All the latest news in the East Midlands region plus our media team’s contact details so you can find out more.

Latest stories
Media Team contacts
News archive

Latest stories

10 June 2008
Funding for screening days
The East Midlands Rugby Football Union held an U13 screening and assessment day for aspiring young players on Sunday 4h May at the Northampton Saints. The talent identification processhas been made possible through the Club and Coach award provided through Sport England.

09 June 2008
Lincoln City secure Sportsmatch
Sport England has recently announced the return of Sportsmatch with a new web-based facility enabling applicants to apply online.  Find out how one regional club, Lincoln City Ladies Football Club, were successful in securing Sportsmatch funding

14 March 2008
Tennis and Training for Regional Minister
Phil Hope, Regional Minister for the East Midlands, has recently visited Corby for a game of tennis thanks to a programme of coaching organised by local volunteers and Groundwork, and also Rolls-Royce in Derby to launch a major regional partnership for skills training.

8 February 2008
Lincolnshire Federation of Equality Sport launched
Over 150 people have celebrated the launch of the Lincolnshire Federation of Equality Sport (LFES) at St George’s School, Sleaford. The launch is a milestone for equality sport in the county and of real benefit to the East Midlands region.

25 January 2008
Eon Ice Rink is huge success
Nottingham’s first outdoor rink has been a huge success with over 63,000 skaters taking a spin on the ice. Open for just over seven weeks the National Ice Centre’s E.ON Ice Rink quickly became an essential Christmas and New Year activity.


Media Team contacts
The media team are responsible for Sport England's communications activity and are available to assist journalists with their stories.

For further information please contact:
Mediateam@sportengland.org

Or call a member of our team:

Andrew St Ledger
Press and PR Officer
Tel: 020 7273 1593

Alex Russell
Regional PR Manager
Tel: 020 7273 1866

Peter Dickinson
Head of Press and PR
020 7273 1822

Urgent out of hours calls for journalists - please call 07881 502207


News archive

15 November 2007
Funding secured for South Holland Sports Tour
South Holland’s successful Summer Sports Tour is going to be even bigger next year after funding was secured to extend the scheme to adults. This year over 3,000 young people in the Lincolnshire district sampled a variety of sports.

15 November 2007
Active8 win Norwich Union award
North West Leicestershire Community Sports Network are celebrating after receiving a financial boost towards its innovative Club Activ8 project that was rewarded with a silver award of £12,500 at the Norwich Union British Writers Association Dinner and Awards.

15 October 2007
Gymnastics in Amber Valley to benefit from grant
Gymnastics in Amber Valley in Derbyshire has been given a boost thanks to a successful application to Sport England's Community Investment Fund. £77,000 has been awarded to establish a dedicated gymnastics facility at Alfreton Leisure Centre.

14 August 2007
Canoe coach makes a splash
Since his appointment as a Community Sports Coach for Nottingham Kayak Club 56 year old Mick Nadal from West Brigford has lost over three stone and has regained his fitness to the same level that he had when he was in his 20’s.

27 July 2007
Arnold Town receive £1.4 million boost
Arnold Town Football Club have been awarded funding worth £1.4m to become a sporting hub in their Nottingham community. Local MP and Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker presented a cheque at the site of the new sports complex.

17 July 2007
Awards for All grant leads to England call up
David Overton from Leadenham, Lincs has been called up to the England Under 16 hockey team just three years since he started playing. A grant from Awards for All got his local club off the ground and now David has a promising international career.

30 June 2007
Award winners are FAB!
The determination of over 100 people who are living fitter, healthier lives has been recognised at an awards ceremony hosted by Fit Active Buddies (FAB), a Sport England funded project in Leicester

29 May 2007
Leicester selected as European sporting city
Leicester has been chosen to represent the UK in a European-wide network of sporting cities. It was given the title of 2008 European City of Sport UK after a two-day inspection of its sporting facilities and programmes by a panel of visiting judges.

17 May 2007
Speeding to success
A cash injection for short track speed skating at the National Ice Centre will help to ensure more local young people can take up the sport.

25 April 2007
Nottingham to host festival of football
Nottingham Forest's City Ground will play host to the FA Women's FA Cup final on 7th May. Nottingham will be celebrating the popularity of the women's game with a festival of football in the city's Market Square.

23 April 2007
National Ice Centre Chair appointed onto Sport England Board
Minister for Sport Richard Caborn has announced the appointment of Nottinghamshire businessman and National Ice Centre Chair Mich Stevenson onto the Board of Sport England.

10 April 2007
New £3 million investment into community sport
Sport England has announced investment of £3.1 million into community sports clubs and coaches in the East Midlands. A total of £38.3 million is being invested throughout England to get more people involved in sport.

21 March 2007
Double celebration for Derby City Council
Derby City Council had cause for a double celebration after four leisure centres were presented with Quest awards, all with scores over 70%. Plus the City Council and Derby Athletic Club won the UK Athletics regional sports partnership of the year award.

7 March 2007
TAES success for North Kesteven
North Kesteven District Council and Leisure Connection are celebrating after their leisure and cultural services were recognised as being 'good' by the self assessment model Towards an Excellent Service (TAES).

25 January 2007
County gets ActiveTogether
Commonwealth medallists Liz Yelling and Lisa Dobriskey have been helping Leicestershire and Rutland Sport launch their Active Together campaign.

9 January 2007
Ice hockey team to play at World Student Games
The Great Britain ice hockey team are to take part in the World Student Games in Turin. The team and coaches are based at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham.

5 December 2006
Flying high with new facilities
Funding secured thanks to Sport England and English Gymnastics, through the Community Club Development Programme (CCDP), has enabled the Northamptonshire Trampoline Gymnastics Academy to build one of the best trampoline centres in Europe.

27 November 2006
Ross wins region's Sports Personality of the Year
The winners of BBC East Midlands Sports Awards 2006 have been announced at a glittering ceremony at the Assembly Rooms in Derby. Swimmer Ross Davenport was voted Sports Personality of the Year.

8 November 2006
Finalists announced for BBC East Midlands Sports Awards
The finalists have been announced for the BBC East Midlands Sports Awards, taking place on Monday 27th November at the Assembly Rooms in Derby. This year the awards will be broadcast via a live TV webcast.

29 September 2006
BBC East Midlands Sports Awards
Once again the BBC and Sport England East Midlands have teamed up to honour the people who’ve contributed most to sport across the East Midlands in 2006.

28 September 2006
Regional Plan for skills
Following months of consultation with employers and stakeholders, SkillsActive have launched their Sector Skills Agreement Regional Action Plan for the East Midlands.

14 September 2006
Community Club Development Programme smashes targets
Sport England has announced that more than 1,000 projects – over three times as many anticipated at the start of the scheme – have benefited from the Community Club Development Programme.

31 August 2006
New members appointed to Board
Professor Shirley Pearce, Sam Messam and Pam Jardine have been appointed to the Sport England East Midlands Regional Sports Board

12 July 2006
London 2012 tours region
Olympic gold medallist, Jonathan Edwards and Jack Lemley, Chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority, have visited the East Midlands as part of the London 2012 road show.

16 June 2006
Audit Commission Report - Public Sports & Recreation Services
Sport England has welcomed the report, 'Public Sports and Recreation Services’, published by the Audit Commission. One of the case studies used in the report is from Harborough District Council in Leicestershire.

15 June 2006
Is sport the answer to divided communities?
Sport England, I&DeA and the Institute of Community Cohesion are hosting a national Community Cohesion conference in Loughborough on 20th July to address whether sport can bring divided communities closer together.

29 May 2006
Communities for Sport targets region
Sporting Equals has launched a new £1 million Sport for Communities project to encourage community cohesion. The Midlands has been identified as a priority area where these grants could make a difference to local communities.

15 May 2006
Lincolnshire receives £1 million boost
Lottery funding of over £1 million has paid for three sports projects recently launched in the East Lindsey district area in
Lincolnshire.

18 April 2006
Hospital staff go Q-Active
Hospital staff in Nottingham are leading by example with the launch of Q-Active, one of the first dedicated programmes within a UK hospital devoted to removing barriers to participation in exercise and improving the health and wellbeing of staff.

11 April 2006
Lottery goal posts widen with increase in Awards for All grants
The National Lottery’s Awards for All small grants scheme has just got bigger. The ceiling for funding awards for local communities in the East Midlands has been raised to £10,000 and a new lower threshold level of £300 is also being introduced

3 April 2006
Do you want to play a major part in the future of sport in the region?
Sport England is looking for outstanding women and men for key appointments as members of the East Midlands Regional Sports Board. The Board has delegated responsibility for strategic regional leadership and grant distribution.

22 March 2006
Have your say on the future of Holme Pierrepont
Extreme sports, an environmental centre, or a commercial marina and waterside development are just some of the options being put forward for the future development of the National Water Sports Centre at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham.

21 March 2006
Local authorities achieve Beacon status
Leicester City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council are celebrating after achieving the prestigious Beacon Status Award for culture and sport for hard to reach groups.

13 March 2006
East Midlands athletes at the Commonwealth Games
Over 50 athletes either from or based in the East Midlands have been selected by Team England to compete at the XVIII Commonwealth Games, being held in Melbourne from 15 – 26 March 2006.

3 March 2006
Northamptonshire to host Everyday Sport roadshows
Northamptonshire Sports Partnership is launching the Everyday Sport campaign in the county with a Physical Activity & Wellbeing Week from 4th – 12th March 2006, including roadshows in Daventry, Northampton and Corby.

7 February 2006
A big step towards 2012
Some of the region’s biggest players in sport, business and politics attended the ‘Towards 2012’ consultation event for the East Midlands, jointly hosted by Sport England and emda, to consider the opportunities that the Games will bring to the region.

4 January 2006
Boccia juniors make their mark at national champs
The East Midlands Region entered a Junior Squad into the DSE National Boccia Championships for the first time.  Six players from across the region took part in a tough weekend of competition.

6 December 2005
Dame Ellen is East Midlands Sports Personality of the Year
Dame Ellen MacArthur has won the BBC East Midlands Sports Personality of the Year. The yachtswoman from Derbyshire also scooped Sportswoman of the Year at the glittering ceremony held at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester.

1 December 2005
Regional sports strategy attracts international interest
Sport England East Midlands has been taking an international lead after Regional Sports Board Chair Len Jackson was invited to Denmark to talk about Change 4 Sport – the regional plan for sport.

1 December 2005
Leisure Centre wins construction award
The lottery funded Braunstone Leisure Centre has won the Leicestershire Property and Construction Award for large scheme of the year. Since opening in December 2004 over 300,000 vistors have been to the centre.

25 November 2005
Culture East Midlands consults the region
The region is already known for it's sports facilities, events and high-achieving athletes, so Culture East Midlands is looking for views on how to make the region become ‘the place of choice’ for people to work, see and take part in culture.

18 November 2005
£75m boost for community sport and talent development
Sport England is committing a further £75 million to the English Regions and National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) to help develop talent and boost participation in sport over the next three years.

15 November 2005
Nominations for BBC East Midlands Sports Awards announced
The finalists have been announced for the BBC East Midlands Sports Awards 2005, being held at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester. Sport England East Midlands is sponsoring the Community Coach award, won last year by Gaynor Nash.

8 November 2005
Southwell secures space to play
Sport England has welcomed the news of a new community playing field at the Minster School in Southwell, Nottinghamshire to replace a playing field lost to the sheltered housing scheme as part of the development of the school site.

7 November 2005
Looking to the Future - regional sports tourism conference
Sports related tourism makes a significant contribution to the wealth of the East Midlands and a one day conference at Loughborough University will reveal just how much the economy really does benefit.

21 October 2005
Minister opens Active Grindleford
Minister for Sport Richard Caborn MP has paid a special visit to Grindleford in Derbyshire to see a community that is streets ahead in its commitment to getting active with a stunning floodlit multi-use games area

19 October 2005
High performance coaching programme launched
Paralympian Esther Cruice along with top swimming coach Ian Armiger were at Loughborough University for the launch of a new sports coaching programme for the East Midlands

12 October 2005
Nominate your Unsung Hero
The BBC is beginning to search for unsung heroes in the East Midlands for this year's Sports Awards and you can help choose a local winner. Last year's winner was Jean Lawrence from Newark Rugby Club.

29 September 2005
Magpies set the standard
Notts County have become the first Football League club to receive the Racial Equality Standard for Professional Clubs, developed by Kick it Out in conjunction with the FA Premier League, that sets out a series of measures for professional clubs.

19 September 2005
Everyday Sport campaign targets region
Sport England is issuing a rallying call to the East Midlands with the launch of a major new campaign designed to get people active. The Everyday Sport campaign was launched in the region by Jody Bunting and Lisa Evans.

19 September 2005
BBC East Midlands Sports Awards 2005
Who will succeed Darren Maddy as Sportsman of the Year for 2005? We're looking for your nominations for this year's awards, to be held at De Montfort Hall, Leicester on the 5th December.

8 September 2005
Covenham windsurfers heading for national championships
Covenham Cyclones windsurfing club are preparing for the Team 15 National Championships, after winning the last two windsurfing events of the series to be crowned North Zone champions.

6 September 2005
Athletics redevelopment boost for Saffron Lane
Athletes using Saffron Lane Sports Centre in Leicester will be able to enjoy running on a new track next season thanks to a £393,000 refurbishment, funded by Leicester City Council and Sport England.

2 September 2005
Leicester girls bend it like Beckham
Young female football fans in Leicester have signed up to the City Council's 'Bend It Like Becks' coaching programme, designed to get more girls interested in becoming soccer stars of the future.

24 August 2005
County Sports Partnerships to host Sports Awards
Northamptonshire Sport and Lincolnshire Sports Partnership are hosting Sports Awards in October to recognise sporting contribution and celebrate achievement across the counties.

18 August 2005
Tour of Britain returns to the region
The Tour of Britain will be making a welcome return to the East Midlands region on Friday 2 September. Find out the latest info about the Tour and how you can take part in cycling activities.

12 August 2005
East Midlands leads the way in Community Sports Coach Scheme
The East Midlands is leading the way in a key Government initiative to increase the number of sports coaches. So far the East Midlands has recruited 166.5 new full and part time coaches as part of the Community Sports Coach Scheme, more than any other region and 20% of all coaches recruited across England.

2 August 2005
Sport England celebrates Year of the Volunteer Sport Month
August marks the start of Sport Month as part of the Year of the Volunteer celebrations. Nearly six million volunteers contribute to sport in England every year and nearly half of all young people involved in volunteering work within sport.

6 July 2005
A win for London! A win for the UK!
‘A great result for London, and a great opportunity for the East Midlands’ said Tim Garfield, Regional Director of Sport England in the East Midlands as members of the East Midlands bid support team celebrated the announcement.

15 June 2005
Culture block strengthened in new CPA proposals
New proposals announced by the Audit Commission will strengthen the position of the culture block, including sport, if they are included in the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), the Government's performance measurement tool for local government.

14 June 2005
Gedling launches new partnership strategy for sport and physical activity
Sports stars and young people joined representatives from local and national organisations at Wheldon School Sports College to launch ‘Changing Lifestyles’ – a 10-year vision to improve health and increase participation in sport and physical activity across Gedling in Nottinghamshire.

8 June 2005
East Midlands stage of Tour of Britain announced
Four sprints, three hill climbs and 96 of the world’s best cyclists. The Tour of Britain, the UK’s elite cycle race, returns to the East Midlands in September. Northamptonshire based superbike racer Maria Costello joined emda’s David Wallace to unveil the 2005 route at Loughborough University.

7 June 2005
Global All Stars score for community cohesion
The Loughborough based Global All-Stars recently returned to Glen Parva Young Offender Institution in Leicestershire for a football match that was a celebration of the good work done by the All-Stars and Glen Parva in tackling racism. Following the match was a debate on community cohesion.

2 June 2005
Kick off for new football facilities at Mowbray Rangers
One of Leicestershire’s leading junior football clubs will be unveiling their new sports facilities as players, coaches and officials at Mowbray Rangers formally open their new pavilion, thanks to a £247,238 grant from the Community Club Development Programme.

2 June 2005
World cycling champion Backs the Bid
World cycling champion Rob Hayles is the latest sportsperson to 'Back The Bid' by signing the City of Leicester's flag supporting London 2012. Rob was in the city for the launch of British Cycling's 'Go Ride' Olympic training film featuring all the Athens Games cycling medallists.

16 May 2005
Sports stars gather to launch Sporting Advocates
Olympic silver medallists canoeist Campbell Walsh and cyclist Bryan Steel were amongst the local sports stars at the Harlem Globetrotters show at Nottingham Arena for the launch of the East Midlands Sporting Advocates programme. The stars competed against each other in a basketball shoot out at half time.

10 May 2005
Tim Reddish granted freedom of Nottingham
Director of British Disability Swimming Tim Reddish MBE will be nominated Honorary Freeman of Nottingham City at a special City Council meeting. The Nottingham-born former swimmer is only the 34th person in more than 100 years to be given such an honour and will be recognised alongside fellow townsman Mich Stevenson OBE.

10 May 2005
Mobile ramp park project on a roll
An innovative project to establish a mobile ramp park facility, based in one of the most deprived areas of Corby in Northamptonshire, as a social enterprise has taken a step closer to reality. An open day to gauge the level of interest attracted up to 100 local young people to sample the variety of ramps available.

29 April 2005
New football facilities for Newark
Newark Town Football Club and Newark and Sherwood District Council’s new facilities at Devon Park will be officially opened on 2nd May, thanks to a £148,326 grant from the Football Foundation. The cash boost is part of a £9.4m Community Club Development funding package developed by Sport England, the Government and the Football Association.

29 April 2005
Testimonial for local basketball legend
Braunstone Leisure Centre is set to play centre stage to a specially arranged basketball match in honour of one of Leicester’s most popular sports stars, Karl Brown, former player and now coach of Leicester Riders. A testimonial game and coaching activities are all set to take place on Saturday 7th May.

15 April 2005
Test stars turn out for tsunami appeal
A host of Test stars are set to turn out at a floodlit cricket match in a Leicestershire village in aid of the tsunami appeal. A World XI will take on a Leicestershire XI at the Illston-on-the-Hill ground of Everards Leicestershire League side Illston Abey on Sunday 24th April.

13 April 2005
City of Leicester backing London 2012 bid
People in Leicester are being urged to back the London Olympic 2012 bid by signing a huge flag. City council officials said signing the flag would show both the bid organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) how much Leicester wants the games in London.

30 March 2005
Astronaut testing at the National Space Centre
The National Space centre in Leicester is running a campaign aimed at encouraging young people to take up sport and physical activity. The Centre is using the novelty of space and astronauts to entice kids to try an astronaut-style fitness programme.

21 March 2005
Dickie Bird Foundation funds promising ice skater
Sporting legend Dickie Bird has paid a visit to the National Ice Centre in Nottingham to make the day of one promising young ice skater. Fourteen year old Lesley Murphy was given the surprise of her life when she was awarded £1,000 from the Dickie Bird Foundation, by the man himself.

10 March 2005
Leicester hosts Women into Sport and Physical Activity Conference
Over 160 young women from city schools in Leicester have attended the inaugural Women into Sport and Physical Activity (WISPA) Conference at the Sport England funded Braunstone Leisure Centre.

3 March 2005
Foxes back London 2012 bid
Leicester City Football Club have thrown their full weight behind the London bid to host the Olympics in 2012. Dion Dublin, Danny Tiatto and Nikos Dabizas posed for a special promotional photograph with a London 2012 banner at the club's training ground.

1 March 2005
National Ice Centre hosts regional summit
Sport leaders and enthusiasts from across the East Midlands have been challenged to change the face of sport in their region in one of a series of groundbreaking BBC Sport Summits, held at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham.

11 February 2005
£700,000 Lottery boost for sporty East Midlands schools
Schools and communities across the East Midlands are being given a sporting half-term lift with news that they have been awarded Big Lottery funding of more than £700,000 for new sports facilities.

28 January 2005
East Midlands shows support for London 2012
The East Midlands has been 'backing the bid' with events to raise awareness of the London 2012 bid. Goldie Sayers and Danny West visited Cobden Primary School to share their Games experiences with school children who will be 18 years old in 2012 and may attend, volunteer or even compete in the Games.

21 January 2005
Nottinghamshire celebrates success at annual sports review
Nearly five hundred people gathered to celebrate the achievements of participants, administrators, coaches and officials at this year’s Nottinghamshire County Council Sports Review of the Year. Olympic and Paralympic medallists Nathan Robertson and Maggie Parker both won awards.

22 December 2004
Swimming great honoured by City of Leicester
It has taken almost 100 years, but the 'world's first great female swimmer' has been officially honoured in her home town. Jennie Fletcher was born in Belgrave in 1890 and went on to become a key member of Leicester Ladies Swimming Club at Cossington Street Baths.

15 December 2004
Audit Commission propose a culture block in new CPA
Proposals for the new Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) has been published by the Audit Commission for consultation. The fact that culture, including a strong role for sport, has been included in the CPA is welcomed.

13 December 2004
Nottingham universities win student volunteering award
The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University were presented with the Outstanding Project Award - Exceptional Winner prize at the Higher Education Active Community Fund (HEACF) Student Volunteering Awards for the Varisty in the Community tag rugby project.

6 December 2004
Stars shine at BBC East Midlands Sports Awards
Stars of the sports world were out in force at the this year's BBC East Midlands Sports Awards. More than 200 guests, including scores of top East Midlands sporting personalities, were present at the glittering ceremony supported by Sport England East Midlands and East Midlands Development Agency.

29 November 2004
Vote for the BBC East Midlands Sports Personality of the Year
Voting’s begun to find the East Midlands Sports Personality of 2004. Local radio listeners have chosen county winners and the outright winner will be crowned at the BBC East Midlands Sports Awards on Sunday December 5th at the Council House in Nottingham. Last year's winner was Martin Johnson.

17 November 2004
£8.6 million for region to become more active
Communities in the East Midlands will be getting opportunities to become more active through the announcement of Active England funding of £8.6 million. One of the awards is the development of the Braunstone Cage project in Leicester.

15 November 2004
Get Moving Nottingham
The city’s older population will be encouraged to leap into action when Get Moving Nottingham, a new initiative to encourage the over 50s to get active, launches on 17 November. John McGovern, European Cup winning captain with Nottingham Forest, will kick off the campaign.

11 November 2004
Vale Judo Club awarded Clubmark
The Vale Judo Club in Oakham, Rutland is one of only six clubs in the country and the first in the region to achieve the Bronze Level of the British Judo Association's Club Recognition Scheme. As a result the club has also been awarded with Sport England's Clubmark.

9 November 2004
New footy facilities for Mansfield
A ten room pavillion is replacing four old shipping containers in Mansfield as Debdale Park Sports & Recreation Club opens its new facilities which form part of a groundbreaking grassroots football scheme.

4 November 2004
Lincolnshire Sports Awards celebrates local success
Hundreds of people joined the Lincolnshire Sports Partnership and BBC Radio Lincolnshire at the Lawn in Lincoln at the first ever Lincolnshire Sports Awards. The winners included Ian Brown for his role as coach of disabled performaers at Jaguars wheelcahir basketball club.

29 October 2004
British Open Squash returns to Nottingham
The East Midlands continues its reputation for holding top international sporting events with the return of the British Open Squash Championships to Nottingham. The Open will take place from 29 October to 6 November, with the later rounds of the event being staged on the all-glass court at the city's Albert Hall.

19 October 2004
Excellent framework fights back for leisure services
A nationwide seminar programme is promoting Towards and Excellent Service (TAES) - the new initiative designed to help the sport and recreation sector demonstrate its achievements and service improvements in line with the government's performance agenda.

13 October 2004
Nottingham schools on the ball by scooping top national award
A group of schools in Nottingham has won a top award for pioneering work to encourage young people to take part in competitive sport out of school hours. The Ellis Guilford School Sport Partnership won the award for taking the initiative in setting up a basketball club and a league for the club to play in.

13 September 2004
Wheelchair basketball star receives support on the road to Beijing
Joe Bestwick, a young disabled sportsman from Nottinghamshire will be watching this month's Paralympics on TV - but hopes to be competing in the 2008 event in Beijing with the help of funding from a pioneering new Government scheme, the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme.

1 September 2004
Olympic Champion to ride in Tour of Britain
The East Midlands has the chance to salute the momentous achievement of Olympic Gold Medal winner Bradley Wiggins when the 3rd Stage of the Tour of Britain cycle race takes place on the roads of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire on Friday 3rd September.

2 August 2004
Tour of Britain to visit the East Midlands
World class cyclists from around the world will take to the East Midlands roads as the Tour of Britain makes a welcome return. The East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is sponsoring the region’s leg of the race and has managed to secure the visit of the Tour that will pass through Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

19 July 2004
Nominations open for East Midlands Sports Awards
The BBC East Midlands Sports Awards are a celebration of sport across the region. This year the BBC has teamed up with East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and Sport England East Midlands for an event that will be one of the highlights of the sporting calendar.

2 July 2004
Kettering athletics track to open after refurbishment
Kettering athletics track will re-open on Saturday 3 July as part of the opening ceremony of the Northamptonshire Sport Youth Games. The £70,000 project was funded by Kettering borough council with contributions totalling £19,000 allocated from the Sport England Lottery Fund, Kettering Town Harriers and Kettering Community Leisure Limited.