There is the small matter of 106 caps. There has been a captaincy at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 Netball World Cup. Throw in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 World Cup and there is a sharp picture of the experience Claire Maxwell brings to Birmingham. And yet this is all very new.
It is the first major tournament for Maxwell since becoming a mother. One-year-old Lucy is expected to be among the supporters who cheer on Scotland at the games with Maxwell revealing the on-court intensity that motherhood has heightened.
“I think perspective is a good word,” said Maxwell. “Lucy doesn’t care if I win or lose because she knows nothing other than me being there and being in the moment with her. I do look at things like that differently than what I would have a few years ago.
“But I also think that, when I am playing or training now, I am 100 per cent absolutely in the moment. It has made me really focus exclusively because every minute counts. I don’t have the flexibility that I had before having my daughter to get in another session or do some more work at night. I have to use the window I have to train or to play and to make sure that I give it everything I have. It has really helped me utilise the time that I have for netball so that it gets every part of my concentration.”
From the outside it would appear to have been a seamless transition from giving birth to returning to the court for Maxwell. However, what isn’t immediately apparent is the discipline and sheer hard graft that it took to get back to elite level sport while breastfeeding, coping with sleepless nights and appreciating the physical changes that childbirth brings.
“I was a bit naïve, I think,” said Maxwell. “I think people look at you and think that you look OK and you look yourself. But internally it is a different story. I was surprised at that and surprised at how I felt after giving birth. It was a long process.
“I had a back-to-back labour and then I breast fed for five months – and it is challenging. I would not change a thing about any of that because it gave me such a special and unique experience with my daughter and allowed me to spend so much time with her.
“She had silent reflux and sleep was a challenge for a few months. I am not sure I had appreciated before then how important sleep is! Touch wood she is far more settled now.
“But it really was much tougher than I thought. I was active all the way through my pregnancy and was still exercising at 40 weeks but I did find the post-partum period challenging. There have been a lot of ups and downs and a lot of juggling. But I am at a place where I am happy with my fitness. I had to look at my organisational skills and my time-management.
“I was lucky in that I was back playing 15 or 16 weeks after giving birth when I played in a friendly. I was able to get back to playing quite quickly but, when people look at you on court and think that you look fit and athletic, it doesn’t tell the whole story of how much work and effort it takes to get back to that level.
“I treated it like rehab. I didn’t carry a lot of weight throughout my pregnancy but you lose so much strength, especially from your core. I could not believe how different my body felt after giving birth. It was different even to how it felt when I was pregnant and exercising. I have always given everything on court and played on the edge and I have always put a lot of stock into physically being in the best shape to play. That muscle memory helped me, I think, but there is a lot of work and a lot of ups and down that people don’t see.”
Maxwell’s focus now is on is on pushing Scotland as far as they can go now. Currently ranked ninth in the world – eighth is the highest they have reached – Maxwell is intent on making sure the Commonwealth Games experience showcases the full extent of the talent within the Scotland squad.
Scotland open their games with a meeting against Australia, with Jamaica, South Africa, Wales and Barbados also alongside them in Group A. Teams receive two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero for a loss, with the top two teams in each pool qualifying for the semi-finals. As well as the gold/silver final and the bronze medal play-off, there are play-offs to determine each team’s final placing.
“We have a fantastic mix of youth and experience,” said Maxwell. “Right now we are ranked ninth the world and I think we would like to better than that – and I think we can be. It is quite a young squad but there are a few of us who have a lot of experience and I think that can help when it comes the intensity of the tournament and playing so many games.
“Some of us older members of the squad joke that the 2014 games were the best days of our lives – weddings and kids, apart! It was a home Games and it really was the pinnacle for many of us, such an exceptional experience to be part of. Hopefully we can make sure there are more big moments for us.
“There is a real camaraderie when you are away and everyone is focused on the same thing. If all goes well and there are no Covid situations then my husband and my parents will be down here with Lucy and that will be amazing, to have that support around me. I hope that we can give them plenty of encouragement with the performances that we put in and, as always, it is a joy to be here representing our country.”
Article by Alison McConnell
Gymnast Hamish Carter has travelled a bit in pursuit of a career in elite sport. So he’s thrilled at the prospect of competing in his home town for Team Scotland.
Born in Nottingham and raised in Birmingham, Carter qualifies for Scotland via a maternal grandfather from Hawick. A key member of the men’s squad who won bronze in the team event four years ago in Gold Coast, he sat down for a Q&A session with Michael Baillie.
Q: You were born in Nottingham and grew up in Birmingham but compete for Scotland, what was the process of you deciding to represent Scotland on the international stage?
A: “I was born in Nottingham and then moved to Birmingham when I was 13 for gymnastics. The whole family moved down, I changed schools and everything.
“It was a huge commitment from my parents but it worked out well for everyone. It came at a time when Angus, my little brother, was going into secondary school so he was going into a new school anyway.
“My mum Michele’s side of the family are from Hawick. So, I guess I was destined to compete for Scotland with the name Hamish.
“Before the last Commonwealth Games my mum was looking forward to seeing me in a kilt and I’m sure she is looking forward to seeing me in another one.
“I’ve still got the kilt from the last Games, although I’ve not worn it since one of the events after the Games at Stirling Castle. I thought it was cool wearing a kilt, I’d never done it before.
“Team England was really strong but I always wanted to represent Scotland. It was the best decision I made. I absolutely love competing for Scotland and just representing that flag is special for me, even though I have lived in England all my life. It definitely calls to me in some capacity.
“My mum’s side were all exceptionally happy to hear I was competing for Scotland at the 2018 Games.”
Q: Being from Birmingham, this is a home Games for you. How excited are you by that?
A: “The experience of having the Games in Australia was something and the Gold Coast was beautiful. But to have it right next to my house, to have my family and friends there and it being a true home Games, I’m really looking to it and it will be so special.
“Much like many of Team Scotland at Glasgow 2014, having the Games for me in the city where my entire life is, with my friends and family there, will be very special.
“I’ll have school friends coming to watch and that’s inspiring me. I can celebrate with them – and so many of them have done so much to support me.”
Q: How was your experience of the last Commonwealth Games, when you were part of the team who won the bronze medal, with you performing the floor routine which got them on the podium?
A: “That was definitely the pinnacle of my career, it was the biggest competition I’d done to date.
“Everything about it, I hadn’t experienced before, the pressure, it was a phenomenal competition. I loved the Athletes’ Village; it was really special to be part of it all.
“Paul Hall, who is now the GB national coach and was at that time the Team Scotland Coach, said “We need a 13.7 from you to get the bronze medal ahead of Cyprus …” prior to my floor routine.
“That added a bit of pressure but it was more of an incentive to compete better. I got a 14.275.
“Those are the moments you live for; I look back at those Games and there were a number of moments when I feel I developed and evolved as a gymnast because of the pressure. My first pommel routine on the first day of competing, the first time I raised my arm at the Commonwealth Games, it was immense. I hit that pommel routine really well.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it and was definitely a more accomplished gymnast after competing at those Games.”
Q: You narrowly missed out on a medal in the Men’s Individual Floor Exercise final, finishing fourth, how tough was that to take and what did you learn from it?
A: “That was unfortunate as I had a really good routine and I could have come away with the gold – but one small slip meant I finished fourth. I was still happy with that.
“I wouldn’t have had it any other way; first, second, third or fourth, it was the experience that counted for me, and I definitely gained a lot of that at those Games.”
Q: What are your hopes and aspirations for Birmingham 2022?
A: “My hopes and ambitions are to definitely defend the team medal, that’s our primary goal as Team Scotland, to get a medal, whatever colour.
“My all-around has become a lot stronger since the previous Games, so I hope to place. A podium finish would be amazing and I think I’ve got the potential to do that.
“I’d like to qualify for finals in my strongest events; parallel bars, high bar and floor.
“As much competing as I can is important to me and I’ll gain a lot of experience, there’s a lot of emphasis on the result. But I just want to go out and do my best gymnastics.”
Q: You have been in the United States at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign since 2018. How has competing in the NCAA enhanced your development and have you enjoyed life on the other side of the Atlantic?
A: “I’ve got one more semester left. I’m doing psychology and my specialisation in that is behavioural neuroscience.
“The US Olympic team all come from college gymnastics, so there’s a lineage of elite gymnasts that come from it and the depth of talent is much greater. So I’m competing in a field that’s much deeper than it is in the UK and, gymnastically, it’s been such a good thing for me to go to the US.
“I’ve loved it, I’ve made great friends, I’ve thrived in that team environment – and I feel my gymnastics has improved tenfold. I’ve learned so much from being in that team.
“I’m based about two hours south of Chicago and I haven’t been to any professional sporting event yet – but I really want to go and see the Chicago Cubs playing baseball and go to a Chicago Bears football game.
“But I’ve been to watch the University’s basketball team and that’s huge.”
Q: Who inspired you as a young gymnast and do you hope to inspire the next generation?
A: “I actually competed with Dan Purvis at the last Games and that’s a guy, when I was very young, I used to go to national squads and watch him train. Then, a number of years later, I’m on the same team as him and winning a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games.
“Not many gymnasts in the GB squad go over to America and compete in the NCAA and then return and maintain their position on the squad but, if I can show that’s possible, then other kids will do that too.
“It’s the same with the Games; inspiring people to compete is always important.”
Commonwealth Games Scotland has today announced that Garry Brown has been selected for Team Scotland in the para-lawn bowls team for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Garry, from South Lanarkshire, will compete in the Men’s B7/B8 Pairs alongside Kevin Wallace.
Brown replaces Garry Hood, who has been withdrawn from Team Scotland following a three-month ban by Bowls Scotland.
Garry Brown said, “I am delighted to be selected and it’s great to be part of Team Scotland having been part of Gold Coast. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and trying my best and building on the experience of the Gold Coast and hopefully go a couple of stages further and bring home a medal.”
Commenting on the selection, Team Scotland’s Lawn Bowls Team Manager for Birmingham 2022, Billy Mellors, said: “We welcome the news that Garry Brown has been selected for Team Scotland at this summer’s Commonwealth Games and look forward to seeing him compete in Leamington Spa later this month.”
The Lawn Bowls event at the Commonwealth Games will get underway on the Leamington Spa greens on Friday 29th July 2022. For more information, please visit: https://www.birmingham2022.com/sports/lawn-bowls
When Matthew and Christopher Grimley first picked up a badminton racket at the grand old age of six, it seemed a long way to the international stage.
But, 16 years later, the pair are on the verge of joining an extremely select group; twins who have represented Team Scotland side-by-side at the Commonwealth Games. This moment has long been on the cards.
Before the brothers had even reached high school, they were being touted as two of the most exciting prospects in the country. From as young as nine years old, the tournament victories began clocking up. But it was their first international sojourn that gave them the idea they might genuinely be good at this sport.
“I remember we went to a tournament in Belgium, it was our first international event and our mum and dad said to us to not expect too much because we probably weren’t going to win a game,” said Chris. “And then we went and won it.”
“It was after that we started to think we might actually be pretty good. Because we’d just been playing in Scotland, it was hard to know if we were just good at home but, after doing that at our first international tournament, we started to think: ‘Actually, we might have something here.’”
The one challenge with being the best two young players in Scotland was that, at almost every tournament, the pair would face off against each other in the final of the boys’ singles, meaning one or the other was forced to cope with the disappointment of not only losing out, but being beaten by his twin.
It was not, they both admit, always the easiest of situations – but the fact they invariably had a doubles final to play together just minutes after the singles final concluded meant they didn’t have too long to dwell on the disappointment of a runners-up medal.
“When we played against each other when we were younger, we didn’t take losing well, one of us would always end up crying,” said Matt, with Chris adding: “It always changed who won, one of us wasn’t better than the other, it was just who was best on the day.
“The loser of the singles would have to snap out of their mood before the doubles but, in the car on the way home, there’d still be an atmosphere.”
At the age of 11, they joined Glasgow’s School of Sport, which is a school dedicated to combining training and academia. Even in these early years, the boys were highly competitive, with neither allowing the other to out-do them in training for fear of falling behind.
Their success continued through their junior years but as, they approached the senior ranks, they began to veer towards the idea of specialising in doubles. And the possibility of playing with anyone other than each other was, frankly, unfathomable to the pair.
There are, clearly, pros and cons of partnering someone who you know almost better than you know yourself but, for the Grimleys, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
“At one point, when we were about 15, there was some talk about splitting us up as doubles partners. Our coach wanted to try us with other partners to see how it went – but we weren’t very happy with that suggestion and so it ended up never happening,” revealed Matthew.
“I feel like we can say anything at all to each other. When we play mixed, we’re a bit nicer to our partners but, when we’re playing together, we know we can say anything and the other one isn’t going to react.
“We’re more likely to get snappy with each other in training; we never argue in a tournament because we know that if we do that, we won’t do well so it’s pointless.”
The Commonwealth Games has long been a target for the twins. They were in the crowd for countless badminton sessions at Glasgow 2014 and watching the action from Gold Coast as 18-year-olds four years later, they vowed to be in Birmingham this summer. Their international debut duly arrived and recent years have seen the pair travel regularly throughout European and to Asia for competitions.
Having been named part of Team Scotland’s nine-strong squad for Birmingham 2022 and having spent so many years striving to reach this level, they admit it’s quite a moment, realising they’re now on the verge of fulfilling their lifelong dream.
“I feel like this is what we’ve always wanted to do; we’ve always wanted to be professional badminton players,” said Matthew. “Even when we were really young, when people asked what we wanted to do when we grew up, we always said play badminton. Most people disbelieved it’d happen but here we are.”
Chris added: “Even before Gold Coast, Birmingham has been in our sights and when we get there, we feel like we can cause a few upsets.”
The Commonwealth Games, with the multi-sport environment and the hectic nature of being part of an event that brings thousands upon thousands of athletes together will, predict the Grimleys, take some getting used to.
But having each other and sharing a room together, as they usually do on trips away, means they will feel like their Games stay is something of a home away from home.
“We’re expecting the Games to be so different from the normal badminton tournaments. It’d be good to see some table tennis, and gymnastics and squash – it’s a pity that Usain Bolt isn’t around anymore, that’d have been pretty amazing to have seen him, but there’ll be a lot of other athletes that it’ll be pretty cool to see,” said Matt.
“Because we’ll be there together, it feels in some ways that we’re still at home,” added Chris, his brother interrupting to chip in: “We’re totally comfortable in complete silence, we can sit beside each other for an hour and not say and word and we’re both fine with that.
“I think when you spend as much time together as we do, you need to have a relationship like that.”
Article by Susan Egelstaff
Emma Love has been called up to the Team Scotland squad by Head Coach Tamsin Greenway ahead of the upcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, after Lynsey Gallagher was sadly ruled out due to injury.
Fighting her way back from an ACL injury which ruled her out of her debut Sirens in 2020, Love has worked hard on her rehab to get herself ready for the call up. “It was a really long and hard recovery to try and build back my strength, I was finally cleared to run at the end of last year and I was able to quickly progress in to training and I am feeling stronger than before.”
Head coach Tamsin Greenway commented on the latest addition to her squad: “On the court Emma covers both WA and GA and is a really quick creative player, off the court she is happy to get stuck in and brings loads of energy to the group.”
Greenway added, “Emma was totally surprised but absolutely thrilled to be brought into the squad. She has been working hard behind the scenes coming into several prep camps. She joined us down in England for our final camp and put in impressive performances and totally deserved the opportunity.”
Love is now gearing up for the challenge ahead, and her first ever Commonwealth Games. “I’m absolutely over the moon to have been selected for the Commonwealth Games”, she added.
“This is always something I’ve aspired to since a young age, so to actually be going feels amazing. It’s been such a tough journey to come back from injury, so it really feels like all my hard work has paid off.”
“I had just been away with the girls for a weekend camp down in England. Tamsin gave me a ring pretty much right as I was arriving back home from the airport. She told me she’d like to take me to the Commonwealth Games and I was ecstatic!”
The squad leaving from the Emirates Arena this morning will arrive into the athlete village this afternoon.
Reflecting on the withdrawal of Lynsey Gallagher, Greenway said, “The whole squad has worked extremely hard over the past 6 weeks during prep camp and are a very close knit group. So of course we were absolutely gutted for Lynsey. Coming back in so soon after her knee operation was always going to be tough and it goes without saying how proud we are of
Lyns to push on and give it her all to try to get back in time. Sadly this time around it wasn’t meant to be and both Lynsey and the squad have handled it extremely well.”
With two previous Commonwealth Games under her name, Lynsey Gallagher is disappointed to not have the opportunity to represent Team Scotland this year, “Making the decision to withdraw from the commonwealth games squad was never going to be an easy one… I put absolutely everything into getting back to where I needed to be to get out there again, but unfortunately time just wasn’t on my side. I’m obviously gutted to miss out on the opportunity to pull on the dress & get out there with the girls in Birmingham, but in order to get back to where I need and want to be, I need a bit more time to get my knee strong again.
“I can’t thank the girls, Tamsin and the team behind the team enough for their constant support, especially over the past few months. The girls have been doing some amazing things in training and I really wish I could have been part of that at the games. But for now I’ll be working hard in the gym, pushing on with my rehab and supporting the girls & Team Scotland from home.”
Team Scotland kickstart their Commonwealth campaign on Saturday 30th July when they take on world ranked #1 Australia in their opening match at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham.
Life’s a beach when you are Scotland’s top volleyball pairing, right? Well, not when you consider the shifting sands of life in lockdown.
For months during the Covid crisis, the closest Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts got to proper training was going through strength and conditioning sessions in a local park.
Then came the phased return of sport. Which was a bit like normal training. Without opponents.
Even when they were allowed to share a court with someone on the other side of the net, meanwhile, they somehow had to observe a two-metre distance. While playing. Sounds like fun.
Such worries will seem a lifetime away when this Scottish pair sample the Commonwealth Games atmosphere for a second time in Birmingham this summer.
Four years ago in the Gold Coast, this event unfolded in the sun-kissed backdrop of Coolangatta beachfront, where one mistimed spike could send the ball out spinning towards the reef.
This time around, it will take place on a converted patch of concrete in Smithfield, central Birmingham – once the site of the city’s wholesale market.
It rains more days in this part of the world in July and August than it doesn’t. But when you practice on windswept Portobello beach, even the worst weather forecast is likely to prompt only one response: “Bring it on.”
“We practice at Portobello literally all the time so we are ready for anything,” said Beattie, 36, who captained the indoor Team GB Olympic squad at London 2012 – and also walked away with £11,000 as a Deal or no Deal contestant in 2014.
“In the rules the only things you stop for are thunder and lightning.“
Courts added: “I think if it is extreme wind, proper extreme, then they will stop it as well. But I can’t see it being like that in Birmingham – it will be quite sheltered.
“It could be literally anything, though – pouring rain, blazing sunshine or anything in between.”
The duo’s ticket to Birmingham was stamped with a second-place finish in last summer’s Eurozone Commonwealth qualifier on their home sands of Portobello.
But a last-minute decision to risk the worsening Covid conditions and compete in an FIVB event in Langkawi, Malaysia, in March 2020 might go down as the moment they really did the hard yards.
The world was an uncertain place back then. Some teams were either being advised not to travel. Others were being told to turn around and come back as soon as they got there.
But the Scots toughed it out and got their rewards in ranking points.
Coutts, now 51, admitted: “We were actually in Malaysia in March 2020 and we weren’t sure whether to go or not.
“In the end, we decided just to risk it – and we are glad that we did. Because it was literally the last one before everything shut down.”
Beattie added: “I think the day we got back Malaysia shut its borders.
“We did quite well and the points became quite crucial in our qualification so we were really quite pleased about that.”
When the qualification window closed on March 31, the Scottish pair had enough points to take their place in the draw for the groups in Birmingham.
But Scotland’s men – represented by Seain Cook and Robin Miedzybrodzki in the Gold Coast – weren’t quite so lucky.
The boys didn’t make the cut, meaning that Beattie and Coutts will fly the flag alone for Scotland in beach volleyball in Birmingham.
“I haven’t actually spoken to them personally yet but it’s a shame for us, too, that there isn’t going to be a men’s pair there to share the experience with us,” said Beattie.
“I think it’s a learning for the sport going forward, that the long-term approach and vision is all important.
“That’s the thing we learned from last time – that it is very much a four-year cycle.
“As soon as the last Commonwealth Games finished we were back on tour immediately because we knew how important it was to contribute to qualification the next time around.
“It has been a long process but this was obviously the end goal and we achieved it, so we are very excited.”
The level of professionalism this pair display is such that you might be surprised to learn that they also have day jobs to get on with.
Coutts works for City of Edinburgh Council in a management role in sport and outdoor learning.
Beattie started a new job in January as a partnership manager with funding body SportScotland.
But their existence revolves around volleyball – even if that means watching DVDs or YouTube footage of matches in a nearby coffee shop after practice sessions.
They are grateful to a small but crucial network of support staff for helping them get through it all. One of these is Beattie’s sister Karen, who doubles as the pair’s physio.
“One of them is in Australia, one in Belfast, one in Glasgow, and just having that group of people around us, plus the federation, the governing body, has made it all kind of possible,” explained Beattie.
As the games get closer, the focus is only narrowing. The duo spent time in May out in Florida, working with respected Brazilian coach Pri Piantadosi-Lima and getting valuable match practice.
So what is possible for this duo down in the Midlands? Well, four years ago it was a quarter-final loss to eventual winners Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Canada (sister to Scottish volleyball’s performance manager Felipe).
This was after progression from a group which also included a match up with home favourites Australia.
“From a performance point of view, the best moment was playing Australia in front of their crowd,” said Beattie. “It was one of the best atmospheres, under the lights.
“There’s always the draw element, with a bit of luck in there, depending what seed we go in as.
“But getting out of our pool would be a good result for us and something we are aiming to do. Then anything can happen.”
Article by Stewart Fisher
Amy Costello is optimistic that the hangover from a successful Team Scotland Commonwealth Games will a celebratory one rather than the lingering sense of disappointment that took six months to dissipate following last summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Then just 23, Costello was part of the Team GB who lifted bronze. But, having failed to get any game time, the defender struggled to appreciate the magnitude of the achievement in just making the Olympic squad.
Close friends and family, as well as a squad sports psychologist, helped her to see things in a different light. And it remains an experience, she insists, that should provide the cornerstone for a successful Games in Birmingham.
“It was a bittersweet experience,” she said of her time in Japan. “On the one hand I was so pleased to be in the squad, to be in the Olympic village. But it was a challenge not knowing if I would play. Being on the side lines, I was an avid supporter of the squad and my team-mates – and I was so pleased with their bronze. But it is always difficult not to feel, as an athlete, that you belong on pitch making a contribution rather than watching.
“Being 23 last summer and being able to be in that environment possibly now gives me an advantage over younger players coming in – know what it is like in the tension of that environment and how heightened emotions can be. The Games are the biggest thing that Team GB compete for, so it really was an eye-opening experience.
“But more than that, I think it has given me a real drive too. I want to be on the pitch, I have that motivation to go and step up. It took me some time to get there. For six months I think my confidence was not where it could have been – and a lot of the enjoyment I had for hockey had gone.
“And yet I am pretty sure that I am now a better hockey player for having gone through that. I think I have a better balance now between life and hockey and I also know that, if you need a bit of help, then it is a good thing to make sure you go and ask for it. There is no point in letting it go to such an extent that everything is a struggle.
“I had so much support around me in terms of my parents and friends – but the sports psychologist was also a great benefit in giving me tools that really helped me to redress the balance of the experience. It is always so easy to get carried away in what you are doing day-to-day and not realising what you are achieving, step back. Looking at the bigger picture, I am actually proud of where I am now.”
It will almost feel like 2014 in terms of a Home Games again for Costello, who returns to her old stomping ground in Birmingham. Fresh out of the city’s university with a Sports Science degree, the Halls of Residence could be home – again – this summer.
If there are positive memories in the Halls, there is also the echo of 2014 and a reminder of just how far Costello has come.
“I was 16 when Scotland hosted the Games. I was at school studying hard for my Int 2s and Nat 5s but I remember going along to watch Scotland v Australia in Glasgow. Australia went on to win the Gold and it was an incredibly special Games. I don’t think this will be too dissimilar.
“It was definitely inspirational for me as a teenager to watch that and think: ‘That could possibly be me, maybe, one day.’ I don’t think I thought too much about how it would come about. I was just getting into my Scotland age groups and I loved playing. It is only now, when you look back over your shoulder, that you do appreciate just where you are.”
Not that she has any intention of standing still.
Scotland’s women have an intense schedule as they play the first session of the tournament against South Africa. The following evening, they are up against reigning champions New Zealand. Further games follow against Kenya – playing at their first ever Commonwealth Games – before they conclude with a tantalising clash against four-times winners Australia.
“As a team, we are in a really good place,” said Costello. “I honestly believe that it is not beyond us to get out of the group and potentially challenge for a semi-final spot, which would be a first for us. It is very ambitious – but I also think that it is realistic. Anything can happen on the day.
“I want to enjoy it. There are challenges as a team, and there are challenges as an individual, and I would like to firmly embrace both. We will be playing against some of the top teams in the world and testing ourselves; that is something you must thrive on.”
“If there is something I have learned about being in tournaments like the Olympics and in the Gold Coast 1028 Commonwealth squad it is that, once you play a game if it doesn’t go well, you don’t let it linger. There is always the next game, so you park it and move on. I think that is so important in tournament hockey. Anything can happen so it is also important not to get too caught up in other results.
“We are a very close group too. I think that helps and we have been through various experiences before. I honestly think we are in a very exciting place as a team going into the Games and I think we all see this as a real opportunity.
“Defensively we know we are strong. I think, as the tournament goes deeper, we will want to be as clinical as possible as we really try to challenge the higher ranked teams, while limiting them as much as we possibly can. It is a big ask but it is one we are all incredibly excited about.”
Article by Alison McConnell
Micky Yule has overcome incredible adversity to compete in his third Commonwealth Games. But even he admits there is one opponent he cannot overcome.
On July 1, 2010, Yule – a staff sergeant with the Royal Engineers – stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device) in the Helmand Province while on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. The detonation changed his life forever.
The 31-year-old lost both his legs, had his arms broken and his pelvis smashed. He was in a coma for ten days, spent eight weeks in hospital and the next two-and-a-half years in rehab. To not only recover from that but to go on and compete at the elite level in powerlifting is a remarkable achievement by the man from Wallyford.
Bad luck prevented him from being among the medals at his first two Games but he’s hoping that it will be third time lucky in Birmingham – after revealing that this will be his final appearance at the event.
“This will be my third and last Games,” he said. “I’ll be 44 in December and you get to an age where you can barely move out of bed. My elbows are gone, my pecs and shoulders are continually injured but you keep going.
“I’ve had a really bad run with the Commonwealth Games in terms of injuries. I participated in Glasgow in 2014 with a torn pectoral muscle and four years ago in Australia I was still recovering from a fractured femur so we’ll see what happens this time.
“I’d gone into both confident and in good form so I feel as though I’m cursed when it comes to the Commonwealth Games because I ended up finishing fourth in my two previous attempts, having to sit back and watch others take my medals with their final lifts of the competition.
“Even so, I’m optimistic that, if I can steer clear of injuries this year then I’ll be knocking on the door. I’m strong as an ox so, as long as I don’t pick up any little niggles between now and then, I should have a chance.
“Back in April I took part in a mini-tournament at Loughborough University and I matched my personal best – which I’d set five years earlier – by lifting 195lbs. That gave me plenty of encouragement and, if I can repeat that or even better it in Birmingham, I should be among the medals.
“You need a bit of luck to succeed and I’m just keeping my fingers crossed.”
Cursed or not, Micky is looking forward to competing in the Midlands.
“It should be amazing,” he said. “The Gold Coast in 2014 was too far away to expect people from the UK to travel to but my experience of Glasgow before that was fantastic, with the venues jam-packed with friends and family.
“I live just outside of Southampton now so it’ll be as easy for my old mates and relatives from Scotland to get there as it will be for me. The atmosphere will be incredible, I know that much.”
Yet he confesses that, through no fault of its residents, Birmingham is far from his favourite place.
“It takes a lot to get me to go back there,” he explained. “When I was injured, the hospital I was flown back to was in the city so I’ve always associated Birmingham with quite bad memories. I could do with changing that around come August.
“I’ve only ever gone there before to have work done so at least on this occasion I know I can visit without someone wanting to cut me open.”
Yule’s reluctance to return is perfectly understandable, given the amount of medical attention he received following his return from Afghanistan.
“I’ve had 75 operations, with most of them coming right at the start,” he said. “It got to the point where I had to say: ‘No more.’ Because the surgeons admitted that we’d reached the stage where going under the knife would make things a little bit better but going through the surgery was really affecting me.
“Consequently, I haven’t had an operation for about four years now, touch wood. There’s always something which can be done to help a little but you never get the chance to move on because you go into hospital then start your recovery and you’re back to where you started, really. I would only have surgery know if it was an emergency.”
Yule represented the Army in powerlifting tournaments during his 15 years of service, but he admits that he wouldn’t be involved at his current rarefied level as an able-bodied man.
“It was only after powerlifting was introduced at the London Olympics that I thought there might be a way forward for me,” he said. “I’d always been strong so I began finding out how I could become involved and what guidance I could receive and, after it was included in Glasgow in 2014, I was lucky enough to be paired with my coach, Neil Crosby, who still works with me now.
“But I never considered competing when I was in the Army: I only ever did it then to keep fit. I’d no aspirations to do anything else.”
The fact he has been able to not only compete but succeed in his chosen field has also helped Micky to recover from his traumatic past.
“When I train or compete it takes my mind off everything else,” he said. “It was my little bit of freedom and, when I was concentrating on lifting, I wasn’t thinking about Afghanistan or my injuries or anything else. It also helped because it made me push myself again.
“More than anything, I had targets and deadlines and a routine once again and I needed that routine. It also helped me get off painkillers because when you’re medicating through your injuries you can’t train. Now I’m back to trying to be the guy I was before.”
Yule also paid tribute to Prince Harry for doing more than most to help people like him by founding the Invictus Games in 2014.
“He’s had a lot of bad press recently but he created those games at a time when no-one was doing anything for severely injured, combat-injured former soldiers,” he claimed.
“As an ex-serviceman himself, he was in the public eye and he encouraged us all by doing that. He’s created a life-changing event and I’m not just saying that because I won a gold medal in 2016.”
Another in Birmingham would be more than welcome.
Article by Ewing Grahame
The first Team Scotland athletes have arrived in Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games, with men’s hockey the first to check-in.
In a Games first, the Birmingham 2022 Games is operating on a multi-site model, with villages in Birmingham, Warwick, NEC and London.
As the sun shone on the Birmingham, the Scottish hockey players settled into their University of Birmingham accommodation which features Team Scotland branding, gifts and a special Games welcome pack.
To welcome them to the Commonwealth Games, each athlete will receive a specially made white Team Scotland Nike tracksuit top, which features the team’s motto “clear heads, brave hearts” stitched into the inside of the jacket.
Alongside a National Lottery scatter cushion and saltire towel, athletes will also receive a good luck letter and drawing from local school children, as well as a bespoke gift made by local community groups, as part of 4600+ Gift project. All gifts are made from metal washers upcycled by wrapping, stitching and knotting yarn.
Speaking about the arrivals, Team Scotland Chef de Mission Elinor Middlemiss said, “After months of hard work and build-up it is great to see our athletes start to arrive in the villages across the Games sites.
“The villages are the heart of the Games and play an important part in preparing and supporting our athletes to perform at their best.
“We have 260 athletes on the team and the personal touches from the local community in particular ensure we make it as close to a home from home environment as we can.”
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is officially opened on 28th July, with competition starting on 29th July and running until 8th August.
Photo Gallery
Team Scotland has today announced the men’s hockey squad who will compete at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The 18-strong squad is captained by GB international Alan Forsyth, who heads to his fourth Commonwealth Games, with the selection coming after a strong performance by Scotland in a highly competitive Four-Nations tournament featuring Ireland, Wales, and the USA.
In Birmingham the Blue Sticks will face Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan in an exciting Pool A.
For Forsyth, who grew up in Paisley, captaining his country is a special moment, “It’s an absolute privilege to be selected. If you had asked me when I was 16 or 17 when I got my first cap, I wouldn’t have thought I’d make it to four Commonwealth Games, so it’s an absolute honour to pull on the jersey again.
“When I think back to the 2010 Commonwealth Games – I think I was 17 – I remember playing India in Delhi and it was an unreal moment standing there for the Indian national anthem in front of 16,000 singing home fans. For me, as I get older, it’s really important to sing the anthem and take all these things in, and I’m looking forward to that in Birmingham.
“It’s an honour to captain my country, especially at such a big event, but we’re lucky to have plenty of leaders in the team. It’s great to be captain but we have a good leadership group and the young ones coming through are leaders in their own right. I’m really excited for this squad going to Birmingham.”
Also heading to Birmingham this summer is Grange goalkeeper David Forrester, who was selected for the Gold Coast Games in 2018 but had to withdraw from the squad after picking up an injury.
Reflecting on the years since Gold Coast, Forrester explained, “I’m so happy to be selected, it’s the second time for me. Four years ago, when I missed out, I set myself the target of being there in four years’ time, so being selected for the Games has always been the light at the end of the tunnel, and a lot of effort is coming to fruition for me right now.”
Western Wildcats trio – Callum Duke, Rob Harwood, and Andy McConnell all make the line-up with Duke and Harwood also both playing for Scotland in Gold Coast in 2018.
Glaswegian Duke, said, “I’m so excited for the tournament, it’s such a privilege to be part of the team. There’s such great competition across the squad so I’m delighted to be selected.
“It’s a huge thing for Western Wildcats to have three players selected, more so for Rob and Andrew who grew up at the club, but all the Scotland players at the club trained together all year with this summer as a goal in mind. We’ve been going down early for training and all those sessions have contributed to the three of us being there.”
Birmingham will be a second Games for Duncan Riddell from Edinburgh who is excited for what is almost a home Games experience, “I’m incredibly proud, it was such a good feeling when I heard the news. I was incredibly nervous before but now I just can’t wait to get going for what’s close to a home Games, which will be so different from the last one. My family were incredibly proud when they heard the news, there were tears on the phone, so it’s a big moment.
“The Games are just down the road so I think we’ll have a big following, I know all my friends and family have started buying tickets. I can’t wait to be part of it.”
The prospect of a Games close to home has also excited Ed Greaves, who added, “It’s not far for our families to come and support, which is the big thing. I was injured for the last Commonwealth Games and I was extremely gutted to miss out. It feels like the four years of working hard to get back fit and staying at the top of my game has all paid off.”
Glasgow-born Hamburg-based youngster, Struan Walker, is also heading to his first Commonwealth Games fellow debutants and brothers Cammy and Jamie Golden, from Dundee. Walker said, “I’m buzzing, and my family are all ecstatic, it’s going to be a great experience. I’m looking forward to coming up against some of the best teams in the world and just enjoy the experience of testing myself on a stage like the Commonwealth Games.”
In another family tie Murray Collins has been selected after his sister, Robyn Collins, was selected for the women’s squad in June.
Commenting on the selection, Team Scotland Chef de Mission Elinor Middlemiss said, “I am really pleased for and congratulate all of the men’s hockey squad on their selection for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Receiving a Scotland cap at any time is special but to play at a “home” Games is a proud moment for any athlete. I wish the Blue Sticks and their coaching team every success and I look forward to watching them on the pitch at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre.”
The hockey competition runs from 29 July to 8 August at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre.
Immediately after Birmingham Scotland play in the men’s EuroHockey qualifiers, on 24-27 August, where the Scots take on Wales, Switzerland and Gibraltar for a place in the EuroHockey Championships.
Scotland men’s squad for Birmingham 2022:
Tommy Alexander (Der Club An Der Alster)
Michael Bremner (UHC Hamburg)
Andy Bull (Old Georgians HC)
Murray Collins (Teddington Hockey Club)
Callum Duke (Western Wildcats)
Rob Field (Holcombe)
Dave Forrester (Grange HC)
Alan Forsyth (HGC)
Cammy Golden (UHC Hamburg)
Jamie Golden (Surbiton Hockey Club)
Ed Greaves (Teddington HC)
Rob Harwood (Western Wildcats)
Callum Mackenzie (Wimbledon HC)
Andy McConnell (Western Wildcats)
Lee Morton (Old Georgians)
Duncan Riddell (Grange HC)
Robbie Shepherdson (Teddington HC)
Struan Walker (Club An Der Alster)