Games Boost Sport Participation

Scotland's sporting bodies have seen a big rise in membership following Glasgow's hosting of the Commonwealth Games, new figures show.

Netball Scotland has welcomed a 58% increase in registered players since 2011/12, and Scottish Triathlon has grown by 49%, according to statistics from sportscotland.

The national sport agency said Scottish Gymnastics has also seen a 37% increase in members over the past four years, proving that the 2014 Games had helped drive a significant boost'' for Scottish sport.

The figures show an overall increase of 11% in membership across the 17 Commonwealth Games sports' governing bodies from 2011/12 to 2014/15.

Target shooting was the only sport that saw no change in membership levels, while lawn bowl figures actually fell 6%. They increased 2% in the last year, however.

Sportscotland said non-Commonwealth sports had also seen a 9% increase in membership over the same four-year period.

Chief executive Stewart Harris said: The exciting build-up to the Glasgow Games and the spectacular success of Team Scotland last year has significantly helped raise the profile of sport, and these encouraging figures demonstrate the positive legacy impact of Scotland hosting the Games.

It is terrific to see increases in the memberships of so many Scottish governing bodies in sports which participated at Glasgow 2014 as well as those that were not one of the 17 sports taking part, and the phenomenal growth in the number of qualified coaches in Scotland is also helping our sporting system successfully cope with a growing capacity.''

Sport minister Jamie Hepburn said: It's tremendously encouraging to see this evidence of increasing interest in sport. To see the governing bodies attracting more members, and more clubs joining the Community Sports Hubs, is a real sign that sport is on the up in Scotland. I'm also pleased to see such an enormous increase in the number of registered coaches.

The legacy of the Commonwealth Games was to inspire people to take part in physical activity, whether that is through a formal sports club or just taking regular exercise.

Team Scotland did us proud in Glasgow with a record medal haul, now it's up to all of us to make sure that Scottish sport continues to grow and prosper.''