what became known as the ‘Stone of Destiny’ to win gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and she is set to bring that high performance expertise to the Lawn Bowls team in Gold Coast. Following her career as an athlete, Rhona amassed a wealth of team management experience at multi-sport events before joining Bowls Scotland as High Performance Manager in May 2015. She has worked extensively with the players who will represent Team Scotland and will make sure that they and the coaching team can focus on performance, as they look to build on a hugely successful home Games back in 2014.
“I am honoured to have been nominated as Team Manager for Lawn Bowls for the upcoming 2018 Commonwealth Games,” she said.
“Working with Lawn Bowls has been an exciting new challenge for me and within the recently named High Performance squad we have a strong mix of seasoned top level performers and up and coming prospects with great potential. I am looking forward to working closely with Commonwealth Games Scotland, Scottish Disability Sport and the performance support team to ensure we can give the athletes the best opportunities to perform in the Gold Coast.”
Jamie Bowie joined Scottish Gymnastics as Performance Manager last August, working across the men’s and women’s artistic national performance programme, but is better known as a track athlete, having represented Great Britain and Scotland since 2009. European U23 gold medallist with the GB 4x400m relay team in 2011, Jamie stepped up to replicate that success at senior level with relay silver at the 2014 World Indoor Championships. Listing his part in the Scottish record breaking 4x400m relay team at Glasgow 2014 as one of the highlights of his career, four years on, the 27-year-old will be back for Team Scotland, this time as team manager for gymnastics.
“For me it’s a really exciting transition away from competitive athlete into the performance and team management side of sport”, he said.
“We had to work hard to be selected for Glasgow 2014 and then focus on putting in a great performance. It was very special having family there, the whole of Scotland behind you, and feeling part of the bigger Team Scotland.
“I’ve always been really passionate about athletes and coaches getting the best out of themselves, delivering on the day. I hope my understanding of the pressures, through the journey of qualifying to competing on the Commonwealth stage will benefit our gymnasts and Team Scotland in 2018.”
Also drawing on personal international experience, as well as a proven track record in team management, is Karen McElveen, named as team manager for Netball. Capped 39 times for Scotland, she led the national team, the Thistles, for over seven years, including at two World Netball Championships. Now Franchise Director for the Sirens, Scotland’s brand new Netball Superleague team, she is enthusiastic about taking on the team manager role for Team Scotland at a second successive Commonwealth Games.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be part of Team Scotland as Netball Team Manager for 2018,” she said. “After an awesome experience at Glasgow 2014, I can’t wait to get started, especially in such exciting times for Netball Scotland. The Thistles are ranked in the top 10 in the world and the new Sirens franchise in the Superleague is giving Scottish players the opportunity to perform week in week out at almost international level. That kind of opportunity is only going to help our performance come Gold Coast.”
Assistant Team Manager for Athletics at Glasgow 2014, Julie Mollison, will now take on the role of Team Manager for Gold Coast, supporting Rodger Harkins as Head Coach. scottishathletics National Club Manager, Julie has been involved in various team manager roles within Scottish Athletics for the past 10 years. She now steps up to lead the team in Gold Coast and with Scottish athletes in record breaking form in recent months, is excited by their prospects in Australia in just over a year’s time.
“I’m delighted to accept the post of Athletics Team Manager for the Gold Coast, working with the other team staff in planning and preparation for our athletes as part of Team Scotland,” she said.
“Having performed a similar role in Glasgow I am now looking forward to the different challenges that planning for Australia will bring. It’s a great time to be involved in athletics in Scotland with brilliant results every month, and come next year my role with Team Scotland will be to create the best possible environment for our athletes to perform at their best in the Gold Coast”’
Named as team manager for Squash, Paul Bell has proven himself to be a talented young coaching prospect, leading both Ireland’s junior and women’s teams to feature in the world top ten before joining Scottish Squash in 2016.
“I’ve been in place as National Coach for almost a year now and we’ve had some good early results, including a win at the World Doubles, which is really encouraging moving towards Gold Coast. To work with the players at something on the scale of the Commonwealth Games is really exciting and I’m looking forward to maximising the opportunity of being part of Team Scotland.”
Jon Doig OBE, Team Scotland Chef de Mission for Gold Coast 2018 said: “The sport team managers play a vital role within both their sport and the wider team to create the best possible environment at the Games for athletes to excel. I’m delighted to have all five of these talented managers on board, as we come together as one Team Scotland with the aim of having our most successful overseas Games ever in Gold Coast.”
With the previous appointment of Lindsay Lewis as Aquatics team manager announced in December 2016, six sports now have their team manager in place. The other 12 sports on the Gold Coast 2018 programme will appoint their team managers over the next few months.
Bowls Scotland today announced the players it believes have the potential to deliver medal winning performances for Team Scotland at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and beyond with the announcement of an 18-strong High Performance Squad.
With next year’s Gold Coast Games firmly in sight, Scotland’s top players will come together to train and compete in the run up to final selection, with the men’s squad including four gold medal winners from the Glasgow 2014 Games: Alex Marshall MBE, Darren Burnett, Neil Speirs and newly crowned World indoor singles champion Paul Foster MBE, as well as 2016 Scottish Super Series Champion Iain McLean.
The women’s squad includes 2016 World Championships silver and bronze medallists Lesley Doig and Claire Johnston, Claire also recently lifting the mixed pairs title with England’s Nick Brett at the 2017 World Indoor Bowls Championships.
Newcomers to Scotland’s High Performance squad include 2016 National Singles Champion Derek Oliver, 2006 Commonwealth Games Pairs silver medallist Kay Moran and rising star Carla Banks who represented Team Scotland at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa.
Returning to the squad are Graeme Archer and Caroline Brown who both won World Championship Gold for Scotland in Australia in 2012.
Bowls Scotland High Performance Coach David Gourlay, who will work with the squad alongside High Performance Manager Rhona Howie, is confident that the players selected from this squad for the Gold Coast Games will be medal contenders on the fast greens of Broadbeach Bowls Club.
“We believe the players selected have the potential to deliver on the World Stage and in the very specific conditions that we will encounter at a Southern Hemisphere Commonwealth Games,” he said.
“We are now on the path towards the 2018 Games and the focus is on developing and preparing players in their position specific roles for the fast greens and challenging conditions in Australia. There is a mixture of experience, youth and players with a proven track record on relevant playing surfaces in the squad.
“Success in Broadbeach will depend on the player’s ability to work hard individually and as a team, from those current world class players to the new talent coming into the squad. Glasgow was amazing and to try to get close to what we achieved will require everyone involved to commit to the rigors of the High Performance programme. This is the challenge and I know that these players and the support staff are up for it.”
After a successful World Championships in Christchurch last year, Bowls Scotland are now looking to raise the bar even further to remain one of the best teams in the world.
Bowls Scotland High Performance Squad:
Lesley Doig
Caroline Brown
Claire Johnston
Carla Banks
Stacey McDougall
Rebecca Craig
Kay Moran
Claire Walker
Paul Foster MBE
Iain McLean
Alex Marshall MBE
Darren Burnett
Derek Oliver
Graeme Archer
Neil Speirs
Colin Walker
Stewart Anderson
Ronnie Duncan