Commonwealth Baton relay on final leg in Arran

The Arran vessel, guided ashore by Largs Marina, was warmly welcomed by North Ayrshire Provost Anthea Dickson and Councillor Alan Hill, Cabinet Member for Communities, Housing and Islands.

Pupils from Fairlie Primary School then proudly passed on the baton to pupils from Whiting Bay and Arran High ready for it’s final tour of Arran’s primary and secondary schools.

The young people were joined by North Ayrshire Active Schools mascots Improving Izzy and Moving Max, but perhaps the most special guest of them all, was the appearance of official Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026 mascot, Finnie the unicorn, alongside national Commonwealth officials!

Largs Sailing Club then hosted a celebratory lunch to mark the occasion as the baton now proceeds through its final tour before heading to Irvine Royal Academy on 18 June for its conclusion ceremony.

North Ayrshire’s baton was specially designed by Sam from Arran High and S1 pupil Kaitlyn from Ardrossan Academy, whose creativity helped to bring the baton from sketches in art class to real life.

Inspired by the Commonwealth baton, North Ayrshire’s colourful baton features a distinctive design with decorative spheres at the top. Each sphere is stamped with icons of the ten sports that will be competing in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026 – basketball, gymnastics, athletics, bowls, boxing, cycling, judo, netball, swimming and weightlifting.

North Ayrshire Provost Anthea Dickson shared: “Congratulations to Sam and Kaitlyn on winning the North Ayrshire Commonwealth Baton design competition and well done to Sam for braving the waves to accept and transport the baton onwards to Arran.

“The design competition held throughout our primary and secondary schools in 2025 saw just shy of 300 entries, so this is a fantastic achievement by Sam and Kaitlyn who have both been instrumental in highlighting the significance of the Commonwealth Games.

“This has been just one of the many exciting events that have been hosted so far, thank you to everyone who made the celebration this week possible.

“A special shout-out also goes to North Ayrshire Active Schools and PE departments across North Ayrshire who have been raising the profile of the Commonwealth Games and inspiring our pupils through the power of sport and physical activity.”

Starting out at Springside Primary in Dreghorn in November 2025, then onward to Irvine, Garnock Valley, Kilwinning, Three Towns and the North Coast, the baton now only has Arran left to explore.

The welcome celebration last week was also a chance for attendees to hear all about the prestigious history of the Commonwealth Games.

The celebration is just one of several North Ayrshire Active Schools events that form North Ayrshire’s countdown to the Commonwealth via the Playground to Podium campaign.

Councillor Alan Hill, Cabinet Member for Communities, Housing and Islands added: “North Ayrshire Council is proud to support the Playground to Podium countdown to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

“Thank you to the pupils, special guests and North Ayrshire Active Schools for their energising welcome to signal the final leg of North Ayrshire’s baton relay tour.

“It is brilliant to see so many young people getting involved in new sports and being inspired to reap the benefits of after school clubs and physical activity in their schools and communities.”