CYG 2011 Team

Nine young athletes have been named as part of a 50 strong Youth Team Scotland that will travel to the Isle of Man for the 4th Commonwealth Youth Games which take place from the 7-12th September.

Among those selected are athletes with recent success on the international stage including Tom Holligan (Edinburgh, Coach: Keith Ridley), who scooped 200m gold and relay silver at the European Youth Olympics last month with a personal best of 21.46 to clinch the individual event and Zoey Clark (Aberdeen, Edward McKenna), who won gold as part of the successful GB 4x400m relay squad at the European Junior Championships and still has a further three years in the junior age group.

Nicholas Percy (IoW, William Bushnell), who broke the Scottish U17 record in the discus to finish 7th at July’s World Youth Championships, is also named, along with fellow World Youth finalist Kimberley Reed (Edinburgh, Alan Bertram) who was named CGS Athlete of the Month following her excellent early season performances, culminating in a British U17 record in the hammer at the Scottish Schools’ Championships.

Emma Brown (Giffnock North, Brian Winning,) a former International Children’s Games gold medallist, and Yasmin Milne (Aberdeen, Frank Gauld ) will pose a strong challenge in the sprint hurdles, just one hundredth of a second separating them at the trials event, and, along with 200m duo Bethanie Finlayson (Edinburgh, Stuart Hogg)) and Chloe Lambert (VPCOG, William Parker ), will form the basis of a strong sprint relay team.

John McCall (VPGOG, Colin Sinclair), who bagged the qualifying standard on the last weekend of the selection window when winning the National U18 title, goes in the sprint hurdles.
The athletics team will be supported by Team Leader Darren Ritchie andcoach Mark Pollard.

Isle of Man 2011 is the first time the Youth Games have been held in one of the smaller Commonwealth nations, in line with the Commonwealth Games Federation’s policy to target countries unlikely to be able to host the senior Games. With a maximum of 1000 athlete places available and 69 of the 71 Commonwealth countries expected to take part, each country was allocated a fixed number of places and qualification standards were set accordingly in conjunction with each of the sports’ governing bodies.

The athletes, aged between 13-18 years, will compete for Scotland in all seven sports on the programme, with many entering multiple events: Athletics (9), Badminton (4), Boxing (5), Cycling (4), Gymnastics (6), Rugby 7s (12), Swimming (10).

Congratulating the team, Michael Cavanagh, Chairman of CGS said: “l am confident that we have selected an outstanding team to compete in the Isle of Man, and competition for the limited number of places has been fierce.

“Whilst winning medals is important, the major benefit of the Commonwealth Youth Games is the opportunity it gives to expose young athletes to this level of international competition in a multi-sport environment. It is also the first time that athletes experience being part of Team Scotland and the strong team ethos we engender.

“I am sure we will see a number of these new faces emerge again in Glasgow in 2014 when the next Commonwealth Games are held in Scotland. I wish them every success as they embark on their Commonwealth Games journey and I look forward to cheering them on.”

Also at the announcement, Louise Martin CBE, Chair of sportscotland said: “On behalf of sportscotland I would like to congratulate each of the athletes selected to represent Youth Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Man. It is a fantastic achievement and is testament to all the dedication and hard work put in by the athletes, their families and their coaches and we wish them all the very best for the Games.

“The Commonwealth Games is particularly significant for Scotland, as it is the only major Games where we compete as a nation in our own right, and the Youth Games concept is also close to my own heart having been developed here in Scotland and adopted internationally as a positive opportunity for developing young talent.”

Youth Team Scotland, led by General Team Manager Vicky Strange and a coaching and support team of 24 staff, will leave for the Games on Tuesday 6 September 2011. The team will have a training day on 7 September followed by the Opening Ceremony on 8 September. This will be followed by three days of hotly contested competition 9-11 September. The Youth Games will also feature a cultural programme on the 12 September to enable athletes to mix and learn about other cultures, before an informal Closing Ceremony.

SELECTED TEAM LIST
Sport/ Athlete Lives  Age at Games

Athletics (9)
Holligan, Tom  Edinburgh, EH13 17
McCall, John  Glasgow G66  16
Percy, Nicholas Isle of Wight  16
Brown, Emma  East Kilbride, G74 17
Clark, Zoey  Aberdeen, AB10 16
Finlayson, Bethanie Dunfermline, KY12 17
Lambert, Chloe Glasgow, G33  17
Milne, Yasmin  Aberdeen, AB15 17
Reed, Kimberley Edinburgh, EH7 16

Sport Team Leaders & Coaches
Athletics – Darren Ritchie, Bo’ness EH51
Athletics – Mark Pollard, Inverclyde PA15