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London 2012 Roadshow visits Northern Ireland
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Jonathan Edwards tries his hand at Basketball |
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Olympic Triple Jumper Jonathan Edwards, visited Northern Ireland with the London 2012 Roadshow this week. The Roadshow is touring the UK and visiting 27 stops over a ten-week tour in a specially branded 2012 double decker bus. The Roadshow was at the National Playday in Belfast (1 August) and will be at the Milk Cup Football tournament in Coleraine (3 August). Olympic Pentathlete Dame Mary Peters and Northern Ireland Football manager Nigel Worthington will be with the roadshow in Coleraine.
The theme of this year’s Roadshow is ‘Join In’, aiming to encourage everyone – particularly young people – to be inspired by sport with a long-term aim of increasing their participation in the run up to 2012, creating a lasting legacy for the UK. The Roadshow will feature a demonstration area, where visitors can take part in ‘taster’ sporting activities from Sport Northern Ireland such as judo, cycling and basketball, and get details of clubs in the local area where they can continue to participate. On board the Roadshow bus, visitors can access the new 2012 Challenge website www.london2012.com, set their own challenge and be inspired by the Olympic Games to achieve it.
Visitors can join the athletes in The National Lottery Dream Stats Zone to find out what it takes to be a sporting champion and how to get more involved with sport. The Zone offers people the chance to try out the Dream Stats calculator – by answering a few simple questions, the online application matches their physical attributes and personal preferences to show what sports most suit them. Visitors can also assess their sporting aptitude for real, by taking a series of fun physical tests, with the athletes on-hand to offer advice and encouragement.
Keith Bailey and Brenda Ewing from UB Irish Amateur Rowing Union test
local kids rowing abilities
Nick Harkness, Director of Participation, Sport Northern Ireland
“It is great to welcome the London 2012 Roadshow back to Northern Ireland for the second time. Sport Northern Ireland is dedicated to increasing and sustaining committed participation in sport and physical recreation, especially amongst young people. The 2012 Roadshow is an excellent way for young people to learn about how they can become involved in sport in addition to inspiring those with the potential to succeed at the highest level. The run up to the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is a unique opportunity to promote sport to young people in Northern Ireland and this Roadshow will help young people realise that opportunity”.
Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, Edwin Poots, MLA said:
"It is wonderful to see the London 2012 Roadshow come to Northern Ireland as part of this UK-wide tour. I hope the Roadshow will inspire people to get involved and participate in all aspects of the Games including sport, volunteering and coaching and leave a lasting legacy for generations to come. Northern Ireland can benefit greatly from the Games and it will help us to get more young people into sport at domestic and international level."
Monsters Inc characters Sully & Mike visit the roadshow
Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee commented:
“London 2012 will be a nationwide Games and the Roadshow is only the first part of our pledge to involve everyone the length and breadth of the UK towards, and including, 2012. I am delighted that the Roadshow is able to visit Northern Ireland to demonstrate first hand how this is being undertaken and get the local community involved. We want to encourage young people to develop their sporting ability, to achieve something for themselves or to inspire others to unearth their own talents. Visiting the London 2012 Roadshow is a great first step to accomplishing this.”
A National Lottery spokesperson said:
“There has never been a better time to be inspired to get involved in sport, and the National Lottery Dream Stats Zone will offer people the opportunity to find out just what sport they might be suited to, via an exciting interactive programme. They can even take a number of fun physical tests aimed at further assessing their aptitude for a particular sport. The National Lottery is playing a major role in funding the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, and the Roadshow represents a great opportunity to highlight this and thank Lottery players for their fantastic contribution.”
David Dick Basketball Northern Ireland, Professor Eric Saunders OBE,
Chairman Sport Northern Ireland, Matthew McColgan Basketball Northern Ireland
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