Team Scotland Constitution undergoes rework to deliver future Eurobowl success
- Jock Wright
- Jul 30
- 7 min read
What’s all the fuss about?
When people talk about constitutions and procedure you’d be forgiven if your eyes started to glaze over at the very thought of the merits of clause 4.3 or not.
However, constitutions matter. They provide a framework and structure for organisations to grow and deal with important scenarios from time-to-time, that have been given the benefit of forethought rather than dealing with them ad hoc as issues arise.
On Wednesday evening the Scotland Captain, BB_Jock, held a formal Extraordinary General Meeting of Team Scotland to form the new Scotland Council replacing the old 'Alumni' that would consider and vote on adopting a new constitution that had been written from a blank sheet.
The vote to adopt the new constitution was carried unanimously by the Team Scotland Council.
In addition, with the new governance structure in place, the Council then elected Team Scotland’s first Chair of Council, long-standing coach, Loki. Minutes from the meeting can be read here
What has changed - The TL:DR
For those who are so inclined they can read the new Team Scotland Constitution in full, hosted on the Team Scotland section of the SBB website. However, for most, the TL:DR will no doubt sate your needs.
Headlines for the strategic changes:
The Scotland Captain will be elected for a term of four years captaining the Squad over three Eurobowl tournaments (see figure 1.1 below), starting with an election in the Malta World Cup year in 2027. The rationale is to enable a Captain the opportunity to present and deliver a vision with longer-term thinking for the development of the team and the wider community.
The Scotland Squad will officially grow to twelve coaches with selection for the Bowl and Open being confirmed nearer Eurobowl roster deadline. This is to ensure the most in-form coaches from the final squad are being rostered for the Bowl to maximise our performance.
With an additional option to include a Scotland Future’s squad to raise the team to sixteen coaches with the express aim of building pathways for potential future caps.
The constitution will not stipulate specifically how a Scotland squad is selected, but makes room for Captains to outline their approach in a manifesto, in the process of an election campaign. This will ensure their approach sets clear expectations for coaches seeking to represent Scotland. The hope is for an evolutionary approach as we learn from past experience gained from Eurobowl campaigns.
Sporting Colours will be introduced to recognise and encourage Scottish coaches commitment and development. In addition to being Capped coaches may receive Full Colours, Half Colours and be nominated for the annual Scotland Merit so that exceptional service to Scotland team, the community and achievements can be recognised. Half Colours will be awarded to any Scottish coach who attends Europen or the NAF World Cup.
The electorate on who will get to vote on the captaincy will expand, as per my manifesto commitment, to any Scottish coach, who has played at least 17 NAF games in the year prior to the election and registers to vote.
The old ‘Alumni’ of former caps who were in effect both the guardians of the constitution as well as the sole electorate will now be replaced by The Scottish Council, which will have a formal and rolling membership to ensure those with oversight and responsibility are actively engaged with Scotland's Eurobowl efforts.
A Chair of Council will be elected from the council membership who will provide leadership in terms of holding the Captain to account, chairing Council meetings and to provide support and counsel to the Captain where needed.
The Scottish Blood Bowl Committee has an Ex-Officio appointee with voting rights on the Council. This is to ensure the wider community and its needs are represented to Team Scotland and to aid building a good working relationship for the benefit of the community as a whole.
Why are these changes being made?
In short I was elected, in part, for my manifesto commitment to undertake a detailed review of the constitution.
There are a few key reasons why the constitution was given a complete overhaul, namely:
Improve the lines of accountability the Scottish Blood Bowl Community could and should have over the Scotland Captain.
Prepare for and enable positive growth in Scottish coaches keen to progress their skill levels in the game to compete at the highest levels they can.
Ensure that the election of the Scottish Captain has formal procedures to ensure a free and fair election, if contested, and clearly indicate what to do in certain scenarios such as a tied vote.
Lines of Accountability
Previously once the Scotland Captain was elected the only real line of accountability was the next time they faced the ballot box. As Scottish Blood Bowl and its community grows it became clear that there needed to be a governance structure that held the Captain to account for the role they’d be expected to perform - see figure 1.2 below:
Enabling and Promoting Positive Growth
Under the old ways of selection there was an inflexibility and ill-suited pre-defined system where performances at one-day tournaments decided if a coach qualified for a spot on the squad. Purdindas, as sitting Captain, brought about the initial changes to Scotland’s selection process to enable future captains to evolve our approach.
Importantly this ensured future captains were not locked into a system they had inherited, giving them limited control over how they selected and managed the team - after all that is the basic job of a team Captain.
The change empowered a Captain to set out their selection process and criteria in an election manifesto and campaign. Moving to an application based process, as both candidates advocated for in the recent election, saw twenty-six coaches apply for Team Scotland for Hungary.
This has resulted in Scotland delivering its first ever sixteen-coach squad, and a record breaking thirty-one Scots set to attend Eurobowl XVI in Budapest later this year - the Tartan Army will march!
Electing a Captain
For Eurobowl XVI, Team Scotland had its first ever contested election for the captaincy that allowed ideas to be tested in the crucible of an election campaign. A contested election is a healthy indicator of a growing community and it was closely fought by myself and Scotland Cap, Shriyke.
So much so it ended up in a tied vote. At that point the constitution struggled to give a clear indication of what should happen in this scenario with a small electorate of Alumni with only sixteen voters. So an important update to the constitution was making sure the election process and procedures could handle these unlikely, but not impossible scenarios.
How was the new constitution developed?
The drafting of the new constitution was a team effort. As captain I chaired a working group who had several meetings over the course of several months where discussions, debate and consultation with the wider community were undertaken.
The make-up of the working group:
Purdindas, current Vice-Captain, four-time Scotland Captain and most capped Scotland coach
Loki, former Vice-Captain and Scotland’s most successful performing coach with five caps
Shriyke, candidate for Captaincy in the Budapest, Eurobowl cycle and capped in Athens last year.
Thanks must also go to coaches who scrutinised the draft constitution and gave invaluable feedback. In particular special mention must go to StripeyDave. Chris undertook the role of scrutiny with dedication and thoroughness. It is in no small part that the final draft of the constitution has been influenced by his keen observations and helpful suggestions on how to improve the constitution.
It’s not only the constitution that has a new look
Whilst constitutions can be dry this next bit is not! Along with updating the way Team Scotland operates I felt we needed to evolve the squad’s brand and how we presented ourselves on the stage of Eurobowl.
This meant the creation of a new logo to be more recognisably Team Scotland at a glance. Thanks go to ChrisRaff88 for developing the new brand for the Scotland team. In addition to the creation of the logo it was felt that the formation of the Tartan Army would be a positive so that all Scottish coaches could feel part of a travelling group to Eurobowl rather than distinct separate teams.
Likewise the Tartan Army was about giving coaches confidence and support to travel overseas and creating pathways for coaches that wish to develop their game to the point where they might receive the call-up from a future captain to represent Scotland, in part because of the experience they'd gained from playing in the Europen.
In the lead-up to the recent Home Nations tournament that I organised in Loughborough we created ‘Tartan Army’ cotton t-shirts for both the Scotland squad and any coach to wear at the tournament as an affordable and simple option.
It’s customary for a Eurobowl squad to create a national jersey that only the coaches representing their country can wear - akin to our version of a ‘cap’ athletes might receive for playing for their nation.
For Hungary I decided we would break from the tradition of a blue polo shirt and have both a Home and Away kit for Eurobowl. The away kit would be available to buy by any coach wishing to support the squad and to look and feel part of the wider Tartan Army as we travel to Budapest.
I’m delighted to say we’ve just put an order in for sixty shirts and the offers of shirt swaps are already flooding in from across Europe as coaches are keen to get their hands on Scotland’s Eurobowl XVI shirts already! They’re stunning, even if I do say so myself, and I’m sure the Squad will be proud to pull on the national jersey to compete for Eurobowl hosting rights in Budapest.
The Scotland Home (L) and Away (R) Kits for Eurobowl XVI to be held in Budapest, Hungary
What next?
The constitution isn’t frozen in aspect, we will continue to revisit it over time. However after an extensive reworking it should mean incremental changes are the way forward for the foreseeable.
The Scotland Squad, and I, as Captain, need to carry on living up to the spirit of the constitution representing our community to the wider Blood Bowl fraternity. Not just by competing and delivering our best performances at Eurobowl in Budapest, but offering the hand of friendship to coaches from all over Europe and further afield as we seek to test ourselves and enjoy the game we all love.
Alba gu bràth!
BB_Jock
Team Scotland Captain.
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