Our Chief Operating Office Ian Beattie is also the Chairman of Scottish Athletics and in this role he attended the 2018 Commonwealth Games to watch and support Team Scotland. Here, he reflects on his experience and Team Scotland’s performance as the athletes head home after a fantastic two weeks of competing.
“The 2018 Commonwealth Games are at an end. The last day of track and field action at the Carrara Stadium has been and gone, with a few extra Scottish medals in the bag to add to those we have already won. I thought this would be a good point to reflect on the Games so have jotted down my thoughts:
- Gold Coast is a beautiful place. The beach is stunning, and the many rivers that run through the city add to its beauty. The temperature during our time here has never dropped below 20 degrees, and has generally been in the high twenties. It is very pleasant to be able to wander about in shorts and t-shirts the whole time, without worrying about the cold. Slightly different from Scotland in that respect!
- The venues here are much more spread out than they were in Glasgow, and that has made it more difficult to create the same atmosphere around the city. In Surfers Paradise there is a big screen on the beach and there are other big screens at various points in the city, but the number of people watching them has not been huge.
- The weather undoubtedly contributes to a much greater sport and fitness culture. I’ve been out running almost every day, normally before 7am, and the prom and beaches are busy with people out exercising.
- The standard of competition at the Commonwealth Games is higher than ever before, at least in athletics. As an example the slowest qualifier for the women’s 800m final ran a time under 2.01, and a number of high profile athletes missed out on finals. Athletics is a truly global sport and the inclusion of strong countries like Jamaica, Kenya and South Africa means many of the events are close to world standard.
- Team Scotland has performed very well. The team has won 44 medals, a record for overseas games. Swimming and cycling have had a particularly successful Games and one swimmer, Duncan Scott, won a remarkable six medals. Congratulations to all the winners; these medals are hard-earned.
- It is nice to have an opportunity to put out a Scottish team in an athletics event. Unlike some other sports, the Commonwealth Games is the only opportunity for athletes to represent Scotland, and that only happens every four years. The rest of the time our athletes compete as part of a British team, in events such as European and World championships, and Olympic Games.
- There is a huge advantage in being the home team. The support for all the Australian athletes has been incredible, and has been a big factor in the Australian team performing as well as it has. On the flipside, it is a great experience for our athletes to take part in a Games at the other side of the world, at a time of year they are not normally used to competing, where almost all of the support in the stadium is against them. They will learn a lot from that experience.
- Birmingham is hosting the Games in 2022. I am expecting the Birmingham games to be more similar to the Glasgow games - for a start the temperatures are likely to be closer! It will be interesting to see how well the city manages to create a ‘Team England’ feel good factor, and whether this will have the same positive impact on the English athletes.
“So, that’s all from me. The games have been a blast – well done to all the Scottish athletes!”