Scottish Ministers had the opportunity to whet their appetite for the 2026 Commonwealth Games by joining young people in Dalmarnock for the Move 2 mini-commonwealth games.
Kebba Sanneh, Award-winning Local Community Impact Leader, put Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy and Sport, Maree Todd, and around 50 young people through their paces over events like Capture the Flag, Javelin, and a Relay at the Emirates Arena on Monday 2 March.
Not wishing to miss a chance to join in on Commonwealth Games related-fun, Finnie also made an appearance – though wasn’t able to match the talent of the young people!
The Dalmarnock Move 2 project, is a partnership between scottishathletics, Athletics Trust Scotland and Scottish Sports Futures.
Our project regularly attracts over 50 young people each week delivering athletics-based activity around run, jump, push, or throw movements with other multi-sports sessions also on offer for latter parts of these sessions.
Colin Hutchison, CEO of scottishathletics, also took the opportunity to discuss with the Minister the need for community projects like this across Scotland to create sustainable community inclusion and representation in coaching and athletics participation to lead to increased physical, mental, social and psychological health and wellbeing of young people in local communities.
‘Move 2 is already proving to be a game-changer for athletics in Scotland and the children, young people and communities we aim to support through athletics-based physical activity,’ said Colin.
‘Our objective is to create spaces for young people who wouldn’t ordinarily think of athletics as a choice for them, or who might perhaps think there is no place for them within clubs.
‘Move 2 is providing a positive sporting activity for these young people to engage in, within the communities they live in and with the people they trust.
‘It’s wonderful to see the mental and physical health improvements being made.
‘We are developing relationship-based pathways into clubs – for those who want to try athletics out – is providing a safe, sustainable pathway to support growth in athletics participation across Scotland among communities who may feel new to the sport, or sport in general.’
Maree Todd said: ‘I’ve had a wonderful evening with young people taking part in a mini-Commonwealth Games in Dalmarnock, and it’s been truly inspiring to see their excitement and enthusiasm for Glasgow 2026.
‘The Community Impact Programme demonstrates how sport can be so much more than physical activity — it can be a powerful driver of social change, helping to open-up opportunities for communities who often face barriers to being active.
‘Ensuring that people can easily access a wide range of sport and physical activity programmes is central to our aim of improving both mental and physical wellbeing.
‘It also supports our wider government priorities to tackle health inequalities, strengthen community resilience, and ensure every young person — regardless of background, disability, or cultural identity — has the chance to thrive.
‘I look forward to seeing this programme continue to grow and reach even more communities across Scotland.’
Notes:
ATS is a charity which believes in the transformative power of athletics and running.
It is committed to supporting underrepresented communities in athletics to access opportunities to reap the wide-ranging health and social benefits of living a more active life. ATS recently received a significant grant for Emirates Arena track use from the Get Active Glasgow Fund, which is a funding partnership between Glasgow Life, the London Marathon Foundation and sportscotland.
Scottish Sports Futures use sport as a catalyst to enable young people to be healthier, more confident and more resilient, so they are better prepared to combat the effects of poverty, trauma and adversity. SSF enables young people, living in challenging environments, to become champions for good in society.
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Tags:
Athletics Trust Scotland, Scottish Sports Futures