North Ayrshire’s Commonwealth Baton relay on final leg

North Ayrshire Active Schools had an exciting last few months as they’ve supported the tour of North Ayrshire’s Commonwealth Baton Relay across our six localities.

Yesterday (Thursday 28 May) brought further excitement as the baton travelled from the mainland to Arran, following its recent tour of primary and secondary schools in the North Coast.

Thanks to the volunteers at Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) and instructors from Arran Outdoor Education Centre, the islanders used the V COAST Explorer research vessel boat to moor at Largs Marina yesterday to receive the baton from Fairlie Primary pupils.

S2 Arran High pupil Sam – one of the lucky pupils to co-design the 3D printed baton alongside North Ayrshire Youth Services – was on board to accept the baton as it sailed off on the final leg of its relay journey to the Isle of Arran.

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

Pupils from Whiting Bay and Arran High were also part of the event, alongside the most special guest of them all, the 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 of the Arran locality before heading to Irvine Royal Academy on 18 June for its final ceremony.

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 the Arran locality left to explore.

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.

North Ayrshire’s baton was specially designed by S2 pupil Sam from Arran High School 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 3D-printed 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.

Kaitlyn from Ardrossan Academy who came up with the bubble effect of the spheres said: “Funnily enough, a can of my favourite bright orange Scottish fizzy juice gave me the idea for the design. It’s amazing seeing it come to life. I play pro youth football with Kilmarnock Football Club but never thought I could be on the design side of sport too so it makes me feel really good knowing that so many other pupils are going to see what I have created off the pitch.”

Sam from Arran High School shared: “It was so fun to visit the mainland to get the baton 3D-printed and I was excited to be the one to hit the go button to make our first prototype. I really enjoyed the behind-the-scenes of taking our drawings and making them into something real that we could proudly hold in our own hands. I took inspiration from the previous Commonwealth Games Batons and wanted this one to be bright and colourful.

“It was my first time using a 3D Printer and was really interesting to see the process, I went with my dad to see it being printed and was really fun to do the experience together - he loved it too! It takes a while for it to be printed though so this is the first time I've seen the finished baton - it looks really cool, just how I thought it would when I was designing it.”

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

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 transport the baton onward 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.”

The Commonwealth Games return to Glasgow in 2026, from 23 July until 2 August and the multi-sport event is a highlight for athletes of the Commonwealth Nations.

It pays homage to the King’s Baton Relay, a Commonwealth Games tradition that is currently underway on an epic journey from Buckingham Palace to across the world, with batons visiting all 74 nations and territories of the Commonwealth. Find out more about the significance of the King’s Baton Relay on the website.

Stay tuned to North Ayrshire Active Schools on Facebook for more events and updates on the run up to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Published: 29 May 2026