Scottish Gymnastics received some festive cheer today as sportscotland announced the sport will be receiving an investment of £252,646.

Lord Ewing of Kirkford will join members of East Fife Indoor Bowling Club to celebrate the completion of the final phase of works at the club, on Wednesday 22 December at 7:30pm.

sportscotland is spreading some festive cheer to communities across Scotland today with the announcement of over £1.2m in Lottery funding from the Building for Sport programme. This includes an investment of £600,000 to Highland Council for two projects at Grantown Grammar and Portree New Community High School.

A triumphant Scottish Commonwealth Youth Games Team will return from Bendigo, Australia this Sunday (5 November) with a fantastic total of 52 medals - 12 Gold, 17 Silver, 23 Bronze.

sportscotland is delighted to announce funding totalling £88,185 from the Social Inclusion Partnership programme (SIP) towards two Glasgow initiatives aimed at tackling social exclusion and encouraging more young people to take part in sport and physical activity.

sportscotland is delighted to announce funding totalling over £363,000 across a range of sports from badminton to boxing. These awards support the high performance programmes for each governing body, focusing on athlete support and coaching provision with the ultimate aim to increase the number of medallists on the world stage.

McColgan together with five other Scottish sporting heroes will be inducted during a ceremony performed by Patricia Ferguson MSP, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport.

Ice sport fans in Inverness will be celebrating today as Inverness Ice Centre Limited officially relaunches the Inverness Ice Centre at Bught Park, to mark the purchase of the facility, securing the continuation of the centre as a hub for curling, ice skating and hockey in the Highlands.

HRH The Princess Royal will unveil a plaque at The Recreation Park, Portsoy on Thursday 11 November, as part of celebrations to mark the official opening of the brand new multi-sport and changing facilities at the grounds.

The Sporting Champions scheme sprinted into Lasswade today when Scottish track athlete Susan Deacon visited Lasswade Primary School in Bonnyrigg. Susan will be sharing her experiences and successes with the pupils in the hope of inspiring and encouraging them to participate in sport on a more regular basis.

The communities of Fintry in Dundee and Embo in the Highlands are celebrating today’s announcement of Lottery investment totalling over £96,000 from sportscotland’s Building for Sport programme.

Alastair Dempster, Chairman of sportscotland announced today that Ian Taylor has been appointed as the new chief executive for the organisation following the departure of Ian Robson last July.

The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC), in partnership with sportscotland, is very pleased to announce the appointment of Colin Grahamslaw to the newly created position of Chief Executive. Colin, who has been the General Manager of the Scottish Hockey Union for over five years will take up post at the end of November 2004.

Four of Scotland’s aspiring Olympic hopefuls, Gemma Nicol (athletics), Shane Charlton (cycling), Lewis Smith (swimming) and Janine Dickie (canoeing) will be representing sportscotland in London today as they join over 100 medallists for the Parade of Heroes to recognise the achievements of Team GB during the Athens Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Badminton is just one of the sports set to benefit from the latest round of awards to be made under sportscotland Lottery Fund’s Talented Athlete Programme (TAP).

sportscotland would like to clarify its position with respect to its support of the London 2012 bid, which is contrary to that clearly implied by Pete Wishart MP, SNP spokesperson on sport at Westminster in a range of media interviews yesterday and today.

Five times European Ryder Cup Team Member, Sandy Lyle opened Callander Golf Club’s new coaching and junior facilities today (Monday 27 September) before treating members of the club’s junior team to a golf clinic.

Following a major overhaul of its Lottery funded programmes designed to support Scotland’s elite athletes, sportscotland today announced funding to seven sports under a new system of ‘Athlete Support’ totalling £127,893.

Frank McAveety, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, will cut a ribbon to mark the official opening of the long awaited football multi-courts at Kilwinning Community Sports Club on Monday 20 September. To celebrate the completion of the new facilities, the club has organised a number of fun sporting activities for the whole community to enjoy, including, a staff 5-a-side match, a netball session and a training demonstration by Kilwinning’s ladies football team.

Four times equestrian Olympic silver medallist, Ian Stark OBE will officially open the long awaited indoor riding centre at The Orkney Branch of the Pony Club on Sunday 19 September. As part of a day of celebrations, Ian will be taking part in a riding demonstration, followed by a mounted pageant by club members, a polo demonstration, a display by Orkney Carriage Drivers Group and a demonstration of Pony Club Games.

With the athletics season now well underway, sportscotland is delighted to announce a sixth year of funding to Scottish Athletics with an award of £50,000 from the Lottery Fund’s Junior Groups Programme, providing essential funding to some of Scotland’s most talented young athletes.

Cumnock Rugby Club will be celebrating the completion of their long awaited clubhouse extension project on Friday 27 August, with a pre-season friendly rugby game, followed by an official opening ceremony, conducted by Bill Nolan, General Committee Member of the Scottish Rugby Union. Thereafter there will be a prize giving ceremony and buffet and dance for members of the club and the local community.

Following a major overhaul of its Lottery funded programmes designed to support Scotland’s elite athletes, sportscotland today announced funding to the sports of golf, canoeing and shooting under a new system of ‘Athlete Support’ totalling £268,599.

The sportscotland Lottery Fund is delighted to announce funding of nearly £300,000 to six new and existing projects across Scotland demonstrating sportscotland’s commitment to improving access to healthy lifestyle choices, to enhancing sporting opportunities and helping communities in social inclusion areas develop themselves through sport, physical recreation and healthy lifestyle activities.

Four years and £47,000 later, Cove Sailing Club at Cove near Helensburgh is proud to turn a very buoyant weather eye on the future with the grand opening of its new jetty refurbishment on Sunday 22 August. One of the club’s staunchest supporters, Kate Steel, on behalf of her mother Mary, a CSC member since the beginning, will cut the ribbon to mark the official opening.

Communities across Scotland are celebrating the announcement of over £1m from the sportscotland Lottery Fund’s new Building for Sport Programme which replaces the Sports Facilities Programme.

With the 2004 Olympic Games only days away, sportscotland is pleased to confirm that 24 Scots have been selected for Team GB and are en route to Athens via final preparation camps in a range of venues including Cyprus, Barcelona, and Manchester. The selected athletes are from eight sports: athletics (5), canoeing (1), cycling (3), hockey – men (4), judo (1), rowing (1), sailing (1) and swimming (8) and include five times Olympian swimmer Alison Sheppard and 17 rookies who are looking forward to their first encounter on the Olympic stage.

The vision of a network of world class training and competition facilities across Scotland looks set to become a reality and will include Scotland’s first ever full size indoor football training pitches (5), a 5,000 seater national indoor sports arena and two 6,000 seater municipal stadia for multi-sport use and a range of other facilities. Provision has also been made to achieve the long-standing need for a national curling academy, an indoor velodrome and an upgrade to Edinburgh’s Royal Commonwealth Pool.

A host of boxing enthusiasts from around North Ayrshire will join Craig Docherty, Commonwealth Super Featherweight Champion on Saturday 31 July, as he cuts the ribbon to mark the official opening of the newly refurbished Garnock Valley Amateur Boxing Club. Supported by an award of £26,147 from sportscotland’s Lottery Fund Sports Facilities Programme, the club now boasts a permanent boxing ring, a fully equipped gym, a fitted sauna and brand new changing and shower facilities.

sportscotland, National Centre, Inverclyde in Largs, Ayrshire is to receive a substantial award from North Ayrshire Council as a part of a programme funded from Landfill Tax Credits.

sportscotland, Scotland’s national sports development agency, has recently published new design guidance : ‘Primary School Sports Facilities’. This document, a companion to last year’s ‘Secondary School Sports Facilities: Designing for School and Community Use’ is the latest in a series of technical digests which aims to help local authorities provide quality school sports facilities suitable for both school and wider community use. It has been produced with the help of many practitioners and experts in the field of physical education and school sport, and in consultation with all the key agencies in this field.

Dumfries & Galloway Council are pleased to announce the opening of the new build Profiles Plus Fitness Suite at The F.U.N. Pool, Sanquhar.

Welcoming Peter Peacock’s announcement, Alastair Dempster, Chairman of sportscotland said: “Today’s announcement is fantastic news for sport and physical activity and represents a huge breakthrough. sportscotland has been battling for two hours of high quality PE in schools for several years and it is one of the key targets in Sport 21, Scotland’s national strategy for sport.

The people of South Edinburgh will be celebrating 40 years of Gracemount Youth and Community Centre on Saturday 12 June with the official opening of the eagerly awaited sports multi-court by former chairman, Allan Blacklaws, OBE.

Scottish Cricket Limited are celebrating their fifth year of funding from the sportscotland's Lottery Fund's Junior Groups Programme, which provides talented young athletes with a comprehensive training and competition programme.

Frank McAveety, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport and Tom McCabe, Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care teamed up in Edinburgh today to launch the nine implementation strategies, which have been developed to deliver the targets set out in Sport 21 - Scotland’s national strategy for sport 2003-2007.

Crossford Recreation And The Environment (CREATE) are delighted to announce a turf cutting ceremony to mark commencement of work on the all weather sports multi-court at King George V Memorial Park, Crossford, Fife, on Friday 11 June 2004 at 10am.

Twenty Girvan Academy pupils were given to opportunity of a lifetime today when they met up with Scotland’s top golfer, Colin Montgomerie, at his golf academy in Turnberry. On the agenda was expert coaching and a chance to find out what inspired Montgomerie to become a professional sportsmen.

sportscotland is delighted to announce a sixth consecutive year of funding to BADMINTONscotland with an award of £146,998 from the Lottery Fund’s Junior Groups Programme. This two year award has supported the appointment of a new Junior Performance Coach as well as this year’s training programme, which will focus on game preparation for forthcoming national and international tournaments.

Scottish Gymnastics and Scottish Fencing are both celebrating their sixth consecutive year of funding with a total of £48,000 from the sportscotland Lottery Fund’s Junior Groups Programme, which provides talented young athletes with comprehensive training and competition programmes, helping to develop their sporting potential.

The sportscotland Lottery Fund is delighted to announce an award of £40,000 for the 2004 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup at Fort William. Following the tremendous success of last year’s triple World Cup event, the picturesque slopes of Aonach Mor and the Nevis Range will once again become the host venue for three of the most gruelling, high-speed events in extreme free sports, Downhill, 4-Cross and Cross Country on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 June.

Lochcarron Golf Club has a new £116,000 clubhouse which was officially opened today (Tuesday 25 May) by long term member and former Chairman, Roddy ‘Butcher’ MacLennan.

The BP Tourfest Summer Shinty Roadshows will hit off next week (Tuesday 27 May) aimed at promoting the sport of shinty to young people across Scotland. The tour covers the length and breadth of the country from Lochcarron in Wester Ross to Aberdour in Fife.

Clyde Cruising Club’s Dinghy Section, based at Bardowie Loch near Glasgow, voted RYA Scotland Club of the Year in 2003, has yet more to celebrate in 2004. Tuesday 25 May will herald the official opening of the stunning new clubhouse and training complex on the banks of the loch by Boyd Tunnock MBE, well known Clyde yachtsman and Managing Director of the family owned biscuit maker Tunnock’s.

The Sporting Champions scheme swung into Renfrewshire today when Olympic hopeful hammer thrower Shirley Webb visited Linwood Sports Centre, Linwood. Shirley shared her experiences and successes with the pupils from all twelve secondary schools in the area in the hope of inspiring and encouraging them to participate in sport on a more regular basis.

A revolutionary pilot scheme using sport to raise self-esteem and motivation in three Scottish comprehensive schools received a massive lottery cash boost today. Sports Minister Frank McAveety announced the award to Scotland’s first ever sports comprehensives from the New Opportunities Fund, the Scottish Executive and sportscotland Lottery Fund.

The Ayr North Sports Initiative is delighted to invite families from Ayr North to join them to celebrate the International Day of Families this Saturday (15 May) at the John Pollock Centre Playing Fields. The day is part of a European Union initiative to bring families together and is the only event of its kind happening in Scotland.

Alastair Dempster, Chairman of sportscotland announced today that Ian Robson, Chief Executive is to leave the organisation at the end of July, after four years in the post, to take up a new challenge as Director, Major Projects with PMP, one of the major sports consultancy in the UK.

Frank McAveety MSP, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport will officially open Shetland’s brand new athletics track and field facilities at Clickimin Leisure Complex on Friday 30 April 2004, as part of his two day visit to Shetland.

The sportscotland Lottery Fund is delighted to announce an award of £75,157 from the Talented Athlete Programme (TAP) to the Scottish Football Association (SFA), for the Scotland Women’s National Squad Programme.

The sportscotland Lottery Fund is delighted to announce further funding totalling £61,000 to Scottish Cycling to support a comprehensive performance programme focusing on the key athletes who have been identified as potential medallists in either the 2006 or 2010 Commonwealth Games.

David Laing, Honorary Member of Kelso Orchard Tennis Club will officially open its new tennis facilities on Saturday 24 April at 2pm. The opening will be followed by an Open Day from 3pm when the community will get the opportunity to use the new facilities. David will be joined by, amongst others, the Provost of Kelso, Margaret Riddell, Convenor of Scottish Borders Council, Alastair Hutton, Leader of Scottish Borders Council, David Parker and Jill Errington, South of Scotland LTA County Development Officer.

The sportscotland Lottery Fund is delighted to announce further investment of £181,516 towards four projects through its Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIPs) programme. This brings sportscotland’s total investment in the SIPs scheme to £1,971,443 since the programme was launched in June 2002.

Olympic, World European, Commonwealth gold medallist, Steve Cram MBE will unveil a new sports pavilion at Newcastleton, marking the completion of the second and final phase of the Newcastleton Polysport Project. The well-known sports personality has been a strong supporter of the project for many years and is delighted that the local community will significantly benefit from the upgrade of leisure and sports provisions.

Minister for Justice, Cathy Jamieson MSP will unveil Ayrshire and the South of Scotland’s first regional performance and matchplay indoor tennis centre on Saturday 17 April. Prestwick, Symington and Ayr Fort Community Tennis and Fitness Club boasts four new indoor courts, four new and four existing outdoor courts, a new clubhouse with modern amenities and a brand new fitness gym thanks to a £490,000 contribution from the sportscotland Lottery Fund Sports Facilities Programme.

sportscotland Lottery Fund is delighted to announce the latest round of sports facilities awards totalling £1,812,739 providing more opportunities for communities across Scotland to participate in sport and physical activity.

Boyd Tunnock, MBE, Managing Director of the family owned biscuit maker Tunnock’s will attend the opening of Uddingston Bowling and Tennis Club’s new and improved sports facilities on Saturday 17 April 2004. Boyd, whose business is based in Uddingston, will join forces with national bowls coach, Graham Robertson and West of Scotland LTA County Development Officer, Nicola Kerr.

Fresh from junior world championships in Canada last week, bronze medallist and Grampian Institute of Sport curler Graham Smith will lend his support today (5 April 2004) to mark the start of construction of a new regional training and competition venue, for curling in the North East of Scotland. With an investment of £800,000 from the sportscotland Lottery Fund Sports Facilities Programme, this project will provide the Aberdeen curling fraternity with an excellent new facility designed to encourage more people to experience the game and helping to strengthen the sport in Scotland.

The Scottish Football Association (SFA), together with the Scottish Executive and sportscotland, has launched a £31.1m action plan to increase the number of players in Scotland and raise standards at all levels of the game.

sportscotland is delighted to announce their support to the Scottish Royal Yachting Association (RYA) with an award of £39,690 from the Lottery funded Junior Groups Programme. This investment will ensure the RYA remains firmly anchored at the pinnacle of grassroots development, helping youngsters to achieve their potential at a junior level.

Clydesdale Bank and basketballscotland scooped the top award at the Scottish Business in Sport Dinner in Glasgow last night (Tuesday 23 March 2004) for their youth basketball programme. They won the Best Sponsorship for Young People category and then went on to collect the overall Scottish Sport Sponsorship of the Year Award 2004 presented by Matthew Pinsent CBE, triple Olympic rowing gold medallist and supported by Shepherd and Wedderburn.

CALLING ALL SCHOOLS…. IN THE week when BADMINTONscotland named Diana Koleva as their new Junior High Performance Coach, there is another big boost for badminton youngsters in Scotland.

Women and girl’s participation in sport is just one of the issues set to be addressed as a result of the new ‘Ethics in Sport’ guidance issued by sportscotland this week and endorsed by Jackie Lockhart, women’s curling world champion skip 2002, who will again represent Scotland at this year’s world championships in Sweden in April.

17-year-old skating enthusiast and local resident Gary Watson is delighted to see his dream turned into reality this weekend following the start of work to create a new skateboard park in Dingwall. Watson helped to form Extreme Wheels, a voluntary group to lead the campaign for the development of this facility, which would enable youngsters to train and improve their techniques in a safe and suitable environment.

Following their impressive tenth place at the European Championships in Budapest last month, sportscotland has met recently with ice skaters John and Sinead Kerr along with a representative of the National Ice Skating Association of UK (NISA) to discuss their application for funding from the Talented Athlete Programme and their ongoing performance plan towards the 2006/ 2010 Olympic Winter Games

Local Councillor Fred Murray will perform the official opening of a new Profiles Plus Fitness Suite at the Ryan Centre in Stranraer. Supported by an award of £75,000 from sportscotland’s Lottery funded Sports Facilities Programme, the fitness suite will add a new dimension to existing leisure provisions in the local area, ultimately making it easier for people to participate in sport on a more regular basis.

The seventh annual BP National First Shinty Festival will take place at the Nevis Centre, Fort William at 12 noon on Saturday 13 March, with 16 primary aged teams from across Scotland competing for the title of national champions.

Around 80 coaches from the Highlands will come together this weekend for the fourth annual coaching conference for the Highlands. The Highland Coaching Conference, which is being held in Inverness on Friday 27 February at the Thistle Hotel and on Saturday 28 February at Inverness College, will offer a quality coach development programme to local and regional coaches from a diversity of sports.

sportscotland Lottery Fund’s Junior Groups Programme is delighted to announce the latest round of awards totalling just over £69,000 to Triathlon Scotland and Scottish Women’s Rugby. For Scotland to achieve future sporting success on the international stage we must continue to support grassroots development and encourage our young Scots to realise their full potential.

Ian Robson, Chief Executive of sportscotland and Chair of the Judging Panel today announced the shortlist of sports organisations and businesses who have been nominated in the search for Scotland's top sports sponsorships.

sportscotland, National Centre, Inverclyde have shown ongoing commitment to high standards of catering by being awarded a “Highly Commended” from the Scottish Healthy Choices Awards Scheme. This award scheme is organised by the Scottish Consumer Council, the Health Education Board, Health Board Promotions Dept and the area Environmental Health Service who manage the scheme locally.

Around 90 coaches from the East of Scotland will come together this weekend for the first of two regional coaching conferences. The East of Scotland Coaching Conference, which is being held at the Ratho Adventure Centre near Edinburgh on Sunday 22 February, will offer a quality coach development programme to local and regional coaches from a diversity of sports.

The Sporting Champions scheme will embrace one of Scotland’s most remote communities today when Commonwealth Games judo silver medallist Jenni Brien makes her visit to Castlebay School on the Isle of Barra. Jenni will be sharing her experiences and successes with the pupils in the hope of inspiring and encouraging them to participate in sport on a more regular basis.

The Scottish sporting community is being given an excellent opportunity to become more integrated with Europe, Sports Minister Frank McAveety said today.

“We would like to warmly congratulate John and Sinead Kerr on their 10th place at the European Championships this week, which is a marvellous achievement and we hope that their future performances continue to reflect their current form.

Former Scottish title holder and current international bowler Gary Mackie will deliver the first Jack and bowl to mark the opening of the new eight-rink indoor bowling centre. The facility will be the first of its kind in Fife and aims to improve the quality and accessibility of leisure provisions in the area.

The revolution for sports coaching in the UK continues apace as 22 sports have been formally invited to be part of the first wave to implement the new National Coaching Certificate (NCC).

sportscotland's Avalanche Information Service is to host a major international seminar on Saturday 31st January and Sunday 1 February 2004, aimed at enhancing the avalanche knowledge base of mountaineers and avalanche practitioners in Scotland.

The young people of Penilee, Glasgow are to receive more opportunities to partake in physical activity following the launch of the Penilee Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) programme at Penilee Community Centre on Saturday (24 January). The project is one of three new initiatives across Glasgow which have received a total of £89,551 of support from the sportscotland Lottery Fund’s SIP programme. The award reflects sportscotland’s continued commitment to improve access to healthy lifestyle choices, enhance sporting opportunities and help communities develop themselves through sport and physical recreation.

sportscotland is delighted to announce further support to the development of junior talent with an of £41,200 to Scottish Squash. The investment comes from the Lottery Fund’s Junior Groups Programme, which provides talented young athletes in a range of sports with the opportunity, to participate in a co-ordinated programme of training and competition.

Measures to tackle childhood obesity through the appointment of Active Schools Co-ordinators across Scotland were the focus of a recent announcement by the First Minister Jack McConnell. sportscotland is working closely with a range of agencies to contribute to the development and implementation of the Active Schools Programme and is the driving force behind the appointment of the 630 Active Schools Co-ordinators in partnership with Scotland’s 32 local authorities.

Nine years of tireless community campaigning has finally paid off today following the start of construction to build a new community sports and leisure centre in Lochinver. Local MP John Thurso and MSP Jamie Stone will be lending their support to the project, which aims to develop an infrastructure of quality sports facilities within the local area for people of all ages and abilities.