TEAM Scotland's build-up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast got under way in earnest yesterday with the launch of the Team Scotland Series, a ground-breaking collaboration which brings together 17 Scottish national championship events in 2017 across 12 Commonwealth Games sports. Beginning with this Saturday's Scottish Open Judo Championships, and ending with the Scottish Short Course Swimming Championships in December, the link aims to raise the profile and media coverage of these domestic national championships, with BBC Scotland having pledged to cover the series and live stream a selection of the events.

The project builds on the existing close working relationship between athletics, swimming and cycling, with both the indoor and outdoor national athletics championships included in the series. Many of the Series events also mark qualifying opportunities for Scotland’s athletes on route to Gold Coast 2018 and Bahamas 2017.

"The Team Scotland Series is a really exciting initiative which will see us working in partnership with sports governing bodies to highlight and promote the key competitions that are the bedrock of Scottish sport, as well as serving as important selection events for the Commonwealth Games and Youth Games," said Paul Bush OBE, the chair of Commonwealth Games Scotland. “Almost every athlete who competes for Team Scotland at the next Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and onwards to 2022 and beyond will have competed in their sport’s Scottish Championships on their path to international success, so when we are watching these events we are watching Team Scotland’s future stars in action.

“I am particularly delighted that BBC Scotland has recognised the important role that the Team Scotland Series will play in showcasing the best of Scottish sport and the build-up to Gold Coast 2018 and I would like to thank them for their support.”

“We’re pleased for athletics to be involved in the Team Scotland Series, linking the National Championships across a number of sports," said Mark Munro, the chief executive of Scottish Athletics. "Any opportunity to raise the media profile of Commonwealth Games sports in this country can only be a positive. If you look at Scotland track and field teams down the years then you will find those athletes have always come through the Scottish Seniors at some stage in their careers."

Excited that judo will get the 2017 series underway this weekend, Glasgow 2014 gold medallist and Team Scotland flag bearer Euan Burton said: "The Scottish Open has always played a part in the development of Scottish judo athletes. All our medallists from Team Scotland in Glasgow 2014 had utilised the event at some stage along their performance pathway. In all sports, that goal of competing in the Commonwealth Games is a progressive journey, which includes the key milestone of a Scottish Championships. The Team Scotland Series is a great way to highlight the importance of these events. I’m really proud that judo is the sport to kick it all off on Saturday."

The 2017 Team Scotland Series includes the following events:

14 January - Scottish Open Judo Championships

28 January - Scottish Indoor Athletics Championships

4 March - Scottish Table Tennis Championships

4 March - Scottish Artistic Gymnastics Championships

1 April - Boxing Scotland Elite Championship Finals

29 April - Hockey Scottish Cup

3 June - Scottish Netball Finals

1 June - Scottish Open Table Tennis Championships

30 June - Scottish Open Swimming Championships

14 July - Scottish 50m Shooting Championships

24-29 July - National Bowls Championships

20 August - Scottish Road Cycling Championships

26 August - Scottish Beach Volleyball Championships

26 August - Scottish Athletics Championships

September - Scottish National Bowls Championships

November - Scottish National Track Cycling Championships

9 December - Scottish Short Course Swimming Championships