IT IS the greatest moment in an athlete's career: standing on the winner's podium, gold medal around the neck, with the national anthem resonating around the stadium.
Now, amid a continuing debate about which tune best represents Scotland, Commonwealth Games officials have decided to give the athletes themselves the power to decide on the nation's anthem for the 2010 Games in Delhi.
With the Scottish Parliament failing to declare an official anthem, Team Scotland organisers have decided the fairest way is to put it to a vote.
Your choice? An anthem for Scotland – which song would YOU choose? Vote for your favourite hereA shortlist of four contenders – Scotland the Brave, Flower of Scotland, Loch Lomond and Highland Cathedral – will be put to an audience of athletes and dignitaries at the annual Commonwealth Games Awards dinner on Saturday night.
In an X Factor-style vote, they will reduce the shortlist to two. The athletes will be given the final say at their team camp in January.
Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Michael Cavanagh called on MSPs to make a final declaration on an anthem in plenty of time for the Glasgow games in 2014.
He said: "Hopefully, by the time we reach the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow there will be an official anthem that is nationally recognised and endorsed through our parliament and one that the whole of Scotland can unite behind on what will be a fabulous and memorable occasion."
The debate over which anthem to choose has already begun among athletes.
Swimming champion Gregor Tait, who won double gold in the 2006 Games in Melbourne, backed the decision to let the athletes decide. He said: "Hearing the anthem in Melbourne was one of the proudest moments of my life.
"To see the flag being raised to Scotland the Brave really made me feel Scottish and proud.
"It was great to see everyone's reaction to the anthem and see people clapping along really made me smile. Without these moments, Melbourne would not have been so memorable.
"Whatever anthem is chosen this time, it must evoke those same feelings."
With no official Scottish anthem, it is up to individual sporting organisations to select the anthem which best reflects their endeavours. For the Commonwealth Games, the anthem is used at the flag-raising ceremony to announce the arrival of Team Scotland and for the victory ceremonies.
The lack of a single recognised anthem used across all sports has led to a plethora of unofficial tunes being used over the years, depending on the taste of each organisation and often creating confusion among athletes, team members, spectators and viewers.
Until 1958, Robert Burns's Scots Wha Hae was used to mark Commonwealth Games success. This was then replaced by Scotland the Brave.
The other home nations have already cleared up the issue of national anthems, with none of them using the UK anthem God Save the Queen.
England's team has chosen Land of Hope and Glory, the Welsh will sing Land of my Fathers and the Northern Irish national song will be Danny Boy.
