Yvonne Murray
I am absolutely delighted that I am able to continue to work in athletics which I am so passionate about. I have achieved a great deal in my athletics career and I am proud of my achievements, but being able to help others achieve their ambitions in the sport is far more rewarding and that is my next goal. This is a fantastic time to be involved in sport with the International Children's Games coming to Lanarkshire in 2011, the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow. I don't think we will ever have all three events together in this country in my lifetime, and we really do have to use this unique opportunity to turn things around and make sport part of our culture.
Part of my new role as North Lanarkshire Leisure's Senior Athletics Development & Events Officer, will include working with children from grass roots to elite level athletes, creating pathways helping them to achieve their ambitions in the sport. I'm also involved in bringing sporting events to North Lanarkshire and I will be heavily involved in the International Children's Games in 2011. I've also been busy encouraging other countries to use our facilities as pre-training camps for the 2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games.
For Scottish Athletes, it will be an amazing experience to compete in front of a home crowd. It's one of those moments in life that will stay with you always. I can still remember walking in to the stadium in 1986 for the opening ceremony and feeling so proud to be Scottish. In 1994 when I won the gold medal for the 10,000m, it was truly amazing to stand on the rostrum and hear the bagpipes.
Sport has an amazing ability to change people's lives. It changed mine and even now, children as young as five are telling me that they want to be the next Usain Bolt. How wonderful! I look forward to an exciting time for our sport, especially in North Lanarkshire.
Yours in sport
Yvonne
David Carry
Hi
My name is David Carry, in 2006 I became double Commonwealth Champion and am a double Olympic finalist in 2004 and 2008. My records include a Scottish, British, commonwealth games and European record.
I got involved in swimming through school and my local swimming club, Aberdeen Dolphins. Initially my interest went as far as having a great time with my friends at training. I then started going to competitions when I was around 10. It was like an adventure every time I went away and the racing was almost a side issue. It was certainly the social aspect of sport that I enjoyed the most, the team atmosphere and group sense of achievement was such a great feeling and one of the main reasons I am still involved in sport.
The passion and noise from the Scottish crowd at the Manchester 2002 and Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games was amazing and in Glasgow I'm sure it will be out of this world. The prospect of representing my country is the greatest honour an athlete can have and representing them on home soil, in Glasgow will make that experience extra special.
I hope that the next generation of sporting stars in Scotland have been inspired by the Scottish Commonwealth Team in Melbourne and with 2014 getting closer they embrace the opportunity that I have been so lucky to have.
The thought of standing on the top of the podium, singing "Scotland the Brave" with thousands of Scottish fans singing with me is certainly enough motivation for me train ever harder and faster than ever to make that dream come true and is already giving me goose bumps!
Jen McIntosh
My name is Jen McIntosh, I'm 18 and my sport is Target Rifle Shooting. Not a very well-publicised sport, to say the least, but perfectly safe and an awful lot of fun.
I've been shooting competitively since I was about 14 but I basically grew up on the back of a range. I was fortunate in that both my parents are shooters - my Mum, Shirley, won a gold and a silver medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada as well as two bronze medals at the next Commies in Malaysia in 1998. My Dad, Donald, was at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, has won two gold medals at Commonwealth Championship level and is now putting his experience into coaching the top shooters in Scotland and the rest of the UK.
An awful lot of people assume that I've had a lot of help from my parents but I was just like any other teenager: I never listened to a word they said. But they've always been supportive and were my original inspiration. I was three when my Mum won her gold medal and one of my earliest - if somewhat vague - memories is of her arriving home at Glasgow airport and putting her medals around my neck and me running around proudly showing them off to anyone who would look… namely my Dad.
I may be wrong but I see that as my defining moment. In 2002 my Dad was competing in the Manchester Games and my Mum took my sister and I down to see. We went to the Opening Ceremony and I can still remember the atmosphere in that stadium. It was electric, truly incredible. Even when we went down to Bisley, where the shooting events were being held, which was four hours south of Manchester, the atmosphere was amazing.
I've seen first hand what it means to take part in the Commonwealth Games, and on home turf, and even though I now have Olympic ambitions which would take precedence, the Commonwealth Games will always be that bit special.
A lot of people talk about home crowd support and home turf advantage but it's not quite the same in shooting. Keeping a steady hand and cool head are the key points in shooting and having a screaming crowd behind you can often break concentration. That said, we train to deal with distractions and I personally find it motivating being able to hear my supporters during a final - preferably during the normal clapping period after everyone has finished and a 10 is announced.
As for home turf… well that's another story. Having a chance to train on the range before a match can often give you an advantage as you have the opportunity to know how to deal with different conditions on the range. That said, it would require months of training on that range and even then ranges can be tricky and wildly inconsistent.
But it's been something I've been thinking about a lot recently, having been leaving school and people asking what I'm going to do (answer: I'm taking a couple years out to train full time, hopefully to go to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi next year) and the number of people, people I barely ever spoke to, who would squeal excitedly and tell me how much they hope I make it and if I do that they'll come and see me at Glasgow (and hopefully London too!). It baffled me at first but it's also motivated me and I know, if the day came that I would find it such a boost to turn round and see all those people there supporting me and I know it's the same for every athlete.
But it's not just about what it can do for me personally. In our case, it's a chance to show our country what our sport is really about. I have got so much out of my sport, it amazes me even me sometimes. It's taught me a discipline and an approach to life that I didn't have before. It's given me a chance to travel the world. I've met a lot of interesting people and made an awful lot of very good friends, often people I wouldn't have met if it weren't for this sport. I was never very good at the 'conventional' sports at school - rugby was for boys, I had pretty poor hand-eye co-ordination so hockey and tennis were out (although laziness might have had something to do with those as well) and I was far too gangly for gymnastics. The only sport I was ever any good at was basketball but I really didn't thrive in a team. Fortunately, because of my parents, I got a chance to try something that most people don't. My school, Dollar Academy, was better than most when it came to offering a wide range of activities for everyone and I probably would have fallen into shooting even without my parents help because of that but not to the same level. So I was lucky, but not everyone is. I think everyone should be given the chance to find the sport that they're good at, because sport teaches you something that you can't learn in the classroom. I think these Games can help kids do this because they'll have a chance to see these elite athletes up close. I think these Games have the potential to inspire a generation. I've been all around the world with my sport but I think the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games could be one of the most important competitions of my life and I can't wait!
John Scott Organising Committee
Glasgow 2014 aspires to deliver an outstanding athlete-centred Games in 2014.
We are working closely with Games partners to ensure that there is a comprehensive approach in developing public investment strategies, and fully support the Scottish Government's Legacy Plan which will encourage people in Scotland to adopt a healthier lifestyle, in the run up to, and beyond 2014.
The Games will put Scotland firmly on the global stage for major events, and leave a lasting social, economic and cultural legacy for people in Scotland."
Councillor Purcell Glasgow City Council
The 2014 Commonwealth Games is a once in a generation opportunity to change Glasgow and Scotland for the better and Glasgow City Council is delighted to work with the Scottish Government to ensure that together we achieve this
Louise McDonald YoungScot
The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 are incredibly exciting for young people; having both an immediate impact and a long standing legacy for Scotland. Alongside the amazing hub of Glasgow, there will be incredible opportunities and experiences available around the country. Volunteering activities, regeneration projects and environmental good practice will sit together with sport and leisure, with young people participating in a whole host of ways over the coming years.
At Young Scot we believe these opportunities will allow young people to represent their country on every level. The shared objectives of the Commonwealth Games will act as a catalyst for partnership work which will encourage young people to become a fitter, healthier and happier; leading the way on a new outlook for Scotland. By welcoming new cultures and enhancing the image of Scotland young people will be empowered to shape and influence the future of their country, making Scotland a great place to be young.
Jim Tough Scottish Arts Council
London 2012 and Glasgow 2014 present exciting opportunities for the arts and culture sector and we welcome the opportunity to contribute to this through our involvement in the Scottish Government's Legacy Plan. We will continue to work with key stakeholders and partners to ensure that artists, audiences and the wider cultural sector can reap the benefits of London 2012 and Glasgow 2014.
Jack Perry Scottish Enterprise
With all eyes now focused on the Games, we have a real opportunity to showcase what Scotland has to offer, both as a place to visit and do business. The Commonwealth Games has the potential to become a lasting legacy for Scottish companies and I would urge the business community to be ambitious in securing a slice of the action.
Michael Cavanagh Glasgow 2014
The opportunity to deliver a legacy for Scottish sport was one of Commonwealth Games Scotland's key objectives when we set out to bring the Games to Glasgow. We are delighted to see this document launched today which lays out our collective plans and we look forward to playing our part, as we all embark on the journey to 2014 and beyond.
For CGS our priorities will be to deliver Scotland's most successful team in 2014, as well as ensuring that improved high performance structures are funded and embedded within Scottish governing bodies of sport, to raise performance standards for the long-term.
Louise Martin sportscotland
Hosting the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow provides a fantastic opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for Scottish sport.
"Over the next five years, sportscotland will invest £25.5m on specific elements of the Scottish Government's legacy plan. Our key focus will be on leading the development of the new community sports hubs concept, to raise the profile of sport and physical activity in local communities, encouraging an increase in participation.
"We are also making significant progress working with Scottish governing bodies of sport to ensure that enhanced performance pathways are in place in Commonwealth Games sports, which will help to deliver success in Glasgow and beyond. This area of work has already benefitted from an investment of £7.5m over three years from sportscotland and the Scottish Government."
Ian Manson Clyde Gateway URC
The Legacy Plan will add to the growing sense of anticipation about the 2014 Games among residents in the East End of Glasgow. With work already underway on the Athletes Village, there is a real belief that they are going to be part of a massive physical, social and economic transformation in the years ahead.
In particular, local people and businesses will be delighted to learn that they will be given help and support to take advantage of the many job opportunities the Games will bring, as well as the fact that everyone is planning for a sustainable legacy that goes well beyond the 11 days of sports events."
Linda De Caestekaear
More Scottish people being more physically active would lead to significant improvements in Scotland's health outcomes such as obesity, heart disease and mental well-being. For exercise to become a regular part of someone's life it requires commitment, perseverence and support but the rewards are enormous. The inspiration provided by the Commonwealth Games and the athletes competing in them have the potential to encourage and motivate many more of us to start our own preparation for health. The proposals for physical activity in the legacy plan, if accompanied by political and public sector commitment and leadership and with public support, could result in a shift in the Scotish population's levels of exercise sufficient to improve our health."
Dharmendra Kanani BIG
The Big Lottery Fund believes that a community legacy of the 2014 games must be planned for and invested in many years before the advent of the games. We have demonstrated this commitment with practical action by establishing our 2014 Communities Fund, which was launched on the anniversary of Scotland and Glasgow successfully being awarded the Commonwealth Games. We have allocated £1.3m up to 2010 and plan to allocate a further £5.5m leading up to Glasgow 2014. We want increase the number of people taking part in sport or physical activity at a grass roots level but also want to promote the benefits of volunteering. We have already awarded more than 200 grants with activities ranging from Sea Kayaking in Orkney to Dance Classes in Glasgow. What it is important to realise is that all of these groups are making the link that a small amount of money can make a huge difference to health and well being. We will be learning the lessons of how our funding is being spent and plan to adapt the programme to best meet the needs of the public in the months and years to come."