Team Scotland
The first item of business is a debate on motion S2M-4196, in the name of Michael Matheson, on congratulations to team Scotland.
This debate gives members the opportunity to congratulate our athletes as they return home from Melbourne. The 18th Commonwealth games were, by all accounts, a triumph—for Melbourne, for the games movement and for the members of team Scotland, whose success has made our nation proud. For all 169 of our athletes, their hard work, passion and commitment to their sports have paid off. They returned with 29 medals: 11 gold, seven silver and 11 bronze. Never before have we won so many gold medals and never before has our team been so successful at an overseas games. Going strictly on the medal count, the annals of the Commonwealth games movement show that Scotland's best performance was 20 years ago at the Commonwealth games in Edinburgh, when the team delivered 33 medals. However, we should acknowledge the overall performance of team Scotland in Melbourne, which in my view was our best-ever team performance.
Unfortunately, our nation must at times wait lengthy periods for success in the international sporting arena. We have waited since 1974 for a Scottish swimmer to win double gold at a games, but then three have come along at once, a bit like buses. Caitlin McClatchey set the tone for the Scottish team's performance when she brought home our first gold in the women's 200m freestyle. While the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport had the pleasure of attending the Commonwealth games and cheering on our athletes down under, I assure her that there was a roar of joy throughout the nation when Caitlin secured the first gold for team Scotland. It was a remarkable achievement for Caitlin McClatchey, David Carry and Gregor Tait all to take double gold in the pool in the back yard of one of the most competitive swimming nations in the world, and it clearly took the Australians by surprise.
The depth of talent in the Scottish swimming team goes beyond those who got on to the medal podium. As well as taking 12 medals, our 19 competitors in the pool posted 27 personal bests and set three Commonwealth games records and 19 Scottish records. By any measure, that is an astonishing performance. Although our swimming team had the greatest success in Melbourne, we achieved medals in disciplines ranging from shooting, cycling, weightlifting and athletics to boxing, gymnastics, badminton and bowls. Although many of our athletes did not secure medals, many recorded personal bests, which demonstrates their passion and commitment in competing in their sport and for their nation.
I have little doubt that the success of team Scotland will inspire many young Scots to push on in their sport in the hope of representing their nation in future games and that it will inspire many others to take up sport with the hope of success. Team Scotland's success in Melbourne will also serve as a timely boost to the campaign for Glasgow to secure the 2014 games. We must harness the energy and excitement that the success in Melbourne has generated to ensure that it serves as a springboard for even greater success in the years to come. In sports in which we were not as successful at the games as we would like, we must start to build now so that we are more successful in the future. In areas in which we established a new benchmark of success in Melbourne, such as in the pool, we must ensure that we build on that success so that we are even better the next time round.
If we are to achieve greater sporting success, it is central that we have the right facilities for our athletes to develop. Imagine the possible scale of future Scottish swimming success if we emulated the city of Sydney, which has 88 competition-standard swimming pools for its population of 4.5 million. Our nation, with a population of 5 million, has only four such pools. As a result of our lack of facilities, too many of our top athletes must train outwith Scotland. The swimmers David Carry and Caitlin McClatchey both train at Loughborough University, while Gregor Tait is based in Wales. In cycling, Chris Hoy, Ross Edgar and Kate Cullen all train at Manchester's velodrome.
The minister's amendment refers to the national and regional sports facilities strategy. Given the lack of an indoor velodrome in Scotland, perhaps she will spell out to us exactly where the proposed new velodrome will be, when it will start to be built and whether it will be completed within the timescales that were outlined when it was announced. Kate Cullen summed up the situation when she said to the Australian media:
"we only have an outdoor velodrome in Scotland—I mean, how stupid is that?"
Had she been training in Scotland's only velodrome instead of competing in Australia, she would have had to shovel the snow off it before she used it.
The results of sportscotland's audit of local sports facilities were supposed to be published last summer. The Executive advised the Enterprise and Culture Committee during the course of its inquiry into Scottish football that the results would be published by the end of 2005. The committee's report on the inquiry, which was published last year, called for the audit results to be published "without delay". The most recent response from sportscotland is that the results will be published by the end of May at the latest. The minister's amendment refers to the "imminent publication" of the results. I hope that that is not the same definition of "imminent" that has been used in relation to the relocation of sportscotland—a saga that has gone on for the past couple of years.
To develop our future sporting stars, it is essential that we have in place the right facilities to aid their development. By ensuring that good sports facilities are available, we will give our athletes the best possible start in their sporting careers, so that they can achieve medal success for team Scotland. For that reason, I hope that the Executive will view as urgent the publication of the long-delayed audit of sports facilities.
I have read the Tory amendment, but I have no idea what the purpose is of the quotation from Simon Clegg of the British Olympic Association, who is the chief architect and exponent of the proposed Great Britain football team and who is certainly no friend of Scottish sport. Mr McGrigor clearly signs up to Simon Clegg's remarks. Does he suggest that we should have a team GB for the Commonwealth games, as it might be more successful?
Now that our athletes have returned home, I hope that all members will join me in congratulating team Scotland on its tremendous success in Melbourne, while recognising that that success should act as a springboard for greater success for team Scotland in the future.
I move,
That the Parliament congratulates Team Scotland for winning 29 medals at the 18th Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, which is the largest number of medals ever won by a Scottish team at an overseas games; recognises that this success is due to the hard work and dedication of our athletes and coaching staff; believes that Team Scotland's success in Melbourne should act as a springboard to ensure even greater success for our sportsmen and women in the international sporting arena and will also inspire many young Scots to participate in sport; recognises that access to good sporting facilities plays a significant role in the development of our nation's sporting talent, and calls on the Scottish Executive to publish sportscotland's audit of local sports facilities to ensure that the necessary facilities are in place to develop our future sporting talent.
I very much welcome the debate, given our outstanding success at the 18th Commonwealth games in Melbourne. At yesterday's Cabinet meeting, my ministerial colleagues and I put on record our congratulations to the athletes, officials and volunteers who proudly flew the flag for Scotland.
I anticipated the debate with some interest and pride. That pride continued even after seeing the motion in Mr Matheson's name. I had thought that the debate would be about the success of our team and our pride in that success. If there is one thing that we can learn from team Scotland in Melbourne, it is that unless we all work together we cannot achieve anything, so it was disappointing to hear the tone of the latter part of Mr Matheson's speech, particularly in light—
That is rich.
It is rich for Mr Matheson.
The tone of Mr Matheson's speech was disappointing in light of the comments that have been made in Scottish National Party manifestos about the need to take money away from elite athlete support and about the fact that sportscotland—
Do not mislead the chamber.
Mr Matheson seems to think that I am misleading the chamber. I am obviously not misleading the chamber. The SNP's manifestos are published documents. It is on record that not only does the SNP not want our athletes to be supported in the way that they are, but it has doubts about the involvement of sportscotland, which is one of our main delivery agencies.
Although our medallists have, quite rightly, received at home the recognition that they deserve, we should recognise the many achievements of those who did not win medals but who achieved personal bests. On that point, I am in perfect accord with Mr Matheson. In addition to our medallists, six of our athletes finished in fourth place, meaning that more than 21 per cent of the team finished in the top four, while 72 per cent of the team finished in the top eight.
Our thanks and congratulations should go to the coaches and officials who provided such excellent support to the athletes; they should also go to the volunteers and supporters who made the trip to Melbourne and contributed to the success of team Scotland—a team that was not just the most successful that we have ever sent overseas, but the largest and, as the Commonwealth Games Federation said earlier this year, the best prepared.
When we are considering sporting success we should also remember the performances in recent weeks of our elite athletes who took part in the winter Olympics and paralympics, and of course the success of our rugby team in winning the Calcutta cup. They have set a standard that we must use as a springboard for future achievements.
I was privileged to be in Melbourne to witness the success of our athletes, which was achieved by their skill and talent. However, I was also there to promote Scotland's bid to host the 20th games and to learn from Melbourne's experience. It was particularly noticeable that not only did the people of Melbourne embrace the spirit of the games, but everywhere one went in the state of Victoria people were enthused and excited by the games. We can expect the same to occur in Scotland if Glasgow wins the right to host the 2014 games. It is clear that sporting success brings a tremendous feel-good factor. When our rugby team won the Calcutta cup in February, the thrill and excitement around the country was palpable. I know, too, that when Scots were eagerly following our athletes' performance in Melbourne in the early hours of the morning, headlines such as "Two more gems in Scots' gold rush" generated and fed the excitement felt around the country.
Major sporting events generate tremendous interest and excitement and can inspire people of all ages to participate. If we are successful in our bid for 2014, we will want to capitalise on the many benefits that it will bring. We are determined that we will build on the momentum of that success. We will discuss with our partners in sport and in local authorities how best we can do that.
Will the minister confirm that the First Minister has suggested that a 50m pool might be built in Aberdeen as part of the north-east's regional sports facilities? Has there been any contact between Aberdeen City Council and the Executive on that matter?
As Mr Adam may know, for some time we have been in discussion with Aberdeen City Council about basing a regional facility there, for which we have put funding in place. Unfortunately, the council has not approached us about a 50m pool, but we would want to take that forward with it.
The motion refers to the audit of local facilities. Sportscotland plans to publish the summary reports in May. Of course we need to have facilities that are fit for the 21st century to ensure that our aspirations as a sporting nation can be met, but we also need to address the level of provision, the types of facilities that are required and where they should be located, and more effective use of the school estate. We must do that in partnership with our colleagues in local government. However, we must not forget that we already have some tremendous facilities: the national swimming academy in Stirling; Hampden park, which will play host to some of the Olympic football tournament; the national rowing centre at Strathclyde park; and, of course, Murrayfield. I could go on.
Does the minister agree that as well as facilities we need well-qualified staff—not only volunteer coaches, but professional coaches and teaching staff? What discussions has the minister had with the Minister for Education and Young People about that?
I shall come to that later.
It is important to note that we are investing in facilities in a strategic way, through the national and regional facilities strategy. That strategy was produced in partnership with local authorities, sports governing bodies and sportscotland, and it is supporting 10 projects which, when completed, will have delivered £230 million-worth of facilities.
Will the minister give way?
I am running out of time. I am sorry.
The Executive and sportscotland will work with those partners to fill geographic gaps in the coverage of regional facilities. That is where the conversations with Aberdeen City Council might be useful. Once complete, we will have a first-class network of facilities throughout Scotland for our elite and developing athletes to train in, which will also be accessible to local communities. We have answered the calls for an indoor velodrome, which will be built in Glasgow, and we have listened to the requests for additional football facilities and a new indoor arena. Our strategy will deliver those and other strategic facilities. Let us be clear, though: athletes train where they do for a number of reasons. Facilities are important, but athletes go to where there are coaches, the right weather conditions and competition. That is why the Australian sprinter Craig Mottram trains in London and the English swimmer Becky Cooke trains in Stirling. Athletes must be able to make decisions for themselves.
Our athletes' success in Melbourne is largely down to their talent, but that talent has to be given the opportunity to develop. It is no surprise that the vast majority of medallists in Melbourne are supported in some way, either through the athlete support programme, the Scottish Institute of Sport network or the world-class performance programme. I was delighted to note that the Chancellor of the Exchequer's budget statement announced significant additional investment, which will benefit our top athletes. We are currently engaged in a review of the institute network to see how best we can build on its achievements in providing a range of services to our top athletes. We are also considering how best we can support our developing athletes to ensure that they are given the best possible support to continue and build on the success of Melbourne.
However, we remain committed to the vision and principles of sport 21. To ensure future success, we need to encourage our young people to participate in sport. The active schools programme is already making a significant contribution to participation in sport and physical activity. It is one example of the work that has been going on throughout the Executive. It is currently under review—
Will the minister give way on that point?
I do not have time now, Ms Hyslop.
The programme is currently under review to allow the partners to prepare a plan that will help us to deliver the sporting nation that we want to see enjoying the 2014 Commonwealth games, particularly if they are held in Glasgow.
As a nation, we have some way to go towards meeting our sport and physical education targets. I hope that the new sport 21 delivery plans will help to move us forward. However, the Executive cannot achieve those targets in isolation. We need others to help us to meet the challenge and to replicate the good examples in West Lothian Council and Highland Council areas, for example. We need to ensure that, once young people are engaged in sport, they can continue with it after school. The links that are being established between schools and local clubs are vital and are beginning to be strengthened through the active schools programme. Clubs are the breeding ground for the next crop of elite athletes. It is essential that we have strong, vibrant club structures that are linked with local communities, and that in turn work with the institute network. The introduction of regional sports partnerships will assist in the development of player pathways by putting in place a more strategic and co-ordinated approach to the development of sport.
Today's debate comes immediately after the Melbourne games. It is fair to say that our team's success is a great boost for the 2014 bid. I want to build on our success at Melbourne and ensure that we have the right investment so that the maximum number of Scots compete in team GB in 2012 in London and in team Scotland in 2014 in Glasgow. That investment will be not only about achieving success, but about ensuring that we have a lasting sporting legacy for our country and all its citizens. If we can give our athletes any reward as they return from Melbourne, it will be to put in place that legacy, which will reflect the glory that they have undoubtedly attracted to themselves over the past fortnight.
I move amendment S2M-4196.2, to leave out from "; believes" to end and insert:
"and the valuable support provided by the Institute network, sportscotland and the World Class Performance Programme; believes that Team Scotland's success in Melbourne should act as a springboard to ensure even greater success for our sportsmen and women in the international sporting arena and will also inspire many young Scots to participate in sport; recognises the significant benefits to be gained for Scotland from London 2012 and a successful bid for Glasgow to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014; acknowledges that access to good sporting facilities plays a significant role in the development of our nation's sporting talent; welcomes the investment in facilities through the Executive's National and Regional Facilities Strategy which will provide a first-class setting for our elite and developing athletes and which can also be enjoyed by local communities, and welcomes the imminent publication of the reports on the audit of local facilities."
Michael Matheson spoke about my amendment; the only thing wrong with it is that it should have a comma after "infrastructure". I was minded to lodge the amendment because I had a sense of déjà vu regarding the SNP's previous constant demands for a Scottish Olympic team, which were soundly rejected by Parliament as recently as 6 October, although Nicola Sturgeon was all for it the other day at First Minister's question time.
Far be it for me to suggest that the Scottish National Party is seeking to gain political capital on the backs of the truly amazing Scottish athletes who have done us all proud in Melbourne; it just looks that way to some people. I wonder whether the SNP has surveyed the opinions of the athletes and governing bodies—particularly the Scottish Institute of Sport—that have done so much to help secure the medals, particularly the medals in swimming. Perhaps it has, which might be why Michael Matheson seems to be dropping the SNP's previous call for a Scottish Olympic team, which is a U-turn, indeed.
Given the fantastic success of team Scotland in the Commonwealth games, I am even more confident that a Scottish Olympic team could succeed for us and I am disappointed, although not surprised, that a unionist such as Jamie McGrigor should have such limited ambition for Scottish athletes.
That intervention speaks for itself. Michael Matheson does appear to want a Scottish Olympic team.
Yes I do.
I ask him to tell us, because we are not clear.
Yes I do.
None of the experts wants to dilute the potential of team GB, which through collective strength might even be able to challenge the might of Goliaths such as team USA. They are inclined to agree with the cycling gold-medal winner Chris Hoy, who, when asked whether he supports the idea of a Scottish Olympic team, said:
"I think if we do that it would dilute the resources and the expertise we've got in the British team."
The Scottish Conservatives agree with him and with Simon Clegg, the chief executive of the British Olympic Association, who said:
"The British Olympic Association also strongly believes that we are stronger collectively than as individual countries."
In Athens, teams of mixed British nationalities worked together, as in the case of Shirley Robertson, the Scot who achieved the ultimate glory of an Olympic gold in sailing with her two English crew members, Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb. Incidentally, as with many Scots athletes, most of her training was carried out south of the border. Different loyalties do not have to be divided loyalties; the Conservatives echo the view that Chris Hoy expressed when he said:
"I am a very proud Scot, but I am also proud to be British and I think they don't have to be mutually exclusive. You can be part of a Scottish team and part of a British team."
He is dead right. The SNP does not have a monopoly on patriotism, even if it would like to. The saltire is a symbol for every party in Parliament and, if I may say so, is the smartest part of the union flag. Even our First Minister, Jack McConnell, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, agree on the importance of Britishness—and they do not agree on much.
The Scottish Conservatives have put their whole-hearted support behind Scottish sportsmen and sportswomen. We are thrilled by the recent successes of Scottish athletes and we realise that that success has been brought about by clever planning. Unlike the SNP, we do not want to change a winning formula. It has taken Scotland a long time to achieve such success; political distractions could easily upset a delicate balance.
We recognise the value of sport—at the grass roots and at the elite level—in promoting good health, improving self-esteem and fostering a sense of community and teamwork. Successful Scottish athletes have enjoyed the best training facilities and coaching that the United Kingdom has to offer. Special congratulations must go to Chris Martin, the swimming coach, and to the Scottish Institute of Sport, which was clever enough to employ him. The institute's long-term plan of good programmes, good coaching and high competition levels, combined with expert medical and scientific support, has been bedded in to provide a wonderful infrastructure for our Scottish swimmers. The valuable training camps that were set up in Bendigo in Australia, in Mexico, in the USA and in Perth in Australia have brought the swimmers together in a highly competitive environment of great intensity.
Will Jamie McGrigor give way?
I am sorry—not at the moment.
All those factors have contributed to the phenomenal successes that Scots achieved, so I say to the SNP that we should allow the new system to bed in and to continue, and that we should not change horses in midstream. The Executive can improve the grass-roots situation, in which only one primary school pupil in 20 receives the Scottish Executive target of two hours of physical education a week—Peter Peacock admitted as much in June 2004.
Will Jamie McGrigor give way on that point?
I am sorry—I do not have time.
Schools and head teachers need greater autonomy to pursue the priorities on PE, and local authorities must ensure that there is suitable funding for that aim. As Bill McGregor, head of the Headteachers Assocation of Scotland, said:
"If more money was devolved to heads and they were given the freedom to spend it then there would be a far better chance of matching resources to the needs of pupils."
I agree with Michael Matheson that the sportscotland audit of local sports facilities should be published—it is a disgrace that that has not happened. I also hope that the Scottish Institute of Sport will review the nine core sports and that it will consider adding cycling and shooting, which are sports at which Scots excel. The Scottish Conservatives want the best interests of athletes and Scottish sport to be served. It appears that that is happening at the elite level, so politicians should leave the successful formula as it is and the SNP should stop playing political football with the issue.
I move amendment S2M-4196.1, to insert at end:
"notes, however, the words of Simon Clegg, the Chief Executive of the British Olympic Association, who said that "the British Olympic Association...strongly believes that we are stronger collectively than as individual countries…Any distractions, dilution or further fragmentation of sport in the UK will seriously undermine the once in a lifetime opportunity British sport has to capitalise on the unique benefits of hosting an Olympic Games", and therefore believes that there is a need to support both grass-roots sport infrastructure and elite athletes through the valuable work of the Scottish Institute of Sport which aims to change the culture and raise the ambitions and aspirations within sport in Scotland."
On behalf of the Liberal Democrats I, like all other speakers in the debate, congratulate team Scotland on its performance. The team has done amazingly well, considering the great problems with which athletes in Scotland must struggle in order that they can progress. The team provides role models and an opportunity to publicise sport better, to get more people involved in sport and to do better in the future.
However, there is no point in our sitting around congratulating ourselves; we must build on our success and do better next time. We should learn from the fact that we had a brilliant curling team in 2002 but did not build on its success, which has not led to any sustained increase in curling activity. We must ensure that that does not happen in swimming and the other sports in which we were successful. We must ensure that swimmers, and players of the other sports at which we were successful, increase in number, and that we provide the necessary facilities and back-up. Swimming pools are expensive to build and run and we live in a climate in which councils are under severe financial pressure, so the Executive must ensure that there is an adequate partnership between central and local government to provide the facilities that people need. We need facilities at all levels—not only elite pools—throughout the country so that people can take up sports and gradually get better at them.
As well as facilities, we need more volunteer coaches and officials and we need more professionals to back them up. Having been a slightly slower runner than Ming Campbell, I know more about athletics than I do about other sports. The two Edinburgh athletics clubs of which I am honorary president have serious problems with attracting coaches for some field events, although the clubs have quite good running coaches and performers. I am sure that the same applies in other sports. Attracting coaches—professional or voluntary—is important for clubs but is also very difficult.
Another issue is that most sports are based on clubs that are run by volunteer officials, who are needed to keep the thing going. Small additional sums would help clubs to provide, for example, buses that would enable people to attend competitions. The sums that we are talking about are in the region of some hundreds of pounds or in the low thousands. Local or central government grants to clubs for such matters would make a tremendous difference because the volunteers would not need to beat their heads trying to raise piffling sums of money.
The minister should get her Cabinet colleagues who signed up to the motions of congratulation to provide money, too: money for sports should come from the health budget, the education budget and the crime reduction budget because sporting activity helps people in many ways.
Such work takes place already. The active schools programme is funded jointly by my education colleagues, and my health colleagues help to fund YDance, which encourages young women to be active. Also, my justice colleagues help to fund midnight soccer and basketball leagues. That work is already happening and we will expand on it.
I am pleased to hear that, but we need a lot more of it. If the midnight football initiative works, we should make it available in every town in Scotland rather than just have a few efforts here and there.
We need much more sporting activity in schools, both during school time and after school, whether led by teachers or run by club coaches. We also need better liaison between clubs and schools, which currently works well in some areas but not in others.
At national level, the minister should scrutinise the sports' governing bodies, some of which are good but some of which leave a great deal to be desired. I think that Scotland has gone backwards in athletics. I am not entirely clear about the causes of that, but the people who are running athletics must show how they will do better in the future.
As the minister mentioned, the Glasgow games will be a great opportunity to provide facilities, coaches and so on. However, we need lasting improvements. In other countries, splendid new facilities have sometimes been neglected and have become eyesores. We need lasting improvements to the quality of life in Scotland from sport.
The Scottish temperament is quite suited to sport, but our weather is not. We should, therefore, concentrate on providing more indoor facilities. We have an opportunity to make Scotland a much better society. I think that the minister has the right intentions, but the Executive and the local authorities need to deliver. Otherwise, all our speeches are just wind.
We move to the open debate, for which the three speakers will have a maximum of five minutes.
As other members have done, I congratulate team Scotland on being an inspiration to us all. I recall the Tokyo Olympics of 1964—a long time ago—which my dad let me stay up to watch. I still remember the theme music even now, but I was just blown away by the performance of Lynn Davies—the first time I saw a man flying. I have, therefore, been committed to television sport in particular for some time. Those who know me will appreciate that I do not take an active role in sport, but sport fascinates and inspires me; team Scotland is an inspiration to the whole of Scotland.
On Monday evening, I attended in Glenrothes a public meeting that attracted more than 400 people. The subject of the meeting was the threat from Fife Council to the future of the Fife institute—to give its proper name, the Fife Institute of Physical and Recreational Education. While the Executive has been rightly concerned about obesity and lack of fitness in young people, for the past five years Fife Council has by stealth been working up proposals to engineer a situation whereby that institute will be closed and a new joint facility for Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy will be situated elsewhere. Thanks to the work of the community action group and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, the people of Glenrothes are now aware of a facility that is renowned both locally and nationally—in Glenrothes, Fife and throughout Scotland. Since the brief for a joint facility was drawn up secretly in 2001, the amount of money that Fife institute receives from Fife Council has declined steadily, such that its funding is now one third of its 2001 level. As a consequence, the institute is in need of refurbishment. Although Fife Council submitted an application for funding to sportscotland last year, the application was turned down on the grounds that Fife Council had not provided sufficient information and lacked a long-term commitment to Fife institute.
Tomorrow, Fife Council's adult services committee will consider the future of the Fife institute. At a time when more leisure and sports facilities are needed, Fife Council wants fewer. It would substitute a centre of excellence with mediocrity. Every school in the area uses Fife institute for swimming lessons. That is why schools in the town have no swimming pools.
Does Ms Marwick accept that the paper that Fife Council members will consider tomorrow contains no proposal to reduce the number of facilities in Fife?
I accept that there is now no proposal to reduce the number of facilities, but that is only because Fife Council's plans were exposed by the working group. Christine May will acknowledge that one proposal for consultation would have the inevitable consequence, unless action were taken, of diminishing the wonderful facilities that are currently available in Glenrothes, which would be to the detriment of the people of the town. I would have thought that, as the local MSP, Christine May would put all her weight behind the community action group's aspirations to retain the level of service in the facility in Glenrothes.
Will the member take an intervention?
No, Christine May has had her opportunity.
Sportscotland's "Research Report no. 77; Research Digest no. 57" used Fife institute as an example of best practice for its rehabilitation and social inclusion programmes. The institute's extensive social inclusion activities include programmes that deal with national health service referrals, one of the most modern rehabilitation programmes in Scotland and programmes that cater for multi-disability athletes who compete at paralympic level.
Fife institute also hosts several major swimming meets. The number of those will increase during refurbishment of the Commonwealth pool, which was built as the same time as the facility in Glenrothes. As one who came to live in Glenrothes in 1975 and whose children learned to swim there, I thought that I knew all that there was to know about Fife institute. However, on Monday I learned something new—it appears that the institute's infrastructure and foundations were built to accommodate a 50m pool, although the final build was only a 25m pool. Of course the 25m pool is adequate, but it is tantalising to know that we have the infrastructure for a 50m pool in Fife. The institute needs only the refurbishment that it deserves to provide us with a fifth 50m pool in Scotland. What a wonderful facility that would be for swimmers throughout Scotland.
I invite the minister to study the situation in Fife carefully and to explore with Fife Council and sportscotland what can be done to secure Fife institute's future, and what money can be made available to ensure that the institute remains the centre of excellence that it has been since it was built those many years ago.
It is a great pleasure for me to participate in today's debate to celebrate the success of team Scotland in the Commonwealth games and, as the minister mentioned, the success of our rugby team in the Calcutta cup, which was a fantastic display, if ever there was one. It has been an amazing few months for Scottish sport, and it is right that we should celebrate that. Who would have thought that on the first day of the Commonwealth games we would have celebrated two gold medal wins? When I jumped and cheered for Caitlin McClatchey when she won the first gold medal, I did so with no less vigour than for Kelly Holmes, when she won double Olympic gold at the Athens Olympics, or for Allan Wells in 1980, when he donned the British vest and won gold for Britain and the British team at the Moscow Olympics.
I understand the nationalist obsession with a separate Scottish Olympic team, but I do not agree with it. That does not make me any less Scottish or less patriotic. Members who have seen me on the terraces at an international rugby or football match will appreciate just what it means to me.
I have not had that pleasure.
If the member wants to come to a match with me, she is welcome to do so.
The success that we have had must serve as a springboard for further success. On Friday night, I attended my local sports council awards presentation evening. The enthusiasm and vigour of the young athletes who were present that had been generated by our sporting success was amazing. Those young athletes are already achieving tremendous success at all levels. At 12 and 13, they are already Scottish champions in their sports. They are now setting themselves the target of being in the British team for the London Olympics in 2012 and are hoping beyond hope that Glasgow will be successful in its bid for the 2014 Commonwealth games. They are already booking the buses to take their friends and families to the relevant events. Other young athletes are winning gold medals at world championships in their sports. Gary Brown won two gold medals at the cerebral palsy world championships that were held recently and is hoping to progress further in his chosen sport.
Progress is being made, but all of us will agree that we could do more. Anyone who has listened to me during the seven years that I have been a member of Parliament will know of my obsession with sport and its importance in all areas of Scottish life—in health, in education and for its own sake. Members are aware of Parliament's concern that there should be much better co-ordination across departments. I accept that work is beginning, but more could be done. School sport is particularly important, but we need to make the boundaries clear and we need to ensure that whenever we talk about sport in schools, the issue is not fed back just to the sports minister—education ministers must also recognise that they have a clear role in and responsibility for the delivery of sport in schools.
I actively support the provision of two hours of PE in schools, because the more young people who are active, the bigger our sporting base will be. More people will develop their skills and become elite athletes.
Is not it worrying that the teacher census that was published this week recorded that only 117 primary teachers' main subject is PE?
Fiona Hyslop is right—I was going to make the point that the provision of PE teachers is an issue for the minister. We must also consider how we can enlarge the pool of coaches who are involved in our schools, although that is no substitute for PE teachers who are involved with our young people. It would be useful if the Minister for Education and Young People could announce how he intends to tackle the issue and ensure that we have the required number of PE teachers.
The audit of local sports facilities has taken far too long to come together. It would have been sensible for the Executive to have set a more realistic target. Instead, we have a moveable feast and have been told that the audit will be published at various times.
We must use the progress that has been made at the Commonwealth games as a springboard for success, both at local level—which may mean someone's child going to an event once a week and enjoying themselves—and at national level, with people achieving Scottish success. That success may even be at international level. Whatever it is and whoever is involved, sport is a great thing. The more we can do to enhance the provision of sport in Scotland, the better our country will be.
Yesterday I disagreed with my good friend Donald Gorrie on trams, but today I want to support every syllable of what he said. He was absolutely right to refer to our lack of success in building on success such as we had at the Commonwealth games.
I plead with the minister to take a personal interest in how sportscotland or whoever relates to the governing bodies of different sports. As Donald Gorrie said, some are fine, but some are not. That is important because when it comes to provision of facilities, I presume that we will prioritise the sports that will benefit most people. We need, therefore, to know what underpinnings for sports coaching and administration are in place. People forget such important details—local authorities boast about the number of all-weather pitches they have, but the length of the artificial turf that is used dictates what sports can be played on it. I ask the minister to take a close and detailed interest in what is happening in governing bodies and local authorities.
The SNP is absolutely right to describe the provision of facilities as a priority if we are to enhance sporting success in Scotland. Yesterday, I attended a swimming meet in Edinburgh, which was organised by the active sports programme. I go every year and it gets better every year. I congratulate the Executive on that initiative, which has allayed some of my fears that it might be trying to get PE teaching on the cheap. However, I am glad that Karen Gillon alluded to the fact that last year a 17 per cent decrease in the number of PE teachers in primary schools was recorded. Members may share my concern that the Executive will not meet its target for 2008 because the numbers of PE teachers that are required are not in training.
The Minister for Education and Young People is aware of another initiative, which will be piloted in Edinburgh, I believe, and which will seek to make use of many of the students who are currently doing physical activity courses in our further education colleges. I will leave it to the minister to go into the detail of the scheme, but it is another small triumph for team MacDonald.
I turn to the issue of teams and what we call them. The SNP is right to say that there could be a Scottish team at the Olympics. However, internationalism is a different concept in today's sport. I hate to pour cold water on the SNP's proposal for a Scottish Olympic team, but I would do the same to the proponents of team GB. We should consider how many athletes choose to join another country and compete under its colours. In the winter Olympics, umpteen alpine skiers originate from places other than the Alps. Plenty of swimmers and track and field athletes join the countries that best specialise in their sports because that allows them access to specialised coaching. We are moving into a new era. I appeal to both sides to stop the silly argy-bargy about team GB and team Scotland. If we want to have a team Scotland at the Olympics, we can have one. We could do what New Zealand and Trinidad do and specialise in our strongest sports. We could also remain part of team GB. At the end of the day, the elite athletes will follow their nose and follow the coaches, because sport is now a professional business.
For someone who has been steeped in sport for half a century, the past months have been wonderful, what with the Commonwealth games in Melbourne and the successes of our rugby team. The Commonwealth games gave me a fortnight of early-morning viewing. For impartial observers, the success of team Scotland was amazing. It surprised the nation and it definitely shocked the BBC commentary team.
For the competitors who stacked up the training hours, the coaches who set their routines and the management which planned every aspect from accommodation to pre-games competition, the results, the medals and—as the minister pointed out—the placings were a vindication of their plans and efforts. I should admit a family connection with the Scottish team—my sister was the swimming team manager.
The motion and amendments refer to the inspiration that the medal winners will give to the next generation. Back in 1958, I watched the then British Empire and Commonwealth games in Wales and was inspired to get involved in sport. I am perhaps an example in that although there is a need for any country to have an elite group of athletes who can provide that inspiration, there has also to be a much larger band of people who just enjoy their sports. As the minister pointed out, that alone would be a tremendous legacy from Melbourne.
The country benefits from experiencing top-class competition and I support fully all the current bids to bring international sport to Scotland. The classic example from a previous era is the 1970 Commonwealth games, which were held only a mile or so from here and at which the exploits of athletes such as Lachie Stewart, Rosemary Stirling and Ian Stewart inspired a generation.
As Donald Gorrie and Margo MacDonald mentioned, the only downbeat matter for me from the Melbourne games is that they highlighted that Scottish athletics has slipped off the pace a little. Admittedly, some of our top athletes see the European games in the autumn as their big target and it is difficult to peak twice in one year in some events.
Will the member put on record his disagreement with Dave Collins, the performance director for UK Athletics, who said that athletes should concentrate only on the world championships and Olympic games and forget about the Commonwealth games?
It is up to every athlete to choose their aims and ambitions. I understand that individuals make their own decisions, even if they sometimes go against the interests of the country.
As far as I am concerned, the track and field events in Melbourne yielded little, but I do not take away one bit from those who competed, won medals and took places in the finals. However, too many track and field events were left uncovered. If we look at the all-time lists for Scottish athletics, we still see names such as Ming Campbell, Crawford Fairbrother and Alan Paterson with times and heights that were achieved up to and, in one case, more than half a century ago. That is a sad indictment of a sport in which we need a new flush of youngsters to post better marks.
More and better facilities are required, but as the minister pointed out, what is needed most of all if Scotland is to feature on the world scene is a correct mix of facilities, knowledge, enthusiasm and effort. Even if we build world-class facilities, our world-class athletes will migrate to clusters where the other aspects of honing their skills can be achieved.
I have never had a problem with being a proud Scot, a proud Briton and, for that matter, a proud European. I am also a proud Fifer and I can still recite the front five of that great St Andrews United team that won the Scottish junior cup in 1960 for the only time in the club's history. Therefore, today I am happy to rejoice in the recent success of the Scottish team at the Melbourne Commonwealth games, and I am delighted that our boys and girls won a record haul of medals.
Sport is important for so many reasons: health; national morale; international recognition; and inspiring future generations of potential couch potatoes. However, sport is also important in learning about oneself.
Sporting giant Australia is an interesting case in point. Australia, which swamped the recent Commonwealth games with the number of medals it won, was in a far less favourable position back in 1972. At the Munich Olympics of that year, Australia's top athletics placing was 13th in the men's marathon. However, Gough Whitlam's incoming Government vowed to get the beach bums off the beaches and began a dauntingly successful sports academy programme.
It was a long process. Four years later, at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, the Aussies won just one silver and four bronze medals. We should compare that with the jolly swagman's sackful that they picked up at the most recent Athens Olympics, at which Australia came fourth in the overall medals league table. Only the United States, Russia and China did better.
There are two points to observe. First, the Olympics represent a far higher standard than the Commonwealth games. Secondly, by recruiting the right coaches and encouraging competition at the highest level, underperforming nations can in time improve their standing in the world's sporting arenas. I believe that that is beginning to happen in Scotland. I welcome the First Minister's forthcoming sports summit and some of the encouraging noises that we have heard from the minister today. However, we must redouble our efforts.
The fact that super Scots, such as Dick McTaggart, Allan Wells and, in more recent times, Shirley Robertson and Chris Hoy, won gold at the Olympics when representing the UK in no way diminished their Scottishness. They were lauded as great Scots who happened to represent Great Britain at the world's premier sporting event.
It is interesting to note that the Commonwealth games began their life as the Empire games back in 1930. They were invented by a young Canadian sports writer called Bobby Robinson, who urged Canada to subsidise teams to travel to Hamilton, Ontario, for the first games. Teams came from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and several other countries and Lord Derby sponsored a British Isles team. Incidentally, the Australians won no races at those first Hamilton games. Since the numbers from the UK dwarfed those from all the Commonwealth countries, eventually it was decided that individual UK countries should be represented in their own right, which was absolutely right.
I turn briefly to the need for excellent coaches. It is a disappointing but not surprising legacy of our Melbourne success that many of our top coaches are now being wooed by other countries. Chris Martin, our American swimming coach, who has been referred to, is obviously a man in great demand, but I hope that he can be persuaded to stay with us. Anne Marie Harrison, the executive director of the Scottish Institute of Sport, is also likely to return to her native Melbourne when her contract expires this summer.
As Donald Gorrie, Margo MacDonald and others mentioned, there have been concerns about the uneven nature of our Melbourne successes. Although Scotland's swimmers swept all before them, the nation's track and field athletes contributed only two medals. Perhaps more disappointing was the fact that only three of the 18-strong squad managed personal bests. That is not a criticism of individual athletes; rather it recognises the importance of good coaching in getting top athletes to produce their best on the night.
Two years hence, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, we will require highly competitive, well-funded athletes from all corners of the UK to represent Great Britain. Many of them will doubtless come from Scotland and, if and when they win, we will applaud their success as super sporting Scots within what we hope will be a successful super Brits squad.
I was interested in Ted Brocklebank's speech. My only disappointment was that he did not mention Maryhill Harrier Duncan Wright, who won the marathon in the very first Empire games all those years ago. The Maryhill Harriers continue a proud tradition to this day.
I hope that our elite athletes' tremendous achievements will continue throughout the year and beyond as we look to put in place a sporting infrastructure that will deliver both sporting success and long-term participation. As Karen Gillon rightly said, the two things go together.
For the long-term good of our nation, we know that the more sporting activities people engage in when they are young, the more likely they are to follow through with at least one of them. That is important for our general health.
Before the debate closes, I repeat that we delivered 29 medallists from the Melbourne games; Scotland is the current holder of the Calcutta cup; the team that won a silver medal in curling at the paralympics in Turin were all Scots; and Andy Murray is one of the world's top 50 tennis players at just 18 years of age.
Our success in Melbourne was greater than had been forecast. Our estimated medal tally was 15, which was a genuine target assessed by the coaches and officials. We should be shouting from the rooftops about our success, as the Australians would have done had they been in our place at the games.
Sport in Scotland is not as limited as has been suggested in some quarters. We are putting the correct building blocks in place and will continue to do so, but it is unrealistic to expect us to achieve on all fronts immediately.
Donald Gorrie was right to mention that the Scottish Executive should persuade governing bodies to improve. We will do our bit, but there has to be a willingness from governing bodies to make that kind of change. It is interesting and challenging to note that the sports at which we did best in Melbourne, swimming and cycling, are among those whose governing bodies have made such changes, both in their governance and in the way in which they coach, employing full-time professional coaches. That is a lesson that other governing bodies will no doubt look to and wish to learn from.
I also endorse the valuable contribution made by sportscotland in delivering participation programmes such as the active schools programme, in developing sports partnerships and in supporting sports governing bodies and the Scottish Institute of Sport and its associated area structures. In the main, local authorities have been enthusiastic partners in active schools and several are championing new approaches to working with sportscotland, governing bodies and other councils through our sports partnerships. Karen Gillon mentioned PE. In 2003-04 there were nine recruits to the PE teacher training scheme, but in 2005-06 there have been 80, so I hope that we are moving in the right direction.
Our ambition should be to have the maximum number of Scots in any team. We want to see Scots involved in competitive sport and we want to see them dominating. I am enthused by our success in Melbourne, but at the same time I am slightly disappointed that there are still people who want to undermine such success, in sport and in other fields. If we are to be a more confident nation, we must cast off that cloak of cynicism and be ready to recognise and praise our athletes and allow them to bask in our success, rather than look for things to complain about. For a small nation, we are amazingly successful and we punch well above our weight in sporting terms. From a population of 5 million, we have literally hundreds of sporting heroes—not only the 196 medallists on the world stage since 2003 but other giants such as Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie, Andy Murray, David Coulthard, Jason White and Jim Anderson.
We have much to be proud of. Let us move forward together to develop and support future generations of sporting stars and to ensure that Glasgow secures the Commonwealth games in 2014.
The purpose of the SNP's motion is to allow us to congratulate our successful athletes and to celebrate success in sport, and that end has been achieved. It is also perfectly reasonable for us to highlight what we might achieve in the future, although we have not quite got there. The Enterprise and Culture Committee suggested that we need an audit report on facilities right across Scotland and that we need it now, and that sentiment was echoed today by Karen Gillon and has been signed up to by all Labour members of the Enterprise and Culture Committee, three of whom I am delighted to see here at today's debate. I do not think that that is carping criticism; it is constructive criticism.
We need to make progress, because although we had successes at the Commonwealth games, we did not do too well in track and field events. We must analyse why that was the case, why so few personal bests were achieved in that area and why we had no sprint relay teams to cheer, as we have had in the past. That may reflect the fact that, in those areas of sport, we have not seen the same energy and enthusiasm that have been evident in some other sporting fields.
We will return to the debate about the Olympics. I am disappointed by the poverty of ambition that the Conservatives continually express about giving our elite athletes the opportunity to participate in those games. As a number of members pointed out, as well as a significant haul of medals, we had a range of personal bests in the Commonwealth games, which I believe happened because athletes had the opportunity to participate in an international arena against the best in the world, if not in every field then certainly in many fields. That encouraged better performances. Therefore, the more Scots who can participate in international competition, the better our standing will be.
I accept that there may be some arguments about the transfer of sporting figures from country to country. I recognise that that happens, and it was particularly disappointing that Peter Nicol chose to represent England, not because he did not want to represent Scotland, but because he was not going to get the financial support that he had expected to get from sportscotland. It is almost like a transfer market, and I suppose that that is the downside of his sport becoming rather more professional than it has been in the past.
We need to encourage our elite athletes but, before we have elite athletes, we must have participants. We need to broaden the base of the pyramid, the pinnacle of which would be success at the Olympic games or the world cup for rugby, football or whatever other sport. Therefore, we must have proper facilities, particularly indoor facilities, throughout the country.
It is to the Executive's credit that it has started to address that need, and proposals for regional sports facilities throughout the country are certainly welcome. We may not yet have achieved the broad base that we need, but I welcome the minister's statement today, which confirmed that the sports facility that is proposed for the north-east in Aberdeen, as the result of a partnership between the University of Aberdeen and Aberdeen City Council, will start to deliver that. I was disappointed to hear that the city council has not so far taken the trouble to take up the First Minister's offer to write to ask for help for phase 2 of the plans and the proposed addition of a 50m pool. Although Aberdeen university and the city council have each committed £8 million to the project, we have not yet had final confirmation of sportscotland's commitment beyond £5 million, and £7 million will certainly be required.
I will write to the member if I am incorrect about this, but my understanding is that some of the other partners have not committed the money, which is why sportscotland cannot put forward its money. The money is there and waiting, but certain criteria must be met when one is using public money. When that process is exhausted, the money will be in place.
I will certainly take up the matter with the university and Aberdeen City Council. However, at the turn of the year, representatives of both came to me and told me that they had put their £8 million in place but sportscotland was not yet prepared to increase its offer from £5 million to £7 million, which is what is required to deliver the project. I recognise that £5 million has been put in place, but the further £2 million required to make the facilities available, without the swimming pool, is not yet in place.
Will Brian Adam take an intervention?
I am happy for the minister to write to me about that, but I want to move on with my speech.
The development of facilities such as 50m pools must be encouraged. As my colleague Michael Matheson said, we have only four 50m pools in the whole of Scotland, and the minister herself told me in 2004 that only two of those pools have sufficient depth to be regarded as proper competition pools. We need such facilities not just in Aberdeen or, indeed, Glenrothes, where I did some of my early swimming in the Fife Institute of Physical and Recreational Education; we need them across the country, and that will require a step change in what we are doing. I recognise that the Executive is moving towards that, but commitment is required across the board. As a nation, we should be providing facilities in a unified way, although there will be debates about the detail of individual projects.
I commend the SNP motion. Neither of the amendments offers anything in addition, so I support the motion in the name of Michael Matheson.