HAVE you heard the one about the athlete who represented Scotland at three different sports in the same calendar year?
What’s more, two of those appearances came on consecutive days, playing badminton against England in London on a Friday then travelling overnight to Belfast to captain Scotland’s hockey team against Ireland on the Saturday afternoon. Later on that same summer, she represented Scotland at tennis against England.
That athlete was Marjorie Langmuir and the year was 1932. Hers was one of the amazing stories we heard as we inducted our Pioneers in Sport at an afternoon tea in the GoGlasgow Hotel.
The ceremony was hosted by the lovely Hannah Miley, who was trying her hand at presenting, and we inducted our four Pioneers: Langmuir – hockey, badminton and tennis; Isobel Newstead – swimming; Edna Nellis – football; and Helen Mathews – football.
We also had our four current leaders in sport in attendance, who were also inducted in the Scottish Women In Sport Hall of Fame. They were: Kari Carswell – cricket; Belle Robertson – golf; Joan Watt – physiotherapy; and Maggi McEleny – para-swimming.
It was great to chat with them and hear their stories, knowing that we are capturing sporting history for future generations. Every one of these amazing women was humble about their achievements, but there is absolutely no doubt that they all deserved their place of honour in our Hall of Fame. A video of the day will appear on our website shortly. On the stage we had the magnificent Princess Diana chair. Carved by the extremely talented John McLaughlin from Bishopton, it has been dedicated to all our Pioneers in Sport. We hope to be able to showcase this chair at events for women in sport in Scotland.
It will also be on show at our annual conference on June 8 in Edinburgh. Breaking Down Barriers for Females and Sport is our subject and we have an amazing line-up confirmed. Tickets are available at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/breaking-down-barriers-for-females-and-sport-tickets-44145586638
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here