Sport in Scotland

The world's first official international association football match was held in 1872 and was the idea of

Elite club association football in Scotland is represented by the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL).

Scotland's association football clubs have had a relatively high degree of success internationally.

The most successful teams over the years have been the Old Firm: Rangers and Celtic. With Rangers currently being the second most successful team in professional football, behind Al Ahly of Egypt. Glasgow is therefore home to three major football stadia. With Celtic Park (60,411 seats), Ibrox Stadium (50,817 seats) and Hampden Park (51,866 seats).

Rugby union

The roots of Scottish rugby go back a long way. Many

The Scottish Football Union (SFU) was founded in 1873 and was a founding member of the

Rugby union is most popular in the Borders region, where it is 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 Aberdeen, Cupar, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Ayrshire and Perthshire.

Rugby sevens

Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union, which was initially conceived by

Rugby league

Rugby league is administered by Scotland Rugby League.^[9] 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.^[10] A major boost to rugby league in Scotland came when the Rugby League 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.^[11][12]

Scotland finished top of Group C in the

The top tier of the domestic game in Scotland is the semi-professional Scottish National League currently features teams including the Aberdeen Warriors, Easterhouse Panthers, Edinburgh Eagles and the Strathmore Silverbacks.^[15]

American Football

It is played on an amateur basis throughout Scotland. There are 14 under 18 teams ranging from Inverness Blitz in the North, Inverclyde Hawks in the West through to Edinburgh in the East.

7 teams currently play in the

A professional team the Scottish Claymores played in NFL Europe between 1995 and 2004 based in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Lawrence Tynes, Joe Andruzzi and Dante Hall all played for the team and went on to have success in the NFL.

Australian Rules Football

There are currently three teams in SARFL, most established in the early 2000s. It has seen growth around the major cities and now has a national team.

Futsal, indoor football and five-a-side

Futsal is a Brazilian form of football, similar to, but not the same as indoor football, which is more closely related to standard football.

Five-a-side (not to be confused with fives) is popular in Scotland, with many casual leagues.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2010)

Stick and bat games

For hurling and camogie, please see under Gaelic Athletic Association.

Cricket

The governing body for Scottish cricket is Cricket Scotland, which administers women's cricket and junior cricket as well as the men's game.

Cricket has an image as an "English" sport in Scotland, with many top players competing for the

Scotland is the "Home of Golf", and is well known for its many

Scotland is at the forefront of international golf, with some of the world's premier courses being located there. The most famous courses, such as St Andrews tend to be on the east coast's dunelands, which are known in Lowland Scots as "links" – this word has passed over into golf terminology as meaning a course. There are also major courses at Gleneagles, Ayrshire, East Lothian and Loch Lomond.

While there is considerable disagreement as to where in Scotland golf was invented – St Andrews, Leith or Bruntsfield – or even if it was invented within Scotland – both the Netherlands and China have staked claims – the modern game was codified in Scotland. Much of golf terminology has its roots in Lowland Scots, e.g. caddy, links, tee etc.

Shinty

Shinty or camanachd is the traditional game of the Scottish Highlands, although historically it has 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 Inverness.

The sport's premier prize is the Scottish Cup, more popularly known as the

Baseball has existed in Edinburgh since the 1930s when it was played at US air bases at Kirknewton and East Fortune. In 2007 the Scottish National League was formed after previously being associated with British Baseball Federation. The league consisted of the Edinburgh Diamond Devils, Edinburgh Eagles, Strathclyde Falcons and the Glasgow Baseball Association. In 2011 the league was still going strong with the Edinburgh Diamond Devils, Edinburgh Cannons, Edinburgh Giants, and the Glasgow Baseball Association. In 2018 the first Postseason was established in line with the traditions of the game - The Caledonia Classic. In 2022 the Scottish National League split into two divisions. The lower, Single A, and the higher, AAA. There have been 8 Scottish baseball players to play in the Major leagues, and in 2023 a player who played in Edinburgh at ages 13 - 15 was drafted to the Philadelphia Phillies organisation in MLB. Baseball is still a minority sport in Scotland and is only played at an amateur level but is growing year on year.

Croquet

The Scottish Croquet Association, formed in 1974, has responsibility for croquet in Scotland.

Notable Scottish croquet players include Compton Mackenzie.

Elephant polo

Elephant polo is not played in Scotland, but gained notoriety within Scotland when The Duke of Argyll's team representing Scotland won the 2001, 2004 and 2005 Elephant Polo World Championships.^[18]

Field hockey

Field hockey is mainly played in the Lowlands, where it displaced shinty. Field hockey in Scotland is run by the Scottish Hockey Union.

Ice Hockey

Scotland has a very long successful history of

Eight professional ice hockey teams in Scotland compete in the Scottish National League.^[19]

Lacrosse

Lacrosse has a minor presence, tending to be played by girls at private schools, although there have been some male university teams as well.

Field lacrosse is the main sport, but box lacrosse is also played. It is always at amateur level. However, lacrosse in Scotland goes back to 1890 at St Leonards School, Fife, where women's lacrosse had been introduced by Louisa Lumsden. Lumsden brought the game to Scotland after watching a men's lacrosse game between the Canghuwaya Indians and the Montreal Lacrosse Club.^[20] One of Lumsden's students, Rosabelle Sinclair, established the first women's lacrosse team in the United States was at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Maryland.^[21]

Scotland fields three national teams –

Basketball itself was originally invented by James Naismith, a Canadian of recent Scottish family origins, when he was in the USA.

basketballscotland is the governing body of basketball in Scotland.

Until the late 50s, Scotland was one of Europe's main teams as it twice qualified for the EuroBasket. Since then, the team declined. Scotland had some success at the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries where it has five bronze medals most recently in 2014.

Netball

Netball is played mostly by girls from the age of ten to fifteen, and is popular in private schools.

Cue sports

Cue sports are very popular in Scotland.

Pool

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 a record 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 21 years.

Between 1990 and 2012 Scottish players reached the final on 16 occasions, with Scots winning 12 Championships in that time. As well as Hendry's record 7 wins, John Higgins and Graeme Dott have also won the title.

In 1996, the Scotland Team of Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Alan McManus won the Snooker World Cup.

Racquet sports

Badminton

BadmintonScotland is the national governing body for the sport of badminton in Scotland.

There are two major tournaments – the Scottish National Badminton Championships and the Scottish Open.

Racquets

There are several former racquets courts in Scotland: Eglinton Castle, Fyvie Castle, Kinloch Castle (Rùm). However, the game is not much played any more.

Squash

Squash is played in most major urban centres.

A notable player of squash, is

Scotland competes as Great Britain in tennis, however its contribution to the pool of British players traditionally has been small in the modern era with almost all notable players being English. However, this has taken an about turn in recent years with emergence of

Scots have been very prominent on the podium at the Judo events at the Commonwealth Games.

Karate

Karate in Scotland is mainly overseen by Karate Scotland, formerly known as the Scottish Karate Governing Body.^[23] This is the body affiliated with the World Karate Federation (WKF), who were the global body associated with Karate's inclusion at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

A number of other clubs are instead affiliated with the World Union of Karate Do Federations (WUKF).^[24]

Track and field events

See also under Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Athletics

Scottish Athletics is the governing body for athletics in Scotland. It replaced the Scottish Athletics Federation in April 2001.

Marathon

There are four marathons in Scotland: Edinburgh Marathon, Loch Ness Marathon, Lochaber Marathon and the Moray Marathon

Angling

Scotland has long been popular with anglers, both coarse and fly fishers. Many of its major rivers such as the

Bowls

Boxing

Notable Scottish boxers include world champions Benny Lynch, Walter McGowan and Ken Buchanan; Lord David Douglas-Hamilton (who went on to become a Conservative politician)

Canoeing

A number of Scottish rivers are popular with canoeists, including the

Climbing and mountaineering

Climbing is popular in some parts of Scotland. Notable climbers include Harold Raeburn.

Cycling

Cycling is a popular amateur sport, with 99 clubs throughout the country, from the

In recent years

Scotland has produced several world-class cyclists.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Chris Hoy became the most successful British Olympian in over 100 years when he cycled to 3 golds in the velodrome in sprint events (Sprint, team sprint and keirin). His achievements earned him the honour of carrying the nation's flag in the closing ceremony and a knighthood in 2008.

Graeme Obree and David Millar (no relation) have also reached the very peak of their respective events.

Curling

Scotland is the home of

Although elite-level curlers have been assisted significantly by funding from the National Lottery, facilities at the grassroots level have not benefited from this, with the number of ice rinks offering curling in Scotland declining from 31 in 1993 to 22 in 2018.^[25]

Darts

Darts is popular in Scotland, with many pubs having their own teams. Former world champions from Scotland include Jocky Wilson, Les Wallace and Gary Anderson.

Gaelic Athletic Association

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) has had a long history in Scotland, thanks to Scotland's substantial Irish population. The base of the GAA in Scotland is at Cambuslang, and GAA sports tend to be most popular in Greater Glasgow, although there is also a presence in various Scottish universities.

Gaelic Football

Gaelic football is also played in Scotland, and the games are shown in some of the country's "Irish pubs". University teams have had great success, especially those of Heriot-Watt and Napier.

The "Gaelic" part of the name refers to Ireland, rather than Scotland.

The following teams play Gaelic Football in Scotland: Dálriada, Dúnedin Connollys, Glaschu Gaels, Sands MacSwineys, Tír Conaill Harps

Hurling

Hurling is a close relative of the indigenous Scottish sport of shinty, and there is an annual international between Scotland's shinty players and Ireland's hurlers, using composite rules. The traditional forms of hurling played in Counties Antrim and Donegal, where many of Scotland's Irish immigrants originate from, were closest to Scottish shinty, and were at one point almost indistinguishable.

The

Camogie is also played to a basic level. Currently, there is only one hurling/camogie club in Scotland, Ceann Creige, which was established in 2019.

Handball

Horseracing

As of 2020 Scotland has 5 BHA licensed racecourses. Hamilton Park races solely on the flat, Kelso and Perth provide jump racing under National Hunt Rules, while Ayr and Musselburgh are dual purpose courses providing both flat and jump racing. The flat racing course at Lanark was closed in October 1977.

Point-to-point racing over jumps for amateur riders takes place at Overton in Lanarkshire and at Friars Haugh and Mosshouses in the Borders. The point-to-point course Balcormo Mains in Fife was used for an annual fixture in 2019 but after the 2020 fixture was closed due to Covid-19 lockdown it was announced that the course would close with immediate effect.

The main meeting held is the Scottish Grand National, held over 4 miles and half a furlong at Ayr each April.

One of the most valuable flat handicaps in Europe is the Ayr Gold Cup held over 6 furlongs at Ayr each September.

Orienteering

Pétanque

The French sport of Pétanque is administered and promoted in Scotland by the Scottish Petanque Association There are 11 affiliated clubs in Scotland and many other groups which play on a casual basis.

Rowing

Strathclyde Country Park is the home to the Scottish Rowing Centre, including an Olympic standard 2 km rowing course that has hosted rowing events at the Commonwealth Games and World Rowing Championships.

Dame Katherine Grainger with five Olympic medals is Great Britain's most decorated female Olympian.^[26]

Sailing

There are various events including the West Highland Yachting Week.

Offshore Power Boat Racing

Scotland hosts the UK's premier offshore power boat race the P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the Sea

Skiing

The Scottish Highlands are one of the few parts of the United Kingdom to have a number of ski resorts.

Aviemore is a centre for the sport in the Cairngorms. There are also other resorts such as Aonach Mòr, and slopes at Glencoe Ski area and Glenshee Ski Centre. The Midlothian Snowsports Centre near Edinburgh, known locally as "Hillend", is the largest dry ski slope in Europe.

Speedway

Scotland currently has two Motorcycle Speedway teams racing in the SGB Championship, Glasgow Tigers and Edinburgh Monarchs.

Swimming

The governing body is the

Sub aqua

Underwater Hockey

Underwater Hockey is a growing sport in Scotland. The nation has 8 clubs registered with the

UWH Celtic Cup results

Surfing

Water polo

Water polo is considered to be invented in Scotland with the original rules being written by William Wilson for the Bon Accord Club in Aberdeen in 1877. It was based on a game played in the rivers Dee and Don in Aberdeen. The first game in a pool took place in Glasgow and the Scottish rules were those most adopted during the early years of the sport. Additionally, Scotland provided a number of Olympians to the GB squads that were successful in the early Olympics.

Scotland had a proud tradition of amateur water polo with many strong clubs across the country. However, it took a downturn after the early 1990s at which point it was successfully competing in home countries and 8 nations tournaments. As the rest of the world moved to deep water facilities, increased their training regime and professionalised their coaching structures, Scotland's water polo remained static and fell far behind. The national squad stopped competing in internationals in 2003 with the exception of the women's squad competing at the Commonwealth tournament in Perth in 2006. However, the sport has turned around since 2008 with fast growth of members, clubs and competitions. The national squads are once again competing internationally in the annual Celtic Nations tournament with recent wins in Women's 2010 & 2012 and Men's 2011. Scotland is expected to host the Commonwealth tournament in Aberdeen in April 2014.

Blood sports

All forms of

Aside from the

The

Scotland is one of only six countries to have competed in every Commonwealth Games since the first

Scotland has hosted the Commonwealth Games three times, Edinburgh in 1970 and 1986, and Glasgow in 2014.^[28] The inaugural Commonwealth Youth Games were held in Edinburgh in 2000. 259 athletes and 166 officials were sent from Scotland to the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, where Scotland won a total of 51 medals (13 Gold, 11 Silver and 27 Bronze).

Island Games

Scotland sends three teams to the

The 2005 Island Games were hosted by Shetland.

Olympic Games

Scottish athletes have competed at every

For a list of Scottish Olympic medal winners, see Scottish Olympic medallists.

Motorsport

Scotland has a notable track record of success in the world of motor sport, being one of only five countries in the world to have produced World Champions on two, three and four wheels.

Several Scottish competitors have had illustrious careers at the top level and success has come in many different championships including

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

The only other Scot to have had considerable success in US single seater racing, was the extremely versatile Jim Clark, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1965.

Rallying

Away from the track, Scotland has always enjoyed a distinguished pedigree in stage rallying.

The McRae name is perhaps one of Scotland's most famous exports, with Colin McRae winning the World Rally Championship in 1995. His ‘flat-out’ driving style earned him millions of fans around the world and he enjoyed cult status during his 15-year career at the top of the sport. Colin was the son of 5-time British Rally Champion, Jimmy McRae, and brother of Alister McRae who also enjoyed success in the world of international rallying.

Scotland's most recent world crown was won in 2001, when Perthshire born co-driver Robert Reid won the World Rally Championship with Richard Burns.

Louise Aitken-Walker also made significant inroads into the male-dominated sport and is Britain's most successful female rally driver of all time, claiming the ladies world rally championship in 1990.

Endurance Racing

One of the most enduring stories from the world of Scottish motorsport is that of the legendary

In more recent years, Scotland has continued to enjoy success in the world of endurance and sports car racing. Dumfrieshire's Allan McNish competed in F1 in 2002 for Toyota, but is best known for becoming one of the all-time greats in the gruelling world of sportscar racing, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times and finishing on the podium on no fewer than six further occasions. In 2013, he also won the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC). 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. In 2012, Bathgate's Marino Franchitti was confirmed as the first driver of Nissan's innovative DeltaWing as an unclassified entrant at Le Mans and in 2014 he won the 12 Hours of Sebring. Another star Scottish endurance driver is Ryan Dalziel who in 2012 won the FIA World Endurance Championship, as well as taking a class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the 12 Hours of Sebring.

BTCC

In the British Touring Car Championship Scotland has had a double champion in John Cleland. A number of drivers have raced successfully in recent years including Anthony Reid, David Leslie and Gordon Shedden, who won the championship in 2012. One round of the championship is annually held at Knockhill in Scotland.

Motorcycle Sport

In motor cycling, the legends continue.

In the 1980s and 1990s, it was

Borders man Steve Hislop won the British Superbike Championship in 1995 although was better known for his success in the Isle of Man TT races, winning no less than eleven TTs.

In recent years Stuart Easton continues the charge for Scotland in the British Superbikes, while

The Scottish off-road motorcycling scene has produced numerous British Enduro and Motocross champions, most recently Richard Hay in the British Enduro Veteran Class. Euan McConnell contested the

report on local sport, and often cover football matches live (although not the SPL, to which the BBC hold exclusive radio rights).

BBC Alba's Spòrs

shows one full, delayed SPL match.

In 2011, QuipuTV – a multimedia production company and digital broadcaster specialising in livestreaming – launched with the aim of providing a digital platform for minority sports in Scotland. They produce live programming for Cricket Scotland, Scottish Hockey Union, Scottish Swimming, and Netball Scotland.

See also

• List of national sports teams of Scotland
• Politics and sports
• BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year
• Sportscotland
• Scottish Institute of Sport
• Scotsport
• Sport in Glasgow
• Sport in the United Kingdom

References

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22. ^ Peter Nicol defects to England 2001, BBC
23. ^ "Karate Scotland". Karate Scotland - Scottish Karate Governing Body. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
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26. ^ Ingle, Sean (11 August 2016). "Katherine Grainger becomes Britain's most successful female Olympian". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
27. ^ "Underwater Hockey Wales on Instagram: "Some photos from yesterday's inaugural Celtic Cup where we had both our a and B teams competing. We would like to thank our sponsors of Milford Haven Port Authority, @parfittscarpets, Bentfish Design and @merrows.shop for supporting us in hosting yesterday's Celtic Cup tournament. See you next year!@underwaterhockeyireland @scottishuwh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #underwaterhockey #octopush #celticnations #walessport"".
28. ^ "Scotland". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 22 July 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sports in Scotland.

• Executive urged to target future swimming success^{[permanent dead link]}, Sunday Herald
• PDF – Scottish Summer Olympic Medal Winners, compiled by sportscotland
• Association for Physical Education Official website