IT was a moment in time, the place was in complete silence and then uproar –Team Europe had won the Solheim Cup for the first time in 13 years, and I was privileged to be there to witness it. Just one little putt from Suzann Pettersen and the place erupted. I have no doubt that this was a scene replicated in various homes, pubs and clubs throughout Europe, as they tuned into their TV sets, phones – whatever device came to hand, with fingernails bitten down to the quick and nerves shattered.
Scotland’s Catriona Matthew, the mastermind behind Team Europe, must still be somewhere on cloud nine and rightly so. It would be a nerve-racking time for her, before and during the tournament, but she got it right and I believe that there are calls for her to be named captain for the 2021 cup.
READ MORE: Diversity Summit a perfect of example of sectors working together
This was an amazing event by anyone’s standards, with all involved working hard to make our visitors from Europe and the US feel welcome. I have no doubt we succeeded, even beyond our own expectations. They were colourful, loud, passionate but also respectful – this is how sport should be supported. I know only of a few organisations who were working on this but really the scale of partnership must be in double figures to be able to deliver such a wonderful spectacle. They had planned a week of celebration, leading up to the final day and win or lose, they didn’t disappoint.
It has been said many times over, but worth repeating, 2018/19 has brought a sea change to women’s participation in sport and hand in hand with that is the great media coverage that we have witnessed. This now has to be sustained and with news that advertisers shelled out almost $100 million on US TV commercials in and around the Women’s World Cup, there is no reason to think otherwise. The ad-tracker Kantar said that the tournament, which the US team won in July, brought in an estimated $96m, more than double the company’s earlier estimate.
This will be some year for any sporting awards, but in particular our own Scottish Women in Sport Awards, and I for one can’t wait!
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