Team Scotland’s preparations for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games continue to progress with the appointment of Dr Niall Elliott as Chief Medical Officer and Dr Carrie McCrae-Routray as Deputy Chief Medical Officer.
The medical team plays a key role at any Games and the experienced duo will lead on all medical services for Team Scotland. They will provide pre-Games support and expertise in addition to recruiting a specialist team to ensure athletes are in the best possible shape to compete and providing support for illness and injuries sustained at the Games.
Birmingham 2022 will be Elliott’s fourth Games as Chief Medical Officer for Team Scotland, a role he has also taken on for the British Olympic Association (BOA) at four Summer and Winter Olympic Games, most recently at Rio 2016. He has newly been appointed on a year-round basis by the BOA ahead of Tokyo 2020, alongside his current position as the Head of Sports Medicine at the sportscotland Institute of Sport.
Dr McCrae-Routray returns to Team Scotland following roles as team doctor for the Bahamas 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games and in Gold Coast 2018 pre-Games preparation. With many years of experience in high performance sport, she has worked in a variety of settings including professional football, rugby, hockey and aquatics. She has a depth of experience working with athletes throughout Scotland and has developed special interests in mental health in sport, female athletes’ issues and anti-doping. She also heads to Tokyo 2020 in a medical support role for the BOA.
Jon Doig, Commonwealth Games Scotland Chief Executive said: “I am delighted to welcome Niall and Carrie back to Team Scotland. Having such a high calibre of medical expertise on board will give our athletes the confidence to know that they will receive the best possible support to help them achieve their goals at the Games.”
Further appointments to Team Scotland for Birmingham 2022, including the remainder of the medical and physiotherapy team, will be made in the coming months.
Standout performances for Duncan Scott, Ross Murdoch, Kathleen Dawson and Cassie Wild at the British Swimming Selection Trials followed hot on the heels of a World Record swim from Stephen Clegg at the British Para-Swimming International Meet in a record-breaking two weeks for Scotland’s swimmers.
Outstanding swims across the two events have seen many put themselves firmly in the frame for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.
Three British Records and a World-leading swim for Duncan Scott were the headlines of an impressive five days at the British Swimming Selection Trials at the London Aquatic Centre. Already pre-selected for the Tokyo Olympics, where he will be looking to add to his two silver medals from Rio 2016, Duncan was not resting on his laurels and right from his first event proved that he is in the sort of form to do just that.
He stormed to victory in the 200m Individual Medley on the opening day of competition, producing a new British Record time of 1:55.90 and two days later he was back to equal his own British Record of 47.87 in a highly competitive 100m Freestyle final.
He saved the best for last in a hotly contested 200m Freestyle on the final day. The times posted by all eight finalists in the heats, plus the added interest of places in the 4x200m Freestyle Relay at stake, ramped up the anticipation ahead of the final and it did not disappoint. Tom Dean of Bath took an early lead but by the 100m mark Duncan was in control of the race, the split times only marginally off World record pace. Dean made a late charge for the touch, but Duncan powered home to victory in a new British Record of 1:44.47, ranking him number one in the World this year for the event.
Two more Scots with Tokyo on their minds are Kathleen Dawson and Cassie Wild who dominated the Backstroke with a 1-2 finish in both 100m and 200m events. The fastest two going into the 100m Backstroke final, it was Kathleen who led the charge, powering home to a Scottish Record time of 58.24, only 0.1 off the European Record. Cassie touched home in a new PB of 59.51 to join her University of Stirling teammate within the 1:00.23 needed for Tokyo.
The 200m Backstroke final saw another Scottish Record and another Tokyo consideration time for Kathleen, leading the field from the start and powering to victory in a time of 2:08.14, breaking her own Scottish Record, set just last month, by 1.3 seconds. Cassie touched home for second place, right on her PB, with 2:10.94.
Three-time Commonwealth Games medallist Ross Murdoch put pounding the pavements and open water swimming to stay fit through the first lockdown and thoughts of retirement behind him with a superb swim in the 200m Breaststroke final. Five years ago, he just missed out on a place in this event for the Rio Games and this time he made amends, touching in 2nd place and within that all important 2:09.05 time for Tokyo. He was also in good form in the 100m Breaststroke finishing 3rd in a time of 59.51.
Edinburgh University’s Lucy Hope took 3rd in the 100m Freestyle in 54.19, breaking a Scottish Record which has been held by Caitlin McClatchey since 2008, while 19-year-old Keanna MacInnes also set a new Scottish record mark as she finished 4th in the 100m Butterfly in a time of 58.78. Keanna went on to produce an outstanding performance in the 200m Butterfly powering down the last 50m to take second place in a new personal best time of 2:08.86, just 0.6 off the Tokyo consideration time.
There was also a welcome return to racing for Hannah Miley following shoulder surgery posting a time of 4:45.00 in her main event, the 400m Individual Medley to finish 3rd.
Stephen Clegg was the Scottish star of the pool at the British Para-Swimming International Meet at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, breaking the British Record in the 100m Freestyle on the opening day and bringing the meeting to a spectacular close with a World Record in the 100m Butterfly on the final day.
Having just missed the British Record in the 100m Butterfly heats, the S12 Edinburgh University athlete, who won silver in the event at the World Para Swimming World Championships in London in 2019, powered to a time of 56.75 in the final, breaking a World Record that had stood since 2013. His times in both the 100m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle were inside the qualification standard for Tokyo for his classification.
17-year-old Toni Shaw was also in top form and showing the progress she’s made since making her Commonwealth Games debut as Team Scotland’s youngest athlete at the Gold Coast Games in 2018. The 100m Freestyle final saw the S9 swimmer, competing for University of Aberdeen Performance Swim, finish in the silver medal position in 1:03.71, a time within the qualification standard for Tokyo in her classification.
She went on to post a second Tokyo consideration time, this time in the 400m Freestyle, the event in which she won silver at the World Para Swimming World Championships in London in 2019. Her time of 4:45.50 was well within the S9 standard for Tokyo.
Having made his international debut at the 2019 World Championships, City of Glasgow’s Louis Lawlor was an agonisingly close 0.25 away from the Tokyo consideration time in his 100m Backstroke heat, but raised his game in the final. He controlled his race well and touched home in a time of 1:01.47, 0.2s inside the S14 standard needed for Tokyo.
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games silver medallist Scott Quin dominated the 100m Breaststroke event with solid performances in both the heat and the final. Quin (SB14) took victory in a time of 1:05.97, well inside the consideration time for Tokyo.
University of Stirling’s Oliver Carter broke Paul Noble’s long standing S10 Scottish Record in his 100m Butterfly heat, powering home in a time of 1:05.43 to erase the mark that had stood since 1996. He followed up with a second national record, breaking his own mark in the 400m Freestyle, coming home in 4:19.21.
At Gold Coast 2018, Beth Potter became the first athlete to compete in two sports for Team Scotland at a single Games, competing in the Triathlon individual event and team relay, before going on to compete in Athletics in the 10,000m. Three years on she is still making headlines in both sports.
Best known as a track endurance athlete, finishing 5th in the 10,000m at Glasgow 2014 and running at both the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and 2017 World Athletics Championships, she was selected to make her Commonwealth Games debut as a triathlete in Gold Coast following a successful transition to the sport. Competing at international level in multiple sports at any point in an athlete’s career is unusual enough, but Beth made history as she finished 12th in the Individual Triathlon and 7th in the Mixed Team event before lining up in the 10,000m for her second sport at the same Games.
Following Gold Coast she has gone from strength to strength in Triathlon with several top-ten finishes at World Cup events culminating in a gold medal winning performance at the 2019 European Championships and silver at the European Sprint Duathlon Championships in March 2020.
Recent weeks have seen her show her versatility once again, winning gold at the Super League Triathlon Arena Games in London at the end of March, followed by an astonishing performance over 5km on the road in Barrowford two weeks later. Her time of 14:41 beat the world record set by Beatrice Chepkoech by two seconds and Paula Radcliffe’s British best by 10 seconds, but is unlikely to stand as an official record as the low-key nature of the event meant there weren’t sufficiently qualified timekeepers or drug testers on site.
Speaking to Athletics Weekly, Beth said she would have been satisfied to break her personal best of 15:24 and her performance had surprised even herself. “I thought the clock was out,” she said. “I was shellshocked to be honest. I thought 15:15 would be a really good run for me because I’ve been focusing on other parts of my training this year.”
She is clearly an athlete in form but will likely have to wait until 2024 for her chance at an Olympic Games Triathlon, with the team for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games having already been selected at the end of 2019. With her time over 5km on the road, a return to the track for a shot at an Olympic place in Tokyo over 5,000m or 10,000m is not out of the question and, looking ahead, she could be a strong contender for Team Scotland in either sport for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Commonwealth Games Scotland expresses our sincere condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and The Royal Family on the passing of HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
We pay tribute to his long service to the Commonwealth and in particular young people, through his Duke of Edinburgh Awards programme. He had a long association shaping the Commonwealth Games, serving as CGF President for over 30 years. He presided over the Opening of six Commonwealth Games from 1958, including appropriately those in Edinburgh in 1970 and 1986, with the last Games he attended Glasgow 2014. His influence will be sorely missed and we mourn his sad loss.
Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) is seeking to appoint an appropriately skilled Head of Media for Team Scotland 2022.
The Head of Media will be integral to the planning and managing of Team Scotland 2022 during the XXII Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England taking place 28 July – 8 August 2022 and will be part of the General Team Management.
During Games, the Head of Media will be ‘on the ground’ and be the main point of contact for all media-related activity. You will recruit, prepare and manage a Games Time media team to maximise and optimise the promotion of Team Scotland and each sport.
You will be responsible for contributing to the overall leadership, inspiration and unity of Team Scotland. Working as part of the General Team Management (GTM), you will have a key role in creating and delivering a high performance environment at the Birmingham 2022 Games to inspire the team to have pride, act inclusively and enable the athletes to excel.
Duties will include preparing for the Games, working with the CGS Head of Marketing and Communications, the Chef de Mission and wider General Team Management of Team Scotland, CGS staff, partners, Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport (SGBs) and sportscotland.
During the Games, as Head of Media, you will be responsible for all matters pertaining to the media and communication activities for over 300 Team Scotland members before and during the Birmingham 2022 Games.
This is a contracted post, with payment commensurate with the time requirements and candidate experience.
Applications close at midday on 30 April 2021.
Click here to find out more about the role and to download an application form.
Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS), in conjunction with basketballscotland, has confirmed today the sports specific selection standards required in 3 x 3 Basketball and 3 x 3 Wheelchair Basketball for nomination to Team Scotland for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. These are in addition to the criteria laid down in the General Selection Policy published in January 2020.
This means that 17 of the 19 sports on the programme have now agreed the sport specific standards required for athletes to put themselves in the frame for competing at Birmingham 2022.
With two previous Commonwealth Games appearances – Melbourne 2006 and Gold Coast 2018 – Basketball is back on the programme for the 2022 Games in Birmingham in a new 3×3 format. Birmingham will see a debut too for Wheelchair Basketball, also in the 3×3 format. This will be the first time that Basketball has been a part of any Games outside Australia. Scotland’s basketball players have impressed in both their Commonwealth Games outings to date with 6th place in 2006 and a fantastic 4th place at Gold Coast 2018.
For all Basketball events, Scotland’s participation in the Games is subject to each team receiving an invite to compete from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
Men’s and Women’s 3 x 3 will see an eight-team competition with England as host nation receiving an invite, along with the highest ranked nation in each of the six CGF regions, plus one additional team, based on the FIBA 3×3 Federation Ranking List as at 01 November 2021.
Wheelchair 3 x 3 will consist of six-team tournaments for both men and women, with England again receiving a host nation invitation. Regional qualifying tournaments will be held for Africa, Americas, Asia Oceania and Europe with the four winners of these events invited to the Games. One further nation, not otherwise qualified, will receive a Bipartite invitation to compete.
If an invitation to compete for any team is received, the invitation will be accepted in line with CGS General Selection Policy.
The overall Team Scotland selection period detailed in the CGS General Selection Policy is 1 March 2021 to 15 May 2022. This policy, along with the detailed selection standards for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in all sports published to date are available to download at: https://www.teamscotland.scot/games/birmingham-2022/team-selection/
Commonwealth Games Scotland, in partnership with the Team Scotland Youth Trust and sportscotland, is seeking to recruit an outstanding person to lead the Achieve 2022 Programme, a mentor led programme to enable young athletes and coaches to gain critical knowledge and experience of a multi-sport environment.
First run in 2010 when 45 young athletes and coaches travelled to the Delhi Commonwealth Games, Achieve has since seen a further 90 participants go through the programme with many having already made the step up to compete or coach for Team Scotland at a Commonwealth Games. Returning for the Birmingham Games, Achieve 2022 will aim to propel more future stars onto sporting success, while also helping them develop a host of vital and transferable life skills.
We are keen to identify and appoint a Director who is passionate about developing young people, sport and the Games to take the lead role in the planning, development and delivery of the programme. You will need experience of leading projects and teams to successfully enhance learning for aspiring athletes, coaches and mentors during the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
This role is a voluntary position, however agreed out of pocket expenses will be met.
Applications close at midday on 19 April 2021.
Click here to find out more about the role and to download an application form.
Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS), in conjunction with Scottish Hockey and Boxing Scotland, has confirmed today the sports specific selection standards required in these sports for nomination to Team Scotland for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. These are in addition to the criteria laid down in the General Selection Policy published in January 2020.
This means that 16 of the 19 sports on the programme have now agreed the sport specific standards required for athletes to put themselves in the frame for competing at Birmingham 2022.
Boxing is the only sport in which Team Scotland has won at least one medal at every Commonwealth Games since they began in 1930 and the class of 2022 will be looking to continue that record. Boxing competition at Birmingham 2022 will take place across eight weight categories for men and six for women, with a maximum of one entry per nation in each category. Nominations to Team Scotland will be based on Boxing Scotland’s points matrix, with boxers receiving ranking points for top six finishes at identified tournaments during the selection window, which closes on 2 May 2022.
For Men’s and Women’s Hockey, Scotland’s participation in the Games is subject to each team receiving an invite to compete from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) based on world rankings as at 1 December 2021. If an invitation to compete for either or both teams is received, the invitation will be accepted in line with CGS General Selection Policy, with teams required to show the potential to place in the top six in the Games through world ranking or identified tournament results.
The full policies and standards for Hockey and Boxing can be viewed here.
The overall Team Scotland selection period detailed in the CGS General Selection Policy is 1 March 2021 to 15 May 2022. This policy, along with the detailed selection standards for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in all sports published to date are available to download at: https://www.teamscotland.scot/games/birmingham-2022/team-selection/
With 500 days to go until the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) is delighted to mark the milestone date with the news it has become a signatory to the UN Sports For Climate Action Declaration and Framework as part of a wider policy commitment to sustainability.
The announcement comes on the same day as Birmingham 2022 organisers have revealed that it will be the first ever carbon neutral Commonwealth Games, with a wide-ranging sustainability pledge and the creation of 2022 acres of forest, as well as 72 new urban forests linked to the 72 nations and territories competing at the Games.
In joining Sports for Climate Action, CGS unites with forward-thinking sporting organisations from around the world, including Birmingham 2022, through a set of key principles, from reducing our own environmental impact to a commitment to educate and promote sustainable and responsible consumption.
CGS, as Team Scotland, is responsible for selecting, preparing and leading Scotland’s team at the Commonwealth Games and sustainability is a key consideration as preparations progress towards Birmingham 2022. Working closely with athletes, sports and partners, CGS will put climate action, equality, and health and well-being at the heart of decision making in all aspects of Games planning.
Reflecting, CGS Chief Executive Jon Doig OBE said: “In signing the Declaration and Framework we recognise the climate emergency declared in 2019 by the Scottish Government and through its actions CGS will seek to become one of the most sustainable sporting organisations in Scotland.
“With Team Scotland being so important to people in Scotland, we recognise our responsibility, and that of sport more widely, to be part of the climate change solution, acting where we can to reduce our impact and influence change. With the additional focus brought by COP26 being held in Glasgow later this year and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games next year, there is no time to waste.
“We welcome today’s announcement from Birmingham 2022 and look forward to working closely with them and other partners in achieving these ambitious goals, both through our own actions and as advocates for awareness and change.
“We have made early steps, but know we still have much to do. Sustainability will be a key feature of our ongoing decision making. With help from our athletes, we will continue to develop our actions and work with our sports and other organisations to identify where we can make a difference and how we can act collectively.”
On Mother’s Day we celebrate all our Team Scotland mums – a true team behind the team! A few can pass on advice that comes from having been there themselves. Here’s just a few of our Gold Coast athletes who are following in their sporting mums’ footsteps.
Eilish McColgan has represented Team Scotland at the last two Commonwealth Games as well as at the 2008 Youth Games. She is a two-time Olympian, making the final of the 5000m at Rio 2016 and has won medals at the European Championships both indoors and out. Earlier this year she came within two seconds of breaking her mum, Liz McColgan’s, Scottish 10,000m record, which was set in 1991, the year Liz won World Championship gold in Tokyo. Liz’s other accolades include an Olympic silver medal and three Commonwealth Games medals including two gold in the 10,000m at Edinburgh 1986 and Auckland 1990.
Success in Shooting runs in the McIntosh family with sisters Jen & Seonaid frequent visitors to major championship podiums in recent years. Seonaid is twice a Commonwealth Games medallist with two bronze at Gold Coast 2018, 2018 World Champion and in 2019 became the first British woman to rank World number one for the 50m Rifle Three Position event. She has been selected to make her Olympic debut in Tokyo this summer.
World Championship medallist and twice Olympian, Gold Coast 2018 saw Jen make her third appearance at a Commonwealth Games, having won two golds and a bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games aged just 19. She went on to become the most decorated female athlete in Scottish Commonwealth Games history at Glasgow 2014 with silver and bronze – a record previously held by her mother, Shirley, who won one gold, one silver and two bronze across two Commonwealth Games – Victoria 1994 and Kuala Lumpur 1998.
Jake Wightman took a brilliant bronze for Team Scotland over 1500m in Gold Coast, having also finished 4th in the 800m. Scottish record holder over 1000m and 1500m he also has a European bronze to his name and finished 5th over 1500m at the 2019 World Championships. His mum Susan Tooby finished 6th for Wales in the 10,000m at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, finished 12th in the Marathon at the 1988 Olympic Games and was the first British woman to break 70 minutes for the Half-Marathon. Mother and son also share another similarity – both are twins.
Lynsey Sharp has represented Team Scotland over 800m at Glasgow 2014, where she took a memorable silver medal, and Gold Coast 2018, as well as at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, winning bronze. Twice an Olympian, she finished 6th in the final at Rio 2016 with the third fastest time ever run by a British woman and has also won European Championships gold and silver. Her mum Carol Lightfoot ran the 800m for Scotland at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and coached Lynsey during her early athletics career.
Kirsten McAslan, part of Team Scotland’s 4 x 400m Relay team at both Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018 and relay medallist with GB at European Indoor and World Championships is another athlete following not just in the same sport, but in the same event. Her mum Fiona Hargreaves ran the individual 400m at the Edinburgh 1986 Commonwealth Games and was part of the Scotland 4 x 400m Relay team which finished 4th.
The wealth of sporting talent doesn’t stop there. Hockey skills seem to be passed down the generations with Chris Grassick and David Forsyth’s mums both representing Scotland, while the mum of siblings William Marshall and Kareena Cuthbert played for England.
There are also some cross-sport family duos. Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European medallist and Team Scotland’s first female Opening Ceremony flag bearer at Gold Coast 2018, Eilidh Doyle is a star over the 400m Hurdles but her mum was more at home in the pool, representing Scotland in Swimming. Gymnast Cara Kennedy’s mum represented Scotland at Volleyball, while Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018 Gymnastics team-mate Shannon Archer’s mum Wendy Purdie has over 30 caps for Scotland in Indoor Bowls, claiming the national Singles title in 2008.
Mums play a huge role in our athletes’ success, through thick and thin, from a future champion’s first training session to competing on the international stage. Wishing a happy Mother’s Day to all Team Scotland mums – athletes past and present, coaches, officials and supporters. Thank you for all you do.