By Ant Purdie, Purdindas, Team Scotland Captain.
Firstly, it is not the intention to make drastic sweeping changes to the way Team Scotland conducts its business right now. Such dramatic change should be carried out by whoever takes on the role of the Captain under the mandate provided to them once they win the upcoming election.
The changes made here are either through necessity or to provide clarifications on already established ideas. They will make the running of Team Scotland smoother and better understood by all.
Team Scotland at Home Nations Bowl, Loughborough, June 2024: L:R - Sporran, Shriyke, LordGarlack, Purdindas (Cpt.), MarkyMarc, Mournival, StripeyDave, Loki
Changes ahead for the Eurobowl XI, 2025 Campaign
It has become increasingly apparent that it is the norm for national teams to also field an official Open team at international events. Therefore, Team Scotland cannot afford to stand still, as every other nation also gets stronger with every passing year. That’s why after extensive discussions with the current Team Scotland and Chris Rafferty, chairman of Scottish Blood Bowl Community, we’re taking a proactive and positive step to grow the Team Scotland Squad from eight coaches to twelve for Eurobowl XI in 2025.
In addition, the constitution has had the Team Scotland Captain election process and what happens if qualifying coaches do not wish to take their spot(s) clarified after a few questions from a few coaches in the community. Key things to note that are being changed:
A candidate wishing to seek the captaincy will need to be proposed and seconded by the Team Scotland Alumni or from the coaches who gain qualification to the squad through the Scottish Championship and extended leaderboard.
Guaranteed Squad spots for coaches who qualify via the Scottish championship or Extended leaderboard; If these coaches do not wish to take up their position, then their spots will default to captain's picks.
The Scottish Alumni come from former and current Team Scotland players who are active within the community, which is defined as having played in a Scotland NAF Tournament in the current calendar year.
You can see the updated Scotland Charter on the Team Scotland page. Click on the Team Constitution button at the top of the page. The changes are marked in red for ease of understanding.
In addition the upcoming Team Scotland Captain election after Athens will be overseen by Chris Rafferty, Chairman of SBBC to ensure a fair election.
What does this mean in practice?
Those who are chasing automatic qualification to the Team Scotland Squad in the Scottish Championship and extended leaderboard will still be assured of automatic qualification to the Team Scotland Squad of twelve coaches.
Over the course of the 2025 season the Team Scotland Captain will then look to place the twelve coaches across the Eurobowl team, and for the first time ever an official Team Scotland for the Europen - following in the footsteps of other nations which I see as a great way to bring on talent at one of the most competitive tournaments available.
There’s a real hunger to pull on the blue jersey. When asked in the annual Scottish Blood Bowl survey this year fifty of ninety-three coaches indicated they’d like to play for Team Scotland at Eurobowl.
The intention behind this change is to encourage coaches who want to play for Team Scotland by presenting them a wider avenue to walk that will hopefully see talent make the step-up when it’s the right time for them.
I'm confident this is an important plank in the evolution of Scottish Blood Bowl giving coaches the incentive to redouble the efforts on their Blood Bowl journey as they seek the highest honour of playing for our country.
The current squad is aiming to make the community proud and bring back Eurobowl hosting rights from Athens in a few short weeks, Nuffle willing! We’ll be sure to keep the community posted of progress from Eurobowl - wish us luck! Purdindas
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