DAN Purvis has a busy couple of months ahead. The 27-year-old has his first competition of the year next weekend at the Scottish Championships in Perth followed by the British Championships in Liverpool next month before tackling the Commonwealth Games.
Purvis has put in an intense few months of training – such was his dedication, he was in the gym on Boxing Day – but he knew that with such a hectic first few months of the year, he could not afford to slack off. The tough regime has paid dividends and Purvis is feeling in great form ahead of this week’s event.
“I’m feeling in good shape – having the Scottish Championships and then the British Championships ahead of the Commonwealth Games is great,” he said. “The Scottish is a really good competition to see where I am but I’m always looking to become all-around champion so there’s a bit of pressure there too. And it’s good to get an outing in competition conditions.”
Last week Purvis was named in the eight-strong Scottish gymnastics team that will travel to Gold Coast and having endured the disappointment of missing out on selection for the Rio Olympics in 2016, Purvis is desperate to show he has recovered from that blow.
“The Commonwealth Games has been a real focus since not making the team for Rio so it’s really exciting to think it’s so close now,” I’m really up for the challenge and it’s always great to represent Scotland so it’s going to be an exciting few months.”
Purvis cannot afford to dedicate himself entirely to his training though because he has his own gym in Liverpool where he coaches young gymnasts but rather than it being a distraction, he views having another interest as a huge positive.
“Everything is going really well at the gym and I’m really enjoying it,” he said. “I’m not quite full time because I’m still focusing on my training but what’s good is that I’ve got some great coaches who are in charge of things when I go away. And it’s nice having a distraction from training. I’ve really found it’s helped me. Even though it’s still gymnastics, it’s not competitive gymnastics so it’s a different focus and that’s been great. It’s made me realise that there’s more to life than just training. My life has been about training since I was really young so it’s great having something different.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here