News / Islands travel sport scheme
SHETLAND MSP has floated the idea of an islands travel sport scheme to help sporting teams and athletes meet some of the exorbitant cost they face when travelling to the UK mainland to compete.
Following a meeting with Scottish sports minister Jamie Hepburn on Wednesday afternoon, Scott said he was delighted that the minister was sympathetic to the islands’ case.
The Scottish Government said that national agency sportscotland was investigating whether more could be done in addition to the schemes already in place.
Scott was accompanied by Commonwealth Games swimming finalist Andrea Strachan who relayed her story and spoke about the commitment required to compete on the national level.
It emerged that in 2014, athletes from Shetland swimming clubs made 38 trips to the Scottish mainland enabling 183 swimmers to compete. The average cost per swimmer was £386 per trip.
Scott said: “Andrea’s personal story of Shetland swimmer to a making the final of the 50m breaststroke at Glasgow 2014 is a great illustration of dedication and commitment to her sport.
“I want the legacy of the Commonwealth Games to recognise the additional costs and time that Shetland athletes and teams make to taking part and competing.
“No individual or island should be excluded from competing. The minister wants to see the facts and figures behind the costs that Shetland’s sports face and the people who do not get a chance to compete.”
A spokesperson for the minister said: “We recognise that young sportspeople from all island and rural communities face high travel costs when competing and we are keen to identify these and other barriers to participation.
“There are already a number of schemes in place, which help to mitigate these costs, including the Air Discount and Serco NorthLink Ferries Sponsorship Schemes.
“Discussions are taking place with Transport Scotland and sportscotland to identify whether anything else can be done to build upon the support provided by each local authority to support these young people, particularly young elite athletes.
“Sportscotland are also gathering information to determine the scope of the issue, and types of schemes that are available across the islands.”
Scott added: “A sports travel scheme specifically targeted at the islands could help individual Shetlanders develop their sporting careers. That would be a fitting legacy from Glasgow 2014.”
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