TWO Cowdenbeath bowlers deemed to have potential to medal at next year's Commonwealth Games have been handed a funding boost.

Para lawn bowlers Billy Allan and Barbara McMillan are among 65 Scottish sports stars to receive individual sportscotland Athlete Personal Awards (SAPAs).

The national agency for sport has allocated £312,250 to athletes across 16 sports to provide additional support for training, competition and living expenses in the build-up to the Gold Coast, as well as the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

The duo, who are members of Cowdenbeath Bowling Club, have each been given £500.

The initiative was first introduced for the London Olympics of 2012 and the Sochi Winter Olympics and Glasgow Commonwealth Games of 2014 and proved successful, with 30 medallists at the later having received funding.

Mike Whittingham, sportscotland director of high performance, said: "We know that the sportscotland Athlete Personal Awards can make a real difference to athletes with podium aspirations, and it is fantastic to give this support at such an important time for these athletes who have their sights set on the 2018 Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"At this level in high performance sport, medals are won by the smallest of margins and that requires meticulous preparation and support."

Allan is looking for another taste of Commonwealth action having been selected to compete three years ago.

He competed in the B6/B7/B8 classification – for bowlers with a visual impairment, or who are ambulant and restricted in their bowling arm or have balance difficulties – alongside Kevin Wallace and Michael Simpson.

The trio agonisingly missed out on a bronze medal, losing out to England 16-12 after a semi-final defeat by New Zealand.

Meanwhile McMillan, a regular feature for Scotland in disability bowls, reached the Disability Sport Scotland ladies singles final in Ayr last month.

Sports Minister Aileen Campbell added: "Using a mixture of Scottish Government and National Lottery funding, we are building a world-class system for high performance athletes in Scotland and this is an important component of delivering the sporting legacy from hosting the Commonwealth Games.

"Initiatives such as SAPAs have already helped to deliver success on the global stage for Scottish athletes and I am sure there is much more to come.

"I'm really pleased to see so many talented Scottish athletes receiving financial support from the sportscotland Personal Awards to help them train for next year's major sporting events."