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.
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 :
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 :
17-05-2009 - STA Annual Report 2008 New
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
28-09-2007 - STA Selection Policy and Process
28-09-2007 - Eligibility Criteria for National Selection
-
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
28-09-2007 - STA Selection Policy and Process
28-09-2007 - Eligibility Criteria for National Selection
-