Orkney sportswoman to represent the county on the national Young People’s Sport Panel

A young Orkney woman is intending to put the sporting community in Orkney firmly on the map thanks to becoming one of two island representatives for the first time ever on sportscotland’s Young People’s Sport Panel (cohort 6).

Sports coach and volunteer Megan Clouston, 19, from Orphir says the appointment is the highlight of her sporting achievements to date and the keen footballer has several goals in mind!

“Two things I would like to push for are Additional Support Needs clubs in smaller communities and islands to give young people with ASN the experiences to play different types of sports.

“This is something I am going to try hard to push for in the Panel and if not successful I will be trying to see what is available for fundraising and what the community of Orkney can offer to support this going forward. If successful I plan to contact Inclusive Orkney to see what we can do together.

“Another priority I would like to push for is girls participating in sport and girls trying different types of sports. This is something I have been pushing for a while and slowly I can see over the years girls/women’s sports have grown massively and I think if we can continue getting young people trying new sports we will continue to grow and develop.”

The YPSP provides a national platform to represent the voice of young people across Scotland. The role of the panel is to help influence and shape the future of sport in Scotland and to raise the profile of sport.

The 20-strong Panel is led by sportscotland and supported by Young Scot.

From January 2023, Megan, an Early Years Practitioner within the nursery at Orphir Community School, will be making strides for sport in Orkney over a two-year period as part of the Panel.

She came to the attention of sportscotland representatives after she was named School Sports Volunteer of the Year at the Orkney Sports Awards in 2020 and she was encouraged to put herself forward.

Megan underwent an extensive interview process at sportscotland’s Caledonia House in Edinburgh at the start of December to reach this point.

She said: “It was a four-hour interview process which started off with an individual task where I had to write about my sporting life, then my interview and lastly we had a group task where we were asked to make a campaign about getting young people active and trying new sports.

“It was an amazing opportunity and one I will never forget from the moment I entered Caledonia House I felt so comfortable, relaxed and ‘at home’ due the staff and ex panel members being so welcoming and happy to see that I had arrived safely.”

Megan has followed her dad, Mark, into sports volunteering and coaching and it’s thanks to the support of family and friends that she is excelling today.

From a young age she has enjoyed badminton, swimming, golf and football.

“I first started volunteering on a Sunday for the Orkney Junior Badminton Club when I was 14 as an umpire during competitions which then progressed onto ‘Badminton Basics Coaching course’. I started to help my dad coach at the Orphir Badminton Club in an evening.

“Thanks to the support of the Active Schools team in Orkney I became a Young Ambassador at Kirkwall Grammar School and many volunteering opportunities arose.

“I went to my old primary school on a Friday afternoon for a year to do ‘Fun PE’ sessions. I planned and delivered a lot of inter house competitions at KGS getting over 230 pupils active in a week. I started volunteering for Stromness Youth Football Club on a Friday night, I was then lucky enough to gain a spot in the Scottish Football Association Volunteer Inspire Programme, which I gained my 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 coaching courses. I now have my own group in Stromness P1-4 on a Friday evening. I’m also a run, jump and throw coach for the Pickaquoy Centre.

“I love seeing the children happy playing the sport that they love, trying new sports and seeing them progress and develop throughout my sessions.”

Megan sees being part of the panel as a chance to showcase what Orkney already has in place and to improve on that.

“I am so excited to meet new people and make new friends through an interest we all have in common which is changing sport in Scotland for young people. I just can’t wait to get started and make my Orkney community proud!

“My role will involve three hours a week for YPSP6, for the next two years. I will be able to shape the future of sport in Scotland and make it inclusive and welcoming for everyone and be the voice for young people in Scotland.

“We will have training days and residential days where I will have to go away south for a few days at a time, but I am looking forward to heading off and meeting the rest of the panel.”

Megan is passionate about being part of a group that will have a much bigger voice for sport in Scotland.

“I have always been passionate for being the voice of young people in Orkney but to now to have the opportunity to be the voice of young people in Scotland for sport is amazing and I am so unbelievably proud of myself to have come this far!”

Chair of the Council’s Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, Councillor Gwenda Shearer, said: “Sport has such a positive role to play in society. Encouraging involvement from an early age can have numerous physical, social and wellbeing benefits, kickstarting positive habits from outset that will often last a lifetime.

“Megan’s appointment on the Panel is not only a significant achievement for a young person in her own right but also for Orkney as a community. On behalf of the Council we wish her every success in her aspiration to place Orkney on the sporting map and to achieve further success for inclusiveness.”