UCB to host Team Scotland

Jessica Brookes Birmingham is looking forward to putting on a welcoming face for all visitors to the Commonwealth Games. University College will host Team Scotland and the University of Birmingham the squash and hockey. Chamberlink reporters JESS BROOKES and CLAUDIA CONGRAVE spoke to them about their plans.

Claudia Congrave

Pulling out all the stops for Team Scotland

By Claudia Congrave

In August of last year, University College Birmingham (UCB) announced that they were to be the home away from home for family, friends and team supporters of Team Scotland during the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Situated in central Birmingham, UCB is home to more than 7,500 students and offers both vocational and academic education at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

As the countdown begins, the university has just one year to go until 300 Team Scotland athletes and staff descend on their site.

Having taken a tour of UCB’s new base for flagship sports facilities, Moss House, it is clear to see the heavy investment and attention to detail that has gone into refining their amenities for both their students and guests.

‘This is the first time the team have used a university site as their home base for a Games’

With more than £100m already spent on the university’s renovation in the last six years, UCB is well placed to provide Team Scotland with a range of new, high quality equipment as well as the sports physio facilities needed to prepare the athletes pre and post competition.

Elaine Limond, deputy dean for the School of Sport and Food at UCB, has been instrumental in liaising with Team Scotland regarding their upcoming partnership.

She explained: “This is the first time the team have used a university site as their home base for a Games, so we offered them a little bit different. I know they’re really keen to engage with young people within our location, so we were able to give them that direct link to the legacy of the games.

“We already have a lot of plans going on as part of our renovation, for example the opening of this building and Macintyre House, which opened a few years ago.

“Summer Row, our main site, is also getting a lot of renovations over the next 12 months but, of course, we are keen to get it all finished by the time the Games come around so that it can benefit the team. It’s expected that pretty much all of our site will be in use.”

UCB’s main site, Scotland House, will be open to the friends and family of the team and will also host a range of events leading up to the Games. The university’s student accommodation will also undergo its annual rejuvenation and is set to host the Team Scotland Youth Programme, which will see the young athletes come along to shadow the event.

Nevertheless, UCB’s focus is not entirely on their infrastructure, having already made plans to ensure that their students and staff are able to take full advantage of the exciting opportunities headed for their campus.

Elaine said: “We have a lot of plans around logistics, staffing, and making a drive for volunteers from our student body. Our preparations are in a whole host of areas, it’s definitely not limited to sport at all. There’s scope for hospitality, hair and makeup with the cultural events going on, opportunities for our business, media and marketing students around promoting the Games.”

Speaking with pride on all that the university has achieved in attracting Team Scotland to their home in central Birmingham, Elaine explained why their hosting will be remembered as one of their proudest achievements.

“As a smaller, vocational university we are very good at what we do in our areas, but we aren’t necessarily nationally known for things outside of our specialisms. I think it’s about getting that recognition and looking at how far we’ve come in the last 10-20 years. To have Team Scotland come here, see what we have and be blown away by it is probably our proudest moment and now we have a chance for other people to see that.”