If you want to keep in touch with all the news and results from the Team Scotland during these Games then the new Team Scotland Games-time App launched today is the ultimate guide to have on your mobile device.
The free App, which works on all major mobile devices, provides you with fingertip access to athlete profiles, schedules and results, with an alert option when Team Scotland athletes win medals.
Designed and developed by Digitalier Ltd, the App’s ‘Social Hub’ has a dedicated section where you can view a single feed which includes the tweets for all Team Scotland athletes currently active on social media, and a separate section to see updates from all the official @Team_Scotland accounts.
For autograph hunters there is even a ‘Virtual Autograph’ section where you can input your name and receive a personalised ‘virtual message and signature’ from well-known Team Scotland athletes to download.
Team Scotland Chef de Mission Jon Doig said, “In the build up to these Games we wanted to make it as easy as possible for the public to learn about, and follow, our Scottish athletes in each of the 17 sports, as they competed first for selection and now to represent their country as part of Team Scotland.
“The aim of this App is to take that interaction to the next stage and make it as easy as possible for our supporters to continue to follow these athletes during the Games and get behind them as they step out to represent Scotland on home soil.
“This is the App to have if you want to follow Team Scotland.”
The App includes individually searchable biographical information on every one of the 310 Team Scotland athletes, as well as fun facts, their competition schedule and results, and a live link to their social media feeds.
The App also enables you to link to all the latest news on the Scottish athletes through a link to the news, Team updates and video interviews available on the Team Scotland website goscotland.org
If you are trying to plan your day at the Games, or your TV viewing schedule, then the App provides easy access to an overview of Scots in action on any given day, or how specific sports are going.
A couple more taps and you’re in the Results and Schedules section where you can look up each sport by date, selecting whether you want completed events, scheduled events, or even potential events in case they get through to final rounds of competition.
Medal tables showing Scotland’s current standing will be updated in real time with links to the sports they were won in, the athletes who won them and their photo and biography.
Medal results from Delhi also feature on the Team Scotland App, so arguments about who won what at the previous Games can be quickly and easily answered.
The Team Scotland App can be downloaded for free at Google Play and iTunes.
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/team-scotland/id898658816?ls=1&mt=8
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amo.sco
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The first representatives of Team Scotland were officially welcomed to the Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village today as they settled into the place they will call home for the next few weeks.
Each team from the 71 nations and territories of the Commonwealth is welcomed to the Village in a special ceremony led by the Village Chieftain.
The ceremony included a welcome by Chieftain and Scottish rugby legend Gavin Hastings, an exchange of gifts by Lord Provost Sadie Docherty on behalf of the people of Glasgow and a performance of dance and theatre by the National Youth Theatre. The Scotland team flag was raised and the Scottish anthem Flower of Scotland played.
Michael Cavanagh, Chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, said:”Team Welcome ceremonies are a key moment for athletes, team officials and guests, marking the end of their journey to the Games and the start of their residency in the village.
“It is fitting that as the home nation, we are one of the first Teams starting to take up residency and to raise our flag in the Athletes’ Village.”
Following today’s official welcome, Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games and Sport, Shona Robison MSP, and Jon Doig, Chef de Mission of Team Scotland, officially opened Team Scotland’s residence in the village, appropriately named Scotland Street by the athletes.
Jon Doig, Chef de Mission of Team Scotland, said: “When a group of our athletes saw their residence for the first time this week they said quite spontaneously that they loved Scotland Street.
“Scotland Street is a great tribute to our management team who have turned our housing blocks into an inspiring area which will be home for the athletes in the weeks ahead.
“Following a successful team camp, we are all set up to greet our athletes who will arrive over the next few days. They are all really excited about being in the Games and this is the ideal environment for them to make their final preparations.”
Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games and Sport, Shona Robison, said: “As we welcome Team Scotland into their home from home for the next few weeks, the Commonwealth Games now feel all the more real. The athletes’ memories of their stay here, the people they will meet from across the world and of being involved in the best Commonwealth Games ever, will last long after the Games have finished.
“Beyond the Games, The Athletes Village will help bring lasting change in the East End of Glasgow demonstrating the legacy of the Games for local communities. The village looks great, the athletes are set and Scotland is ready to cheer them on to success.”
If you want to keep in touch with all the news and results from the Team Scotland during these Games then the new Team Scotland Games-time App launched today is the ultimate guide to have on your mobile device.
The free App, which works on all major mobile devices, provides you with fingertip access to athlete profiles, schedules and results, with an alert option when Team Scotland athletes win medals.
Designed and developed by Digitalier Ltd, the App’s ‘Social Hub’ has a dedicated section where you can view a single feed which includes the tweets for all Team Scotland athletes currently active on social media, and a separate section to see updates from all the official @Team_Scotland accounts.
For autograph hunters there is even a ‘Virtual Autograph’ section where you can input your name and receive a personalised ‘virtual message and signature’ from well-known Team Scotland athletes to download.
Team Scotland Chef de Mission Jon Doig said, “In the build up to these Games we wanted to make it as easy as possible for the public to learn about, and follow, our Scottish athletes in each of the 17 sports, as they competed first for selection and now to represent their country as part of Team Scotland.
“The aim of this App is to take that interaction to the next stage and make it as easy as possible for our supporters to continue to follow these athletes during the Games and get behind them as they step out to represent Scotland on home soil.
“This is the App to have if you want to follow Team Scotland.”
The App includes individually searchable biographical information on every one of the 310 Team Scotland athletes, as well as fun facts, their competition schedule and results, and a live link to their social media feeds.
The App also enables you to link to all the latest news on the Scottish athletes through a link to the news, Team updates and video interviews available on the Team Scotland website goscotland.org
If you are trying to plan your day at the Games, or your TV viewing schedule, then the App provides easy access to an overview of Scots in action on any given day, or how specific sports are going.
A couple more taps and you’re in the Results and Schedules section where you can look up each sport by date, selecting whether you want completed events, scheduled events, or even potential events in case they get through to final rounds of competition.
Medal tables showing Scotland’s current standing will be updated in real time with links to the sports they were won in, the athletes who won them and their photo and biography.
Medal results from Delhi also feature on the Team Scotland App, so arguments about who won what at the previous Games can be quickly and easily answered.
The Team Scotland App can be downloaded for free at Google Play and iTunes.
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/team-scotland/id898658816?ls=1&mt=8
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amo.sco
The 12 girls that make up Scotland’s Netball Team are primed and ready to make their debut in the Commonwealth Games. Netball has been a core sport since 1998, and Scotland, currently ranked 11th in the world, will take to the court for the first time in front of a packed home crowd at the SECC.
The squad has climbed five places in the world rankings over the past two years and now sit within the top 12 – earning themselves a place in the Glasgow Games on merit. Head coach Gail Parata is proud of their achievements to date and says they are ready for the Games.
Gail said: “We are ready to go now. We’re all very excited and I’m pleased that we got into the village to have a look and get a taste of what to expect, and to get all of that excitement out early. The girls are buzzing and we all can’t wait to get going. All we’re focusing on now is putting in our best performances at the Games.”
The Glasgow 2014 Athletes’ Village officially opened on Sunday 13 July, and Scotland’s netballers were amongst the first athletes from around the Commonwealth to take a look inside. The squad also had their first training session at the SECC, and being in the venue has brought home just how far the team has come since the Games was awarded to Scotland in 2007.
“From May of last year to now, the girls are looking fitter and there has been a huge improvement all round”, says Gail. We have some good game-plans, and we’re not a big team physically so we have to play to our strengths. I have been really impressed with this group of girls and their work rate. We started the year with games against New Zealand and some of the other top teams and we put in some great performances.”
The team can expect a noisy atmosphere during competition, with netball tickets proving extremely popular with Games spectators. The prospect of playing in front of a home crowd is front of mind for the team and they are hoping to put in some strong performances for their fans.
Gail continued: “We went to the SECC and we were really impressed. All of our games are sold out and this will be the first time that some of the girls have played in front of a crowd of that size. Every time we’ve played in front of that home crowd we’ve performed beyond our expectations, and we just can’t wait to get going in the Commonwealth Games.”
Scotland will begin their campaign on Friday 25 July against St Lucia.
Photo credit: Netball Scotland
Final preparations are nearing completion for Team Scotland’s seven-strong table tennis team, who are busy working on the finishing touches at the Stirling holding camp this week.
The team has been described as a blend of youth and experience. Fitting the latter role best, having played in all three Games where Table Tennis featured, is Perth’s Gavin Rumgay.
A lot has changed since the sport made its debut at the 2002 Manchester Games, particularly in the attention to detail at the holding camp.
“We’re better prepared,” said Rumgay. “It’s the small things like coming here to Stirling where we’ve got the red (rubberised) Taraflex floor, which simulates as close as we can get to the Games venue at Scotstoun.
“Normally we practise on a wood floor which is quite slippery. You need the conditions to be as close to what you’ll get at the Games, so this week at Stirling is very good.”
Twenty nine year old Rumgay has played extensively and with success since he was the youngster of the Scottish team in the Manchester Games.
“I’m a little bit older, and hopefully a bit more experienced,” he said. “I remember my first Games in 2002 when I was quite young and feeding off the rest of the team. I think now I’m looking to lead the team, which is important.”
At the younger end of the table tennis team’s age range is 21 year old Sean Doherty, who grew up just a stone’s throw from the Games table tennis venue.
“I’m actually from Scotstoun, where the table tennis is being held, so it was a pretty special moment to get selected for the team,” he said.
“It couldn’t really be closer to my home so the excitement is huge. I think it will help that I come from the area, and without a doubt the home crowd is going to be a huge thing.
“There is no doubt that of everybody competing I will know the area best. And it could turn out to be a little bit of an advantage for me personally as well.”
Like the rest of the team at Stirling this week, Doherty believes the programme laid on at the holding camp has been second to none.
“The setup here has been brilliant,” he said. “This hall is a world class facility and we’ve got practice partners over from Hungary who are the same level as the guys we will be competing against at the Commonwealths.
“So it’s giving us a chance to compete against players similar to the high level competitors we will be against in Glasgow.”
Photo credit: Rob Eyton-Jones
Team Scotland’s Badminton players have been named as No.5 seeds behind Malaysia for the Badminton team event at the Commonwealth Games, due to start in just over a week’s time.
The seeding is a reward for their unbeaten run at last year’s Sudirman Cup, when the squad topped Division Two after beating higher ranked opposition.
The 10-strong squad will have the chance to rise to the occasion once again at Glasgow 2014 after being seeded behind big guns Malaysia, England, India and Singapore, but ahead of New Zealand, Canada and Australia.
The Malaysians will be chasing a hat-trick of team titles at the Emirates Arena while Scotland’s strong squad will be looking to add to their 2002 team bronze in Manchester.
Commenting on the news Team Scotland Chef de Mission Jon Doig said: “Scotland’s No.5 seeding sets this year’s competition up to be very exciting. Representing Scotland at a home Commonwealth Games is a once in a lifetime opportunity for many of our elite athletes and I urge the crowds to get behind the team.”
The 23 competing nations will be divided into six groups, with the group winners and best two runners-up going forward to the knockout quarter-finals.
Badminton will feature on all 11 competition days of the Games with the opening group matches on 24 July. The quarter-finals will be on Saturday, 26 July, with the semi-finals the next day and the gold and bronze medal matches on the Monday.
The individual events will then run from 29 July – 3 August.
The Scotland squad is: Robert Blair, Kieran Merrilees, Paul Van Rietvelde, Patrick MacHugh, Martin Campbell; Imogen Bankier, Kirsty Gilmour, Jillie Cooper, Caitlin Pringle and Rebekka Findlay.
Merrilees, Van Rietvelde, Bankier, Cooper and Gilmour all played in the 2010 Games. Blair was part of the England silver medal squad in Melbourne 2006 and the England squad which won team gold in Manchester 2002 when Scotland took team bronze.
SEEDING LIST:
1 Malaysia
2 England
3 India
4 Singapore
5 Scotland
6 New Zealand
7 Australia
8 Canada
Photo credit: Badminton Scotland
As the first athletes arrive in the Commonwealth Games Village, Team Scotland has just released the final pre-Games hero shot in its popular set of ‘Go Scotland!’ athlete images.
The image, titled ‘Proud to be Your Team’, was taken in the historic Lion’s Den at Stirling Castle and includes athlete representatives from the participating sports.
Photographed by Alistair Devine and Stuart Gray, most of the athletes featured are new additions to the ‘Go Scotland!’ campaign which was first released in 2013 to mark one year to go until the Commonwealth Games.
The athletes featured in the latest Team Scotland image are:
Craig Rodgie (Swimming), Lynsey Sharp (Athletics), Jillie Cooper (Badminton), Lewis Benson (Boxing), Kerry MacPhee (Cycling), Liam Davie (Gymnastics), Linda Clement (Women’s Hockey), Ian Scholefield (Men’s Hockey), Matt Purssey (Judo), Margaret Letham (Lawn Bowls), Lesley MacDonald (Netball), James Johnstone (Rugby 7s), Seonaid McIntosh (Shooting), Alan Clyne (Squash), Sean Doherty (Table Tennis), Grant Sheldon (Triathlon), Louise Mather (Weightlifting).
Jillie Cooper said: “It’s great to be part of such a cool photo and obviously it looks great. I must admit it’s a bit bizarre seeing a life-sized me. It’s a great photo for Team Scotland.
“I’ve had a joke with my friends in Edinburgh who are saying I’m famous now, but we’re really not. We are moving into the Athlete’s Village on Saturday so it’s getting that little bit closer and everyone is getting that little bit more excited.”
Jon Doig, Team Scotland Chef de Mission said, “The ‘Go Scotland!’ campaign has been a fantastic way of raising the awareness of the sports in the Games and profiling our fantastic athletes who will be proudly representing Scotland over the coming weeks, as well as some of Scotland’s iconic scenery and landmarks
“This final image taken in the ‘Lion’s Den’ at Stirling Castle combines a historic setting in the heart of Scotland, with the power, passion and pride of the athletes as they prepare for battle on the field of play. It really captures the essence of the Games and the amazing diversity of sports that will be on show.
“In just over eight days we look forward to hearing the crowd roar ‘Go Scotland!’ as the public show their support for Team Scotland, when our largest ever team of 310 athletes and 157 officials proudly march out in the Opening Ceremony at Celtic Park,” said Doig.
“A huge thank you to Glasgow photographers Alistair Devine and Stuart Gray who have worked tirelessly over the last year to create some truly stunning and memorable images that have also been used to dress our area of the Athletes’ Village and our ‘friends and family’ venue Scotland House.”
The public can get behind the team and show their support over the coming weeks at goscotland.org and through our social media channels including Twitter @Team_Scotland or Facebook Team Scotland.
All the images are available to download free as posters from the image gallery of goscotland.org. Signed original prints will be auctioned to raise funds for the Scottish Commonwealth Youth Trust which supports future generations of young athletes as they aspire to compete in a Commonwealth Games.
Photo credit: Alistair Devine
For Team Scotland’s female Hockey players, it’s already been a packed four months of full-time training and competitive tournament action in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The members of Scotland Head Coach Gordon Shepherd’s squad were able to take a short-term sabbatical from their full-time professions and university studies to focus on international hockey thanks to sportscotland’s Athlete Personal Awards, a move that the team hope will pay dividends, as Dundee Wanderers’ star Vikki Bunce was keen to emphasise;
“We’re really, really excited. It’s been a really good spring and summer so far. We’ve been training full time, it’s been going really well and we’ve gelled brilliantly together as a team. We’ve just come back from a tournament in London, where we put in some really good performance. We’re all raring to go from the first whistle in Glasgow.
“Everyone knows how much hard work every single person has put into preparing for Glasgow, from the team management to the players. We’re now just really excited, we want that opportunity to go out there and show what we can do.”
For Bunce, this will be her third Commonwealth Games having represented Team Scotland in Melbourne and Delhi. Indeed, it was the midfielder’s performances in India that caught the attention of the Great Britain selectors, who invited her to join the London 2012 Olympics performance programme at Bisham Abbey.
But it’s playing for Scotland in a home Commonwealth Games that gets the Dundonian talking effervescently;
“Delighted. It’s always an absolute honour to get selected to play for your country. When anyone asks you about it you get a big grin on your face and a little bit of butterflies in your stomach because it’s so exciting.
“We had the Champions Challenge in Glasgow during April, when there was about a thousand people there on the busiest day and it was an amazing atmosphere. Now to think what it’ll feel like to have five or six thousand people there is just something special.
“To have a home crowd behind you, knowing that they are there and with you, it’s almost an extra player. It will hopefully be a wonderful experience.”
The Scots find themselves drawn against Australia, England, Malaysia and Wales in the hockey competition at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre, with the team targeting a place in the top two of the pool to ensure a semi-final place and a crack at winning a medal.
It’s a tough proposition though; Australia were runners up to the Netherlands at the recent World Cup and England remain a formidable opponent despite a disappointing result in the World Cup, finishing ninth. Malaysia and Wales will be no push over either.
While Bunce is cautious, she remains optimistic about the team’s chances, “On any given day, any team can go out and deliver a good performance that leads to a good result.
“It will be tough, Australia have just finished second in the World Cup, England did not have such a good World Cup but are definitely bouncing back from that based on what we experienced and what we saw of them at the Investec Cup.
“At the moment, it’s very much just focussing on the job in hand. I know that reaching the semi-finals would be extremely exciting and rewarding to know that all the work we’ve put in has paid off.
“But at this point, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We will just focus on the processes, and put in the good performances, score some goals and the next part of the tournament will take care of itself. If we go out there and play the way we know we can play, then anything is possible.”
But just what would it mean to the High School of Dundee teacher to have a medal around her neck at the end of the tournament?
“I don’t think there is any words to verbalise that one. It would be the highlight of anyone’s career. And it would emphasise how hard we’ve trained and how much we have worked as a team to get here. We’ve dreamed that it’s possible and we’ve gone out there and proven we can do it.”
You can follow Vikki Bunce on Twitter @VikkiBunce
Photo credit: Andy Kerr/ Scottish Hockey
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