HAVING lived back in Melbourne for 18 months, I had been looking forward before the Commonwealth Games to seeing how the Scots would perform. And it has felt very strange as an Aussie to be taking so much pride in Scotland's performances, but I have been revelling in the success of the team as a whole and in the performances of some special individuals.
I have to admit that I have been surprised - not by the success, but by the sheer volume of medals. If you had asked me to pick a number of swimming medals, for example, I would have said one or two golds and half-a-dozen medals all told. Well, they
have just about doubled that number, and Scotland have made the swimming world - not just the Commonwealth - sit up and take notice.
The great thing now is that if one, or ten, or 100 kids in Scotland say: "That could be me: I'm from Scotland, and I can be the best in the world," then that is what will eventually lead to change in the sporting culture of the country.
In sport it's often too easy to look for the romance behind the performance. And in terms of the incredible performance of Scotland's swimmers, a lot of people have been talking about the fact that there are only four Olympic-sized swimming pools in Scotland.
But whenever you analyse performance in sport, you will find a whole heap of component parts. And in Scotland what you find is a commitment going back to Donald Dewar, when he was First Minister, to invest seriously in sport.
In essence, the Scottish Executive signed up to an agenda to produce world-class performances by Scottish athletes. The investment that requires does not guarantee success, but it's a good place to start. The template was Australia.
In 1976 Australia had a terrible Olympics, and it prompted them to invest federal money in sport. They set up their institute of sport, and that was one of the things that the Scottish Executive committed to.
When I arrived in Scotland, just before the Sydney Olympics, the Scottish Institute of Sport was in its fledgling stages. Arguably it still is. But the commitment was there in the shape, ostensibly and most critically, of money.
That sort of commitment from government is critical. If you have the resolve of government, you can have the resources, the world-class administrators and the world-class coaches.
Anne Marie Harrison, the executive director of the SIS and a fellow Aussie, has done a fantastic job, and she has been supported by a great board. It's no coincidence that sports like swimming, which truly embraced professionalism and high performance standards, are now producing the goods.
As for facilities, the swimming pool in Stirling is world class, and it has made a real difference. It came about through a partnership between the sport of swimming, Stirling University, the Scottish Institute of Sport and the community. It's not just for elite athletes - everyone has a share in it - but it is working well for the elite athletes.
When you see so many good swimmers coming through, you have to ask: have we been incredibly lucky or incredibly clever? And certainly Scottish swimming has been lucky to have great talent, but it's also been very good at nurturing that talent.
Facilities are important, but it's not only about facilities. In track cycling the facilities in Scotland - with due respect to the outdoor velodrome at Meadowbank - are non-existent, but in a case like this you need to be resourceful and accept that the best Scottish cyclists will do their training in Manchester, where there is a world-class facility.
Increasingly here in Australia there is concern over some of the best coaching staff moving overseas. The institutes of sport are getting a bit more protective of their staff. It's the sporting equivalent of the brain drain, and it's a theory that has some merit when you think of some of the pivotal people in the improved performance not only by Scotland, but also by England, especially in the pool.
It's not just Aussies, either. One of the pivotal guys for Scotland has been the Scottish Institute of Sport swimming coach Chris Martin.
But the athletes deserve credit too. I remember when I was at Sportscotland we did athletes' surveys, and one of the things we had to try to change was the mindset whereby athletes wanted to be the best in Scotland. We had to get past that, to the point where they wanted to be the best in the world.
That's not being arrogant. If you look at Chris Hoy and Graeme Randall, they are well-rounded, well-grounded individuals; they are not arrogant, but when it comes to their sport, they are completely committed and focused and willing to work hard.
In Melbourne, the athletes with that attitude, the Scottish Institute of Sport and the sports which have truly embraced professionalism have been rewarded.
Ian Robson is chief executive of Hawthorn (Australian Rules) Football Club in Melbourne. He was chief executive of Sportscotland from 2000-04
The full article contains 888 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
