Organisers of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and sportscotland aim to empower a new generation of sporting stars by distributing over £600,000 of sports equipment used at the event to facilities around the country.

As part of the Glasgow 2014 legacy plan, all 32 local authorities in Scotland will receive an allocation of over 5,000 items through sportscotland’s Active Schools Network. This will include the likes of rugby balls, netballs, hockey balls, water bottles, whistles, stop watches, and more.

In addition the national agency for sport, sportscotland which is managing the process in partnership with Glasgow 2014, has also arranged for larger sports items to go to clubs and sports facilities. This is being allocated across 13 Sports Governing Bodies, 30 clubs and 13 facilities / trusts.

The Sport Governing Bodies will receive over £200,000 of equipment, with another £200,000 going to the clubs and facilities. Separately £200,000 of weightlifting and powerlifting equipment will go to the sportscotland Institute of Sport to upgrade and replace existing items. The Active Schools Network allocation is valued at over £15,000.

A key role of the Glasgow 2014 Sport Operations team was to identify more than 300,000 individual sport specific equipment items required to stage each of the 17 Games sports. This was a significant project in terms of coordinating the purchase, hire or shared use of items from around the world and then working with key stakeholders including sportscotland to ensure distribution across Scotland after the Games.

Chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, Michael Cavanagh said:

“Team Scotland had such a successful Games that I am sure the performances will have inspired many more young people around the country to take up sport. The fact that they could be using equipment which helped spurred Team Scotland to its most successful medal haul ever makes it just that little bit more special.”

The sports equipment from the Commonwealth Games will be distributed to clubs, schools, councils and governing bodies. An application process to allocate the limited number of larger items was completed prior to the end of the Games and the equipment is now in the process of being distributed.

David Grevemberg, Chief Executive of Glasgow 2014, said:

“In addition to delivering an athlete centred, sport focused Games of world class competition celebrated throughout the Commonwealth we aimed to leave a lasting legacy for Glasgow and Scotland. We are delighted to be in the position with our Games partners and sportscotland to deliver on our promise by contributing thousands of items of quality sports equipment to schools and communities across Scotland.”

Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said:

“Glasgow 2014 provided sportscotland a fantastic opportunity to accelerate our plans towards developing a world-class sporting system at all levels, which we have seized. By working with Glasgow 2014 to distribute sports equipment throughout Scotland, and investing £600,000 into this project we are providing a real sporting legacy from the Games.

“From balls and whistles, to the larger and more technical items of equipment which are available, all will have a positive impact on the communities which receive them. sportscotland is committed to providing more opportunities for people of all ages and abilities in communities across the country, and the Games equipment will play a part in this process.”