I am delighted to bring this debate to the chamber, because although we often have disagreements here, on this topic—celebrating the achievements of team Scotland during the Gold Coast Commonwealth games—we are, I am sure, absolutely united.
On Tuesday 17 April, team Scotland returned home following their best ever away games, bringing back a total of 44 medals and surpassing the previous record of 29, which was set at the 2006 games in Melbourne. I congratulate all the athletes who represented team Scotland, along with the coaches, managers, nutritionists, physiotherapists, doctors, families, friends, and volunteers who travelled to the Gold Coast to support them. I would also like to thank the chair and the chief executive of Commonwealth Games Scotland, Paul Bush and Jon Doig, and all their colleagues at team Scotland for the phenomenal effort that it took to get every competitor to the start line, and in peak condition. The logistical operation alone to arrange flights, accommodation and kit for some 400 Scots was hugely complex, requiring great skill and dedication. All that work behind the scenes enabled the athletes to concentrate on their performance—and perform they did.
The team was ably led into the Carrara stadium by Eilidh Doyle, the first female flag bearer to do so. It was a fitting tribute to her achievements as an athlete, an ambassador and an inspiring figure for so many, and to her hugely professional conduct over so many years.
Marc Austin won Scotland’s first medal, in the triathlon, getting team Scotland on the medal table, but the medals did not stop coming; nor did the happy memories or the stories of resilience and endurance. Duncan Scott won six medals, the most ever achieved by a Scottish athlete at a single games. John and Katie Archibald, the sibling double act, gave medal-winning performances in the velodrome, and Alex Marshall is now Scotland’s most decorated Commonwealth athlete after winning medals in the pairs and the fours categories for lawn bowls.
It was not just the medal winners who achieved greatness. The women’s netball team matched their Glasgow performance, and were close to improving on it. Both beach volleyball pairs achieved great results, with the women in particular beating teams of higher ranking. I do not think that folk out in Australia truly appreciated the differences in climate. The beach that the volleyball teams in Scotland train on had been frozen, which was far from the minds of those in Australia. In basketball, the men finished an amazing fourth, going unbeaten until the semi-finals.
Diver James Heatly won bronze in the 1m springboard, which was Scotland’s first diving medal in 60 years, with the previous winner, of course, being James’s granddad. The list goes on, with phenomenal performances from the likes of Sammi Kinghorn and our first female boxers, who all worked so hard and so proudly for team Scotland. We are all pleased to know that Callum Hawkins is on the road back to fitness after his heroic battle in the marathon, which we witnessed.
I had the privilege of joining team Scotland, in recognition of the special role that Scotland had as the previous host and the learning that has been shared between the two nations to enable the Gold Coast to pick up the baton and carry on from where our games left off. The Gold Coast games coincided with a report that detailed the legacy of the Glasgow 2014 games, which included cementing Glasgow and Scotland’s reputation for hosting world-class events, contributing £740 million to the Scottish economy, enabling Glasgow to host the European championships later this year and delivering 192 community sports hubs. The Gold Coast has equally embedded legacy into its games, and the nations of the Commonwealth remain hugely interested in Glasgow’s and Scotland’s efforts.
Equalities were a key theme of the Glasgow games, and they were also promoted at the Gold Coast games. As in Glasgow, the parasports were part of the main sporting programme. That is a legacy of Glasgow 2014, which was the first major sporting event to have a joint programme. Pride house in the Gold Coast was directly influenced by what was in place in Glasgow. That is a necessary presence at the Commonwealth games, because it reminds us of the journey that remains in ensuring equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people across the Commonwealth. However, the Gold Coast was able to champion a first of its own, in that the games had an equal amount of medals for men and women, which we probably all hope will be the case at the Birmingham games in 2022.
The success of team Scotland did not happen by accident. As the motion outlines, it is due to the hard work of countless athletes, governing bodies, volunteers and the world-class system that sportscotland has in place to enable opportunities from grass-roots level right up to performance level. Yesterday’s timely publication by sportscotland of independent research demonstrates that the programmes that it supports are having a positive impact on those taking part. Adults and children report that they are more physically active since joining a sports club or participating in the active schools programme. That is helping to create a healthier lifestyle as well as helping people to integrate into their local community.
That research, along with recent research by Scottish athletics, is vital in helping us to gain a better understanding of the demographic and motivations of people who regularly take part in sport and physical exercise while highlighting those who need more assistance with achieving a more active lifestyle. It enables all of us to tell of the positive and transformative impact of sport and to endeavour to enable more people to get the chance to take part and be active. That is why we have protected the sportscotland budget this year. To help to mitigate the impact of continued reductions in sportscotland’s income from the national lottery, we are providing sportscotland with a further £3.4 million. We will continue to invest in physical education in schools as well as our active schools programme, thereby providing opportunities to people to try different sports at an early age and creating pathways so that people can continue to enjoy participating in sport throughout life. No doubt, that progress will be inspired by the new heroes that were created in Australia just a few weeks ago.
During my time at the Gold Coast games, I met the chair of UK Sport, Dame Katherine Grainger. I mention that because of the constructive amendment from the Conservatives. Over the next few months, we will continue to work with UK Sport as we continue to plan for the 2018 European championships. To coincide with the European championships, Scotland will host the next meeting of the United Kingdom sports cabinet, which provides the opportunity for sports ministers from the four home nations to discuss issues of common sporting and physical activity affecting the United Kingdom and provides for a collective discussion of the most strategic priorities of UK-wide importance. That is an important gathering, and we will, I hope, see more medal successes here in Glasgow and of course in Berlin.
Although Glasgow will serve as the official host city of the championships in Scotland, many of the exciting events will be spread out across the country, which, again, underlines Scotland’s ability to host great events. That is enabled by our first-class facilities, which is why we have invested heavily over the past 10 years in the sports infrastructure in Scotland. It is important to note that, since 2007, sportscotland has invested £168 million in supporting councils, sports governing bodies and other organisations to deliver a wide range of new and upgraded sports facilities in order to continue supporting our performance athletes alongside ensuring crucial access for communities and people who want to be helped towards an active lifestyle.
Again, I offer my warmest congratulations to all our athletes and everyone who was involved with team Scotland for achieving their best away games and making the entire nation extremely proud to have them as our sporting ambassadors. I look forward to hearing from other members from around the chamber.
I move,
That the Parliament commends the incredible achievements of Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast; recognises that this was Scotland’s best ever away games and, by winning 44 medals, beat the previous medal tally of 29 in Melbourne in 2006; considers that this demonstrates that Scottish sport is growing in strength and depth, with sportscotland and governing bodies of sport working to support athletes, coaching and support staff, and believes that sustained investment and commitment in the whole sporting system is vital to enable people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to regularly take part in sport and exercise.