It's the East end of the Games . . . but the story has only just begun

The mass of supporters walked out of the Emirates Arena with a jauntiness that suggested that their expectations of a fine afternoon had been met, though they emerged into weather that was drookit Dalmarnock rather than celestially sunny.

Even the vanquished heroine could not raise a protest or the minutest whimper against the malevolence of the sporting gods. "I'm trying to be disappointed but everyone is being so positive,'' said Gilmour. "I'm feeling delighted. I've got a silver medal around my neck from the Commonwealth Games.''

The Emirates, with the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome nestled inside, has been a marvellous host to enthusiastic crowds, committed competitors and the midwife to a birth of marvellous memories.

But as the crowds drifted towards the queue of their choice there was an air of finality, a sense that there may be a sing-song at Hampden to render it all over officially, but that the last point had been played, the last wheel turned, the last race run.

It prompted the thought that we know what Dalmarnock has done for us over the past 10 days, but what can we do for Dalmarnock?

Badminton and cycling will, of course, continue in the Emirates but there is a wider push to bring sport in to the lives of people in the area. There is a detailed plan and strong energy to bring these ambitions to reality. There is, too, a recent history of Emirates reaching out into the community.

The Commonwealth Games of 2014 was denied a basketball presence but the co-owner of the Glasgow Rocks, who play in the arena, was unrelenting in his pursuit of action at the Games, from the first day at the triathlon through the triumphs in the pool.

Ian Reid also made a submission to the Basketball All-Party Parliamentary Group whose conclusions are broad but strong. The bottom line is it sees basketball, restored to the Commonwealth roster in 2018, as a uniquely powerful force in urban areas.

Reid, who also is chief executive of Scottish Sports Futures Charity, knows through experience that sport changes life for the better. So is he confident that the Games can be a precursor to significant change? "It has already begun,'' he says, pointing out that the Active East initiative has won a Beyond Sport award.

Beyond Sport brings together the leading players - administrators, business leaders and sportsmen - to "address sports' role in driving positive social change.

This all sounds as woolly as a particularly hirsute mammoth. But there is a substance to the ideology. It stands in the bricks and mortar of the Emirates and in the swimming pool at Tollcross. It exists, too, in the vision that will be pursued in unison by businessman, politicians, sports leader and the local community.

But it must prosper in the youth of the areas bordering the marvellous Emirates and the splendid Tollcross swimming centre. The message issuing forth last night was that young people were at the heart of the Games and investment has been made in a wide range of education and sporting programmes.

But the drive must be maintained. The basic recommendation of the All-Party Basketball Committee after a thorough investigation is that governments must be constantly reminded of the importance of sport as a way to enhance lives. Governments, too, must be harried for cash, reminded of their responsibilities.

The crowds from Dalmarnock wandered into the rain-soaked horizon to merge damply with the thousands who watched the cycling road race in the city centre.

Their role as observers was central to the success of the Games. However, it is action that is needed to ensure that the legacy is ensured.

Badminton has moved out of the church halls but it is a time to remind ourselves that faith without works is dead.