Jack Carlin (Cycling)

Jack Carlin bounced back from a near season ending crash in the spring to win not one, but two Olympic track cycling medals in Paris this summer, to become the third most successful Scottish Olympian of all-time.

Jack rode the key anchor leg in the Team GB Men’s Team Sprint trio, who the Scot aside, was extremely inexperienced. They would rely on Jack’s experience, and raw power, to bring home surprise silver medals.

In the Individual Sprint, Jack, as he so often does, diced with death as he navigated his way through the rounds and into the bronze medal match-up, where he would overhaul Dutch powerhouse Jeffery Hoogland to win the fourth Olympic medal of his career.

Jack has also won World Cup medals this season – bronze in Australia, and silver and bronze in Canada.

Robert MacIntyre (Golf)

At the end of the 2023 European Tour season, MacIntyre claimed one of the 10 available PGA Tour cards for the leading players on the Race to Dubai, giving him playing status for the 2024 season. After struggling early with only one top-10 finish in ten starts, MacIntyre finished 8th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with playing partner, Thomas Detry. In May 2024, he finished tied for 8th at the PGA Championship, his first top-10 at a major since the 2021 Open Championship.

In June 2024, MacIntyre claimed his first PGA Tour win at the RBC Canadian Open. He shot a final round 68 to finish one shot ahead of Ben Griffin. One month later, MacIntyre won the Genesis Scottish Open with a birdie on the final hole to beat Adam Scott by one shot. With the win, MacIntyre became only the second Scot to win twice in one PGA Tour season, joining Sandy Lyle in 1988.

Duncan Scott (Swimming)

Duncan is now Scotland’s most decorated Olympian with eight Olympic medals. He had a fantastic anchor leg as he and James Guy, Tom Dean and Matt Richards defended their Olympic title in the 4 x 200m Freestyle relay in Paris – an unprecedented feat of the same four men winning back to back Olympic gold medals. He then went on to win silver in the 200m individual medley.

He also won two gold medals in the 200m IM and 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay at the European Short Course Championships in December 2023.

Kathryn Bryce (Cricket)

Kathryn was the outstanding player as Scotland qualified for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time, being named Player of the Tournament at the Global Qualifier in UAE.

She became just the second player from an ICC associate member nation to be drafted for the Indian Women’s Premier League, the biggest franchise tournament in women’s cricket, and played for the Gujarat Giants in the 2024 tournament.

In June, she was named PCA Player of the Month for her domestic achievements with Blaze, as her side won the T20 Charlotte Edwards Cup and she was named Player of the Match in the final, as well as Player of the Tournament. She topped Blaze’s batting averages during their domestic ODI campaign; then in August during The Hundred, she achieved the second-best bowling figures in the history of the women’s competition.

Now firmly established as one of the biggest stars in women’s cricket, Bryce is ranked in the top 10 of the ICC T20 rankings for allrounders

Neah Evans (Cycling)

Neah has firmly established herself as a world class cyclist, adding Olympic silver in Paris to the silver medal she won in Tokyo three years ago.

Teaming up with Elinor Barker, with whom she won the World Championships in Glasgow 12 months prior, the pair were heavily marked throughout the race, making the job at hand even more challenging, but they stuck to their task to secure splendid silver medals. All of that came on the backdrop of Neah suffering from the Epstein-Barr virus in April, which drastically affected her build up to the biggest show on earth, underlining her resilience and suitability for this award.

Whilst all eyes were on the Olympic Games, Neah has also won silver medals in the Women’s Team Pursuit and Omnium at the European Championships and in the Madison at the World Championships.

Beth Potter (Triathlon)

Beth had a stellar 2024 with two Olympic bronze medals in Paris, a world gold medal and numerous podium finishes in the World Triathlon Championship Series.

The 2024 Paris Olympics course was not for the faint hearted, with a swim in the fast flowing current of the Seine, to the cobbled streets of Paris, and run in the summer heat, Beth showcased her amazing stamina to claim Olympic bronze. Just days later she teamed up with Alex Yee, Sam Dickinson and Georgia Taylor-Brown for a second bronze and another trip to the Olympic podium.

She took gold at the E World Triathlon Championships where the format blends real life and virtual racing. The format demands both speed and endurance and Beth demonstrated beautifully her ability to combine the two to take the top spot for 2024.

Stephen Clegg (Swimming)

Stephen has had great successes in the past at British, European and World Championships but the Paralympic title was the one that had always eluded him. He went to Paris determined to put that right.

His opening event was the S12 100m Backstroke, not his favoured event but you’d never know as he led from the start to claim the Paralympic title, not only claiming the title but setting a new World Record in the process.

He was then edged out of the medals by 0.02secs in the S12 100m Freestyle but he wasn’t finished there as he had his favoured event to come, the S12 100m Butterfly.

Stephen qualified fastest for the final but was up against the home favourite in the final. He took control of the race from the off and came down the final 50m strongest to become a double Paralympic Champion.

Fin Graham (Cycling)

Fin has enjoyed a 2024 to remember as he claimed his first Paralympic title in Paris.

Winning the Men’s C3 Road Race, Fin upgraded the silver he won in this event in Tokyo, but it was the fashion in which he did it that was most impressive, getting the better of a pair of French riders who were working together to beat him. With the home crowd cheering them on, Fin would race the perfect race, getting rid of one of them, before winning the two man sprint for the line.

A versatile rider, Fin also took silver in the Individual Pursuit on the track, a feat he also achieved in Tokyo. Not done there, Fin would go on to take Time Trial silver and Road Race gold at the World Championships, winning the road race for the third time in the row – a truly remarkable feat.

Stephen McGuire (Boccia)

It was the perfect Games for Stephen McGuire in Paris, who ended his fourth Paralympic Games with a gold medal in the men’s individual BC4. A Paralympic medal was the only medal that the Scot had never won. He had been chasing this dream for 20 years and finally, was crowned Paralympic champion with his older brother Peter watching on from the commentary box.

It was a remarkable achievement, especially given he was one of the last selected to the team following a fight for fitness after a lengthy recovery time from breaking his leg and knee in 2021.

On the road to Paris his standout results included World Cup gold in both Sao Paulo and Montreal.

Hope Gordon (Canoeing)

Hope won a silver medal for ParalympicsGB behind team-mate Charlotte Henshaw in the Women’s Va’a Single 200m VL3 race. She was competing at her first summer Paralympic Games in Paris, having competed in Nordic Skiing at the winter Games in Beijing 2022.

In a fantastic 2024 season, Hope also won double silver at the 2024 World Championships in Szeged, her KL3 medal her first since 2021.

Hope moved to paracanoeing from swimming in 2018 and made her international debut in her new sport in 2019.

Samantha Kinghorn (Athletics)

Samantha kicked off the year with fantastic performances at the WPA Grand Prix in Dubai, with podium finishes across 100m, 400m, 800m and 1500m. This success continued in Switzerland and the UK setting new personal bests across all distances. A win in the 800m at London’s Diamond League was her last UK race before selection for Paris Paralympics, standing her in good stead for the Games.

In Paris she was unstoppable, winning gold in the T53 100m and four silver in the 400m, 800m, 1500m and Universal Relay. Her 100m race was phenomenal, racing fiercely from the start and outclassing everyone to win her first Paralympic gold medal.

Faye Rogers (Swimming)

Faye competed at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Selection trials, however later that year the then 19-year-old was involved in a car accident which resulted in permanent damage to her right arm. Returning to the sport she loved, Faye transitioned to Para swimming competition after being told about the option to get classified.

At Paris 2024, her debut Games, Faye won S10 100m butterfly gold ahead of her teammate Callie-Ann Warrington. Selection came on the back of a superb nomination time at the 2024 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships as she took multi-classification bronze in the 100m Butterfly.

Erin Boothman (Cycling)

At just 17, Erin Boothman has emerged as a prodigious talent in endurance cycling, 2024 seeing her crowned double World Junior champion.

Erin started the year at the British Youth and Junior Track Championships, dominating the Junior Women’s 2km Individual Pursuit, before adding the Junior Women’s Madison title with Carys Lloyd, these performances earning her selection for the World Junior Championships.

Travelling to China, Erin wasn’t fazed by the step up and the huge change in culture, as she combined with her GB teammates to set a new world record in the Team Pursuit, winning the coveted rainbow jersey. A couple of days later she secured another world title, this time in the Madison, further proving her prowess.

Aidan Lennan (Kickboxing)

16 year old Aidan was born premature and was very poorly. Family were told he would have learning disabilities and not be very strong. Fast forward nearly 17 years and Aidan has achieved so much proving doctors wrong.

After success in the younger age groups, including two World titles on his 15th birthday, Aidan has dominated the sport in his current age group for the last two years, winning gold at the WAKO European Championships in Turkey in 2023 and becoming double WAKO World Champion in Hungary in 2024.

Nayma Sheikh (Cricket)

Nayma was part of the Scotland National Women’s Squad who played the ICC World Cup European Qualifier in Spain and also the Global Qualifier in UAE in 2024 and qualified for the World Cup for the first time.

In 2024 Nayma represented Western Warriors, Scotland U19s, Scotland A and Scotland National Women’s Team.

She is the highest wicket taker and the highest run scorer in Scotland in the Women’s Premier League during the 2024 season and scored her maiden century 100 not out off just 62 balls.

During the Tri-nation series in July 2024, playing for Scotland National Women Team she took her career best bowling figures 4 wickets for 14 runs against Netherlands and was awarded the Player of the Match award.

Celtic Women’s Football Club (Football)

For the first time in their history, Celtic Women’s Football Club clinched the Scottish Women’s Premier League title. This monumental achievement was secured in dramatic fashion on the final day of the season – in front of a 8,000 strong crowd at Celtic Park.

In addition to their domestic success, Celtic Women have earned the right to compete on the European stage by qualifying for the UEFA Women’s Champions League. They progressed through the Round 1 qualifying tournament beating Finnish side KuPS and Lithuania’s FC Gintra, then took a 3-0 win over Vorksla Portava in Round 2 to advance to the group stages.

Glasgow Warriors (Rugby)

Having featured in the top four of the BKT United Rugby Championship for the full season, the playoffs saw the Warriors become a different animal. A resounding quarter-final victory over 2021/22 champions and South African heavyweights DHL Stormers set a sold-out Scotstoun rocking, before Smith’s squad travelled to Limerick for a date with defending champions Munster. With a performance that in its own right will go down in Glasgow rugby history, the Warriors silenced a partisan crowd of 25,000 to book their flights to Pretoria – and the story was just getting started.

No-one outside of the club’s players, coaching team and backroom staff gave Glasgow Warriors a hope in the BKT URC Grand Final. Rank outsiders against the Vodacom Bulls at the altitude of Loftus Versfeld, 52,000 Bulls fans in Pretoria roared as their team shot out to a 13-0 lead. Yet almost unthinkably to the wider rugby public, back the Warriors came. One of the finest performances in Scottish rugby history ensured a 21-16 victory and an historic title for the Scotstoun squad – only the second time ever a Scottish club side has won a major title.

Scotland National Women’s Cricket Team (Cricket)

Scotland created history in 2024 as they qualified for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time.

This groundbreaking moment came in dramatic circumstances at the Global Qualifier in UAE, as the Scots, ranked fifth heading into the tournament, defeated favourites Ireland in the semifinal to secure one of the two qualification spots, behind tournament winners Sri Lanka. In qualifying, they became just the second associate nation to reach an ICC Women’s World Cup, beating teams with far greater resource and investment in the process.

Captain Kathryn Bryce was named Player of the Tournament for her performances across the campaign, but this was truly a team effort throughout, culminating in a landmark moment for the sport in Scotland.

In August, the team achieved an ODI ranking following victories over Netherlands and Papua New Guinea. Their success in this format means they’re now well positioned to push for a place at the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in India in 2025.

Ally Jack (Volleyball)

Ally Jack has been a life-changing coach for those within the Scottish Volleyball performance pathway, particularly those in the U20 Men’s programme, who’s he’s led as Head Coach.

With the U20 Men, Jack pushed Scottish Volleyball to the next step, leading on work with Scotland’s Zonal Association to hold a European Championship Qualifier, which his Scotland team would win, to take Scotland to their first ever European Championship Finals.

The Scotland U20 Men are the first UK side at any age and gender as well as the first from Scotland’s European Zone to qualify for the European Championships. Of the final squad of 14 for the European Championships in August, 9 were new to the programme in 2023-24: testament to the success of Ally in developing performance pathway players.

Claire Morrison (Boccia)

Claire has coached a number of boccia players to international success including Paris 2024 Paralympians Stephen McGuire, Patrick Wilson and Kayleigh Haggo. This year was Claire’s 4th Paralympics as a coach and she coached Stephen to the ultimate prize as he became Paralympic Champion in the Men’s BC4 category.

Claire has also worked hard with retired athletes Peter McGuire, Scott McCowan and Jamie McCowan to ensure that their involvement in high performance boccia continues. The three have progressed up the coaching pathway and now provide focused coaching to Paralympics GB athletes, ensuring that they have continual support and enabling Claire to oversee both the coaches’ & the athletes’ development.

Steven Tigg (Swimming)

Steven Tigg is coach to Duncan Scott, Katie Shanahan, Lucy Hope, and other top Scottish and world class swimmers. An incredible eight of his swimmers qualified for Paris 2024, seven for Team GB and Paige van der Westhuizen for Zimbabwe. Two returned as Olympic champions – Duncan Scott winning gold and silver to become Scotland’s most decorated Olympian and Jack McMillan also taking gold for his heat swim in the 4x200m Freestyle.

Once again Steven was selected to be on the coaching team for Team GB at an Olympics this year. He has been instrumental in the successes of the British Team at the Paris Olympics, guiding his own swimmers as well as other team members. He has recently been appointed Head Coach at GB Aquatics.

Scottish Athletics

One of the key highlights of 2024 was the hosting of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, where Scottish athletes shone, including gold for Josh Kerr. Working alongside Glasgow Life, Event Scotland, World Athletics & UK partners, Scottish Athletics supported the delivery of the event utilising our Young People’s Forum to provide kit carriers at the Championships, and to work with SAMH to train and support Mental Health Ambassadors from the officials and volunteer workforce. 25 Scottish officials were also selected to officiate at the Championships.

There were also brilliant results at Paris 2024 with Josh Kerr winning 1500m silver and Nicole Yeargin two bronze at the Olympics, followed by an incredible gold and four silver for Sammi Kinghorn and gold in a world record for Ben Sandilands the highlights of the Paralympics.

Scottish Athletics extended their ground-breaking partnership with SAMH into a 9th year and worked to extend their ‘menopause friendly jogging groups’ campaign with 35 jogging groups now signed up. The work with SAMH has supported a 4% growth in jogscotland membership this year and over 2,200 Jog Leaders are now trained in mental health awareness. A new partnership was formed with Scottish Sports Futures setting out the commitment to work together to increase opportunities for young people living in areas of deprivation.

Scottish Disability Sport

2024 was a landmark year for SDS as the Scottish Governing Body for Boccia. Stephen McGuire returned from Paris with Scotland’s first ever Paralympic gold in the sport, also the first GB athlete to win the BC4 category.

An increase of 559 boccia players across Scotland in 2024, with opportunities to participate in 15 of 32 local authority areas, augers well for the sport’s future.

SDS leads the conversation on importance of intersectionality, ensuring people are not defined by one characteristic alone. They delivered inclusion training to 18 colleges and universities to support inclusive practice for next generation of teachers and coaches and in collaboration with SQA have embedded inclusive practice within PE assessment of certificated courses with boccia and goalball now referenced as options for assessment.

They have been highly active in the health sector partnering with NHS Tayside to deliver the Get Out Get Active programme to deliver activities in non-traditional settings and provide links into community activity. The Get Active physio referral programme saw 88 referrals received from 31 physios across 12 of 14 NHS Trusts.

Judo Scotland

On the international stage, Scottish judoka excelled. At the British Championships, Scotland made history by winning 5 of the 7 senior men’s titles. Young talents Ross McWatt, Noah Black and Eva Ewing were selected to represent GB at the European Cadet Championships, demonstrating Olympic aspirations. Athletes including Stuart McWatt, Ollie Short, and Finlay Allan represented Great Britain at the European Championships, while Sean Allan secured a gold medal at the Special Olympic Games in Germany and Chris Murphy retained his title at the Virtus Global Games.

Judo Scotland worked closely with public and commercial partners, enhancing its reach and impact across diverse communities. Notable partnerships included Scottish Disability Sport to grow adaptive judo through Para Sports Festivals, and with Fab Little Bag in support of a female engagement programme bringing more women and girls into judo.

The Scottish Open attracted a record 550 competitors from around the globe, monthly veterans sessions provided a space for expanding participation among older judoka and The Gathering event was at capacity with over 200 judoka learning from Japanese guest coaches Masashi & Kana Ebinuma, and double Olympic Champion Shohei Ono over a weekend at sportscotland Inverclyde.

Carrick Rugby Club

Carrick RFC offers access to rugby across the rural communities of the Carrick region to those aged 5 years through to adult teams. They are a fantastic community club with a truly inclusive ethos who work hard to ensure that rugby is accessible to the entire community, especially given the social, financial, and geographical disadvantage that many of their members from the wider community of Carrick face, providing free holiday programmes with food for all participants, free transport to club sessions and reduced or free memberships where required.

Linking with the South Ayrshire Active Schools team the club have delivered fun sessions across all local primary, ASN and secondary schools to over 700 young people this year, supporting regular extra-curricular delivery and promoting pathways to the club, with a large percentage of local young people transitioning to play with the club itself.

Their 1-2-1 Support for Disengaged Pupils project uses rugby as a tool to re-engage pupils who struggle to engage with school. They also run Friday Night Diversionary Rugby utilising rugby as a means of combatting anti-social behaviour in the community. Free Friday evening rugby is delivered at Carrick Academy for all young people 11-18 years old. Over 60 young people attend weekly. The club provides free transport, supporting young people from rural communities to attend.

North Ayrshire Table Tennis Club

North Ayrshire TTC celebrated their 20th anniversary in style in 2024, winning the Scottish National League for the tenth time in 11 years, beating a record held since the 70s, using all home-developed players every year. They retained their place in the British Premier League and had both a player and a coach at the recent European Championships.

The club caters for all abilities, from beginners to the country’s most elite players, with 52 tables across eight different centres in the region and members from 7 to 92 years old.

The club plays an active part in the community running weekly mental health ‘bat and chat’ sessions for over 50s, providing free play for the unemployed and offering coach education to help with employability. Coaches attend sessions in nursing homes to help keep the elderly physically and mentally active. The club also have a qualified Parkinsons table tennis coach.

Passion 4 Fusion

Passion4Fusion is an inspiring force within Scotland sporting community, delivering positive change by empowering young people, particularly those from BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) backgrounds. Through sports like football, basketball, and running. Passion4Fusion offers an inclusive platform for young people to stay active, engage with their peers, and foster a sense of community, by addressing the physical and mental well-being of children from disadvantaged areas of Muirhouse, Wester Hailes, Corn Exchange, and West Lothian.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Passion4Fusion is its peer leadership model, which has given young people the opportunity to take ownership of sport activities. This model empowers them to be involved in the planning and execution of activities, fostering self-confidence, leadership skills, and a strong sense of responsibility. The involvement of parents, staff, and volunteers further strengthens this initiative, creating a community-driven project where everyone contributes to the shared success.

The organisation’s focus on respect, integrity, and collaboration has not only improved the physical fitness of young people but also had a profound impact on their mental and emotional well-being. Many young people have shown remarkable improvements in their confidence, social skills, and overall mental health as a result of their regular involvement with Passion4Fusion.

Denbeath Primary School

Denbeath Primary School creates opportunities to engage in a variety of activities at all age-groups, and delivers an alternative curriculum (using sport) to target pupils to help improve attendance.  The school recognise the benefits to health and wellbeing, not only physically but also so socially and emotionally and the importance of all children having access to sport, reducing or removing barriers wherever possible. 

The school have looked to strengthen links to clubs and organisations within the local community, including very strong working relationship with East Fife Community Football Club over the past year. This link has strengthened further this over the last year with the Head Coach of the club has delivering sessions on a daily basis working with a targeted group of pupils in a ‘Learning Through Football’ project.  This has had a hugely positive impact, with a significant increase in attendance noted with those participating, and a more positive engagement in class being recognised.  For one child in particular, there was an increase in attendance from 28% (in terms 1-3) to 100% in term 4. The school celebrate the support of the young people, Young Ambassadors, volunteer coaches, East Fife FC, Junior Leaders, and Active Schools Coordinator who have all contributed to their programmes.  Families have acknowledged the increase in opportunities and working with the school to promote a healthy, active lifestyle for their young people.

Lochies School

Children who attend Lochies School have a range of severe, profound, multiple and complex additional support needs. All learners have a complex and unique profile of needs including a range of cognitive, communication and physical barriers to learning. Many also have significant health care needs and are supported to access a range of specialist therapy programmes and equipment. Pupils are supported by a team of teachers, learning assistants, support staff and allied health professionals to ensure they can fully access the specialist educational opportunities provided at Lochies.

In the outdoor environment, learners access sensory and physical play areas, large grassed areas with access to a wheelchair friendly pathway, multi-use games area, gardens and wildlife habitats. The extended grounds lead on to the beautiful wildlife reserve of Gartmorn Dam where the school make regular use of outdoor learning through activities such as nature walks, geocaching and learning through exploration of the natural environment.

Leadership for learners an important part of the school offer, and the sports committee is made up of senior pupils and supported by school staff. Together, they have organised a vast array of activities and sports, including boccia, equine therapy, community sporting events, family engagement events, swimming and bikeability.

Newbattle Community High School

Young Ambassadors in Newbattle High School have been integral to school sport and physical activity delivery. There has been significant growth with an 80% increase in extra-curricular participation across the last 18 months, reinforcing the impact the Young Ambassadors have had on school programmes. Younger year groups and individuals look up to them as role models and are inspired to get more involved in sport and physical activity.

Young Ambassadors, and other young people with the school, have created a ‘Give it a Go’ week to give students, and school staff, the opportunity to see all of the sporting activities on offer at the school. This has had a very positive impact in engaging young people to participate in activities they haven’t tried previously, as well as creating some competitive opportunities. Additionally, a ‘Kit for All’ initiative has been developed within the school, providing unwanted kit to those who may need it, but also supporting the sustainability agenda.

Amanda Fleet

As well as her work with Highlands and Islands Students’ Association, Amanda takes her passion for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in sports into the wider community- working on policy and partnership building at a national level.

She is Director of EDI on two different boards- the board of Scottish ClubSport and the board of HorseScotland. She helps drive the strategic direction of the organisations, ensuring that EDI is at the heart of everything that they do as well as building strong partnerships and monitoring performance.

She is a mentor on the Scottish Women in Sport and SAMH Young Women in Sport Leadership programme, providing guidance and leadership to the next generation of young women in sport.

Amanda gives up even more of her time volunteering for LEAP Sports, assisting on the planning and delivery of events and programmes to breakdown the barriers that the LGBT+ community face participating in sport. Through LEAP Sports, she is a Sports Lead on the Qeltic Games Steering Committee and was an integral part of the planning and delivery of the first ever games. She is also the LGBT+ Lead on the Scottish Student Sport Equality Steering Committee.

David Jarvis

David is a remarkable testament to resilience and community dedication, having transformed his personal battles – overcoming life-changing injuries, a medical discharge from the Army, and a challenging diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes – into a powerful journey of inspiration.

His extraordinary achievement of winning gold in the Men’s Cycling Time Trial at the 2023 Invictus Games is only the beginning; it served as a catalyst for his passionate commitment to cycling, fitness and wellbeing within the community. Capitalizing on his Invictus Games success, David visited local primary schools, uniformed groups, and community organisations, as well as local and national charities, to share his story and inspire others.

His vision of inclusivity materialised through the establishment of a new local cycling club dedicated to creating a safe and welcoming environment for cyclists of all abilities. David’s innovative projects, including a cycling tool station and an accessible outdoor fitness and wellness facility, not only enhance community life but also ignite a passion for cycling among the youth in Aberdeenshire.

His active participation in charity events and community support initiatives, such as organising group rides and maintenance days, long distance charity rides and the national launch of the 2024 PoppyScotland appeal, demonstrates his unwavering commitment to uplifting those around him. David actively gets involved with local council initiatives which include Live Life Aberdeenshire, Active Schools and Sporting Memories.

Lauren Deacon

Over the last two and a half seasons, Lauren has been volunteering as the chairperson for the Central Netball Association. As one of Scotland’s youngest female community sport chair people, she has propelled the growth of netball within the central region of Scotland. She has achieved a significant amount, creating inclusive environments where everyone is supported to meet their goals. Her willingness to help others enjoy the sport is reflected in the growth of the association. Additionally, her leadership has supported the wider committee to consider how they can advance the grassroots level of the game, and build a professional grassroots netball community for individuals of all ages, genders and abilities to get involved.

Across this time, Lauren has created and succeeded in various projects, including the launch of the CNA social league; Scotland’s first local association for recreational netball players. Since launching, Lauren’s commitment to providing new opportunities for players to access competitive, but flexible, grassroots netball can be demonstrated in the tremendous growth of the league; increasing from 5 teams in 2022  to 16 teams in 2024. This year she has further continued to provide opportunities for over 1500 individuals to participate across the senior, junior and social leagues.

Additionally, she has launched an umpiring mentoring program, which supports the development of both in training and qualified umpires and has seen significant success, with one of the highest pass-rates in the country. Under her mentorship, umpires have also secured a spot in the national development programs. She has further created opportunities for coaches and umpires to undergo CPD.

Melissa Wilson

Melissa was a rower with the Great Britain team, three times a World Championship finalist and selected for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before its postponement. Injuries meant she could not take up her place once the Games went ahead in 2021. Despite this knock-back, over her time in sport Melissa had grown increasingly passionate about the environment – and decided to put this passion to use.

Over the course of the Covid-19 lockdown she joined the group Champions for Earth, and in the summer months of 2020 wrote a letter to the UK government calling for a Green Recovery to the pandemic. The letter was signed by over 320 GB Olympians and Paralympians, with over 200 stories written about it and a potential reach of over 343 million people. Following the letter, Melissa sought to identify what could further unlock the potential of athletes as advocates for environmental action, working with Team GB in the run-up to the Tokyo Games and developing athlete education with AimHi Earth which was delivered to GB athletes ahead of the Olympics.

In September 2021 Melissa founded Athletes of the World with fellow AMG athlete and double Olympic Champion Hannah Mills OBE, to harness and expand the power of athletes as sustainability advocates. Their ‘Dear Leaders of the World’ video, written to global leaders to encourage ambitious policies at COP26, included Olympic flag-bearers from 35 countries and athletes like Andy Murray, Tom Daley and Eliud Kipchoge. It was supported by the IOC and UN Environment Programme, and was viewed well over a million times. Athletes of the World works with athletes and sports organisations to create high-impact campaigns, providing tailored climate education and support for athletes who want to use their voice for good.

Paddle Scotland

The Grandtully Station Park project has created a sustainable and environmentally friendly multi-sport hub for outdoor sports together with a training centre and affordable and accessible camping facilities. Every effort has been made to make the site, which is open all year round, Net Zero. Core to the design is the desire to minimise the impact on the environment and in order to do this green technologies were specified throughout.

A £1.5m redevelopment of a former railway station site took place over the past year to create a thriving hub, well connected by public transport and road.

Funders included sportscotland, SSE Sustainable Development Fund, Community Environment Challenge Fund, Energy Saving Trust, Business Energy Scotland, Griffin Wind Farm Fund, Visit Scotland and Inspiring Scotland.

Paddle Scotland consulted with and engaged with several other sports governing bodies including Scottish Orienteering, Scottish Cycling (and Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland), Scottish Athletics, Scottish Disability Sport, the Ramblers and Paths For All to seek advice and guidance regarding the design of a centre in order to make it as flexible and adaptable as possible.

The redeveloped site opened this summer and already a large variety of activities have been hosted including skills workshops, competitions, festivals and other sport championship events. For all attendees, a camping option is available, which makes attending events at the hub much more affordable.

The University of Edinburgh Sport

In 2024 the University of Edinburgh Sport and the Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability embarked on a project to regenerate nature and biodiversity at Peffermill playing fields, setting the stage for the University’s wider ‘Wild Campus’ vision.

Wild Peffermill marks the start of a long-term vision for the University to protect and restore nature and wildlife habitats across its extraordinary campus, whilst enhancing the experience of students and staff, and local communities. Peffermill is a 27-acre site, boasting some of Scotland’s top sports pitches, surrounded by native woodland, hedgerows and two burns that provide a sanctuary for wildlife such as otters, birds, hedgehogs and bats. The playing fields were identified as an area to protect, enhance and even create new habitats on site. Sport & Exercise are adopting new practices that will make Peffermill a nature-friendly zone.

The university have committed to: transform non-pitch grassland areas into wildflower meadow and grassland habitats, starting with over 8000m2 in 2024, enhance the woodland to develop understorey habitat, enhance hedgerows by allowing them to grow bushier and produce flowers and fruits and enhance the habitat along the Braid Burn by managing invasive non-native species and planting native Alder trees along the bank.

Through Wild Peffermill, The University of Edinburgh Sport hopes to demonstrate how sports venues can lead the way in tackling the climate and nature crises, whilst delivering health and wellbeing co-benefits for all.