Everything about Sport In Scotland totally explained
Sport plays a central role in
Scottish culture. The
temperate,
oceanic climate has played a key part in the evolution of
Sport in Scotland, with all-weather sports like
football,
rugby union and
golf dominating the national sporting consciousness. However, many other sports are played in the country, with popularity varying between sports and between regions.
Scotland has its own sporting competitions and
governing bodies, such as the
Scottish Football League,the
Scottish Rugby Union and the
Scottish Cyclists' Union. The country has independent representation at many international sporting events, for example the
Football World Cup and the
Cricket World Cup, as well as the
Commonwealth Games; although notably not the
Olympic Games.
Scots, and
Scottish emigrants, have made several key contributions to the
history of sport, with important innovations and developments in:
golf,
curling,
football,
Highland games (contributed to the evolution of modern
athletics events),
shinty (the predecessor of both
ice hockey and
bandy),
cycling (
Kirkpatrick Macmillan invented the pedal bicycle), and
basketball.
Association Football
Association football (usually called just "football" in Scotland) is the
national sport, both in terms of participation and numbers of spectators.
There is a long tradition of football games stretching back a number of centuries. However, it should be noted that many of these were quite different to soccer, and involved carrying the ball. One of these so called games was outlawed in
1424. The
history of football in Scotland includes various traditional ball games, for example the
Ba game; some of these early games probably involved the kicking of a ball. Uncertainty about the specific nature of these games is because prior to 1863, the term "football" implied almost any ball game that was played on ones feet and not played on horseback. Some of these local games were probably played as far back as the
Middle Ages, although the earliest contemporary accounts (as opposed to decrees simply banning "football") come in the eighteenth century. Many of these accounts refer to the violence of traditional Scottish football and as a result many games were abolished or modified. Several
burghs retain an annual Ba game, with the
Kirkwall Ba Game in
Orkney being probably the most famous form of traditional football in Scotland. Elsewhere in Scotland, the greatest evidence for a tradition of football games comes from southern Scotland, in particular the
Scottish Borders.
The world's first official international football match was held in
1872 and was the idea of
C. W. Alcock of
the Football Association which was seeking to promote
Association Football in Scotland. The match took place at the
West of Scotland Cricket Club's
Hamilton Crescent ground in the
Partick area of
Glasgow. The match was between
Scotland and
England and resulted in a 0–0 draw. Following this, the newly developed
soccer became the most popular sport in Scotland. The
Scottish Cup is the world's oldest national trophy, first contested in 1873 (although the
FA Cup is an older competition, its original trophy is no longer in existence).
Queen's Park F.C., in Glasgow, is probably the oldest association football club in the world outside
England.
The
Scottish Football Association (SFA), the second-oldest national football association in the world, is the main
governing body for Scottish football, and a founding member of the
International Football Association Board (IFAB) which governs the
Laws of the Game. As a result of this key role in the development of the sport Scotland is one of only four countries to have a permanent representative on the IFAB; the other four representatives being appointed for set periods by
FIFA. The SFA also has responsibility for the
Scotland national football team.
The national stadium is
Hampden Park in Glasgow. Supporters of the national team are
nicknamed the
Tartan Army. As of November 2007, Scotland are ranked as the 14th best
national football team in the
FIFA World Rankings. They have improved steadily after
Walter Smith took over as manager, beating 2006
World Cup finalists
France in a
European Championship qualifier. The national team last attended the
World Cup in
France in 1998, but finished last in their group stage after defeats to runners-up
Brazil and
Morocco. They won a single point after a one-all draw with
Norway.
Elite club football in Scotland is split between the
Scottish Premier League and the
Scottish Football League.
Scotland's football clubs have had a relatively high degree of success internationally . In terms of European competitions,
Rangers,
Celtic and
Aberdeen have all won European competitions, however Celtic are the only team to have won the
European Cup (now the Champions League), Europe's premier competition. Celtic won this cup in 1967 becoming the first British team (and the first from northern Europe) to do so. Their victory is an important one in
football history with the competition being won with a team comprising no players born more than thirty miles (48 km) from the home of the club, Celtic Park.
The most successful teams over the years have been the
Old Firm: Rangers and Celtic. Glasgow is therefore home to some of Europe's best football stadia. With
Celtic Park (60,832 seats),
Ibrox Park (50,411 seats) and Hampden Park (52,670 seats), Glasgow is one of the few European cities to have three football stadia each with at least 50,000 seat capacity. Ibrox and Hampden are both
UEFA 5-star rated football stadia, making Glasgow, along with Madrid and Barcelona, one of the only cities in the world with two 5-star stadia, however Celtic Park is not: Nationally, only
Germany (five),
Portugal (three) and
Spain (five) have more top-rated stadia, while Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey all also have two.
Rugby League
Rugby League is administered by
Scotland Rugby League. The
main international team has been playing since 1909 although their first proper international wasn't until 1996 when they beat Ireland in Dublin 6-26. In the
2000 Rugby League World Cup, Scotland finished last in their group, although only narrowly lost to Ireland, Samoa and New Zealand. The latter two matches were played in Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively.
A major boost to rugby league in Scotland came when the
Challenge Cup Final was brought to
Murrayfield,
Edinburgh. On both occasions over 60,000 watched the final. This was coupled with a fantastic 42-20 win over France in July 2001, possibly one of Scotland's best wins in their short history.
The domestic game in Scotland drastically changed in 2003 when a new league was formed incorporating six teams into the
Rugby League Conference umbrella. There are now several teams,
Easterhouse Panthers,
Jordanhill Phoenix and
Paisley Hurricanes from
Glasgow,
Edinburgh Eagles from
Edinburgh,
Moray Eels from
Lossiemouth,
Fife Lions from
Dunfermline and
Carluke Tigers from
Carluke. Fife Lions and Edinburgh Eagles have been the most successful teams, both having won the league recently. There are plans to expand the league and possibly have another team in Glasgow, as well as one from the Borders.
In 2007 Scotland qualified for the
2008 Rugby League World Cup after beating Wales 21-14 at Bridgend, before losing 18-16 in Glasgow. The points advantage allowed them through and that'll play in Group B against France and Fiji in Australia in November 2008.
Scotland also have another team, labelled 'The Bravehearts'. This is a team made up of players entirely from the five Scottish Conference teams.
Rugby Union
Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the
Scottish Rugby Union.
Murrayfield Stadium, in
Edinburgh, is the home of the
Scotland national rugby union team. Scotland are ranked 10th, in the IRB world rankings. They annually take part in the
Six Nations and participate in the
Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. Scottish players are also eligible for selection for the
British and Irish Lions, a composite team that tours the Southern hemisphere every 4 years.
The roots of Scottish rugby go back a long way. Many
ba games played in Scotland, and referred to as "football" were frequently as similar to rugby as they were to soccer.
The Scottish Football Union (SFU) was founded in 1873 and was a founding member of the
International Rugby Board in 1886 with
Ireland and
Wales. (England refused to join until 1890). In 1924 the SFU changed its name to become the
Scottish Rugby Union.
The world's oldest continual rugby fixture was first played in 1858 between
Merchiston Castle School and the former pupils of
The Edinburgh Academy. The Edinburgh Academy was also involved in the first ever international rugby union game when a side representing
England met the Scottish national side on the cricket field of the Academy at
Raeburn Place, Edinburgh on March 27, 1871, which Scotland won. The national side today competes in the annual
Six Nations Championship and has appeared at every
Rugby World Cup. Scotland have two professional sides that compete in the
Magners League and the
Heineken Cup -
Edinburgh Rugby and
Glasgow Warriors. Until 2007 there was a third side,
Border Reivers, but the side were disbanded due to funding problems in the SRU. The
BT League Championship exists for amateur and semi-pro clubs. Even the top professional sides struggle to attract crowds comparable to that of English or Welsh clubs but the national side regularly fill Murrayfield for Six Nations fixtures.
Rugby union is most popular in the
Borders region, where it's played widely, and this is probably the only area of Scotland where rugby is the most popular sport, although it has a strong presence in
Edinburgh,
Glasgow and
Perthshire.
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union, which was initially conceived by
Ned Haig, a butcher from
Melrose,
Scotland as a fundraising event for his local club,
Melrose RFC, in
1883. The first ever sevens match was played at the Greenyards, where it was well received. The first ever officially sanctioned international tournament occurred at
Murrayfield as part of the "
Scottish Rugby Union's celebration of rugby" centenary celebrations in 1973. Due to the success of the format, the ongoing
Hong Kong Sevens was launched three years later, and numerous other international competitions followed. In 1993, the
Rugby World Cup Sevens, in which the
Melrose Cup is contested, was launched, which is named after its town of origin. In the meantime, the
Melrose Sevens continue to be popular
(External Link
) and there's a healthy
Borders Sevens Circuit. Starting in
2007, the annual
IRB Sevens World Series, featuring international sides from around the world, has ended with the
Edinburgh Sevens at Murrayfield.
Athletics
scottishathletics is the governing body for athletics in Scotland. It replaced the Scottish Athletics Federation in April 2001.
Australian Rules Football
Aussie Rules has never had a high profile in Scotland, but it's notable that Scots played an important role in setting up some of the clubs in
Australia. Scots living in
Melbourne and
Victoria in the mid-19th century were greatly involved in the formation of the rules of the game, as well as the formation of a number of early clubs, including the still-existing
Essendon Bombers in the elite
Australian Football League in
Melbourne,
Australia. The team,
Glasgow Redbacks wear black jumpers with a red diagonal stripe across the front, the same as worn by Essendon Football Club. This is said to recognise the Scottish roots of Essendon, which was formed in 1871 by a Scots family who had moved to Melbourne. It is also rumoured - though unconfirmed - that Aussie Rules was played in Scotland pre-WWI.
There are currently four teams in SARFL, most established in the early 2000s. There was an abortive attempt during the 1990s to set up the Caledonia Sharks. Until recently, Scottish Aussie Rules tended to be subsumed to the British leagues, but this is less the case now.
Badminton
BADMINTONscotland is the national governing body for the sport of badminton in Scotland.
Baseball
Baseball has existed in
Edinburgh since the 1930s when it was played at US air bases at
Kirknewton and
East Fortune. The
British Baseball Federation has a Scotland Division
(External Link) comprised of the
Edinburgh Diamond Devils, the Glasgow Baseball Association, and the Strathclyde Falcons. As of 2007, the Glasgow Baseball Association formed a senior team for those players who wanted to play baseball at the club beyond the age of 16, they won their first games against the Manchester A's. There have been only 8 Scottish baseball players to play in the Major leagues, the last being Tom Waddell in 1987. Baseball is a minority sport in Scotland and it isn't very popular. However baseball is expanding in the country, in June of 2007 a youth baseball team in Fife was founded.
Basketball
basketballscotland is the governing body of basketball in Scotland.
Cricket
Cricket has a much lower profile in
Scotland than it has south of the border in
England. Scotland isn't one of the ten leading cricketing nations which play
Test matches, but the
Scottish national team is now allowed to play full
One Day Internationals even outside the
Cricket World Cup, in which Scotland competed in 2007. Scotland has a well established recreational cricket structure. Scotland has co-hosted the
Cricket World Cup in 1999.
Cycling
Cycling is a popular amateur sport, with 99 clubs throughout the country, from the
Shetland Wheelers to the
Stewartry Wheelers. At the elite level, Scots have been more successful at
track cycling rather than
road racing, although Scotland has a long history of time-trialing on the road. The lack of road races within the country, with not a single
UCI-ranked event, is largely to do with the refusal of
Scottish local authorities to close public roads to allow road races to take place safely. Scotland has one
velodrome, at
Meadowbank Stadium, in
Edinburgh. Another is under construction in Glasgow for 2014
Commonwealth Games. The governing body is the
Scottish Cyclists' Union.
In recent years
mountain biking has become very popular, with
Scottish geography being ideal for training and racing. The
Fort William World Cup event has become the highlight of the series.
Scotland has produced several world-class cyclists. Probably the most renowned champion outwith Scotland is the great
Robert Millar, a
King of the Mountains, and fourth-place overall, at the
1984 Tour de France; and very nearly a winner of the 1985
Vuelta a España (where the strange manner of his defeat to
Pedro Delgado is still a matter of some controversy). He came second in the 1987
Giro d'Italia and second twice in the Vuelta: 1985 and 1986. Indeed Millar is widely considered to be the best cyclist to have ever come out of the UK (although many would also argue the merits of the Englishman
Tom Simpson).
Graeme Obree,
David Millar (no relation), and
Chris Hoy have also reached the very peak of their respective events.
Curling
Scotland is the home of
curling (2002 Olympic champions, women) which, although not as popular today as in
Canada, remains more popular in Scotland than anywhere else in Europe. Scotland are the current (2006) men's World curling champions, and have won World championship gold on 3 previous occasions.
Golf
Scotland is the "Home of
Golf", and is well-known for its many
links courses, including the
Old Course at
St Andrews,
Carnoustie,
Muirfield and
Royal Troon.
Highland games
The
Highland Games are a distinctive feature of the national sporting culture. There are numerous annual games hosted in the
Highlands including
Braemar and
Dunoon.
Judo
Scots have been very prominent on the podium at the Judo events at the
Commonwealth Games. Judo is absent from the programme of events at the
2006 Commonwealth Games, but is likely to return at future Games.
Shinty
Shinty or camanachd is the traditional game of the
Scottish Highlands, although historically it had a wider range. It is still played widely across the area today, with clubs also based in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Fife and Perth, and in most universities. Its governing body is the
Camanachd Association (in
Scottish Gaelic,
Comunn na Camanachd) who are based in
Fort William.
The sport's premier prize is the Scottish Cup, more popularly known as the
Camanachd Cup. Shinty also has the honour of having provided, according to the
Guinness Book of Records, the world's most successful sporting team,
Kingussie Camanachd. Shinty was formerly played through the
Winter but has recently become a primarily
Summer game. It has common roots with the
Irish sport of
Hurling.
Snooker
Scotland has produced many great
snooker players over the years. Many of which have gone on to win the World Championship.
Walter Donaldson was the first Scotsman to be crowned World Champion, winning in 1947 and again in 1950.
In the modern snooker era the most successful Scottish snooker player is
Stephen Hendry. He has won the
World Snooker Championship 7 times, winning it 5 years in a row from 1992 onwards and holds the record as being the youngest ever winner, beating Englishman
Jimmy White 18 frames to 12 in 1990 aged just 21m, and the record for the most wins.
Since the emergence of Stephen Hendry in
1990 a Scottish player has featured in almost every World Snooker Championship Final 1991, 2000, 2003 and 2005 and being the only years since 1990 when a Scottish player hasn't made it to the final and winning 10 of the 17 championships contested in this time. Scottish winners besides Hendry include
John Higgins and
Graeme Dott.
Stephen Maguire is also an emerging talent in sport with a number of event wins on the tour.
Speedway
Scotland currently has two Motorcycle Speedway teams racing in the UK Premier League, Glasgow Tigers and Edinburgh Monarchs. History and more detail to follow (feb 2007). It is a big sport in Scotland.
Swimming
The governing body is the
Scottish Amateur Swimming Association.
Tennis
Tennis has a very long history in Scotland, with
real tennis being played at
Falkland Palace,
Fife. Scotland competes as Great Britain in tennnis, however it's contribution to the pool of British players has been traditionally been very poor in the modern era with almost all notable players being English. However, this has taken an about turn in recent years with emergence of
Andy Murray and his brother
Jamie. Andy Murray is by some distance the best player currently representing Britain and is the UK number 1 and comfortably inside the world top 20, brother Jamie is a highly ranked doubles individual and won the mixed doubles along with Serbian
Jelena Janković, the first time any British player has won a major title in Wimbledon in 20 years. There are no official ATP tournaments in Scotland however, with all major events in Britain being contested in England.
The
Aberdeen Cup, established in 2005, is an annual competition between the Scotland and England tennis teams.
School Sport
The leading body for physical education in the
United Kingdom is the
Association for Physical Education. This includes sports such as
benchball (similar to the American
Dodgeball but you catch instead) and
Gaelic handball, which is similar to
American handball.
Olympic Games
Scottish athletes have competed at every
Olympic Games, since the inaugural modern Games, as part of the
Great Britain and Ireland team (prior to
Irish independence) and then the
Great Britain and Northern Ireland team. A Scot,
Launceston Elliot, won Great Britain and Ireland's very first Olympic gold medal, in 1896 in
Athens. The most notable Scots athletes are
Eric Liddell, (whose story is featured in the internationally celebrated film
Chariots of Fire) and
Alan Wells, the Olympic 100m winner in 1980.
Scotland have only ever won one Olympic medal as
Scotland, when the
men's field hockey team won a bronze medal at the
1908 Summer Games. This was also the only occasion when either
England (gold) or
Wales (bronze) have won a medal in their own right; and was
Ireland's only medal (silver) prior to independence. The
curling gold medal in
Chamonix in
1924 was won by the
Royal Caledonian Curling Club team, the Scottish national team, and the women's curling gold in
Salt Lake City in
2002 was won by the top Scottish team at the time, skipped by
Rhona Martin.
Scottish summer Olympic medallists
1896 Athens
1900 Paris
Walter Rutherford, Silver, Golf
David Robertson, Bronze, Golf
1904 Athens
John McGough Silver 1,500 m
Wyndham Halswelle Silver 400 m
Wyndham Halswelle Bronze 800 m
1908 London
Arthur Robertson, Gold, Team steeplechase
Wyndham Halswelle, Gold, 400 m
Angus Gillan, Gold, Coxless fours
George Cornet, Gold, Water polo
Royal Clyde YC, Gold, 12 metres class
Arthur Robertson, Silver, Steeplechase
Alex McCulloch, Silver, Single sculls
Hugh Roddin, Bronze, Featherweight boxing
Scotland, Bronze, Hockey
1912 Stockholm
Philip Fleming, Gold, Rowing eights
Angus Gillan, Gold, Rowing eights
William Kinnear, Gold, Single sculls
Henry Macintosh, Gold, Men's 4x100m Relay
Robert Murray, Gold, Small bore shooting
George Cornet, Gold, Water polo
Isabella Moore, Gold, 100 m freestyle swimming
James Soutter, Bronze, 400 m relay
John Sewell, Silver, Tug of war team
1920 Antwerp
Robert Lindsay, Gold, 400 m relay
John Sewell, Gold, Tug of war team
William Peacock, Gold, Water polo
James Wilson, Silver, Cross country team
Alexander Ireland, Silver, Welterweight boxing
James Wilson, Bronze, 10,000 m
George McKenzie, Bronze, Bantamweight bronze
1924 Paris
Eric Liddell, Gold, 400 m
Eric Liddell, Bronze, 200 m
James McNabb, Gold, Coxless fours
James McKenzie, Silver, Lightweight boxing
Archie Macdonald, Bronze, 100 kg freestyle wrestling
1928 Amsterdam
Ellen King, Silver, 100 m backstroke swimming
Ellen King, Silver, 100 m freestyle relay swimming
Sarah Stewart, Silver, 100 m freestyle relay swimming
1948 London
Alistair McCorquodale, Silver, 4x100 m relay
David Brodie, Silver, Hockey team
Robin Lindsay, Silver, Hockey team
William Lindsay, Silver, Hockey team
Geirge Sime, Silver, Hockey team
Neil White, Silver, Hockey team
Catherine Gibson, Bronze, 400 m freestyle swimming
1952 Helsinki
Douglas Stewart, Gold, Equestrian showjumping team
Stephen Theobald, Bronze, Hockey team
Helen Gordon, Bronze, 200 m breaststroke swimming
1956 Melbourne
Dick McTaggart, Gold, Lightweight boxing
John McCormack, Bronze, Light middleweight boxing
1960 Rome
Dick McTaggart, Bronze, Lightweight boxing
1964 Tokyo
Bobby McGregor, Silver, 100 m freestyle swimming
1968 Mexico
Rodney Pattison, Gold, Yachting Flying Dutchman
1972 Munich
Rodney Pattison, Gold, Yachting Flying Dutchman
David Jenkins, Silver, 400 m relay team
David Wilkie, Silver, 200 m breaststroke swimming
Ian Stewart, Bronze, 5,000 m
1976 Montreal
David Wilkie, Gold, 200 m breaststroke swimming
David Wilkie, Silver, 100 m breaststroke swimming
Rodney Pattison, Silver, Yachting Flying Dutchman
Alan McClatchey, Bronze, 200 m freestyle swimming relay
Gordon Downie, Bronze, 200 m freestyle swimming relay
1980 Moscow
Allan Wells, Gold, 100 m
Allan Wells, Silver, 200 m
Linsey Macdonald, Bronze, 400 m relay team
1984 Los Angeles
Richard Budgett, Gold, Rowing coxed fours
Ian Stark, Silver, Equestrian 3-day event team
Veryan Pappin, Bronze, Hockey team
Alister Allan, Bronze, Smallbore free rifle
Neil Cochran, Bronze, 200 m medley swimming
Neil Cochran, Bronze, 200 m freestyle relay
Paul Easter, Bronze, 200 m freestyle relay
1988 Seoul
Veryan Pappin, Gold, Hockey team
Michael McIntyre, Gold, Yachting star class
Liz McColgan, Silver, 10,000 m
Elliot Bunney, Silver, 4x100 m relay
Ian Stark, Silver, Equestrian 3-day event team
Alister Allan, Silver, Smallbore free rifle
Yvonne Murray, Bronze, 3,000 m
1992 Barcelona
Simon Terry, Bronze, Archery individual
Simon Terry, Bronze, Archery team
Susan Fraser, Bronze, Hockey team
Wendy Fraser, Bronze, Hockey team
Alison Ramsay, Bronze, Hockey team
1996 Atlanta
Graeme Smith, Bronze, 1,500 m freestyle swimming
2000 Sydney
Andrew Lindsay, Gold, Rowing men's eight
Shirley Robertson, Gold, Sailing Europe class
Stephanie Cook, Gold, Modern pentathlon
Chris Hoy, Silver, Cycling Olympic sprint team
Craig MacLean, Silver, Cycling Olympic sprint team
Ian Stark, Silver, Equestrian 3-day event team
Gillian Lindsay, Silver, Rowing quadruple sculls
Katherine Grainger, Silver, Rowing quadruple sculls
Mark Covell, Silver, Sailing star class
2004 Athens
Chris Hoy, Gold, Cycling 1 km time-trial
Shirley Robertson, Gold, Sailing Yngling class
Katherine Grainger, Silver, Rowing Women's pairs
Campbell Walsh, Silver, Canoeing K1 Kayak (slalom)
Scottish winter Olympic medallists
1924 Chamonix
Royal Caledonian Curling Club, Gold, Curling
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen
James Foster, Gold, ice hockey
2002 Salt Lake City
Scottish team skipped by Rhona Martin, Gold, Curling
Commonwealth Games
Motorsport
Scotland has been successful in all forms of motor racing especially since it's growth in popularity since World War II. Several Scottish drivers have had illustrious careers at the top level and success has come in many different championships including Formula One, The World Rally Championship, Le Mans 24 hours, CART, and the British Touring Car Championship.
Formula One
Scotland has had several Formula One drivers over the years since the championship commenced in 1950. A full list of these drivers can be found at . Of these drivers the best known are Jim Clark, who won 2 World Championships before his untimely death, Jackie Stewart who managed to gain 3 World Championships and David Coulthard who still races in the championship for the Red Bull Racing team. Coulthard has been Scotland's most successful driver in recent memory having runner up in the World Drivers Championships a number of times and is the front running British Driver in the all-time lists. No round of F1 has however been held in Scotland making the country one of the most successful countries without hosting a race.
Rallying
The McRae family are Scotland's best known rally drivers, in particular Colin McRae who won the WRC in 1995. He also managed to affirm his popularity by adding his name to a series of successful rally games. Louise Aitken-Walker made significant inroads into the male-dominated sport. Scotland also hosts a number of minor rally events and has hosted the British round of the WRC however this now takes place almost exclusively in Wales.
Le Mans
Allan McNish has competed in both F1 in 2002 for Toyota and in German Touring cars Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), but is best known for his 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans victory with the Porsche team. Peter Dumbreck has also competed in the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, and is better known for his infamous accident in the 1999 event where his Mercedes-Benz CLR car suffered aerodynamic problems and took off, somersaulting through the air.
BTCC
In British Touring Car Championship Scotland has had a had a double champion in John Cleland. A number of drivers have raced successfully in recent years including Anthony Reid and David Leslie. One round of the championship is annually held in Scotland.
American Race Series
Some Scottish drivers have had success in the American series of mainly oval racing. Currently Dario Franchitti from Bathgate, competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup competition having previously raced very successfully in CART. Allan McNish currently competes in the American Le Mans ALMS series where he made history by driving the first diesel powered race-car in the series to victory.
Scottish circuits
Which there are a number of smaller circuits for private use in Scotland and a number of rally stages, the only circuit to host top level circuit motor racing in Scotland is Knockhill in Fife.
Floorball
Not amongst the most popular sports but has grown in recent years with 8 teams taking part in the 2007/08 season. The overseer is the Northern League but the governing body of UK floorball is the GBFF.
Teams competing in the 2007/08 season are Aberdeen Oilers, Balwearie Lightning, Balwearie Thunder, Chapel, Dundee Northern Lights, Forth Phoniex, Hawick and RBS Linlithgow.
Sports media
Scotland has a distinct set of media products, especially when it comes to sports coverage. The main Scottish daily newspapers, the Daily Record, The Herald and The Scotsman, have extensive coverage of Scottish and international sport; and decent coverage of Scottish sport is one of the key tools used by Scottish editions of English newspapers, most successfully employed by The Scottish Sun.
There is also a variety of magazine titles. Titles include The Celtic View, Rangers News, Bunkered, Scottish Club Golfer and Rally Action.
The main sports television shows on the largest two channels are Scotsport on STV and ITV1 Border Scotland (which is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest running sports television programme) and Sportscene on BBC Scotland. BBC Radio Scotland's main sports show is Sportsound, and it has other sports output, for example the comedy show Off the Ball. All the main independent radio stations report on local sport, and often cover football matches live.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sport In Scotland'.
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