ABSTRACT
In the summer of 1998, the Scottish Institute of Sport (SIS) was being formed, based on the much-hyped Australian Institute of Sport model. There were to be seven core sports, six summer sports, and one winter. The winter sport was to be curling, based partly on a relatively successful medal return at Europeans and World Championships. The major reason for curling being that one winter sport to be accepted as a core sport was down to one person, Gareth McKenna, the Royal Caledonian Curling Club’s development officer. Batting way above his station, he made it his personal crusade to get curling into the Institute: he was thinking big way before his time. A lot happened very quickly with membership of the SIS programme. As with most Institutes around the world, there were lots of sports scientists and practitioners eager to offer their services.
