Clydesdale Bank Athlete of the Month Awards
As part of our support for Team Scotland, the Clydesdale Bank Athlete of the Month Awards, run in partnership with Commonwealth Games Scotland and the 17 participating sports’ governing bodies, continues to recognise and support the outstanding achievement of athletes striving for a place in Team Scotland at this year's Games.
The scheme is open to all athletes who are eligible to represent Scotland at this year’s Games in Delhi.
With the first winner being announced back in October 2009, one year before the Delhi Games gets underway, each monthly winner will receive an athlete award of £500 toward training and competition costs. Following Delhi one athlete, who it is decided has achieved the best overall performance at the Games, will be named ‘Athlete of the Games’ and will receive a £1,000 award which will be presented at the Commonwealth Games Awards Dinner in November 2010. Two runners-up will also receive awards of £500 each.
Athletes are nominated by their respective sports and will have demonstrated outstanding performances during the build-up to the Games. Click on an athletes name to find out more:
- October – Hannah Miley, Swimming and Mark Dry, Hammer
- November – Kirsty Gilmour, Badminton
- December – Ross Stott, Hockey
- January – Jayne Clayson, Wrestling
- February – Peter Kirkbride, Weightlifting
- March – Jennifer McIntosh, Shooting
- April – Paul Foster, Bowling
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
Hannah Miley
Hannah Miley made her Commonwealth Games debut in Melbourne in 2006 at just 16 years old, where she was inspired by the medal winning Scottish swimmers around her and finished an incredible 4th in her favoured 400m individual medley (IM) event.
Hannah has gone from strength to strength since then and is a regular on the British swimming scene, competing in multiple events. She had an excellent season in 2009 culminating in 6th in the 200m IM and 4th in the 400m IM at the World Championships in Rome, missing out on a medal by less than 0.5 seconds. She broke numerous Scottish, British and Commonwealth records along the way this year, with the highlight being breaking the European record for both the 200m and 400m IM which had been held for over eight years by Olympic double gold medallist Yana Klochkova of Ukraine. At 4:31.33 Hannah’s best 400m IM time is now 16.62 seconds faster than her final swim in Melbourne.
With Commonwealth Games qualification times already posted in no less than seven events, Hannah has her sights firmly set on coming of age in Delhi less than two months after what will be her 21st birthday.
“I am really pleased and honoured to be picked and it is nice that the hard work is recognised” said Hannah. “It would be great fun to be part of the team in Delhi. Melbourne was when I decided to make swimming my career and it will be great to compete again for Scotland.”
Mark Dry
Mark Dry also had a fabulous season, exceeding the 66m Commonwealth Games qualification mark on 15 separate occasions. In August, Scottish Champion Mark became the first Scot in over 25 years to break the 70m barrier in the hammer, throwing 70.81m to put him second on the Scottish All-Time list behind his coach Chris Black. 21 year- old Mark is now top of the UK rankings for 2009 and is third in the Commonwealth.
“It’s come as a surprise to me; I’m chuffed to bits” said Mark. “It’s been a good season so far, I’ve had sixteen or seventeen throws over 66 metres. I’ve got a year to go to Delhi and there is still plenty of work to do.”
Kirsty Gilmour
Just 16 years of age, and therefore still playing at junior level, Kirsty Gilmour from Bothwell in Lanarkshire has been identified as a member of badminton’s elite squad aiming for selection for Team Scotland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. This, backed by a string of recent on-court achievements both at home and abroad, has seen her named as the Clydesdale Bank Athlete of the Month for November receiving £500 towards her training and competition costs.
Collecting her award Kirsty said: “It is great to be recognised for what I have achieved after a lot of hard work and the £500 from Clydesdale Bank will be really useful, particularly to help with the cost of restringing rackets which is a big part of the budget.”
Given Kirsty’s family connections with the sport it is hardly surprising that she seems destined to follow in their successful footsteps. Her father Brian, who was the national junior coach, first put a racket in her hand when she was just four years of age and although she gave both gymnastics and football a go, it was to the badminton court that she returned. She is also spurred on by her uncle, David Gilmour, who was capped 50 times for Scotland at badminton between 1989 and 2008.
A fiercely competitive young woman, Kirsty has elected to play singles where she feels firmly in control of her own destiny, with no one else to blame if things go wrong. But despite her keen desire to win, off court she feels the friendly nature of the sport is its biggest attraction.
Kirsty attends the Glasgow School of Sport at Bellahouston Academy, and is coached by Craig Robertson a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist from Manchester. She believes there are real benefits to training in this unique setting which offers a fully integrated programme of education and high performance sport training, with the added bonus for badminton that it is all one site.
“They are a lot more understanding about our needs to go training and getting time off for competitions, whilst still making sure we keep up with our work” said Kirsty. “My coach even makes me take my homework with me when I am away.”
Kirsty’s performances during season 2008/09 were consistently high: not only did she win the national u17 women’s singles title (playing in her own age group), but she also holds the national u19 women’s single title. At the end of the 2008/09 season, she was number one singles player in both u17 and u19 age groups nationally and 12 in the Scottish senior rankings. However despite domestic success Kirsty believes it was her unexpected appearance in the final of the Belgian Junior u19 tournament, where she lost in the final to the top seed, which was her great achievement.
The 2009/10 season which got underway in August, has seen Kirsty off to a flying start. At the highly regarded Langenfeld Junior tournament, held in Germany during August, she was women’s singles winner (Under 17), despite only being seeded to reach the quarter finals. This is a superb win as competition is of the highest standard and it is also the first time a Scottish junior has won at Langenfeld. In early September, Kirsty went on to win the UK Schools Games singles title against the best in Britain. Her first taste of a multi-sport Games was a positive one, and will be a good experience should Kirsty find herself in Delhi next October.
“The UK School Games was great with lots of people turning up from different places all in team kit. You go and compete with the badminton people and when you have finished you get to watch and mix with other sports.”
With the rest of the season focused on booking her place on the Team Scotland plane for Delhi, Kirsty is excited about the prospect and feels there is a great future ahead.
“It would a great opportunity to go to Delhi and get some experience which would stand me in good stead for Glasgow 2014 where I would love to get a medal. I am even hoping I might just make the team for London 2012.”
Ross Stott
Just days after Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) formally announced hockey’s inclusion in next year’s 2010 Games in Delhi Ross Stott extended Scottish Hockey’s celebrations after the player was named as the Clydesdale Bank Athlete of the Month for December. Ross was delighted to receive the award in recognition of his impressive performance at the recent World Cup qualifier and as the recipient of the trophy he also receives a very welcome £500 towards his training and competition costs.
Ross said on receipt of his award, “This has been a complete but very welcome surprise to me. I had no idea I had been nominated and it is great to win the award and gain recognition for hockey from among so many worthy Commonwealth sports men and women.”
The cheque for £500 is also a welcome boost for the 21 year old hockey player who regularly travels from his home town of Dundee to Bellahouston Park in Glasgow where he trains with Kelburne Hockey Club. The Scotland squad member who hopes to be among the selected athletes bound for Delhi next year added, “The additional funding will be very useful at a time when I am actively looking for work that can fit into my busy training and competition schedule, as my preparations and performances will be very important in the year ahead.”
Ross’ performance at the World Cup qualifying event hosted in Invercargill, New Zealand was integral to the team’s third place finish and he was justly named the man of the tournament by the Scotland team coaching staff.
“I scored the winning goal in the penalty shoot out in that match and I wasn’t keeping count before I lined up for the last penalty so I didn’t know I was playing a crucial shot, but scoring that goal topped off a memorable tournament for us and a great team effort."
Jayne Clayson
25 Year old Jayne Clayson only took up wrestling 18 months ago and now she is poised to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October. Jayne even has an eye on a medal in the 55kg weight category, if she can replicate her form from the Commonwealth Championships last December, where she won a bronze medal against strong opposition. Jayne describes this success as the highlight of her sporting career so far.
Indeed it was this outstanding performance that has led her to be named as the Clydesdale Bank Athlete of the Month for January and she will receive a cheque for £500 towards her competition and training costs. The scheme is being run by Commonwealth Games Scotland in conjunction with Clydesdale Bank as part of their programme of support to Team Scotland and is open to athletes in any of the 17 participating sports who are eligible to represent Scotland at next year’s Games in Delhi.
“This is the first award of any kind that I have won, said Jayne so I am absolutely delighted. I need some new wrestling boots which can cost between £100-£200 for good ones, along with other training kit so the money will be really useful as I can only work part-time as a gym assistant to fit round my training and competitions.”
Wrestling for women is making its Commonwealth Games debut in Delhi. It is a big sport in India and one in which they have targeted significant medal success. However Scotland also hopes to field some strong opposition, mainly thanks to a talent transfer scheme initiated by the Scottish Wrestling Association and following the principles of the talent programme being developed by the sportscotland institute of sport, which has seen Jayne along with four other girls switch from the sport of judo where they also enjoyed considerable success.
Peter Kirkbride
The 2009 season proved a series of Herculean achievements for Ayrshire weightlifter, Peter Kirkbride, who is poised to represent Scotland at October’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
The 22 year old from Hurlford near Kilmarnock, holds 17 British records, three of them taken in the season-ending Scottish Senior Championships in Pitlochry. He bettered Team Scotland’s Commonwealth Games qualifying criteria by 20kg. In a final crowning glory after a spectacular season he became British Weightlifter of the Year.
Those, combined with other achievements, have led Kirkbride to be named the Clydesdale Bank Athlete of the Month for February. The scheme, being run by Commonwealth Games Scotland in conjunction with Clydesdale Bank as part of its programme of support to Team Scotland, is open to athletes in any of the 17 participating sports who are eligible to represent Scotland at this year’s Games in Delhi.
“It is a great honour to be named Athlete of the Month,” said Kirkbride, who receives a £500 cheque to go towards costs of training and competition. “I have won local awards before but nothing on a national level like this. This is a big thing for me and will help towards my training and travel.”
Jennifer McIntosh
18 year old Jennifer McIntosh has shown she is on target for selection for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October, following an impressive performance at the Commonwealth Shooting Federation Championships in India last month, the official test event for the Games.
She won gold in the Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Pairs competition and backed this up with a second win in the Women’s Prone Pairs event. If that was not enough, she helped set new championship scores in both events despite still being classed as a junior.
This impressive medal haul, backed up by a full season of good results and numerous Commonwealth Games minimum consideration scores, has led her to be named as the Clydesdale Bank Athlete of the Month for March.
Winning both gold medals, Jen (as she is known) was the team’s most successful competitor and in a strong field that included India, England, Australia, New Zealand, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar, it is a good indication of what might be achieved in this October’s Commonwealth Games if all goes well.
The Falkirk 18 year old (who is now based in Aberdeen), paired with Banff’s Kay Copland, to win the Women's Three Positions Pairs gold, then partnered the 2006 double Commonwealth gold medallist from Huntly, Sheena Sharp to win the Women's Prone Pairs.
“Winning the gold medals was almost certainly the best I’ve done compared to anything I’ve won before,” she said.
“It was pretty exciting to win the 3P with Kay. After that the biggest challenge was making sure I had calmed down before the next match.”
The Commonwealth Games shooting team is still some months away from being decided although Jen has already met the team’s qualifying criteria for both Prone and 3P. She is also hoping to qualify for the Air Rifle and has until July to produce a qualifying result.
Looking forward to Delhi Jen added, “My 3P is my stronger and my favourite event and my aim is to make the final and I am really looking to Glasgow 2014 for medal success. However I really want to win the women’s prone.”
Paul Foster
When Paul Foster was down and out of football with an ankle injury at the age of 12, little did he think he would be on top of the world in the sport of bowls 25 years on.
The 37-year-old was confirmed as world number one last month at the end of a vintage indoor season which saw him win a host of tournaments on the World Bowls Tour - including the Scottish International Open. Despite winning three world indoor singles titles in 1998, 2001 and 2005 this is the first time that the man from Troon in Ayrshire has attained the coveted number one title which he describes as the pinnacle of his career so far.
Foster is now setting his sights on outdoor domination as one of Team Scotland's brightest medal hopes at this year's Commonwealth Games. At the recent Eight Nations test event in Delhi, Foster took bronze despite some challenging conditions, and this further success has earned him the Clydesdale Bank Athlete of the Month Award for April and £500 towards training and competition costs.
Looking back on how he got involved in the sport Foster said: "I damaged my ankle playing football which put me out of action for a good few months. My dad Hugh was a keen bowler who competed at County level so he got me involved in the sport. I told him I thought it was an old man’s game but he said to just try it the once. I took to it like a duck to water and I loved it straight away and so I decided to stick to bowls.
"It has proved to be the right call because finishing the indoor season as world number one is probably the biggest high of my career."
Paul is no stranger to the Commonwealth Games arena, having claimed gold four years ago in Melbourne in the pairs event, alongside former world number one Alex Marshall. And although he will be going it alone in Delhi this year playing singles, he would love to savor more success in India to cap a memorable year.
“You can’t get any higher than representing your country at singles. In pairs if you are struggling through a match your partner will help you through it, however in singles it is totally different. You are on your own out there with more pressure on yourself, however I am used to it from the indoor game.
“I would love to be confirmed in the team for Delhi and if I could win another gold medal for Scotland I would be over the moon.
Comparing lawn bowls with other sports in the Games team he explained: “People don’t think you have to be fit to play bowls, but this is so far from the truth. Games can last 2-3 hours and they can be mentally draining so I am trying to get myself really fit and in the best possible shape for Delhi. The heat will also be a big factor. It was between 38-46 degrees when we were there in April, although it should be a bit cooler in October.
“The bowlers have also been getting support from the experts at the sportscotland institute of sport for the first time, and they came out to Delhi with us for the test event. They took our core temperatures and measured our hydration levels to ensure we were drinking enough. Some of the results were quite surprising and it was a magnificent help. I only used to drink a couple of cups of water during a game and now I know this is not enough. We will continue to take this all on board to shape our preparations for Delhi.”
But to strike gold again Paul will also have to overcome the challenge of competing on an outdoor synthetic green, the first time such a surface has been used at a Commonwealth Games. And that is forcing him to relearn everything he has honed in his game over the last 25 years. He added: "I've just competed in the Eight Nations Test Series in Delhi where I won bronze and I'm glad I went because it was a vital learning experience for the Games.
"Out there we are competing on a synthetic surface which rolls nothing like the grass or indoor carpets. The lines are much tighter, that means you only throw the bowl four or five inches outside of the jack rather than the two feet I would normally use to draw a bowl in. The speed of the surface was also much slower than the indoor carpet.
"That's a huge difference and in the first couple of matches out there I only just scraped through, however, I then managed to borrow bowls that were better suited to the surface.
"Basically I had to start from scratch and forget everything I have learned over the years in order to adjust my game, so I was delighted to finish third in those circumstances.
“Over the next few months I will be playing in a mixture of indoor and outdoor events to adapt my technique.”
Foster believes that playing in the test event which was funded jointly by Commonwealth Games Scotland and sportscotland, could prove vital in his quest for success in October - as well as the help of Clydesdale Bank.
"What I have learned will certainly boost my chances of finishing even higher when I go back to Delhi for the Games.
"I'd like also to thank the Clydesdale Bank for putting up an award that will help me fund the training and preparation I'll need to be ready."