April 2013 will mark the start of the selection period for athletes aiming to be nominated for selection to Team Scotland for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. In addition to the criteria laid down in the General Selection Policy published by Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) in November last year, the majority of sports specific policies and standards have now been completed for the 17 sports on the programme with a few still to be finalised.

Elinor Middlemiss, Games Team Operations Manager, who has been responsible for driving this area of Team Scotland preparations forward said: “I am pleased to confirm that all the sports selection policies and standards have been developed, except gymnastics which will be started early next year. Athletes can go into 2013 knowing exactly what they must do to be nominated for the team.

“We aim to have our biggest and most successful team ever in 2014, so we wish everyone the very best of luck with their training and competition over the coming months. To be a member of Team Scotland at a home Games will be really special and I know that our athlete will rise to challenge.”

The finalised selection policies and standards are available to download from the Glasgow 2014 section of this website or the website of the relevant sports governing bodies.

There has also been a flurry of activity over the last few months recruiting the Sport Team Managers who will lead their respective sports at the Games. Again working closely with the sports governing bodies, 12 of the 18 post holders have now been confirmed as follows:

Aquatics – Derna Campbell
Athletics – Stephen Maguire
Badminton – Christine Black
Cycling – Alasdair MacLennan
Hockey Men’s – Eugene Connolly
Hockey Women’s – Susie Elms
Judo – Graeme Randall
Netball – Karen McElveen
Rugby Sevens – John Manson
Shooting – Donald McIntosh
Squash – Roger Flynn
Weightlifting – Jim Holland

Jon Doig, CGS Chief Executive and Team Scotland Chef de Mission said: “I am delighted with the progress we have made with our team staff recruitment process. The Sport Team Managers are a mix of old and new faces to Team Scotland and certainly have a wealth of experience between them. I know they are all relishing the challenge of leading their sports at a home Games and we look forward to working with them to build a successful overall team.”

Also confirmed today was the appointment of Alan Lynn as the Director of the Achieve 2018 programme, which will build on the success of the programme run in Delhi. Achieve 2014 was created to offer a number of talented athletes and coaches from sports on the Glasgow 2014 programme the opportunity to gain critical knowledge and experience of a multi-sport environment, to assist their own preparations for medal success in Glasgow and beyond.