Sport in Scotland

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Sport plays a central role in Scottish culture. The temperate, oceanic climate has played a key part in the evolution of Sport in Scotland, with all-weather sports like football, rugby union and golf dominating the national sporting consciousness. However, many other sports are played in the country, with popularity varying between sports and between regions.

Scotland has its own sporting competitions and governing bodies, such as the Scottish Football League and the Scottish Cyclists' Union. The country has independent representation at many international sporting events, for example the Football World Cup and the Cricket World Cup, as well as the Commonwealth Games; although notably not the Olympic Games.

Scots, and Scottish emigrants, has made several key contributions to the history of sport, with important innovations and developments in: golf, curling, football, Highland games (contributed to the evolution of modern athletics events), shinty (the predecessor of both ice hockey and bandy), cycling (Kirkpatrick Macmillan invented the pedal bicycle), and basketball.

Contents 1 Football 2 Rugby 3 Athletics 4 Badminton 5 Basketball 6 Cricket 7 Cycling 8 Curling 9 Golf 10 Highland games 11 Judo 12 Motorsport 12.1 Formula One 12.2 Rallying 12.3 Le Mans 12.4 BTCC 12.5 American Race Series 12.6 Scottish circuits 13 Shinty 14 Snooker 15 Speedway 16 Swimming 17 Tennis 18 School Sport 19 Olympic Games 19.1 Scottish summer Olympic medallists 19.1.1 1896 Athens 19.1.2 1900 Paris 19.1.3 1904 Athens 19.1.4 1908 London 19.1.5 1912 Stockholm 19.1.6 1920 Antwerp 19.1.7 1924 Paris 19.1.8 1928 Amsterdam 19.1.9 1948 London 19.1.10 1952 Helsinki 19.1.11 1956 Melbourne 19.1.12 1960 Rome 19.1.13 1964 Tokyo 19.1.14 1968 Mexico 19.1.15 1972 Munich 19.1.16 1976 Montreal 19.1.17 1980 Moscow 19.1.18 1984 Los Angeles 19.1.19 1988 Seoul 19.1.20 1992 Barcelona 19.1.21 1996 Atlanta 19.1.22 2000 Sydney 19.1.23 2004 Athens 19.2 Scottish winter Olympic medallists 19.2.1 1924 Chamonix 19.2.2 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 19.2.3 2002 Salt Lake City 20 Commonwealth Games 21 Sports media 22 See also 23 External links

[edit] Football

Main article: Football in Scotland

Football is the national sport, both in terms of participation and numbers of spectators.

There is a long tradition of football games stretching back to the earliest reference to the game in Scotland, when it was outlawed in 1424. The history of football in Scotland includes various traditional ball games, for example the Ba game; some of these early games probably involved the kicking of a ball. Uncertainty about the specific nature of these games is because prior to 1863, the term "football" implied almost any ball game that was played on ones feet and not played on horseback. Some of these local games were probably played as far back as the Middle Ages^{[citation needed]}, although the earliest contemporary accounts (as opposed to decrees simply banning "football") come in the eighteenth century. Many of these accounts refer to the violence of traditional Scottish football ^[1] and as a result many games were abolished or modified. Several burghs retain an annual Ba game, with the Kirkwall Ba Game in Orkney being probably the most famous form of traditional football in Scotland. Elsewhere in Scotland, the greatest evidence for a tradition of football games comes from southern Scotland, in particular the Scottish Borders.

The world's first official international football match was held in 1872 and was the idea of C. W. Alcock of the Football Association which was seeking to promote Association Football in Scotland^[2]. The match took place at the West of Scotland Cricket Club's Hamilton Crescent ground in the Partick area of Glasgow. The match was between Scotland and England and resulted in a 0–0 draw. Following this, the newly developed soccer became the most popular sport in Scotland. The Scottish Cup is the world's oldest national trophy, first contested in 1873 (although the FA Cup is an older competition, its original trophy is no longer in existence). Queen's Park F.C., in Glasgow, is probably the oldest association football club in the world outside England.

The Scottish Football Association (SFA), the second-oldest national football association in the world, is the main governing body for Scottish football, and a founding member of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which governs the Laws of the Game. As a result of this key role in the development of the sport Scotland is one of only four countries to have a permanent representative on the IFAB; the other four representatives being appointed for set periods by FIFA. The SFA also has responsibility for the Scotland national football team.

The national stadium is Hampden Park in Glasgow. Supporters of the national team are nicknamed the Tartan Army. As of March 2007, Scotland are ranked as the 16th best national football team in the FIFA World Rankings. They have improved steadily after Walter Smith took over as manager, beating 2006 World Cup finalists France in a European Championship qualifier. The national team last attended the World Cup in France in 1998, but finished last in their group stage after defeats to runners-up Brazil and Morocco. They won a single point after a one-all draw with Norway.

Elite club football in Scotland is split between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League.

Scotland's football clubs have had a relatively high degree of success internationally^{[citation needed]}. In terms of European competitions, Rangers, Celtic and Aberdeen have all won European competitions, however Celtic are the only team to have won the European Cup (now the Champions League), Europe's premier competition. Celtic won this cup in 1967 becoming the first British team (and the first from northern Europe) to do so. Their victory is an important one in football history with the competition being won with a team comprising no players born more than thirty miles (48 km) from the home of the club, Celtic Park.

The most successful teams over the years have been the Old Firm: Rangers and Celtic. Glasgow is therefore home to some of Europe's best football stadia^{[citation needed]}. With Celtic Park (60,832 seats), Ibrox Park (50,411 seats) and Hampden Park (52,670 seats), Glasgow is one of the few^{[citation needed]} European cities to have three football stadia each with at least 50,000 seat capacity. Ibrox and Hampden are both UEFA 5-star rated football stadia: only Germany, Portugal and Spain have more top-rated stadia.

[edit] Rugby

Main articles: Rugby union in Scotland and Rugby league in Scotland

Rugby union is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. Murrayfield Stadium, in Edinburgh, is the home of the Scotland national rugby union team. The world's oldest continual rugby fixture was first played in 1858 between Merchiston Castle School and the former pupils of The Edinburgh Academy. The Edinburgh Academy was also involved in the first ever international rugby union game when a side representing England met the Scottish national side on the cricket field of the Academy at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh on March 27, 1871, which Scotland won.

The national side today competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and has appeared at every Rugby World Cup. Professional clubs compete in the Celtic League and the European Cup and a national league for amateur and semi-pro clubs also struggles.Even the top clubs struggle to attract more than a thousand spectators but the National side still gets a respactable attendance.

Rugby League is a growing sport in Scotland which is growing in popularity.

[edit] Athletics

scottishathletics is the governing body for athletics in Scotland. It replaced the Scottish Athletics Federation in April 2001.

[edit] Badminton

BADMINTONscotland is the national governing body for the sport of badminton in Scotland.

[edit] Basketball

basketballscotland is the governing body of basketball in Scotland.

[edit] Cricket

Main article: Cricket in Scotland

[edit] Cycling

Cycling is a popular amateur sport, with 99 clubs throughout the country, from the Shetland Wheelers to the Stewartry Wheelers. At the elite level, Scots have been more successful at track cycling rather than road racing, although Scotland has a long history of time-trialing on the road. The lack of road races within the country, with not a single UCI-ranked event, is largely to do with the refusal of Scottish local authorities to close public roads to allow road races to take place safely. Scotland has one velodrome, at Meadowbank Stadium, in Edinburgh. The governing body is the Scottish Cyclists' Union.

In recent years mountain biking has become very popular, with Scottish geography being ideal for training and racing. The Fort William World Cup event has become the highlight of the series.

Scotland has produced several world-class cyclists. Probably the most renowned champion outwith Scotland is the great Robert Millar, a King of the Mountains, and fourth-place overall, at the 1984 Tour de France; and very nearly a winner of the 1985 Vuelta a España (where the strange manner of his defeat to Pedro Delgado is still a matter of some controversy). He came second in the 1987 Giro d'Italia and second twice in the Vuelta: 1985 and 1986. Indeed Millar is widely considered to be the best cyclist to have ever come out of the UK (although many would also argue the merits of the Englishman Tom Simpson).

Graeme Obree, David Millar (no relation), and Chris Hoy have also reached the very peak of their respective events.

[edit] Curling

Scotland is the home of curling (2002 Olympic champions, women) which, although not as popular today as in Canada, remains more popular in Scotland than anywhere else in Europe. Scotland are the current (2006) men's World curling champions, and have won World championship gold on 3 previous occasions.

[edit] Golf

Scotland is the "Home of Golf", and is well-known for its many links courses, including the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie, Muirfield and Royal Troon.

[edit] Highland games

The Highland Games are a distinctive feature of the national sporting culture.

[edit] Judo

Scots have been very prominent on the podium at the Judo events at the Commonwealth Games. Judo is absent from the programme of events at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, but is likely to return at future Games.

[edit] Motorsport

Scotland has been successful in all forms of motor racing especially since it's growth in popularity since World War II. Several Scottish drivers have had illustrious careers at the top level and success has come in many different championships including Formula One, The World Rally Championship, Le Mans 24 hours, CART, and the British Touring Car Championship.

[edit] Formula One

Scotland has had several Formula One drivers over the years since the championship commenced in 1950. A full list of these drivers can be found at Category:Scottish Formula One drivers. Of these drivers the best known are Jim Clark, who won 2 World Championships before his untimely death, Jackie Stewart who managed to gain 3 World Championships and David Coulthard who still races in the championship for the Red Bull Racing team. Coulthard has been Scotland's most successful driver in recent memory having runner up in the World Drivers Championships a number of times and is the front running British Driver in the all-time lists. No round of F1 has however been held in Scotland making the country one of the most successful countries without hosting a race.

[edit] Rallying

The McRae family are Scotland's best known rally drivers, in particular Colin McRae who won the WRC in 1995. He also managed to affirm his popularity by adding his name to a series of successful rally games. Louise Aitken-Walker made significant inroads into the male-dominated sport. Scotland also hosts a number of minor rally events and has hosted the British round of the WRC however this now takes place almost exclusively in Wales.

[edit] Le Mans

Allan McNish has competed in both F1 in 2002 for Toyota and in German Touring cars Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), but is best known for his 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans victory with the Porsche team. Peter Dumbreck has also competed in the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, and is better known for his infamous accident in the 1999 event where his Mercedes-Benz CLR car suffered aerodynamic problems and took off, somersaulting through the air.

[edit] BTCC

In British Touring Car Championship Scotland has had a had a double champion in John Cleland. A number of drivers have raced successfully in recent years including Anthony Reid and David Leslie. One round of the championship is annually held in Scotland.

[edit] American Race Series

Some Scottish drivers have had success in the American series of mainly oval racing. Currently Dario Franchitti from Bathgate, competes in the Indy Racing League competition having previously raced very successfully in CART. Allan McNish currently competes in the American Le Mans ALMS series where he made history by driving the first diesel powered race-car in the series to victory.

[edit] Scottish circuits

Which there are a number of smaller circuits for private use in Scotland and a number of rally stages, the only circuit to host top level circuit motor racing in Scotland is Knockhill in Fife.

[edit] Shinty

Main article: Shinty

Shinty is the traditional game of the Scottish Highlands and is still played widely across the area today, with clubs also based in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Fife and Perth, and in most universities. Its governing body is the Camanachd Association (in Scottish Gaelic, Comunn na Camanachd) who are based in Fort William.

The sport's premier prize is the Scottish Cup, more popularly known as the Camanachd Cup. Shinty also has the honour of having provided, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the world's most successful sporting team, Kingussie Camanachd. Shinty was formerly played through the Winter but has recently become a primarily Summer game. It has common roots with the Irish sport of Hurling.

[edit] Snooker

Scotland has produced many great snooker players over the years. Many of which have gone on to win the World Championship. Walter Donaldson was the first Scotsman to be crowned World Champion, winning in 1947 and again in 1950.

In the modern snooker era the most successful, and it could be said one of the most famous, Scottish snooker player is Stephen Hendry. He has won the World Snooker Championship 7 times, winning it 5 years in a row from 1992 onwards and holds the record as being the youngest ever winner, beating Englishman Jimmy White 18 frames to 12 in 1990, aged just 21. Scotsman John Higgins or as he is more affectionately know "The Wizard of Wishaw" won the World Snooker Championship beating Irishman Ken Doherty in 1998.

Since 1990 a Scottish player has featured in almost every World Snooker Championship Final. 1991, 2000, 2003 and 2005 being the only years since 1990 when a Scottish player hasn't made it to the final. As of 2006, the current World Snooker Champion is Scotsman Graeme Dott. In an epic match which holds the record as the longest ever recorded best of 32 frames, he won 18 frames to 14 against Englishman Peter Ebdon.

[edit] Speedway

Scotland currently has two Motorcycle Speedway teams racing in the UK Premier League, Glasgow Tigers and Edinburgh Monarchs. History and more detail to follow (Feb 2007)

[edit] Swimming

The governing body is the Scottish Amateur Swimming Association.

[edit] Tennis

Tennis has a very long history in Scotland, with real tennis being played at Falkland Palace, Fife. Andy Murray is currently doing very well in the world rankings. The Aberdeen Cup, established in 2005, is an annual competition between the Scotland and England tennis teams.

[edit] School Sport

The leading body for physical education in the United Kingdom is the Association for Physical Education.

[edit] Olympic Games

Scottish athletes have competed at every Olympic Games, since the inaugural modern Games, as part of the Great Britain and Ireland team (prior to Irish independence) and then the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team. A Scot, Launceston Elliot, won Great Britain and Ireland's very first Olympic gold medal, in 1896 in Athens.

Scotland have only ever won one Olympic medal as Scotland, when the men's field hockey team won a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Games. This was also the only occasion when either England (gold) or Wales (bronze) have won a medal in their own right; and was Ireland's only medal (silver) prior to independence. The curling gold medal in Chamonix in 1924 was won by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club team, the Scottish national team, and the women's curling gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 was won by the top Scottish team at the time, skipped by Rhona Martin.

[edit] Scottish summer Olympic medallists

[edit] 1896 Athens

• Launceston Elliot, Gold, weightlifting, one-handed
• Launceston Elliot, Silver, weightlifting, two-handed

[edit] 1900 Paris

• Walter Rutherford, Silver, Golf
• David Robertson, Bronze, Golf

[edit] 1904 Athens

• John McGough Silver 1,500 m
• Wyndham Halswelle Silver 400 m
• Wyndham Halswelle Bronze 800 m

[edit] 1908 London

• Arthur Robertson, Gold, Team steeplechase
• Wyndham Halswelle, Gold, 400 m
• Angus Gillan, Gold, Coxless fours
• George Cornet, Gold, Water polo
• Royal Clyde YC, Gold, 12 metres class
• Arthur Robertson, Silver, Steeplechase
• Alex McCulloch, Silver, Single sculls
• Hugh Roddin, Bronze, Featherweight boxing
• Scotland, Bronze, Hockey

[edit] 1912 Stockholm

• Philip Fleming, Gold, Rowing eights
• Angus Gillan, Gold, Rowing eights
• William Kinnear, Gold, Single sculls
• Henry Macintosh, Gold, Men's 4x100m Relay
• Robert Murray, Gold, Small bore shooting
• George Cornet, Gold, Water polo
• Isabella Moore, Gold, 100 m freestyle swimming
• James Soutter, Bronze, 400 m relay
• John Sewell, Silver, Tug of war team

[edit] 1920 Antwerp

• Robert Lindsay, Gold, 400 m relay
• John Sewell, Gold, Tug of war team
• William Peacock, Gold, Water polo
• James Wilson, Silver, Cross country team
• Alexander Ireland, Silver, Welterweight boxing
• James Wilson, Bronze, 10,000 m
• George McKenzie, Bronze, Bantamweight bronze

[edit] 1924 Paris

• Eric Liddell, Gold, 400 m
• Eric Liddell, Bronze, 200 m
• James McNabb, Gold, Coxless fours
• James McKenzie, Silver, Lightweight boxing
• Archie Macdonald, Bronze, 100 kg freestyle wrestling

[edit] 1928 Amsterdam

• Ellen King, Silver, 100 m backstroke swimming
• Ellen King, Silver, 100 m freestyle relay swimming
• Sarah Stewart, Silver, 100 m freestyle relay swimming

[edit] 1948 London

• Alistair McCorquodale, Silver, 4x100 m relay
• David Brodie, Silver, Hockey team
• Robin Lindsay, Silver, Hockey team
• William Lindsay, Silver, Hockey team
• Geirge Sime, Silver, Hockey team
• Neil White, Silver, Hockey team
• Catherine Gibson, Bronze, 400 m freestyle swimming

[edit] 1952 Helsinki

• Douglas Stewart, Gold, Equestrian showjumping team
• Stephen Theobald, Bronze, Hockey team
• Helen Gordon, Bronze, 200 m breaststroke swimming

[edit] 1956 Melbourne

• Dick McTaggart, Gold, Lightweight boxing
• John McCormack, Bronze, Light middleweight boxing

[edit] 1960 Rome

• Dick McTaggart, Bronze, Lightweight boxing

[edit] 1964 Tokyo

• Bobby McGregor, Silver, 100 m freestyle swimming

[edit] 1968 Mexico

• Rodney Pattison, Gold, Yachting Flying Dutchman

[edit] 1972 Munich

• Rodney Pattison, Gold, Yachting Flying Dutchman
• David Jenkins, Silver, 400 m relay team
• David Wilkie, Silver, 200 m breaststroke swimming
• Ian Stewart, Bronze, 5,000 m

[edit] 1976 Montreal

• David Wilkie, Gold, 200 m breaststroke swimming
• David Wilkie, Silver, 100 m breaststroke swimming
• Rodney Pattison, Silver, Yachting Flying Dutchman
• Alan McClatchey, Bronze, 200 m freestyle swimming relay
• Gordon Downie, Bronze, 200 m freestyle swimming relay

[edit] 1980 Moscow

• Allan Wells, Gold, 100 m
• Allan Wells, Silver, 200 m
• Linsey Macdonald, Bronze, 400 m relay team

[edit] 1984 Los Angeles

• Richard Budgett, Gold, Rowing coxed fours
• Ian Stark, Silver, Equestrian 3-day event team
• Veryan Pappin, Bronze, Hockey team
• Alister Allan, Bronze, Smallbore free rifle
• Neil Cochran, Bronze, 200 m medley swimming
• Neil Cochran, Bronze, 200 m freestyle relay
• Paul Easter, Bronze, 200 m freestyle relay

[edit] 1988 Seoul

• Veryan Pappin, Gold, Hockey team
• Michael McIntyre, Gold, Yachting star class
• Liz McColgan, Silver, 10,000 m
• Elliot Bunney, Silver, 4x100 m relay
• Ian Stark, Silver, Equestrian 3-day event team
• Alister Allan, Silver, Smallbore free rifle
• Yvonne Murray, Bronze, 3,000 m

[edit] 1992 Barcelona

• Simon Terry, Bronze, Archery individual
• Simon Terry, Bronze, Archery team
• Susan Fraser, Bronze, Hockey team
• Wendy Fraser, Bronze, Hockey team
• Alison Ramsay, Bronze, Hockey team

[edit] 1996 Atlanta

• Graeme Smith, Bronze, 1,500 m freestyle swimming

[edit] 2000 Sydney

• Andrew Lindsay, Gold, Rowing men's eight
• Shirley Robertson, Gold, Sailing Europe class
• Stephanie Cook, Gold, Modern pentathlon
• Chris Hoy, Silver, Cycling Olympic sprint team
• Craig MacLean, Silver, Cycling Olympic sprint team
• Ian Stark, Silver, Equestrian 3-day event team
• Gillian Lindsay, Silver, Rowing quadruple sculls
• Katherine Grainger, Silver, Rowing quadruple sculls
• Mark Covell, Silver, Sailing star class

[edit] 2004 Athens

• Chris Hoy, Gold, Cycling 1 km time-trial
• Shirley Robertson, Gold, Sailing Yngling class
• Katherine Grainger, Silver, Rowing Women's pairs
• Campbell Walsh, Silver, Canoeing K1 Kayak (slalom)

[edit] Scottish winter Olympic medallists

[edit] 1924 Chamonix

• Royal Caledonian Curling Club, Gold, Curling

[edit] 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen

• James Foster, Gold, ice hockey

[edit] 2002 Salt Lake City

• Scottish team skipped by Rhona Martin, Gold, Curling

[edit] Commonwealth Games

Main article: Scotland at the Commonwealth Games

[edit] Sports media

Further information: Scottish media

Scotland has a distinct set of media products, especially when it comes to sports coverage. The main Scottish daily newspapers, the Daily Record, The Herald and The Scotsman, have extensive coverage of Scottish and international sport; and decent coverage of Scottish sport is one of the key tools used by Scottish editions of English newspapers, most successfully employed by The Scottish Sun.

There is also a variety of magazine titles. Titles include The Celtic View, Rangers News, Bunkered, Scottish Club Golfer and Rally Action.

The main sports television shows on the largest two channels are Scotsport on STV and ITV1 Border Scotland (which is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest running sports television programme) and Sportscene on BBC Scotland. BBC Radio Scotland's main sports show is Sportsound, and it has other sports output, for example the comedy show Off the Ball. All the main independent radio stations report on local sport, and often cover football matches live.

[edit] See also

• BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year
• Sportscotland
• Scottish Institute of Sport
• Scotsport
• Sport in Glasgow
• Sport in the United Kingdom
• Association for Physical Education

[edit] External links

• Executive urged to target future swimming success, Sunday Herald
• PDF - Scottish Summer Olympic Medal Winners, compiled by sportscotland
• Association for Physical Education Association for Physical Education afPE Official website

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