Category Archives: Glasgow 2014

Take Part in “Authors Live: Storytelling Relay”

Lari, Mara and Peter

When: Thursday 31 October at 11am (50 minutes)
Age: Primary 4-7 or 8-12 years
Where: your classroom, library, hall or computer at home!

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To celebrate the Queen’s Baton Relay setting off on its journey around the Commonwealth, Authors Live has brought together storytellers, Peter Chand, Lari Don and Mara Menzies (India, Scotland & Kenya) to share traditional tales from their homeland in this storytelling relay.

You can apply to be part of the audience, use the learning resources and even win prizes in a special draw. To find out more about the event, and to register, visit http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/node/111293.

The Sorytelling Relay will be streamed live on  www.bbc.co.uk/commonwealthclass and schools can email  commonwealthclass@bbc.co.uk for more information.

Authors Live is a collaboration between Scottish Book Trust and BBC Scotland Learning, funded by Creative Scotland.

Game On Scotland at SLF 2013, 25 – 26 Sept, SECC

Join us at this year’s Scottish Learning Festival, 25th and 26th September at the SECC, Glasgow.
With a colourful programme of 3 showcase events and our key seminar in the Lomond Auditorium we will provide you with a wide variety of creative and innovative ideas and opportunities to use the Games as a rich context for learning.
Alternatively come and speak to us at the Education Scotland stand to find out the answers to:
• What is the latest competition I can join?
• How can I get a visit from Clyde to my school?
• What materials are there on offer?
• How can schools get access to the Games?

Our seminar and showcase sessions overview:

We are looking forward to meeting you at the SLF!

Your Game On Scotland Team

All Go for Glasgow 2014!

Clyde on Tour

It’s a busy few days for Glasgow 2014, with lots of exciting developments! This evening the Queen’s Baton for the Glasgow 2014 Queen’s Baton Relay will be revealed live on the BBC’s One Show from 7pm, then on Monday, to coincide with tickets going on sale, Clyde, the Official Games Mascot, is set to embark on a whistle-stop tour of schools across Scotland.

From Monday, Clyde will be visiting primary schools from Edinburgh to Elgin and Argyll to Aberdeenshire, inspiring young people the length and breadth of the country about the Games alongside two of Scotland’s top Commonwealth athletes.

Double Gold medal-winning swimmer David Carry and the first Scottish badminton player to win a match in an Olympic Games, Susan Egelstaff, will accompany Clyde, engaging with young children and giving them an insight into the world-class event coming to Glasgow next summer.

During each visit, schoolchildren will be introduced to the 17 sports of the Commonwealth Games by Clyde, as well as being given a personal insight from both David and Susan into what it takes to become a sporting champion and what it means to compete for Scotland at a Commonwealth Games.

At 4pm on Monday 19th, Glasgow 2014 will also be hosting a live Twitter interview with top Scottish swimmer Michael Jamieson. To get involved, tweet in using #AskMichael.

You can find out everything you need to know about the Queen’s Baton Relay at www.glasgow2014.com/baton-relay.

The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay – Reveal!

Delhi 2010 Baton - Solomon Islands

The Queen’s Baton Relay is the curtain-raiser to the XX Commonwealth Games. After visiting 71 nations and territories over 288 days it meets the finish line at the Opening Ceremony of the Games on 23 July 2014 in Glasgow, where Her Majesty The Queen’s message to the Commonwealth will be read aloud.

What will the baton look like? Where did the inspiration come from?

The full story will be revealed over the next seven exciting days! The Glasgow 2014 team will be rolling out information and clues building up to a momentous baton reveal on Friday 16 August!

Teaser films and articles about the baton will start to appear from Monday 12 August 2013 at: www.glasgow2014.com/baton-relay

Ensure you’re in the know by following the team’s social media updates – giving away many intriguing clues throughout the week:

https://www.facebook.com/Glasgow2014
https://twitter.com/Glasgow2014

And if you tweet about the reveal then make sure you use #BatonRelay

Baton Reveal Day: Friday August 16 2013

New monthly BBC show: “Inspire: The Olympic Journey”

A new monthly magazine series has begun on BBC One, seeking to celebrate the biggest names, the rising stars and the unsung heroes of sport. The first episode of “Inspire: The Olympic Journey” was broadcast on Saturday 27th July, with presenter Gabby Logan in Glasgow to mark the one year milestone to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The show sees the presenter receive a guided tour of the city by Glasgow 2014 Ambassador Sir Chris Hoy and visit the velodrome named after the star which will host the track cycling at the Games.

It also features well-known athletes, as presenters and interviewees, looking at the legacy of London 2012 and taking a look ahead at some of the young athletes who may be the stars of future Games.

The first episode is currently available on BBC iPlayer and the show returns each month, with a new selection of stars and hopefuls.

1 Year to Go Until the Opening Ceremony!

One Year to Go

Today (23 July) marks exactly one year until the Opening Ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

To celebrate this exciting milestone, a special 1 Year to Go film has been released which includes the ‘Big1’ tour and an exclusive athlete feature. There’s also a look back at the past year where amazing new venues made their mark on the Glasgow skyline and public support for the Games saw 50,811 friendly people apply to volunteer.

Glasgow 2014 is Scotland’s biggest ever sporting and cultural event, with athletes from across the Commonwealth preparing to make history in 17 Sports across 11 days of competition from 23 July – 3 August 2014. You can make sure the young people you work with are part of the Games by joining in with the exciting opportunities available on the Game On Scotland website, with materials for all stages and across all curricular areas.

On a personal level, you can show your support for the Games by joining the Glasgow 2014 ‘Sport countdown clock’, by adding the #1YTG twibbon to your Twitter account or by signing up for ticketing updates at http://www.glasgow2014.com/user/register .

Glasgow 2014 will be an event like no other. Get ready to be part of something extraordinary.

Commonwealth Games Village – 1 Year Out

Commonwealth Games Village Zones

With less than a year to go until 4,500 top-class athletes from across the Commonwealth take up residence in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Village, 85% of the homes are already complete. The state-of-the-art facility will also feature a medical centre, shops, recreation areas and 24-hour dining facilities.

The site is Scotland’s first large-scale carbon neutral housing development and will begin its transformation for Games-mode at the start of next year. The Glasgow 2014 Athletes’ Advisory Committee has been involved throughout the design stages of the project to ensure that it is more than just a bed between training and competition.

Athletes and officials will be accommodated within a range of properties – from terraced homes, to contemporary cubed townhouses – within the 35 hectare site which has been developed by City Legacy – a private sector consortium which is working with Glasgow City Council.

It was revealed on Friday (12/07) that at Games-time the Village site will be zoned and has four different areas appropriately named with a Scottish flavour as Clan, Castle, Mountain and Loch.

Ensuring the smooth operating of a Games village is a mammoth logistical task, requiring precision planning. In food terms alone more than 390,000 village meals will be served with more than 2,000 different menu items including 11,600 kg of mushrooms, 10,000 kg of garlic and 500,000 pieces of fruit.

Also expected to be used are:
– 30,000 towels
– 26,000 bed sheets and 12,600 pillow cases
– 20,000 toilet rolls
– 100,000 bin liners
– 1,400 litres of liquid soap

After the Games, the Athletes’ Village will leave a lasting legacy for the people of Glasgow as 700 homes will be available – 300 for private sale and 400 affordable houses for rental.

Thanks to Game On Scotland, your school can get involved, too, by signing up to our Athletes’ Village Art Competition. Every school which takes part will have its pupils’ work displayed in the bedrooms of the athletes and officials – make sure you grab your chance to be part of the action!

400 days to go!

Celtic Park, opening ceremony (artist impression)Today marks another milestone in the journey towards the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games – there are only 400 days to go until the opening ceremony begins 11 days of top class sport in venues across Glasgow and Scotland. 400 days. That’s fewer than 58 weeks until the largest multi-sport and cultural event to ever arrive in Scotland opens its doors. Are you ready to make the most of the opportunity?

We’ve got information, resources and details of opportunities aplenty on the Game On Scotland site. It’s not just about sport either, the Games can provide a fantastic context for learning across the curriculum. You’ll find content relevant to every curricular area as well as inter-disciplinary and whole school materials, we’ve even got materials specifically designed for youth workers and CLD professionals.

We’ll be doing everything we can to assist teachers and educators to use the Games as a context, but it’s a team effort and we need the support of those same professionals to deliver the greatest success. As a starting point, make sure you tell the world about your Game On Challenge and get your school signed up for the Athletes’ Village Art Competition, both great ways to make sure the young people you work with are included in the Games.

On the Game On Scotland site you’ll find a wealth of materials to help and we’ll be regularly adding more, as 400 days turns into 399, then 398, 397…

Glasgow 2014 CEO interviewed by Lourdes Secondary pupils

Lourdes Secondary Pupils with David GrevembergGlasgow 2014 Chief Executive David Grevemberg was recently interviewed by Lourdes Secondary pupils Sophie Reilly and Ruth Neilson. Both girls are 5th year pupils at the school and are involved in the Determined to Report journalism programme run by Glasgow City Council. Their report of the interview has now appeared in Glasgow City Council’s “Shoutit!” newspaper, produced by pupils and distributed throughout the city. You can read the full interview below…

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I grew up in inner city New Orleans. My mother was a social worker and worked with churches and gangs to bring people together. New Orleans is a fairly diverse community and I was the only white kid for blocks which taught me a lot about appreciating diversity and trying to understand. Sport was around me from day one at the playground I used to play at. I was given the chance to go out of the city centre into the suburbs to a private school which was also a big transition for me. I really started my wrestling career here and was successful; I wrestled a bit nationally and internationally through school and college. When I was about 18 I went 1500 miles to complete my undergraduate degree in Sports Management. Wrestling was something that came with me and it carried me all the way through college. Unfortunately I had an injury that stopped me from doing it. I had to move on and do other things which is when I started doing Sports Management.

I did some work with the USA Olympic Committee in the grants and planning division which is very similar to Sport Scotland where you got to see all the different national governing bodies all the different sports how they are run. I was put in charge of putting together the high performance plan for the US Paralympics Team going to Atlanta. This was an amazing experience because the way I looked at it these are athletes with different eligibility requirements they are not disabled athletes they are just athletes. I’m an athlete, you’re an athlete, let’s make sure you are treated like an athlete and we really pushed that forward.

I spent 16 years in the Paralympics movement and was asked by the International Paralympics Committee to write their qualifications criteria for each of the Paralympics games. In 1999 I was made Sports Director for the International Paralympics Committee and moved from United States to Germany; I did that for 11 years before coming to Glasgow, where I have received an amazing welcome. I think the thing with Glasgow is that it embodies so much of the Commonwealth – it has a great chance to show the Commonwealth what it means to be a great a Commonwealth citizen.

My main role as CEO of the Commonwealth Games is to make sure that our vision and our mission is protected. Our vision is really in three parts, always keeping the organisation and athletes in the sports the focus; to create a celebration that is celebrated not only throughout Glasgow and Scotland but throughout the Commonwealth and thirdly to make sure that everything we do leaves a lasting legacy for Glasgow and for Scotland.

One of my proudest achievements I have to say is the response that we’ve had from the people getting involved. 50% of the Commonwealth, that’s a billion plus people, are 25 years of age or younger and for us to engage and empower young people as part of this journey is an achievement. Getting young people such as yourselves, not just talking about values but actually taking the time to action those values; that I feel most proud of. Sitting in front of you I’m inspired and just amazed by, I question myself at your age would I be doing this, I just think that is what it’s all about.

I always talk about challenges as opportunities. I think probably, the number one challenge that you’re facing in any multi-sport games it’s just getting people to know what they expect, know where they’re going. Sport in so many ways gives us the opportunity to dare greatly, to showcase our determination to recognise accomplishment. Look at Sir Chris Hoy and his performance during London 2012, it didn’t matter where or who you were in the world, everyone appreciated that performance, and were inspired by his graciousness, humility on the podium and his sense of accomplishment. Those moments bring us all closer together. The more we practise sport the more we can use sport to find ways of pushing ourselves forward in humanity. I wrote a bit of a poem on daring greatly when I left the IPC which outlines how I think sport challenges us to dare greatly and I think Glasgow 2014 is doing just that. It’s daring greatly.

I think Scotland performs so well in a number of sports, in Delhi shooting was by far one of the most successful sports and that will be taking place in Dundee. In swimming you’ve got Michael Jamieson, Hannah Miley and others coming through the ranks. I know Commonwealth Games Scotland is working very hard with sportscotland and the Institute of Sport to prepare the team to be successful in a home team environment and I think that’s something that I look forward to seeing.

The legacy for youngsters of Glasgow is people’s confidence; we do what we say and we say what we do and we can do it; it’s different than anywhere else in the world and we can do it. Don’t be afraid of your ambitions, manage your anxieties and be ambitious and go after your dreams. The more we can get that message out to young people the better all of our futures are I think that’s a real potential here in Glasgow.

I have two messages for Glasgow pupils and their parents and carer; the first is to say thank you to everyone for their support to date. Secondly is that we’ve got almost a year to get ready to welcome the world. Let’s all do what we can to make Glasgow proud and to be a shining example of the city we come from.

Glasgow 2014 News

Want to know more about the fastest 19 year old in the world, Colin Gregor (Scotland’s Rugby 7 Captain), how to become an athlete etc. why not go to the news section of Glasgow 2014:

Main topics in May: