Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy has celebrated “the legacy of Glasgow 2014” as a £6 million investment for local sports centres was announced.
The eleven-times world track cycling champion welcomed the renewed investment after Scotland fulfilled one of its key commitments made before the 2014 Commonwealth Games by opening its 150th community sport hub this year.
The National Agency for Sport announced it will inject £6 million into the 153 existing centres and 47 new hubs to help reach the 2020 target of 200 active hubs across the nation.
The sum is financed through the National Lottery Fund and communities have already seen financial support of £1.5 million a year since 2010, with total investment reaching £13.5 million in the next four years.
The hubs are open to everyone and aim to bring more physical activity to communities in the country, according to sportscotland.
Speaking at the Drumchapel hub in Glasgow, Sir Chris said: “This is a big part of the Glasgow 2014 legacy and to see real commitment beyond just the big event itself and once all the placards are taken down and all the teams leave and the games are over, it’s nice to see that there’s genuine commitment to make this an ongoing success.
“Sport has been the most important thing in my life in terms of the opportunities it’s given me, the people I’ve met, the experiences I’ve had.
“It goes beyond just winning medals, it’s central to my life and I think that it’s a wonderful thing for anybody to do and the more people we can get involved in sport the better.
“It doesn’t matter what your level of fitness, what your age, what your ability is, you’ll be welcomed and there are all kinds of sports, no two hubs are the same, they are all different they are all unique.”
Sport minister Jamie Hepburn said: “Today is Commonwealth Day and each year it chooses a particular theme, and this year’s theme is: ‘It’s time for an inclusive Commonwealth’.
“One of the Scottish Government’s great ambitions around sport and physical activity in its wider sense is to see more inclusivity, to see more people involved in sport or physical activity because we know the benefits are significant and the cost of physical inactivity is some 2,500 premature deaths every year.”