Welcome to the official website of the Scottish Touch Association (STA).
The STA is the national body set up to promote and develop the sport of Touch (also known as Touch Rugby) in Scotland.
Scotland’s touch rugby players are celebrating a victorious summer, having won two international titles and completing a successful development programme.
The country’s senior players have brought home the silverware this year. At the Home Nations tournament, in Glasgow this month, the Scotland Men’s 35 team were crowned Masters champions after defeating Ireland 4-3 in the final.
This followed the Scotland Women’s 30s team success in late July, when they beat the best sides in continental Europe to win the Women’s Open title at the Mainland Cup in Heidelberg, Germany.
Scotland’s other sides also performed well, with the Men’s Open and Men’s 30s sides coming second in their divisions in Glasgow, and the Women’s Open coming third.
The Home Nations tournament, held in Scotland for the first time since 2005, saw 21 international teams and almost 300 players from Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Ireland and England competing across a number of divisions at the Hughenden rugby grounds, home of Hillhead Jordanhill RFC. The tournament saw 41 games of international touch being played over almost 10 hours, as the UK and Ireland’s best sides met.
As well as picking up silverware the summer, the Scottish Touch Association used this summer to blood many new players and improve the squad’s preparation ahead of next year’s European Championships in England and the 2011 Touch World Cup in Edinburgh.
The STA sent a development squad to Heidelberg, introduced new caps into all the international sides, and also entered a largely inexperienced Mixed Open side at the Home Nations. In all, 25 players made their international debuts this summer.
STA national squad management committee chair Simon Ebbett said the squad’s preparations for this summer started in December, and the results showed in Heidelberg and Glasgow.
“We’re very pleased to have been able to successfully introduce a number of promising new players to international touch, through both our development squad and our full cap sides. We’re really happy with the way those players performed. They showed they can play well at international level and that the future’s looking positive,” he said.
“While development has been a real focus this year, we’re obviously delighted that our senior men and women are winning international titles and bringing silverware back to Scotland. This reflects a lot of hard work by players, coaches and support staff, and we are looking forward to doing even better next year.”
Scottish Touch Series (STS) Update
The Scottish Touch Series now approaches its fourth and final event, the Edinburgh Open on 12th September.
An impressive 33 teams have taken part in the three events so far, the Stirling Open, the Glasgow Open and the Aberdeen Summer Tournament.
The majority of the top ten in the league as it stands have taken part in all events, racking up some impressive point scoring. The full table is published here
After taking top spot in both Glasgow and Aberdeen we have the Meerkats as league leaders, the talent and depth of their squad proving crucial. They are just two points above previous leaders,
the Glasgow-based Spiders, who claimed the winner's Cup at Stirling, the most competitive of the three tournaments so far. This was followed by third place at home and second place up north. It looks like it's going to be a straight battle between the two when we reach Edinburgh.
Following up in third are Stirling's Wallace Monumentals, whose Shield win at home and consistent scoring in the two other events gives them a slight lead over the strength of Six Pack, who unfortunately didn't make it to Aberdeen.
Energen Guerillas, hailing from Aberdeen, have put in some serious miles to compete well in each event and they share fourth spot with Six Pack.
Newcomers Superhands claimed their first silverware in Aberdeen, winning the Quaich, and that puts them a single point ahead of another well-travelled Aberdeen side, the Leopards. Following behind Leopards we have Glasgow Lions, who continue their steady development of new players.
Our sole English competitors, the ever-popular Blackadders, hold ninth spot and we hope see a few more sides from across the border joining us in Edinburgh.
So as we approach the final hurdle it looks like a straight battle for the winner's trophy between Meerkats and Spiders, leaving third spot wide open to any one of a number of teams. On the day anything can happen, so be sure to get your team entry in for Edinburgh on September 12th. Entries available from EO2009@touchsuperleague.org.uk
activitymix Corporate Touch Challenge
The STA provided technical help, coaching and referees at the activitymix Corporate Touch Challenge held at Marine Drive, Edinburgh on Saturday 13 June. On a sunny day punctuated by the odd sharp shower, it was Deloitte who won a tense final 2-1 against Edinburgh Leisure. Meantime, Wolfson finished third thanks to an extra time win against McGrigors as both teams dropped off to four-a-side. It was an exciting finale to an immensely enjoyable day's Touch for sides competing in the activitymix Corporate Decathlon.
If your company is interested in taking part in next year's Corporate Decathlon, check out www.activitymix.com for details of the events involved.
The STA is proud to announce the launch of the Scottish Touch Series 2009
The Scottish Touch Series (STS) will bring together well-established Scottish touch events into a co-ordinated series, allowing teams to test themselves against the best in the country across key events throughout the summer.
The STS will provide clubs and teams participating in established one day tournaments an additional opportunity for top level competition and the honour of being recognised as the STS Champions.
In 2009, the tournaments making up the inaugural STS are:
STA president Peter Faassen de Heer said the launch of the STS was an exciting step in the continued development of touch in Scotland.
‘The inaugural Scottish Touch Series will provide an exciting opportunity for established and up-and-coming teams, players and referees to experience consistent high level competition over the summer and to battle each other for the overall title,’ said Faassen de Heer.
‘The STS will also provide a useful bridge between local leagues and representative touch and help strengthen the game across the country. Scottish Touch has made some major steps in recent years and I believe the STS is another big jump in lifting the standards and competitiveness of our sport.’
All teams entering any of the STS events will be included in the STS points scoring and league. There will be no restrictions on player registration for participation in STS, as team and player registration will be managed by event organisers at each tournament.
As well as there being an event winner at each tournament, each team will be awarded STS points based on their final placing at each event. These points are tallied in a league table which will result in an overall STS winner. This rewards teams for attending as many events as possible and consistency of performance. Points awarded will be consistent across all series events. This ensures no single event is deemed more rewarding to enter and no advantage given to a host region. The STS Champions will be the team finishing top of league after the scores from the fourth event have been applied.
STS Champions will be presented with a trophy, provided by STA. This trophy will be passed to the winners in succeeding years with winners names engraved.
Who will have the honour of being the first name on that trophy?
STS Coordinator for 2009 is Euan Kerr. Any queries on the STS can be directed to euan.kerr@scottishtouch.org.uk
Home Nations to return to Scotland
The Home Nations touch championships will return to Scotland this summer for the first time in four years.
The 2009 tournament will see sides from Scotland, Wales, Jersey and England compete across a number of divisions on 8 August. The Scottish Touch Association, which hosted the 2005 Home Nations and 2006 European Championships in Edinburgh, is hoping to hold this year’s tournament in Glasgow.
The Scotland squad will go into the tournament as reigning champions in the Mixed Open division, which they won at the 2007 Home Nations in Caerphilly, Wales, while England will be defending their Men’s Open and Women’s Open titles from that tournament.
STA president Peter Faassen de Heer said Scotland was proud to host the event.
STA president Peter Faassen de Heer
"This tournament is the biggest challenge for our Open teams in the run-up to the European Championships next year, and also ahead of the 2011 World Cup that we are hosting in Edinburgh:” said Fassen de Heer.
“This is the highest quality of international touch you'll find anywhere in Europe this year, so it will be useful development for our players, referees, coaches and managers."
Scotland national squad coaching coordinator Robbie McKenzie said the tournament was a great opportunity to begin the building process towards the 2010 Euros and 2011 World Cup.
“We aim to improve on our performances at the last Home Nations and last years Euros and mount a challenge across all divisions. Once again, the management and training of the squad has been improved and we hope to see these efforts rewarded with performances in the Home Nations," said McKenzie.
More details about the tournament will be confirmed in February.
For further information please contact Simon Ebbett on 07764 770 188
New head coaches for Scotland squad
The STA is delighted to announce that Robbie McKenzie and Dan Fitzgerald have been appointed as the new head coaches of the national squad.
The pair have taken on the job of National Squad Coaching Co-ordinators following the retirement of former head coach David Short after the European Championships in July.
Both Robbie and Dan have extensive playing experience and have been successful coaches of Scotland squads, including the current European champion Scotland Mixed Open side.
Robbie Mckenzie and Dan Fitzgerald
Edinburgh retain national touch rugby title against tough competition
Edinburgh’s touch players retained their place as national champions on the weekend but faced stiff competition as the quality of the sport continues to rise across Scotland.
The capital’s sides won both the men’s and the women’s titles at the Scottish National Touch Championships (SNTC), held at Stirling University on Saturday (23 August), to repeat the clean sweep they achieved last year.
However, the growth of the sport and the rise in standards across the country was reflected in the close games and tough competition throughout the day, in contrast to Edinburgh’s domination at last year’s event. About 110 players and 15 referees from Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Stirling competed and officiated on the day.
Glasgow’s men improved on a fourth place finish in 2007 to come second in the men’s competition this year, briefly leading Edinburgh Men’s Blue in the final before the Edinburgh team ran out 6-2 champions.
In the women’s division, Edinburgh Women’s Red overcame Aberdeen 6-1 in the final. The northern side came away with one award though, with Monica Coyle named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the women’s division. Stirling’s Stuart Smith was named men’s MVP, capping a day in which the city’s side won its first game at this level.
Scottish Touch Association president Peter Faassen de Heer said the tight scorelines and high quality play throughout the day was a pleasing end to a successful year for the sport.
‘This event has a number of aims; to determine Scotland’s national champions; to further develop the sport across the country; and to identify new players who are worthy of selection into the Scotland national squad. I’m thrilled that the tournament has achieved all three aims,’ said Faassen de Heer.
‘It caps off a really good year for Scottish touch. We started 2008 by signing a Partnership Agreement with Scottish Rugby, which will see continued growth and development of the sport here. During the summer, the growth in the domestic leagues across the country continued. And in July, our national squad won the mixed division at the European Championships and also won two silver medals and a bronze to give us our most successful performance at an international tournament yet.’
For full details please see our press release section.
Scotland’s touch rugby players win European gold
Scotland’s top touch rugby players are celebrating their first European champions title and a host of medals after the country’s most successful international tournament to date.
Scotland Mixed Open Team
The national squad has returned from the 2008 European Touch Championships in Paris, with the Scotland Mixed Open side having won their division, the country’s two men’s age group teams winning silver medals and the Women’s Open side winning bronze.
The Mixed Open team overcame injuries to several players to beat the favourites England by 12 touchdowns to 9 in an action-packed final, winning Scotland’s first ever European title and gold medals.
Earlier in the day Scotland’s Men’s over 30s won silver, after losing 6-3 to England in that division’s final. The Men’s over 35s also got silver medals, falling 6-4 to Wales. The Women’s Open team came third in their division, recovering from a semi-final loss in extra time to Wales to then beat Germany 2-1 in the bronze medal match. The Men’s Open came fourth, after losing a play-off with France, while the Women’s over 30s team were there as an invitational side and ended the tournament on a bright note with a 2-1 win over France.
Scotland was one of 15 European countries taking part in the tournament, which takes place every two years and involved around 600 players. Scotland came third in the tournament overall, after being narrowly beaten to second place by Wales, with England coming first.
Scottish Touch Association president Peter Faassen de Heer said the national squad’s success reflected the preparation, hard work and commitment that the squad of around 100 players, coaches, support staff, and administrators had put in over the ten months before the tournament.
“This was the biggest and best prepared Scotland squad to go abroad to an international tournament yet. To come back with a European title and lots of medals – gold, silver and bronze – was very satisfying and a testament to the work everybody involved has put in.”
Dan Fitzgerald scores for Scotland
Partners of the Scottish Touch Association :
Open Trial for Scotland national training squad
The Scottish Touch Association will be holding an Open Trial for players wishing to be considered for the National Training Squad ahead of selection for the 2011 Touch World Cup in Edinburgh.
The trial will be held on Sunday September 26 in Edinburgh, subject to sufficient numbers of players putting themselves forward. Further details will be announced shortly.
Interested players should contact the STA national squad management committee at nsmc@scottishtouch.org.uk with their name, age, place of residence and a short summary of their playing history.
Please note that in order to be selected to the national training squad (and subsequent national teams), a player must satisfy the following criteria:
- They must meet FIT eligibility criteria. This criteria can be downloaded from this FIT website page
- The player must be a financial member of the STA through affiliation with a Scottish regional touch association*
- All players are expected to attend all national training sessions pre- and post-final national team selections
- Players not resident in Scotland are to discuss their attendance at training ahead of time. Please note there will be a strong expectation of attendance, and we will address each player's case individually
- Players must sign and agree to terms of the 2010/11 national squad player agreement at the first opportunity
- Players need to be at zero financial balance with the NSMC or have previously agreed an arrangement for their outstanding balance.
* Players not resident in Scotland should contact the NSMC for advice on fulfilling this criterion.
Touch World Cup 2011 - Website now live
Check out the new official Touch World Cup website at www.touchworldcup2011.co.uk to find out more about the tournament which will be held in Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh from Wednesday 22nd June to Sunday 26th June 2011.
Scotland's touch players celebrating Euros success
Scotland's touch players are again the toast of Europe after winning the Men's Open title at last month's European Championships.
The men's side beat Wales 8-3 in the final to complete an undefeated title run at the four-day biennial Euros championships in Bristol in late July. To add to the title win, Scotland's captain Michael Short was named player of the final and also most valuable player in the Men's Open division.
It is the first time Scotland has won the prestigious Men's Open division. The victory brought Scotland its fourth international title in three seasons, following the Men's 35s win at the 2009 Home Nations, the Women's 30s win at the 2009 Mainland Cup and the Mixed Open team's title win at the 2008 Euros.
At this year's event Scotland's Women's Open team added to the country's medal count on finals day, beating England Women's 30s 5-1 in the third place playoff. Scotland Women's 30 side also did well, coming fifth in the Women's Open division, beating Germany 2-1 in their positional playoff.
In other divisions, the Men's 30s came fourth, Men's 35 came fifth and Mixed Open finished 10th in a very competitive and evenly-matched division.
Simon Ebbett, chair of the national squad management committee, said the Men's Open title win set Scotland up nicely for the country's campaign at next year's World Cup, being held on home soil in Edinburgh.
"Over the past two years we've been working hard to improve everything we do in our preparation of the national squad and our planning for major tournaments," Ebbett said.
"That ranges from our coaching of individuals and teams to our talent identification and selection processes to our athletic development and support of the players. We've introduced items such as strength and conditioning programmes and nutritional education for the players, as well as ensuring we have good quality support such as excellent physios and tournament catering."
"Our continued success on the European stage is showing the benefits of that work. Our aim now is to build on that and improve even further so we can put Scottish touch in the best position possible going into next year's World Cup."
National Development Plan Approved at 6th AGM of the STA
Members unanimously approved the STA's National Development Plan for 2010-12. When implemented, the plan will see radical changes to the STA including its transformation to a limited by guarantee company with charitable status and the setting up of a formal affiliation structure, giving a greater role to the Regional Associations for the promotion and development of Touch.
The 2010 Scotland teams that will compete in the European Championships this July have now been announced
The competition for positions has been fierce, and it is clear that Scottish Touch is on the ascent - a great position to be a little over a year out from the World Cup.
2009
Twin titles cap off a top summer for Scottish touchScotland’s touch rugby players are celebrating a victorious summer, having won two international titles and completing a successful development programme.
The country’s senior players have brought home the silverware this year. At the Home Nations tournament, in Glasgow this month, the Scotland Men’s 35 team were crowned Masters champions after defeating Ireland 4-3 in the final.
This followed the Scotland Women’s 30s team success in late July, when they beat the best sides in continental Europe to win the Women’s Open title at the Mainland Cup in Heidelberg, Germany.
Scotland’s other sides also performed well, with the Men’s Open and Men’s 30s sides coming second in their divisions in Glasgow, and the Women’s Open coming third.
The Home Nations tournament, held in Scotland for the first time since 2005, saw 21 international teams and almost 300 players from Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Ireland and England competing across a number of divisions at the Hughenden rugby grounds, home of Hillhead Jordanhill RFC. The tournament saw 41 games of international touch being played over almost 10 hours, as the UK and Ireland’s best sides met.
As well as picking up silverware the summer, the Scottish Touch Association used this summer to blood many new players and improve the squad’s preparation ahead of next year’s European Championships in England and the 2011 Touch World Cup in Edinburgh.
The STA sent a development squad to Heidelberg, introduced new caps into all the international sides, and also entered a largely inexperienced Mixed Open side at the Home Nations. In all, 25 players made their international debuts this summer.
STA national squad management committee chair Simon Ebbett said the squad’s preparations for this summer started in December, and the results showed in Heidelberg and Glasgow.
“We’re very pleased to have been able to successfully introduce a number of promising new players to international touch, through both our development squad and our full cap sides. We’re really happy with the way those players performed. They showed they can play well at international level and that the future’s looking positive,” he said.
“While development has been a real focus this year, we’re obviously delighted that our senior men and women are winning international titles and bringing silverware back to Scotland. This reflects a lot of hard work by players, coaches and support staff, and we are looking forward to doing even better next year.”
Scottish Touch Series (STS) Update
The Scottish Touch Series now approaches its fourth and final event, the Edinburgh Open on 12th September.
An impressive 33 teams have taken part in the three events so far, the Stirling Open, the Glasgow Open and the Aberdeen Summer Tournament.
The majority of the top ten in the league as it stands have taken part in all events, racking up some impressive point scoring. The full table is published here
After taking top spot in both Glasgow and Aberdeen we have the Meerkats as league leaders, the talent and depth of their squad proving crucial. They are just two points above previous leaders,
the Glasgow-based Spiders, who claimed the winner's Cup at Stirling, the most competitive of the three tournaments so far. This was followed by third place at home and second place up north. It looks like it's going to be a straight battle between the two when we reach Edinburgh.
Following up in third are Stirling's Wallace Monumentals, whose Shield win at home and consistent scoring in the two other events gives them a slight lead over the strength of Six Pack, who unfortunately didn't make it to Aberdeen.
Energen Guerillas, hailing from Aberdeen, have put in some serious miles to compete well in each event and they share fourth spot with Six Pack.
Newcomers Superhands claimed their first silverware in Aberdeen, winning the Quaich, and that puts them a single point ahead of another well-travelled Aberdeen side, the Leopards. Following behind Leopards we have Glasgow Lions, who continue their steady development of new players.
Our sole English competitors, the ever-popular Blackadders, hold ninth spot and we hope see a few more sides from across the border joining us in Edinburgh.
So as we approach the final hurdle it looks like a straight battle for the winner's trophy between Meerkats and Spiders, leaving third spot wide open to any one of a number of teams. On the day anything can happen, so be sure to get your team entry in for Edinburgh on September 12th. Entries available from EO2009@touchsuperleague.org.uk
activitymix Corporate Touch Challenge
The STA provided technical help, coaching and referees at the activitymix Corporate Touch Challenge held at Marine Drive, Edinburgh on Saturday 13 June. On a sunny day punctuated by the odd sharp shower, it was Deloitte who won a tense final 2-1 against Edinburgh Leisure. Meantime, Wolfson finished third thanks to an extra time win against McGrigors as both teams dropped off to four-a-side. It was an exciting finale to an immensely enjoyable day's Touch for sides competing in the activitymix Corporate Decathlon.
If your company is interested in taking part in next year's Corporate Decathlon, check out www.activitymix.com for details of the events involved.
The STA is proud to announce the launch of the Scottish Touch Series 2009
The Scottish Touch Series (STS) will bring together well-established Scottish touch events into a co-ordinated series, allowing teams to test themselves against the best in the country across key events throughout the summer.
The STS will provide clubs and teams participating in established one day tournaments an additional opportunity for top level competition and the honour of being recognised as the STS Champions.
In 2009, the tournaments making up the inaugural STS are:
- Stirling Open, Saturday 6th June
- Glasgow Open, Saturday 27th June
- Aberdeen Summer Tournament, Saturday 18th July
- Edinburgh Open, Saturday 12th September
STA president Peter Faassen de Heer said the launch of the STS was an exciting step in the continued development of touch in Scotland.
‘The inaugural Scottish Touch Series will provide an exciting opportunity for established and up-and-coming teams, players and referees to experience consistent high level competition over the summer and to battle each other for the overall title,’ said Faassen de Heer.
‘The STS will also provide a useful bridge between local leagues and representative touch and help strengthen the game across the country. Scottish Touch has made some major steps in recent years and I believe the STS is another big jump in lifting the standards and competitiveness of our sport.’
All teams entering any of the STS events will be included in the STS points scoring and league. There will be no restrictions on player registration for participation in STS, as team and player registration will be managed by event organisers at each tournament.
As well as there being an event winner at each tournament, each team will be awarded STS points based on their final placing at each event. These points are tallied in a league table which will result in an overall STS winner. This rewards teams for attending as many events as possible and consistency of performance. Points awarded will be consistent across all series events. This ensures no single event is deemed more rewarding to enter and no advantage given to a host region. The STS Champions will be the team finishing top of league after the scores from the fourth event have been applied.
STS Champions will be presented with a trophy, provided by STA. This trophy will be passed to the winners in succeeding years with winners names engraved.
Who will have the honour of being the first name on that trophy?
STS Coordinator for 2009 is Euan Kerr. Any queries on the STS can be directed to euan.kerr@scottishtouch.org.uk
Home Nations to return to Scotland
The Home Nations touch championships will return to Scotland this summer for the first time in four years.
The 2009 tournament will see sides from Scotland, Wales, Jersey and England compete across a number of divisions on 8 August. The Scottish Touch Association, which hosted the 2005 Home Nations and 2006 European Championships in Edinburgh, is hoping to hold this year’s tournament in Glasgow.
The Scotland squad will go into the tournament as reigning champions in the Mixed Open division, which they won at the 2007 Home Nations in Caerphilly, Wales, while England will be defending their Men’s Open and Women’s Open titles from that tournament.
STA president Peter Faassen de Heer said Scotland was proud to host the event.
"This tournament is the biggest challenge for our Open teams in the run-up to the European Championships next year, and also ahead of the 2011 World Cup that we are hosting in Edinburgh:” said Fassen de Heer.
“This is the highest quality of international touch you'll find anywhere in Europe this year, so it will be useful development for our players, referees, coaches and managers."
Scotland national squad coaching coordinator Robbie McKenzie said the tournament was a great opportunity to begin the building process towards the 2010 Euros and 2011 World Cup.
“We aim to improve on our performances at the last Home Nations and last years Euros and mount a challenge across all divisions. Once again, the management and training of the squad has been improved and we hope to see these efforts rewarded with performances in the Home Nations," said McKenzie.
More details about the tournament will be confirmed in February.
For further information please contact Simon Ebbett on 07764 770 188
New head coaches for Scotland squad
The STA is delighted to announce that Robbie McKenzie and Dan Fitzgerald have been appointed as the new head coaches of the national squad.
The pair have taken on the job of National Squad Coaching Co-ordinators following the retirement of former head coach David Short after the European Championships in July.
Both Robbie and Dan have extensive playing experience and have been successful coaches of Scotland squads, including the current European champion Scotland Mixed Open side.
Edinburgh retain national touch rugby title against tough competition
Edinburgh’s touch players retained their place as national champions on the weekend but faced stiff competition as the quality of the sport continues to rise across Scotland.
The capital’s sides won both the men’s and the women’s titles at the Scottish National Touch Championships (SNTC), held at Stirling University on Saturday (23 August), to repeat the clean sweep they achieved last year.
However, the growth of the sport and the rise in standards across the country was reflected in the close games and tough competition throughout the day, in contrast to Edinburgh’s domination at last year’s event. About 110 players and 15 referees from Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Stirling competed and officiated on the day.
Glasgow’s men improved on a fourth place finish in 2007 to come second in the men’s competition this year, briefly leading Edinburgh Men’s Blue in the final before the Edinburgh team ran out 6-2 champions.
In the women’s division, Edinburgh Women’s Red overcame Aberdeen 6-1 in the final. The northern side came away with one award though, with Monica Coyle named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the women’s division. Stirling’s Stuart Smith was named men’s MVP, capping a day in which the city’s side won its first game at this level.
Scottish Touch Association president Peter Faassen de Heer said the tight scorelines and high quality play throughout the day was a pleasing end to a successful year for the sport.
‘This event has a number of aims; to determine Scotland’s national champions; to further develop the sport across the country; and to identify new players who are worthy of selection into the Scotland national squad. I’m thrilled that the tournament has achieved all three aims,’ said Faassen de Heer.
‘It caps off a really good year for Scottish touch. We started 2008 by signing a Partnership Agreement with Scottish Rugby, which will see continued growth and development of the sport here. During the summer, the growth in the domestic leagues across the country continued. And in July, our national squad won the mixed division at the European Championships and also won two silver medals and a bronze to give us our most successful performance at an international tournament yet.’
For full details please see our press release section.
Scotland’s touch rugby players win European gold
Scotland’s top touch rugby players are celebrating their first European champions title and a host of medals after the country’s most successful international tournament to date.
The national squad has returned from the 2008 European Touch Championships in Paris, with the Scotland Mixed Open side having won their division, the country’s two men’s age group teams winning silver medals and the Women’s Open side winning bronze.
The Mixed Open team overcame injuries to several players to beat the favourites England by 12 touchdowns to 9 in an action-packed final, winning Scotland’s first ever European title and gold medals.
Earlier in the day Scotland’s Men’s over 30s won silver, after losing 6-3 to England in that division’s final. The Men’s over 35s also got silver medals, falling 6-4 to Wales. The Women’s Open team came third in their division, recovering from a semi-final loss in extra time to Wales to then beat Germany 2-1 in the bronze medal match. The Men’s Open came fourth, after losing a play-off with France, while the Women’s over 30s team were there as an invitational side and ended the tournament on a bright note with a 2-1 win over France.
Scotland was one of 15 European countries taking part in the tournament, which takes place every two years and involved around 600 players. Scotland came third in the tournament overall, after being narrowly beaten to second place by Wales, with England coming first.
Scottish Touch Association president Peter Faassen de Heer said the national squad’s success reflected the preparation, hard work and commitment that the squad of around 100 players, coaches, support staff, and administrators had put in over the ten months before the tournament.
“This was the biggest and best prepared Scotland squad to go abroad to an international tournament yet. To come back with a European title and lots of medals – gold, silver and bronze – was very satisfying and a testament to the work everybody involved has put in.”
Partners of the Scottish Touch Association :
11-06-2010 - Scottish Touch Association AGM 26th June 2010 New
10-06-2010 - STA National Development Plan 2010-2012 New
10-06-2010 - Edinburgh Touch first AGM 23rd June 2010 New
18-02-2010 - STS Touch Series 2010
18-02-2010 - STS Touch Series 2009 Results
21-12-2009 - STA Selection Process 2009 - 2010
21-12-2009 - STA Selection Policy 2009 - 2010
17-05-2009 - STA Annual Report 2008
08-04-2009 - Updated STA Policies Section
24-09-2008 - STA Annual Report 2007-2008
26-08-2008 - Edinburgh Open 2008
18-06-2008 - Stirling Touch Tournament Photos
18-06-2008 - STA Summer Ball
06-06-2008 - Murrayfield Touch Tournament Photos
22-05-2008 - All Players Tournament Details
21-04-2008 - Aberdeen Touch Tournament Photos
24-03-2008 - STA Cash Prize Policy
17-02-2008 - STA Events Calendar
17-02-2008 - Focus On Website Changes
30-01-2008 - STA Strategic Plan
30-11-2007 - STA Coaching Committee Newsletter
-
10-06-2010 - STA National Development Plan 2010-2012 New
10-06-2010 - Edinburgh Touch first AGM 23rd June 2010 New
18-02-2010 - STS Touch Series 2010
18-02-2010 - STS Touch Series 2009 Results
21-12-2009 - STA Selection Process 2009 - 2010
21-12-2009 - STA Selection Policy 2009 - 2010
17-05-2009 - STA Annual Report 2008
08-04-2009 - Updated STA Policies Section
24-09-2008 - STA Annual Report 2007-2008
26-08-2008 - Edinburgh Open 2008
18-06-2008 - Stirling Touch Tournament Photos
18-06-2008 - STA Summer Ball
06-06-2008 - Murrayfield Touch Tournament Photos
22-05-2008 - All Players Tournament Details
21-04-2008 - Aberdeen Touch Tournament Photos
24-03-2008 - STA Cash Prize Policy
17-02-2008 - STA Events Calendar
17-02-2008 - Focus On Website Changes
30-01-2008 - STA Strategic Plan
30-11-2007 - STA Coaching Committee Newsletter
-