Relay runners 'to be in home town'

Mar 20 2013

Organisers are committed to ensuring that participants in the Glasgow 2014 Queen's Baton Relay will run in their home town, the sport minister has said.

The international route for the Commonwealth Games relay was announced last week, with further details of its journey through Scotland to be revealed in October.

The baton will arrive in mid-June next year and will spend 40 days travelling to every local authority area.

Sport minister Shona Robison was asked by SNP MSP Fiona McLeod to give assurances that local people will be prioritised to carry the baton in their home town, and to confirm whether any costs are involved for those taking part.

"Both my questions arise from experiences of constituents as Olympic torch bearers, which left some of them out of pocket and many miles from home," Ms McLeod said.

"The Glasgow 2014 organising committee is working with the Scottish Government, local authorities and others to develop the route that the Queen's Baton Relay will take as it travels around Scotland, and that route will be announced in October this year," Ms Robison said.

"We have been working very hard to learn the lessons from the Olympic torch relay. I can tell (Fiona McLeod) that for the Queen's Baton Relay, the organising committee has committed as far as operationally possible to enable baton bearers to run in their local area.

"I can also tell her there are no fees associated with being a baton bearer."