A Sporting Nation
Following on from the Beijing Olympics — and the invaluable contribution of Scots athletes such as Chris Hoy, Ross Edgar, David Florence and Katherine Grainger to Great Britain’s most successful Olympic performance for a century — Scotland has reaffirmed her place in sporting achievement. With this in mind, we look forward to 2014, when the eyes of the sporting world will again turn on Scotland as Glasgow proudly hosts the Commonwealth Games.
Scotland has a strong sporting tradition that dates back centuries; many of the world’s best-loved sports owe their origin to Scots inventiveness. Golf is no doubt the most famously Scottish sport to have captured the world’s hearts; but Scottish connections are everywhere to be found. Any cycling fan on the planet could tell you that the fastest man on two wheels is a Scot, but how many know that the bicycle is a Scottish invention? Dumfries blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan struck genius in 1839 when he added pedals to power the existing “hobby horse” frame, allowing him to propel the vehicle without his feet having to touch the ground and making for a faster, more comfortable ride.
Other sports with a Scots heritage include the perennial Canadian favourite Ice Hockey, which grew out of a game called shinny that began life when the Scottish immigrant population of Nova Scotia adapted the game of shinty to be played on ice; and basketball, created in 1891 as a student game by Scots-Canadian James Naismith. In athletics, the hammer throw and shot put were both adopted from Highland games.
The first international football match ever officially held kicked off 25 minutes late at 2.25PM on Saturday the 30th of November, 1872 at the Hamilton Crescent grounds of the West of Scotland Cricket Club in Partick, Glasgow, between Scotland and England. All eleven Scottish players were selected from the leading Scottish team of the day, Queen’s Park FC, and even played in Queen’s Park’s own shirts. Before 4,000 spectators, the Queen’s Park players held an English team to a scoreless draw.
Scottish Sporting Heroes
As well as numerous world sports, Scotland has produced many of the great sporting heroes of the modern age. Britain’s first Olympic gold medal was won in weightlifting by the Indian-born Scot Launceston Elliot at the inaugural modern Olympics in Athens in 1896. Since then, Scotland has been producing such great athletes as Eric Liddel, whose story is told in the film Chariots of Fire, multiple medallist and world-record holding swimmer David Wilkie, right up to the modern day and the current cohort of flying Scots. Over the years, Scots competitors have enjoyed sufficient success to secure their homeland a seventh overall place in the all-time medal table at the Commonwealth Games.
The Development of Sporting Facilities
No young hopeful grows up to be a champion without consistent support, and the right facilities. Thanks to Glasgow’s successful bid to host the 2014 Games, Scotland’s existing world-class sporting infrastructure will be enhanced. £1 billion is being injected into the project — and Glasgow’s economy — that will leave new and modern sporting facilities as a permanent legacy of the ten day competition. Adjacent to Celtic Park, where the opening ceremony of the Games is scheduled to take place, will be the National Indoor Sports Arena and the National Velodrome. The new velodrome will add to Scotland’s existing facilities at Meadowbank, Edinburgh, and help train up Chris Hoy’s successors, the next generation of champion cyclists. In a major development both for the Games and the ongoing regeneration of the Clyde waterfront, a new National Entertainments Arena designed by the world famous Sir Norman Foster will stand alongside the SECC. The multi-purpose stadium will be primarily a sports venue, but with potential for concerts and other events; at the Games it will host the gymnastics and netball events. Glasgow Green will benefit from a new National Hockey Centre. Hockey is a popular sport in Scotland, and Scots are regularly to be found in medal-winning men’s and women’s hockey teams. The only Olympic medal Scotland has ever won in her own name, rather than as part of the Great Britain team, was in hockey at the 1908 event.
The development programme for the Games will involve refurbishing several existing venues as well as the building of brand new facilities. Tollcross International Aquatics Centre can expect a second full-size pool in addition to the one it boasts already. This pool will add to the Scottish swimming legacy of a previous Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh in 1970 that left the famous Royal Commonwealth Pool for following generations to enjoy. The ongoing improvements at the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena will see the historic venue fully renovated to world-class standards. It will host the judo and wrestling competitions, and will stand it in good stead in the years to follow as it competes on the world stage to attract top-flight boxing and other hall sports events.
Other Glasgow landmark venues taking part in the Games include the city’s two UEFA Five-Star ranked football stadiums. These stadiums have the necessary capacity to accommodate the tens of thousands of spectators expected for the most popular events. Hampden will be temporarily converted with the addition of a raised platform to support an athletics track, and Rangers’ Ibrox home will see a change as it hosts the rugby 7’s.
A Warm Welcome Guaranteed
Scotland and Glasgow’s previous experience of staging major international sporting events, including the 2002 UEFA Champions League final at Hampden, and their well-deserved reputation for giving the friendliest of welcomes to visitors from all over the world, give great cause for confidence that the Games will be a resounding success.
