We have arrived! All of our athletes and staff are now on the Isle of Man, ahead of the Commonwealth Youth Games getting underway later this week. I can’t believe how quickly time has passed since we first started planning for the Games, but I’m so excited to finally be here.

We left Stirling this morning at 7.30am, which meant an early start for the team. Of course our swimmers are usually just finishing their first training session by that time, so it wasn’t a major shock for them; but for the rest of us it was an early one. It was great to see some of the athletes’ parents again, who had come down to see us off.

After leaving Stirling we had pick-up points at Bothwell, Abington and Southwaite before arriving at the ferry port in Heysham. 71 of us travelled down today, split between two busses and a van. Our Cycling team manager Graeme Herd kindly offered to drive one of Scottish Cycling’s vans down to the Games, which was ideal for transporting the bikes, and one or two other pieces of kit.

We had a bumpy ferry journey to put up with between Heysham and Douglas, but most of us took the opportunity to catch up with a bit of sleep. When we arrived in the Isle of Man, we were met by some friendly faces in General Team Manager, Vicky Strange and my fellow Deputy General Team Manager, Elinor Middlemiss.

Our team hotel – the Clairmont – isn’t far from the ferry terminal, and we were whisked round with our bags in no time at all. We met our team liaison officers too, who will be on hand to assist us around the Isle of Man. Checking everyone in was simple, and we managed to show the athletes the spaces we will be using in the hotel. Our rooms are great, and I’m sure we’re going to have a great week here.

We took the whole team up to the Palace Hotel for dinner, which will be the dining area during the Games. It will be the only time that we get to dine as a whole team, so it was nice to bring everyone up together. Tomorrow will be all about training and orientation, but for now I think we’re all in need of some rest.

It’s been a long day, but we’re in great shape and I know I speak on behalf of everyone on the team when I say we can’t wait for the Games to begin!

P.S.

I’d like to say a big thanks to Mackie’s Coaches for getting us down to Heysham, Steam-Packet ferries for getting us across the water and the rest of the staff for helping to make the journey as smooth as it could be.