Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Official Report 855KB pdf

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Commonwealth Games 2022 (Team Scotland)

The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-05639, in the name of Liz Smith, on team Scotland at the 2022 Commonwealth games. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament congratulates Team Scotland on its most successful Commonwealth Games ever outside of Scotland; sends its congratulations to all of the athletes who earned Team Scotland’s 51 medals, 13 of which were gold, to come sixth overall in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 medal table; recalls the many momentous achievements from Team Scotland’s athletes, including Eilish McColgan’s games record gold medal in the 10,000m, 32 years after her mother’s win, and Laura Muir becoming the first ever Scot to win gold at the 1500m at a Commonwealth Games; recognises the significant impact it believes these special moments will have on inspiring the next generation of Scottish athletes, and wishes new and returning athletes, including from the Mid Scotland and Fife region, the best of luck and success for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, as well as for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

17:03  

It is my great privilege to lead this members’ business debate, especially at the end of a summer when it has not been easy to be optimistic about anything. Our extraordinary athletes lifted the gloom, however, with their sheer determination, professionalism and strong sense of national pride, and they are to be warmly congratulated, as are the many thousands of coaches and support teams, who do so much hard work behind the scenes, often without the public accolades.

At the start of recess, I was part of the cross-party group that went to Munich, a city that I last visited way back in 1972, when, as a very young child, I was taken by my parents to two events at the Olympic games. Driving past the Olympic park, with its remarkable, groundbreaking architecture, reminded me of just how special it was to be at the games and of the inspiration that I derived from them at a very young age.

The same was true for many of us eight years ago, when we attended several events at the Commonwealth games in Glasgow. There are other members speaking in the debate this evening, most notably my colleague Brian Whittle, who knows better than any of us what it means to compete on the world stage. However, I know what it feels like to be selected to represent your country—seven times, in my case—and about all the hard work, commitment, team spirit and athletic ability that are the essential ingredients for success.

For 10 years now, I have had the privilege of chairing the Parliament’s cross-party group on sport, which brings all our members into close association with the sporting bodies across Scotland and with the Scottish Sports Association, which is so ably looked after by Kim Atkinson and her colleagues. It is evident to all that the passion in Scottish sport is as strong as ever, and the success that we have just witnessed in Birmingham should reflect on those administrators as well as on our athletes.

During the past 10 years—at Glasgow 2014, Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022—Scotland’s athletes have been outstanding, and it is right that the Parliament pays tribute to them. That brings me to the Birmingham games, which took place between 28 July and 8 August this year. After the extraordinary successes of the previous Commonwealth games, in which 53 and 44 medals respectively were won, team Scotland was widely presumed by many to be on course for more modest success in comparison. The team was certainly not expected to top the extraordinary performance in Australia four years previously. However, a total of 13 gold medals, 11 silver medals and 27 bronze medals, plus sixth place overall, tells its own story.

I do not have time this evening to pay individual tribute to all our medallists, but I will say something about some of the highlights. The tense final lap of Eilish McColgan’s gold medal race in the 10,000m is every bit as hair-raising when watching it on repeat as it was when watching it live. That is not to mention that it came 36 years after her mother, Liz McColgan, achieved the first of her 10,000m Commonwealth gold medals in Edinburgh, which was followed by her performance in Auckland. Those are fairytale endings indeed.

Another particularly historic highlight was Laura Muir winning Scotland’s first-ever 1,500m gold medal at the Commonwealth games, only to replicate that victory a few weeks later by retaining her European title in Munich. Laura grew up in Milnathort in Kinross-shire, in the region that I have the privilege to represent in Parliament. Another athlete from Mid Scotland and Fife brought back two gold medals to Scotland: Duncan Scott, who grew up in Alloa. He has become a familiar name in recent years, thanks to his outstanding versatility in swimming events. Scott won the men’s 200m freestyle and the men’s 200m individual medley, as well as winning two bronze medals. I thank him for coming to the Parliament some years ago to inspire others with his story.

Major sporting events are a time not only to celebrate the achievements of those who are participating but to take stock and look forward. We all know that sport and physical activity matter, but they are also—or they should be—the golden thread that connects health, communities and opportunities. They also have a positive effect on our economy, on educational attainment and employability and on community cohesion—and, my goodness, we need that more than ever these days.

There are, however, considerable challenges out there that it is vital to address if we are to continue Scotland’s upward path in athletic success. We need to pay attention to the resources that underpin our sport: access to playing fields and indoor centres; the financial structures that help our governing bodies to put in place the appropriate support and training facilities; and the collaborative projects that help local authorities, central Government and the sporting agencies to work together on the same page. In addition, we need to deal honestly and openly with the issues of discrimination and racism.

In my own sport of cricket, no one could fail to be deeply concerned by the recent findings of the independent report into institutional failings at Cricket Scotland. I thank Malcolm Dingwall-Smith for offering MSPs the opportunity yesterday to hear about the measures that are being put in place. Tomorrow evening, in Kaukab Stewart’s members’ business debate, we will have the opportunity to debate some of those issues in greater detail. However, I commend sportscotland for helping us all to understand the extent of the challenge that we face.

We often talk about the legacy of international games. Munich is rightly proud of the fact that every single facility that was built for the Olympics in 1972 is still in good working order and is booked up daily. Barcelona is proud of the new infrastructure and the investment that came to the city. Glasgow is proud of the regeneration of many of its derelict lands, and in Birmingham, Sir Chris Hoy heralded fellow cyclist Laura Kenny as the perfect role model to get young people active, despite what had been a very tough year for her.

I would like to see one other thing as the lasting legacy of Birmingham, and in Scotland, we are well on the way there. In recent years, we have seen an increase in the number of sporting volunteers, to 200,000. To young people especially, those volunteers are the lifeline into sport. They are our unsung heroes and heroines, and they matter a lot. For every medal that is won in elite sport, there have been thousands of volunteers. I thank them all for what they do for Scottish sport, and say to them: Birmingham’s success was partly yours. [Applause.]

17:11  

I thank Liz Smith for bringing the debate to the chamber; I am really pleased to speak in it.

The title of my colleague’s motion is “Team Scotland at the 2020 Commonwealth Games”—and what a magnificent games for Scotland it was. As my colleague pointed out, it was our most successful games away from home, with our athletes simply shining on the world stage. The medals just kept coming, with 51 of them in total: 13 gold, 11 silver and 27 bronze. That was bettered only by team Scotland’s performance at Glasgow 2014, when we took 53 medals: 19 gold, 15 silver and 19 bronze. To say that those outstanding athletes did Scotland proud is an understatement, and I heartily congratulate the 260-strong team on coming in sixth overall at Birmingham, during 11 days of nail-biting competition. For a small country, we are once again punching way above our weight.

I also express my pride in a multiple medal winner in the pool: the swimmer Katie Shanahan, who is from Bishopbriggs in my constituency It was a truly magical moment watching the former Bishopbriggs academy pupil lifting a bronze medal in the 400m medley, followed by another bronze in the 200m backstroke—and all at her debut games at the age of 18. That is outstanding. The icing on the cake was Katie’s silver medal win in the 200m backstroke a few days later at the European aquatics championships in Rome. That was an incredible achievement in such a short space of time.

I had the privilege of meeting Katie, and her mum Allison, at her old school yesterday to present her with the motion that I lodged in Parliament to congratulate her on her success. Katie is a remarkable young woman: self-effacing, passionate about her sport and—to top it all—an academic high achiever, having swept the board in her advanced highers and qualifications this year. It was a pleasure to meet her and her mum, who she credits with her success due to the amazing support that she has received throughout her sporting career. As she starts another chapter of her life, studying sport and journalism at the University of Stirling while training for the next international competition, I wish her nothing but the best—she deserves it.

There were record hauls in swimming and cycling, and a sweep of the para bowls, and Scotland claimed medals in five of the six para sports. For the first time in the history of the games, the Scottish team comprised more women than men—134 females compared with 125 males—and around 43 per cent of the medals that were earned were clinched by female athletes. There were many momentous achievements from Scotland, including—as my colleague Liz Smith pointed out—Eilish McColgan’s stand-out record gold medal in the 10,000m, 32 years after the second win by her mum, Liz, and Laura Muir becoming the first ever Scot to win gold in the 1,500m at a Commonwealth games.

The swimmer Duncan Scott—again, mentioned by Liz Smith—who is a six-time Olympic medallist, claimed six medals in Birmingham to become Scotland’s most decorated Commonwealth games athlete—what an accolade. In addition, who could possibly forget the inspirational Micky Yule, who was one of Scotland’s flag bearers during the opening ceremony? Twelve years ago, the former Royal Engineer woke up from a coma after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan; he lost both legs. This summer, he took a Commonwealth bronze medal, finishing third in the para heavyweight bench press final—what an incredible journey.

The dedication and drive of Katie and the rest of team Scotland are truly inspirational. Their successes are a testament to their years of hard work and commitment and can only serve to encourage aspiring young athletes to reach for the stars. I pay tribute to the encouragement that our schools give in nurturing those young athletes while supporting them in their studies and to the dedicated support and sacrifice of family members and volunteers in helping them to achieve their ambitions.

17:15  

I thank my colleague Liz Smith for giving me the opportunity to talk about sport again in the chamber.

I was there at the games but just as a punter. I took my youngest daughter, who wanted to go down and see the 200m. I managed to get tickets for the Saturday and, on that day, got to see Jake Wightman win his 1,500m bronze medal. Having just won the world title, he took a bronze medal at the Commonwealth games in 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Although that was way inside the Commonwealth record, he was beaten by another two athletes.

People who say that the Commonwealth games are one of the lesser global events do not understand how difficult it is to win a medal at those championships. I can tell members how difficult it is from personal experience. I tried every event that I could possibly do to get a flipping medal at the Commonwealth games. I did the 200m, the 400m, the 800m and the 4 x 400m relay and, at the last minute, managed to sneak in a sneaky wee silver medal.

It is flipping hard to get a medal at the Commonwealth games. That demonstrates to members how difficult it was for Jake Wightman to be the world champion, manage to get an incredible bronze medal and go on to take a silver medal in the 800m at the European championships. He has also just broken one of the hardest records to break in the Scottish record books: Tom McKean’s 800m record. It is an incredible achievement.

I ran with Jake’s dad and mum. That is how old I am. The Commonwealth games are often when we blood new athletes and performers. However, looking down the great list of medallists, we see Neil Fachie, Duncan Scott, Sam Kinghorn and Ross Murdoch who have come back and done us proud.

As I said, I was lucky enough to be at the games. I saw the athletics and took my daughter to see the hockey and squash. By the way, one of the most important medals that were won at the games was the squash bronze medal. It was the first time that Scotland had won a medal in that event. It is worth mentioning that.

I have talked quite a lot in the chamber about Laura Muir. Her 1,500m gold medal was outstanding. She also won the 800m bronze and has won the European 1,500m gold medal and a world championships bronze. She is an astonishing athlete.

As was rightly mentioned, Eilish McColgan won the 10,000m and emulated her mother. It got me thinking about the fact that I was in the stadium both times that her mother won and about how old I must be. I actually ran with Eilish McColgan’s mum and dad in Liz McColgan’s first session after she gave birth to Eilish. I am such an old man. It has made a happy man very old. Liz won in 1986 and 1990.

The Scottish team’s achievement is astonishing. We rightly bask in the reflected glory of such fantastic Scottish achievements and rightly acknowledge the backroom staff, coaches, clubs and officials and all the families who have impacted on those great performances of our sports men and women, but it is important that we look beyond the elite and ensure that the people watching who are inspired and who, therefore, aspire to follow get the same opportunities.

That was brought home to me in the stadium when my 14-year-old daughter asked me, “Dad, where are the next Commonwealth games?” I told her that they would be in Australia. She said, “Will I be too young then?” I told her that, if she is fast enough, she is old enough. She aspires to be there.

We have become very good in Scotland and the UK at developing elite performance with support from sportscotland and UK Sport. However, I worry that the opportunities for the people who follow are reducing. Without question, Covid led to a misstep in sports development from which we have not quite recovered yet. Facilities that closed are yet to reach pre-Covid opening levels and we have lost some officials and some help. We must acknowledge that two years of Covid has left our children less active and less able to access sporting activity. In many cases, there are changed behaviours that we need to address.

Scotland’s achievements at the Commonwealth games and on the world stage are remarkable. We always punch above our weight on the world stage. Such world-class athletes inspire the next generation—I can testify to that from my daughter’s response and that of my coaching squad.

We need to match that aspiration and ensure that sport is available for all. I have said often in the chamber that sport is grossly underfunded. As I have also said, sport is such a force for good. We need to enable participation if we want to report on similar successes in four years’ time. We must address the situation, which I am sure that the minister and I will have discussions about long into the evenings.

17:20  

I thank Liz Smith for bringing this upbeat and lovely debate to the chamber. On behalf of Scottish Labour, I congratulate every member of team Scotland on their efforts at the Commonwealth games. As we have heard, the team secured the second-largest medal haul in its history, and the largest outside a home games—it won 51 medals, 13 of which were gold. That is a huge success and it is right that people have spoken fondly of that time in the summer.

It is the athletes who we see, but, as Brian Whittle mentioned, many more people help out in the background—from the coaches at national level to the volunteers at local clubs, families and friends who give up much of their time to support individuals, and those who have campaigned for years to ensure that sport and leisure facilities the length and breadth of our country stay open. Despite facing significant difficulties and cuts to services, our sports facilities often stay open because of volunteers’ commitment. Such people allow our athletes to flourish and make such a successful contribution.

As has been mentioned, what stands out is the success of female athletes, which I will focus on in some of my speech. Like other members, I was delighted to see Eilish McColgan win gold in the women’s 10,000m and set a Commonwealth games record along the way. Laura Muir’s 1,500m, which has been mentioned, was another significant success for team Scotland. Scotland’s athletes performed on one of the highest stages and won in some of the most competitive events, as Brian Whittle mentioned. Such special moments live with athletes, their support teams and viewers at home for a lifetime.

Team Scotland’s leader was Elinor Middlemiss, who is the first female to hold the role. We hope that many more women will hold that position in the future. The team had more female than male members, which is another great success for the country. It is abundantly clear that we have come a long way in smashing the glass ceiling, although I argue, as always, that there is much further to go.

We must use the Commonwealth games as a platform and an opportunity for women and girls across the country to be inspired by more summers of sporting success for Scottish athletes. As Brian Whittle mentioned, investment must be made to allow Scottish sport to continue to grow and improve.

For many children in Scotland today, it remains the case that a gym membership is too expensive and that paying to access sports pitches and running tracks would be too much of a financial strain on families. As a result of lots of cuts in local services—and, let us be clear, to councils—we have a long way to go before we can truly achieve equality of opportunity in sport.

We hear plenty of commitments from the Government but, too often, they are not met with sufficient action. I appreciate that the Covid-19 pandemic put sport on hold for a significant period and made community sport that bit more difficult, but I call on the Scottish Government to use team Scotland’s success as a catalyst for a greater focus on sport and to ensure that there is opportunity for all of us to take part in sport.

I congratulate team Scotland again on its success in the Commonwealth games and I wish the athletes well in their preparations for the Olympics in 2024. I call on the Scottish Government to ensure a positive response that allows access to sport and sporting facilities for all.

17:24  

I congratulate Liz Smith on securing tonight’s members’ business debate.

It was great to watch team Scotland at the 2022 Commonwealth games in Birmingham this summer, and the pictures on social media suggested that the athletes, coaches and support staff had a fantastic time celebrating their second most successful games at the special reception at Stirling castle last week.

I congratulate the 260-strong team on winning 51 medals in Birmingham—a record tally, which was only two shy of the 53 that team Scotland won in Glasgow in 2014. At the Birmingham games, for the first time, we saw a squad that had more females than males. Like Carol Mochan, I congratulate the chef de mission, Elinor Middlemiss, who made history at this year’s games as the first female to lead Scotland’s team.

The success does not stop there. Team Scotland’s para athletes won more medals than ever before, and female athletes won more medals than male athletes for the first time. Those milestones are hugely important. I hope that more women and girls will be encouraged to get involved in sport at all levels, not just in competing roles but in supporting and coaching roles. Colleagues across the Parliament touched on that.

My constituency, Greenock and Inverclyde, can claim ties to this year’s team Scotland. Former cross-country champion Mark Pollard, from Greenock, led the 33-strong athletics squad. Mark was head of performance at Scottish Athletics, which demonstrated its fantastic set-up at Inverclyde Athletics Club—one of Scotland’s leading amateur athletics clubs.

Events such as the Commonwealth games showcase the variety of sports in which people can participate. The athletes can be great role models for young people to look up to. At the Commonwealth games, some sports are showcased that do not feature in other major events.

The highlight for me was watching Eilish McColgan win gold in the 10,000m and becoming the Scottish record holder, after breaking her mum Liz McColgan’s record. I remember, as a 14-year-old boy in 1986, jumping up and down in my living room as I watched Eilish’s mother win the gold. I will not say that I jumped up and down as much this time, but Eilish’s win was the standout moment of the games for me. Her winning the gold was outstanding, and the other standout moment was the scene of joy afterwards as mum and daughter embraced. Plenty of tears were shed in the stadium and, I am sure, right across Scotland—it was such an emotional moment.

I will not repeat what other members have said. I wish team Scotland every success as they prepare to compete in the Commonwealth youth games in Trinidad and Tobago next week before setting their sights on the next Commonwealth games in Victoria in 2026. Who knows? Maybe Brian Whittle’s daughter will be a member of the team by then.

17:28  

I thank Liz Smith for lodging the motion and securing tonight’s debate and I thank members for their speeches. We have relived many of the highlights of the Commonwealth games and I have seen so many smiles around the chamber.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games were an immense celebration of sport and culture and I must congratulate the Commonwealth Games Federation, the organising committee, Birmingham City Council and the 13,000 volunteers from the city and surrounding areas who came together to make the games such an unforgettable experience.

My colleague Liz Smith was right to highlight the role of volunteers in bringing the games to life—they absolutely made the games. There will be opportunities for volunteers who want to get involved in sporting events in Scotland next year when the Union Cycliste Internationale world championships—a pioneering programme of 13 cycling events—come to Scotland.

As minister for sport, it was truly a privilege to be in Birmingham and to see team Scotland compete. Because of the disruption that Covid caused to the training programme and qualification events, no target was set for medals, but the hard work, determination and commitment of team Scotland was demonstrated when the team not only reached their Gold Coast record but absolutely smashed it.

As many have said, that commitment was demonstrated not only by the athletes, but by an entire team of coaches, managers, doctors, physiotherapists, nutritionists and volunteers, all of whom got the athletes into peak condition and to the start line to enable them to perform at their best.

Elinor Middlemiss, team Scotland’s first female chef de mission, and her team were outstanding in looking after everyone. That is a challenging enough task when the team are in one location, but due to the challenges of Covid, the team were spread across a number of athletes villages.

I am delighted that Carol Mochan and Stuart McMillan chose to highlight the role of women and girls in sport. Elinor Middlemiss is indeed a pioneer and an absolute role model. We cannot be what we cannot see, and I hope that everyone in the chamber will join in with our week-long celebration of women and girls in sport in Scotland, which will run from 3 to 9 October—and, in that respect, I should mention #shecanshewill.

Somehow, despite the challenges, we came together as a team, and that showed in the results. Team Scotland’s achievements are reflected not just in the medal table; there were also an incredible 18 fourth-place finishes and three mechanical failures when medals seemed as if they were absolutely in the bag. My sense is that we were very close to being even better than our performance—and, next time, we will be better. However, although everybody wants to go for gold, absolutely every result was celebrated by the team and by those in the stands.

A number of other significant achievements lie behind the medals. First of all, Brian Whittle was quite right to highlight the medal in squash; it was a quarter century in the making, and it was my privilege to be involved in the medal ceremony.

Scotland has now won more than 100 medals in the pool at the Commonwealth games, and, overall, Scotland has won more than 500 medals since the games first began. We are a small country, but boy, do we achieve great things. Rona Mackay and others brought vividly to life the connection that we feel with the athletes from our communities the length and breadth of Scotland.

The games will be remembered for many reasons, but before I share some of my highlights, I want to pay tribute to Rab Wardell following his tragic passing. In a long and very successful career, Rab made a fantastic contribution to Scottish cycling and competed at the 2006 Commonwealth games. In the days before his death, he won the Scottish mountain bike championships in Dumfries and Galloway, adding to the many other titles that he won throughout his career. Rab’s death has shocked people across the sporting world and beyond, and he will be deeply missed. I know that all of our thoughts will be with Rab’s partner and team Scotland member, Katie Archibald, at what is an unimaginably difficult time.

For the first time at a major games, there were, as many have pointed out, more female than male athletes, and they brought back a fantastic 21 medals and a further two in mixed events. We also saw more para athletes competing in more sports and achieving more medals than ever before. As others have done, I want to take this opportunity to mention our para powerlifter Micky Yule, who after two fourth-place finishes in previous games, finally managed to get the Commonwealth medal that he rightly deserved. For me, the emotional images of him celebrating with his daughter, which I am sure that we have all seen, demonstrate the power of sport.

In fact, the entire team recognised Micky’s drive and determination before his medal success by nominating him as one of the flag bearers for the opening ceremony. That honour is given by the rest of the team, and the fact that Micky was the first para athlete to be chosen was a clear statement by the team that sport should not have any barriers of any kind. Micky was joined by badminton star Kirsty Gilmour, the first openly gay athlete to carry the saltire at an opening ceremony. The uniform, which I am sporting tonight, was designed by Siobhan Mackenzie and is absolutely stunning. Indeed, the team was named best dressed at the opening ceremony, and I am so proud to be sporting a team Scotland kilt today.

With the closing of Birmingham 2022, we move on to Victoria in Australia in 2026. Many of the athletes who competed for Scotland in Birmingham will hope to be on the plane, and many young athletes, who will have been inspired by watching the games either in the stands or on television, will hope to join their heroes. As minister for sport, I want to make sure that the next generation has the opportunities to achieve its ambitions. It might not be at the same level as a major sporting event, but we will work with sportscotland and its partners to harness the energy and desire of those young athletes to ensure that they reach their full potential, whatever their aspirations.

Grassroots sport is absolutely vital for the health of our nation, both physically and mentally, and when we shine a light on the achievements of our elite athletes, we inspire the country to be more physically active. Sport has the power to transform lives and reconnect people—especially after the pandemic of the last few years. I have been so impressed by the resilience of the Scottish sporting sector during the pandemic; it has been adaptable and creative, and it has worked together to serve the communities that it works with.

Again, I thank everyone involved with team Scotland for supporting our athletes, and I wish them well for the rest of this year. We must not forget the preparations for the Paris Olympics in 2024 and the games in Victoria in 2026. The Scottish Government is really proud to support our athletes and will continue to work with all of our partners to maintain and further develop our sporting offer to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Meeting closed at 17:36.