Governing bodies to benefit from sportscotland funding
Wednesday 12 April 2006
A number of governing bodies of sport in Scotland, from angling to handball to tug of war, are to benefit from sportscotland annual funding.
The Scottish Federation of Sea Anglers (SFSA) has received £12,500 in sportscotland funding. The investment, of which £11,500 is from the sportscotland Lottery fund, will go towards coaching and organisational development of the governing body, which is currently developing a five-year business plan.
"sportscotland is pleased to support all kinds of sports and their related governing bodies in our bid to both increase participation across Scotland and improve the performance of our athletes, whatever sport they may be involved in."
The SFSA has 35 clubs from coast to coast across Scotland and it is estimated that over 150,000 people regularly participate in sea angling. Current priorities for the Federation are to focus on sea conservation and increase participation, with a junior programme and youth training courses now in place. In 2005, a youth team was formed and competed at the Home Nations Championships, where the Scottish team won bronze in Holyhead Wales.
The Scottish Anglers National Association (SANA) has received £12,000 in sportscotland Lottery funding. The investment will go towards coaching and organisational development of the governing body for the sport of game angling in Scotland.
SANA works with related bodies and environmental interests to protect and enhance the aquatic environment in Scotland. The organisation has around 30,000 members, mainly through its associated clubs, and regularly gives advice on a wide range of angling related issues. It also supports youngsters in the sport and provides support to disabled anglers through Scottish Disability Sports Angling. There are over 270 disabled anglers in Scotland registered with an angling club; additionally, last August, Scotland's youth (mixed sex) team placed third overall at an international competition. Also in 2005, Scotland's ladies team placed first internationally.
Also in the sport of angling, the Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling (SFCA) has received £4,000 in sportscotland Lottery funding, which will go towards coaching and organisational development of the governing body.
The aim is to increase the number of accredited coaches to better enable the SFCA's ability to coach juniors by increasing the number of professional angling association accredited qualified coaches. On the performance side, the national team will endeavour to defend the Celtic Cup this year and improve its status internationally at the World Fishing Games in Portugal in September.
The SFCA continues to build on the numbers of juniors competing and participating in coarse angling with weekly matches held at Magiscroft Fishery in Cumbernauld, a four-pond fishery custom-built by coarse anglers for coarse anglers.
The Scottish Archery Association (SAA) has received £12,000 in sportscotland funding. The investment, of which £10,500 is from the sportscotland Lottery fund, will go towards coaching, junior and senior squad and team training and competition.
Archer John Murray of Dumfries, who is registered disabled, but competes in both disabled and able-bodied competitions, has benefited from sportscotland individual Athlete Support. In 2005 he won gold at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) European Championships and placed fifth at the IPC World Championships. He is currently ranked third in the IPC World rankings.
Scottish Archery has a membership of 96 clubs and an estimated 1600 participants in Scotland.
The Scottish Tug of War Association (STOWA) has received £2,500 in sportscotland Lottery funding. STOWA will focus the investment on regular competition and intensive training programmes and the development and improvement of trainee coaches to help Scotland maintain their position as one of the premier nations at indoor tug of war.
In February of this year Scotland won three gold medals and one silver in the world championships in Killarney, Ireland. Nine countries competed in the event, with Scotland taking home the biggest share of the medals.
The Scottish Handball Association (SHA) has received £10,000 in sportscotland funding. The investment, of which £5,000 is Lottery funding, will go towards coaching, player improvement and organisational development.
The SHA is currently working with the European Handball Federation in a three-year partnership call Smart Plan which will resource and support the SHA to deliver handball in Scotland.
Around 2,500 people in Scotland participate in handball, primarily via schools and clubs. One of the SHA's goal this year is to convert participation to governing body membership. The sport will make its Olympic debut at the London 2012 Games.
The Scottish Croquet Association (SCA) has received £2,000 in sportscotland Lottery funding. The investment will go towards overall support in the running of the governing body and to attract new participants and players to the sport via regional events and 'pay and play' sessions.
The SCA has eight clubs in Scotland. Currently there are two Scottish players ranked in the top ten in the world, with 22 ranked croquet players in total.
Julia Bracewell, Chair, sportscotland, said: "sportscotland is pleased to support all kinds of sports and their related governing bodies in our bid to both increase participation across Scotland and improve the performance of our athletes, whatever sport they may be involved in."