Athlete Ross Sinclair to gain some weighty experience at Commonwealth Games!

Orkney continues to punch above its weight when it comes to Team Scotland and the Commonwealth Games.

Local weightlifter, Ross Sinclair, has been announced as one of the Achieve Programme participants for the Birmingham 2022 Games from 28 July-8 August.

Ross, 20, is hoping to gain some weighty experience from the programme, which began in 2010 and aims to propel athletes and coaches from diverse backgrounds onto sporting success by preparing them for participation in the Commonwealth Youth Games, Commonwealth Games and other major sports events.

Ross, from Kirkwall, is a member of the Orkney Amateur Weight Lifting Club (OAWLC) and now has the opportunity to be in Birmingham this summer, thanks to the Achieve Programme.

He said: “I hope to gain experience training and living like a Commonwealth athlete so when my time comes it will be second nature.

“The selection process is done from each sporting governing body (mine being Weight Lifting Scotland). They look at the progression of athletes throughout the years and chooses athletes with the potential of competing at a future Games.

“This experience will allow me to gain an understanding on how the Games works and how I can progress and compete at a future Games.”

At the Birmingham event, Ross, an apprentice instrument technician at Flotta Oil Terminal, will be participating in workshops and training sessions along with past Games athletes to improve his knowledge of his sport.

“It’s a hugely exciting programme to be part of and I am delighted to have been chosen.”

Ross has been a keen sportsman most of his life but his interest in weightlifting started in late 2018.

At present he trains five times a week, with two days recovery sessions, in a home garage as the Orkney Amateur Weight Lifting Club clubhouse is in progress.

Ross is regularly invited to national and regional training sessions with the Scottish squad in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Sterling and has been part of Team Scotland attending the Celtic Games where he scored 2^nd based on Sinclair points. Successes also include twice being named Northern District Champion, twice Scottish Junior Champion (u17-73kg and u20-81kg) and first British Junior Champion (u20 81kg).

His success to date would not have been possible without the support and sponsorship received at a local level.

Ross explained: “I have been awarded the Athlete Travel Award Scheme grant over the past few years which has helped me attend a lot of events. The distance of travel to and from events makes it a little more difficult but increases the excitement from an event so I am grateful for the support to help this happen.”

The Athlete Travel Award Scheme is an ongoing partnership between sportscotland and the participating local authorities in Highlands & Islands - Orkney Islands, Western Isles, Shetland Islands and Highlands Councils; Orkney Islands Council are extremely grateful to also have a partnership with Stagecoach which allows us to enhance and extend our programme in Orkney.

More information on the ATAS is available here: https://www.orkney.gov.uk/News?postid=5571

OIC Leisure and Culture Service Manager, Garry Burton, said: “Anyone’s first Games experience is likely to be daunting, so the programme plays a key part in preparing athletes and support staff to perform for Team Scotland at future events.

“Importantly it also develops a lot of key core skills, so even if the athletes and coaches never make that final step, they will still hugely benefit from their experience at Birmingham 2022. We are delighted to see Ross making this progression and hope this stepping stone leads to future performances on the Commonwealth stage.”