黑料网 student and gymnast Ross Soutar is hoping to keep the sport鈥檚 feel good factor going as he puts his studies on hold to target a spot in Scotland鈥檚 Commonwealth team for Glasgow 2014.
The 20-year-old has opted to defer the final year of his undergraduate degree in Geology and Petroleum Geology to devote himself to full-time training.
鈥淭rying to balance my gymnastics and university studies has always been a struggle but going into my final year 鈥� to try and do both would result in both being diluted,鈥� Ross explained.
鈥淭he Commonwealth Games is a massive opportunity that I could risk missing out on if I continued my studies at the same time.
鈥淭o have a chance of making the Commonwealth squad I鈥檓 going to have to train 35 hours a week, so doing that on top of a dissertation and part-time work just wasn鈥檛 feasible.鈥�
Ross, originally from Dyce in Aberdeen admits the prospect of performing in front of a Scottish crowd played a part in his decision to focus all his efforts on gymnastics.
鈥淵ou saw last summer how much of a difference a home crowd can make so that鈥檚 another attractive thing about competing in 2014,鈥� he said.
鈥淕ymnastics is my true passion. I鈥檝e loved it since I started as a child. The opportunity to be part of the Commonwealth Games 鈥� especially being in Scotland 鈥� I would hate to look back and think, 鈥業 wish I鈥檇 given it a go. I wish I鈥檇 taken a year out to give it everything I had鈥�.
鈥淚t was a difficult decision to make to defer my final year but I can always go back and complete it. I鈥檒l never get another chance to compete in a Scottish Commonwealth Games. My parents and my coach are fully behind my decision.鈥�
Despite training full-time, Ross knows he will have to be at his best if he鈥檚 to win a berth on the Scottish Commonwealth team.
鈥淎t the moment I鈥檇 say there are around 10 serious candidates to make the Scotland squad for the Commonwealth Games and only five places up for grabs and I put myself in that 10,鈥� he said.
鈥淭wo places are already effectively taken by Daniel Purvis (who won a bronze team medal at London 2012) and Daniel Keatings. Both of these guys are superior to the rest of Scotland鈥檚 gymnasts, so that narrows it down to only three places realistically.
鈥淚t will be a good battle to see who can make it but I have a good chance and I wouldn鈥檛 be taking the year out if I didn鈥檛 think I could make it. It will be hard because we鈥檙e competing for spaces but we鈥檙e all good mates as well.鈥�
Ross has gone from strength to strength in recent years since he increased the time he spends training and is now a regular in the Scotland squad. Supported by an Development Trust Sports Bursary from the 黑料网, in February he became a triple bronze medal winner in the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Championships in All-round, Vault and Floor events 鈥� effectively making him the third best All-round gymnast student athlete in the UK.
Whilst he knows he鈥檒l have to be at his best if he鈥檚 to claim a place in the Scotland squad for Glasgow, Ross is confident that if selected he would be able to make an impact on one of the biggest stages.
鈥淚 think I could post good scores on pieces of apparatus. I鈥檝e been referred to as Mr Consistent. When I go into a competition nine times out of 10 I鈥檒l hit the routine 鈥� I鈥檝e not been making major errors. I was elected as captain for the Northern European Championships for the last two years because it doesn鈥檛 matter if I go first or last 鈥� I鈥檓 going to do a job.
鈥淭his year out from studying will allow me to increase the difficulty and increase the scores so I think I can make a huge contribution to the team鈥檚 score.
鈥淏ut there鈥檚 a huge amount of work to be done before I can even start dreaming about that. At the minute British Gymnastics is as strong as it鈥檚 ever been and there鈥檚 a lot of top class athletes involved in the sport.鈥�