Anybody inclined to doubt the significance of Glasgow proving successful in securing the 2014 Commonwealth Games should have been at the city's Bellahouston Leisure Centre last Wednesday evening.

Amid a raft of high bars, vaults and myriad other pieces of apparatus, a group of youngsters, as young as eight and nine, listened intently to the advice of Marius Gherman, a Romanian, who won a gymnastics bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, and then proceeded to fling themselves into a dazzling, daring repertoire of artistry and athletic prowess.

Many of these children, who regularly train from 4-8pm five days a week, with the assistance of parents making sacrifices on a daily basis, have advanced into Scotland's national performance squad for 2007 - one girl, Amy Regan, has even gained a place in the elite ranks - and even as they trained relentlessly, eyes burning with desire and dedication, their thoughts were focused on one all-consuming passion.

"It would be fantastic if Glasgow got the Games," said Cara Kennedy, a nine-year-old with an unquenchable appetite for hard labour.

"To be able to represent your country in your homeland would be just brilliant."

Her colleagues nodded their heads enthusiastically, but seemed more keen on work than conversation, which epitomises the philosophy which has been instilled among this thriving Glasgow club by the likes of Gherman and Scottish coach, Sandy Richardson.

Richardson's behind- the-scenes efforts have been instrumental in steering these young charges towards the situation where they can realistically harbour medal aspirations in 2014, by which stage the likes of Regan will be 18, and ready to follow in the footsteps of other British gymnasts, such as Beth Tweddle, Adam Cox and Steve Frew, who have shown in recent times that the sport is no longer an Eastern European hegemony.

None of this comes easy. In the absence of academies, which would combine education and exercise for primary-school proteges, Richardson acknowledges that the Scots are liable to be at a disadvantage when pitted against other, wealthier nations.

Yet, as he counters - and it was impossible to disagree after witnessing the children's camaraderie at first hand - these boys and girls are united by a common purpose.

Yes, there are rivalries, but they are healthy ones, acting as the catalyst for the kind of collectivism which can transcend any difficulties, and, in this respect, Bellahouston deserves at least a fraction of the coverage which is usually reserved for grim tabloid tales about morbidly obese kids, or teenage mothers, or sprogs boasting ASBOs as badges of honour.

"The potential here is huge, and these youngsters are a joy to deal with, because they all want to be the best they can be, and they have settled into a schedule which would tax most adults, where they are finishing their lessons, and then travelling here, and spending 20-24 hours of every week steeped in gymnastics," says Richardson.

"In the last few years, we have seen an increasing number of competitors here progressing to Scotland level and I can tell you that the Commonwealth Games is a crucial factor in this whole equation, because the kids have told me that.

"They really want the Games to come to this city and they are prepared to put in a 12-month-a-year commitment to be involved when, of rather, if the Scottish bid prevails when the decision is announced in November.

"I am proud of them, I truly am, and there is never any need to cajole them or get on their case for missing training. They don't do that. Right from the outset, they have developed a fearlessness, and the main things at this age are physical preparation, strength and co-ordination, and our members have these attributes in abundance.

"What is remarkable is that we have around 150 children here from all parts of the city, and the council has actively supported the club, so a person's background is absolutely irrelevant: all that matters is that they are interested in gymnastics and we have all the safety equipment here including low-level beams and mini-vaults, so there is no stinting on that issue. They will only move up to a higher level once they have mastered the one below that."

On the basis that their exploits merit identification, the Bellahouston contingent who have made a rapid impression on the national selectors are the aforementioned Regan and Kennedy, Megan Glass, Orla Gallagher, Carly Smith, Emma Mackey, Bronte Wallage, and Nadia and Jessica Ure, all of them in the women's artistic discipline. Little wonder, therefore, that Gherman, a lithe figure with a hard-working temperament, who has spent five years in Glasgow, is delighted by the quality and attitude he has witnessed.

"The aim is for us to produce people who have the talent, the determination and the discipline to do well at future Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and I'm impressed with the ambition here, so, who knows, seven years down the line, how many of these youngsters will be flying the flag for Scotland?" says Gherman.

"I guess that would be the ideal scenario for those from Glasgow: to win medals in front of their home audience. But talking about it is less important than making it a reality. And I am optimistic."

So, too is Richardson, whose words exemplify why the 2014 bid deserves the backing of every truly patriotic Scot.

"I was in Melbourne for the last Commonwealth Games and I thought the spectators gave us a good reception,"

he says. "However, when the Aussies walked into the stadium, the crowd went bonkers and you could see the fashion in which all their athletes were handed a massive lift. It's a once-in-lifetime opportunity."

Judging by the Bellahouston model, the answer to some of Scotland's chronic social problems boils down to the mantra: gym'll fix it.