Recognised for their success in driving participation, development and performance at all levels of Scottish sport, three organisations have been shortlisted for the title of Governing Body of the Year at the Team Scotland Scottish Sports Awards on Thursday 13 September 2018.

Selected by the judging panel from a strong list of candidates, Cricket Scotland are shortlisted for this award for the second year and take their place alongside first time finalists Scottish Cycling and Scottish Disability Sport. The trio go head to head for the top award sponsored by Eden Mill St Andrews and Fever Tree.

Cricket Scotland have had a stand-out year with a historic win over England representing a significant landmark in Scotland’s global standing and recognition. The men’s national side are now in a strong position to claim a top 10 world ranking by the end of the year after also taking victories over Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. With the women’s side ranked 11th and two team members selected for the Global Development Select team, changes made to the athlete support and management system are paying dividends.

Innovation abounds with the launch of the revolutionary CricHIIT programme aimed at women and girls, 1,500 new youngsters brought into the game through the Allstars programme and Cricket Scotland’s charity, Beyond Boundaries providing sporting opportunities to girls and women, underprivileged children, disabled and ethnic minority groups.

Malcolm Cannon, CEO at Cricket Scotland said: “It is a huge honour to be recognised by Team Scotland for one of their prestigious awards.  The hard work put in by everyone at Cricket Scotland and the volunteers throughout the sport over the last year has produced great results both on and off the pitch and it is a great boost to be considered alongside Commonwealth Games sports.”

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) leads the way in the inclusion of disabled athletes and players across a wide range of sports. In the last year SDS has actively supported 36 Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport to facilitate inclusion, establishing robust sporting pathways, and have also supported all 32 Scottish local authorities to engage disabled people in sport. SDS has also led almost 100 education opportunities in the past 12 months, with Disability Inclusion Training delivered to a range of participants including eight colleges and universities, while the SDS Young Person’s Sports Panel provides an active voice for young disabled people.

SDS were integral to the selection of 18 para-sport athletes to Team Scotland for Gold Coast 2018, the largest number ever at an away Games, who contributed three medals to Team Scotland’s record overseas medal tally. SDS is also the lead body for the sport of Boccia in Scotland with Scottish players winning six medals at the European Championships.

Gavin McLeod, Chief Executive at Scottish Disability Sport said; “Scottish Disability Sport is delighted to be shortlisted for this prestigious award. SDS works in partnerships with many Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport to ensure the effective inclusion of disabled athletes and players. We thank them all for their commitment and support and wish all those shortlisted every success.”

Scottish Cycling celebrated their most successful major Games in history at Gold Coast 2018, returning with 10 medals, including four of Team Scotland’s nine golds. Highlights included Neil Fachie and Matt Rotherham setting a World Record on route to double gold just two weeks after winning both events at the World Championships, Katie and John Archibald becoming the first brother and sister ever to win medals for Team Scotland on the same night as Katie took gold and John silver in their respective Individual Pursuit finals and an inspirational ride from Mark Stewart to claim gold in the Points Race.

2018 has also seen huge progress in development within the talent pathway, in coach development and reaching new participants. The creation of the R.A.C.E and Go-Ride programmes for youth riders has been hugely successful, 87 new Breeze Champions have been trained who will now support other women on guided bike rides and thousands of riders took part in mass participation Let’s Ride events in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Craig Burn, Chief Executive at Scottish Cycling said: “We are delighted and honoured to have been shortlisted for Governing Body of the Year. We see this accomplishment as a great testament to the year we’ve had and a well-deserved recognition of the hard work and dedication that our members, volunteers, staff and board have put into improving the Cycling landscape in Scotland. We would like to congratulate our fellow Governing Bodies on the shortlist for their great achievements this year and we look forward to the announcement of the winner!”

Paul Bush OBE, Chairman, Commonwealth Games Scotland said: “Governing bodies underpin the whole Scottish sporting system, putting in place pathways for athletes, coaches and officials from their very first contact with the sport through to achieving their aspirations at international level. In what was a very strong list of nominations, our three finalists stood out for their innovation and commitment to the development of their respective sports and we look forward to celebrating their achievements at the Team Scotland Scottish Sports Awards.”

Joint sponsors of the Governing Body of the Year award are Eden Mill St Andrews and Fever Tree. Eden Mill is Scotland’s first single-site distillery and brewery, making gin, whisky and beer. Eden Mill spirit is created in copper pot-stills and exhibits a wide range of flavours from botanicals sourced from the local area, as well as from around the world. Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water launched in the UK in early 2005, the brand name chosen due to fever tree being the colloquial name for the cinchona tree in which quinine, a key ingredient for tonic, is found. Since then Fever Tree has expanded their range to include 14 products, each taking a similarly intrepid attitude to sourcing quality botanicals.

Winners across all award categories will be crowned at the Team Scotland Scottish Sports Awards in a star-studded celebration of Scottish sport on 13 September at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.