Huddersfield gymnast Erin McLachlan is going to the Commonwealth Games.

The 16-year-old Honley High student has been picked to represent Scotland at the Games in Glasgow later this summer.

Erin, who lives in Netherthong and qualifies for Scotland through her father, trains at the Diamonds Club in Halifax under coach Bill Smithies.

Preparing for the Games has meant a lot of training and Erin has made regular trips to Largs to do work alongside other members of the squad.

Talented on vault, beam and floor, Erin won gold on beam at the Scottish Championships back in February and took silver in vault at the same event.

Then, in Perth in April, she maintained her form and caught the eye of selectors once again by taking silver on floor and bronze for her bar routine in the Commonwealth Invitational Meeting.

Erin has received help from the FV&E Brook Charitable Trust in Huddersfield to pay training and travel costs for a year – something she has been very grateful for – and she’s now looking forward to the big event itself.

She was one of 29 athletes added to the Scotland squad yesterday and one of a number of 22 Games debutants, three Commonwealth Games medalists, six former Youth Games athletes and three athletes who will compete in their home city.

A full squad of 10 gymnasts will compete for Team Scotland at the SSE Hydro, including London 2012 bronze medalist Dan Purvis, who is one of six gymnasts making their Commonwealth Games debut.

Three gymnasts will make the next step up to the senior ranks, having represented Youth Team Scotland at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Man.

Erin McLachlan
Erin McLachlan

Winner of Team Scotland’s last Commonwealth Games medal in gymnastics ––high bar bronze in Melbourne 2006 - Adam Cox returns to the team along with Daniel Keatings, Amy Regan and Emma White.

Frank Baines and McLachlan join Purvis among the Games debutants, while Liam Davie, Cara Kennedy and Carly Smith will make the step up to the senior Games.

Judo returns to the Commonwealth Games for the first time since the 2002 Games in Manchester, where Scottish athletes collected 10 medals in Scotland’s most successful sport.

Among those medalists were Graeme Randall and David Somerville, who will act as team manager and head coach for the 14 athletes selected to represent Scotland and they will undoubtedly be able to share their vast experience.

Sarah Clark and John Buchanan are the only judoka to have already competed for Team Scotland and will make their second Commonwealth Games appearance some 12 years on, along with their 12 team-mates making their Games debut.

Clark is one of five Olympians in the team alongside Euan Burton, James Austin, Chris Sherrington and Sally Conway.

Weightlifter Peter Kirkbride provided one of the highlights of Delhi 2010 with his silver medal winning lift in the under-94kg competition and will be looking to go one better.

Kirkbride is joined in the squad by three female athletes making their lth Games debut.

Team Scotland will also make its first appearance in the Para-Sport powerlifting competition with Michael ‘Micky’ Yule.

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