SCOTLAND CONFIRM COMMONWEALTH GAMES PARTICIPATION
Friday, 24 September 2010
Scotland 7s today confirmed that they will depart for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi this Tuesday (28 September).
The news followed assurances from Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) and the Delhi Government that, under the leadership of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, concerted action to resolve the issues in the Athletes' Village had been undertaken.
However, despite the delay, Scotland 7s' head coach, Stephen Gemmell, was pleased that the squad had been able to maintain a programme of high performance preparation.
He said: "The management and the players are very much looking forward to taking part in the Commonwealth Games and are happy that additional resources have been brought in, in Delhi, to oversee the quality control and delivery of the Games.
"Despite the cancellation of our original plans to travel yesterday (Thursday 23 September), we've been able to maintain a high standard of preparation at Murrayfield Stadium and today is the first day of our four-day residential camp at Stirling University.
"Being in camp creates a distraction-free environment and provides more time to analyse our training sessions, ensure our players recover properly, discuss our goals and build team spirit and camaraderie before we enter the Team Scotland environment.
"All this combines to offer continual focus on our performance so we can go to Delhi and perform for Scotland."
Dominic McKay, Scottish Rugby's director of communications and public affairs, said: "We are pleased with the update from CGS that improvements have been made in Delhi to ensure our players' welfare and safety.
"The players and management of the Scotland 7s team deserve great credit for keeping their focus on their preparations in advance of the Games. We will continue to keep in close contact with CGS in the days ahead."
Professor Grant Jarvie, Depute Principal at the University of Stirling, said: "We are delighted to be able to welcome the Scotland 7s team to Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence before their journey to Delhi.
"With world-class sports facilities and national centres in a number of sports on campus, the University has everything they need to continue their preparations ahead of the Commonwealth Games."

This article was posted on 24-Sep-2010, 13:44 by Hugh Barrow.