There aren’t many police officers who will get time off during the Commonwealth Games.
Family wedding? Trip to Disneyland? Moving house? All are likely to get the same two letter answer.
Arbroath bowler Darren Burnett has come up with a pretty good case for a bit of special dispensation though. He’ll be competing.
Whether his wife Linsey, who also serves with Police Scotland, and any of his Tayside colleagues will get the chance to see him play is another matter.
In fact, working at the games in uniform might be their best bet of being close to the bowling action at Kelvingrove in the summer.
“I would imagine a few of my colleagues will be brought down to Glasgow to police the event, because it’s going to be huge,“ said Burnett, who was announced as a member of the 10-strong team of Scottish lawn bowlers.
“Some of the boys at the station in Arbroath (where Burnett is a community officer) would certainly be glad to be involved in policing the bowls event.
“All leave has been cancelled during that period for quite some time. I had to put a lot of reports in several months back to make the point I was in the selection squad and if I make the team would I be able to get the time off?”
He added: “I have been very well supported by Police Scotland. When you’re competing at this level, you need a fair bit of time off and I have to be conscious of the fact that, if I’m away competing, I’m leaving my colleagues back there doing the work. So I really appreciate that they have always been so supportive. And it was fantastic when the decision came back that they would allow me the time off.
“But the fact I had to do that so many months ago just shows you how tight the time off situation is during the Commonwealths.
“I think making the team is the only way to get leave at the end of July!
“The sad thing is my wife is also in the police and there is no guarantee that she will get the time off to support me. It’s one thing to put in a report saying you’re competing but to say you want to come down and watch your husband play is a bit different.
“So she’ll have to wait and see how the work schedule goes.”
Glasgow will be Burnett’s fourth Commonwealth Games. He is yet to medal, but going into the competition as reigning world indoor champion will boost his chances of putting that right on a Scottish lawn.
He said: “It’s been a long hard process and it’s good to finally be announced in the final five. The excitement has been high for a quite a while and, with everyone in the country speaking about the Commonwealths, it’s hard not to have it in your mind.
“I think I’m speaking for every player that this has been at the back of our minds at every major event we’ve competed in. Now the selection process is concluded, we’ve got a few months ahead of us to really focus on the games.
“We’ll be training a lot on the Kelvingrove greens to make the home advantage count.
“I’ve played in Manchester, Melbourne and Delhi. My best position was last time at Delhi when Neil Speirs and I finished fourth in the pairs event.
“We lost to the eventual winners, South Africa, in the semi-final and then got beaten in the bronze medal play-off by Malaysia so after hitting the crossbar twice we’re determined to get a medal this time.
“Winning the world indoor championships in January has given me a huge confidence boost.
“To pit your game against the top players in the world and come out on top knowing you have played well is a massive boost.
“The Scotland squad is a difficult one to break into because the quality of bowls in this country is unbelievable, so you can never take selection for granted, even with a world title.”
There will be some sports where the prospect of a home gold in Glasgow is a faint one at best. Lawn bowls isn’t one of them though.
The target for the team has been set at two medals, but coach David Gourlay is hoping for more, and Burnett isn’t trying to dampen down expectations.
“We know that if we play well we definitely have medal prospects among us because it’s a top-quality team,” he pointed out.
“It’s up to us now to go out there and do ourselves justice and do the country and everyone who has supported us proud.
“That’s the pressure we put on ourselves to play the way we can and if we do that there is no reason why we can’t deliver a few medals.
“I didn’t think I would compete any closer to home than Manchester at this level. In bowling terms this is the biggest event we could participate in, along with the world championships. A games in Scotland is a once in a career chance.”