COUNTY DUO’S PANEL SUCCESS

Lanarkshire duo Megan Glancy and Eilidh Barclay have celebrated the halfway point in their journey in helping to influence the future of Scottish sport.

Megan, from Hamilton, and Bothwell’s Eilidh were named as part of the fourth cohort of sportscotland’s Young People’s Sports Panel (YPSP) in June last year, which provides a national platform for the votes of young people to be heard and valued in the sporting system.

Crucial to the programme is that panel members have the opportunity to influence decision-making and drive change in Scottish sport.

The YPSP is part of sportscotland’s commitment to provide a legacy of confident and well-trained young people, who will become the next generation of leaders to help take the sporting system forward.

The 16 YPSP members are halfway through their two years of helping to influence and shape the future of sport and raising its profile, and have already made great strides.

In their first year as panel members they have had the opportunity to meet and present ideas to Sport Minister Joe Fitzpatrick and the sportscotland board.

Panel members have also supported the decision-making for sportscotland’s School Sport Awards programme and Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering Awards.

The YPSP have chosen to work towards four themes that they aim to influence, which are women and girls, disability, mental health and access to sport, and have consulted with sportscotland and partners on a range of issues, with these themes at the forefront.

To mark their first year as YPSP members, the panel attended their annual residential at Glenmore Lodge near Aviemore.

This gave the panel a chance to reflect on their last year, and plan what they want to achieve by the end of their time on the YPSP.

Uddingston Grammar pupil Eilidh, 15, is looking forward to another year as a panel member.

She said: “I joined the YPSP to share my passion and enthusiasm about sport with like-minded people, and to help make sport in Scotland better for young people.

“I’ve loved the first year. One of the highlights was that I opened and closed a sportscotland regional networking event at Hampden.

“It was a huge achievement for me to present to people that can influence sport throughout Scotland.”

Megan, 19, who plays football and karate, says she is looking forward to continuing to help make a difference to sport in Scotland.

She said: “It has been great to be involved in so many different opportunities in our first year.

“In year two I hope we can build on and execute the plans of our small working groups to make a real difference to my local area, and hopefully across Scotland.”

Stewart Harris, sportscotland chief executive, said: “I have been incredibly impressed by the commitment and passion for sport that these sport panel members have.

“They have already made a big impression at a local and national level, and I look forward to seeing the positive impact their dedication will have on Scottish sport in the coming year.”