PRESS RELEASE

15 August 2007

LONDON 2012 ROADSHOW TO JOIN IN THE FUN AT WAKEFIELD ATHLETICS DAY

As part of this year’s tour of the UK, the London 2012 Roadshow is to make a full day appearance at Wakefield Fun Athletics Day, 19 August.

The Deputy leader of the council, Councillor Denise Jeffery and Sport and Active Lifestyles Councillor Clive Hudson will mark the official opening of Wakefield Fun Athletics Day before the activities commence at 11am.

Taking place at award winning Xscape  Sports Centre, Castleford, the festival aims to promote a positive sporting image of the town and encourage more people to ‘get active..’  Helping inspire people to take up sport will be Olympic athlete, Leon Taylor whose achievements include winning Silver at Athen’s Olympics and famously ending the 44 year medal drought for divers.

Officially kicked-off on 15 June in Greenwich, London, the Roadshow will join in the festivities at the Wakefield event, which will include a ‘beat the goalie’ football challenge, windsurf simulator, a golf accuracy challenge, and a demonstration from Wakefield Gym Club which has produced several world class gymnasts and tumblers.

Complementing the event’s activities, this year’s Roadshow has selected a ‘Join In’ theme and is promoting coaching and encouraging sports participation, especially among young people.  It will offer taster sessions in a range of traditional and new sports for people to try, while advisors from Sport England Yorkshire and West Yorkshire Sport, will be on hand to encourage visitors to find out more about local sporting clubs and facilities.

The Roadshow will also contain a National Lottery ‘Dream Statistics’ zone to enable visitors to see how their statistics – including height, weight and muscle power – might make them suited to different sports.

Starting at 11am and continuing until 5pm, Wakefield Fun Athletics Day welcomes people to see a range of sporting activities in the forecourt of Xscape Centre, maybe even testing a sport out themselves.  And canoeing, long jump and aerobics are just some of the demonstration sports that have been lined up.  

Cllr Peter Price, Chair of the Sport England Yorkshire Board, said: “Wakefield Fun athletics Day is a great event for the Roadshow to visit as the day’s activities really champion this year’s goal to encourage people to take up sport in a fun and supportive environment.

“Children and adults alike will be given the chance to find out what sport works best for them and will also be able to learn about all the sporting opportunities available through the range of clubs and facilities that exist in Yorkshire.

“We’re really pleased the Roadshow is to visit our region once again as we plan and look forward to the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games – an event that is inspiring so many people to take up sport professionally or just for fun.”

Wakefield Councillor Clive Hudson, Portfolio Member for Sport and Active Lifestyles said: “This is a marvellous occasion for the town and a great way for everyone to get more involved in sport, and having the Roadshow in town will really get that message across. The health benefits of sport are widely known but the message from this day will be that it’s fun too!”

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.  We want to encourage young people to develop their sporting talents, to achieve something for themselves or to inspire others to unearth their own talents and visiting the London 2012 Roadshow is a great first step to accomplishing this.”

The Roadshow is organised by the London 2012 Organising Committee, Sport England, the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), West Yorkshire Sport, Sport and Active Lifestyles, the Yorkshire Committee for the 2012 Games and the National Lottery.

-ENDS-

Issued by Robson Brown on behalf of Sport England Yorkshire
For further information, please contact:
Lisa Ingledew, with Robson Brown, at 0191 244 6685, lisai@robson-brown.co.uk. or
Ruth Lognonne, with Robson Brown, at 0191 244 6637, ruthl@robson-brown.co.uk