Chandima Kulathilake
As a running club with a history of 100 years the pride of the Scottish red lion emblazoned across your chest is part and parcel of being part of the Scottish harriers’ scene.
One of my first memories of the red lion was at a Wellington 10km race circa 2011 where I spotted a group of Scottish harriers in the signature yellow and red lion singlets float by.
The Scottish lion pack is a spectacular sight to behold for those who witness the might and power. Whether the competition is over a muddy cross country paddock or on the back of nowhere relay course the yellow lion pack is immediately visible where others simply fade into the background in fear or just simple dull of their kit.
When you think of it no other harrier club even comes close to having anything resembling a logo that is elegant, majestic and strikes immediate fear as the prominent red lion symbol of Wellington Scottish.
It’s V for Victory when you wear the Red Lion – no arguments! – Grant McLean doing what he does best.
Some might say there was some controversy involved with the lightning and thunderbolts that once featured on the Scottish uniform. Luckily for me when I joined Scottish that design was gone and from what I hear will not ever return since the mighty red lion has taken centre stage.
It’s the red lion! I mean look at it – it’s RED! This simple fact alone makes it extremely hard to even imagine a different design or anything else let alone bring it to the committee for approval for a change.
But could there be an alternative?
But what if we could do something different? What would that be without straying too far from our roots of Scotland?
I have been thinking lately that there is some room for improvement or perhaps some alternative options to saw the softer side of Scottish.
Perhaps maybe we could offer a non-menacing dancing version of the lion such as this. Think about the amount of new members whom we could attract and the young members whom we can get to join the ranks from a very early age.
Definitely attractive for the younger members!
Or – perhaps we should adapt a dancing version of a Lion similar to the Dancing Elk condors. I can see Niam McDonald modelling a dancing lion hoodie and a matching yellow headband just like Paulie Bleeker but more smarter.
Then there’s this fact – The actual national animal of Scotland is a UNICORN! I mean what? Why are we not considering a UNICORN as our alternate away strip? Surely that is an OPTION? Having a Unicorn as a logo on any uniform is a great drawcard is it not?
Unicorns can run fast – that’s a fact!
Alternative options other than a singlet could also include Yellow track suits such as this worn by Bruce Lee and modelled by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill – we just need to add the Red Lion it’s that simple.
Let’s be serious now
Regardless of what anyone thinks Scottish has great uniform options – although some of the material and the craftsmanship can do with an upgrade.
Then there is also the fact of making it cost effective across the board and stylish and functional for a variety of shapes and sizes.
A recent conversation with some of the club members who have a keen interest in matters of the Uniform provided some insight to some new ideas and concepts. The plan is to put these forward as proposal to the committee and then look at funding options.
These could include
- A non-racing running shirt short sleeve – light cooling material such as Nike Dri-Fit or similar
- A long sleeve version of similar material for winter running
- A hoodie – dual purpose for post workout or pre-workout ‘Scottish Athleisure’
These would be available at a nominal price to club members who wish to purchase them.
Wellington Scottish Athletics Club 