Great Yarmouth gets it own adiZone
Great Yarmouth got its very own taste of London 2012, thanks to the installation of an adiZone – a giant multi-sport and gym outdoor venue which aims to inspire the local community to get involved in sport. The installation was formally opened by His Worship the Mayor, Cllr Tony Smith and gymnast and Olympic medallist Louis Smith on Wednesday 25th November.
Children, from local primary school Homefield, Lynn Grove High School and Young Ambassadors from the East Norfolk School Sport Partnership, were the first to use the new facility. The youngsters tried out a number of activities centred on basketball, football and tennis areas, a climbing wall, an outdoor gym and an open area to encourage dance, aerobics and gymnastics.
Local athlete, Sophie Mckinna, was also on hand to try out the adiZone. Shot putter Sophie from Bradwell is the Norfolk and eastern region champion and is one of Norfolk’s Celebrating Talent – rising stars. Sophie has her eyes firmly set on making the team for 2012.
Cllr Graham Plant, Great Yarmouth Borough Council cabinet member for Regeneration said “We were really pleased to work with adidas on this exciting project, which we hope will inspire people of all ages to be more active, more often. I know that the adizone will be a really welcome and needed addition to the local community.
“The adiZone is also as a space where young people can meet socially whilst being encouraged to play sports. The reaction from the children today is fantastic and I am positive we will get the same response from all who use it.
“We plan to invite local coaches and sports club organisers to attend the site, to spot talent and encourage young people to join local clubs and sporting organisations. Hopefully, it will be the start to encourage more home grown talent like Sophie.”
The installation at Mill Lane also incorporates a ‘pledge wall’ were users sporting ambitions, goals and thoughts on London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic can be captured forever.
Nick Craggs, Director of Marketing, adidas Area North added: “As a London 2012 sponsor, adidas believes it is vitally important that free sporting facilities are made available and accessible if we are truly going to get the nation participating in sport. To date the installation of adiZones has brought groups of young people together to get involved in a variety of sports and improved community relations, echoing the legacy that the London 2012 Games hopes to achieve.”
Lyn Blizzard, Health Improvement Principal for NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney, said: “adiZone is a really exciting project and we are pleased to be able to support the scheme.
“This opportunity will hopefully encourage more young people and families into sport and physical activity.
“As there is a growing concern around the level of inactivity and childhood obesity in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area this project is a fantastic boost for the community.”
Cllr Stephen Castle, Chairman of Nations and Regions East, who are responsible for maximising the benefits of London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in the region, said: "The adiZone is a fantastic boost for the East of England and is yet another example of how London 2012 is creating opportunities not just for London but also within our local community"
Further Information
Photo Captions: Louis Smith with Young Ambassadors Louis Smith shows spectators how it’s done.
Notes to Editor
adiZones
adiZones were initially installed by adidas in four of the London 2012 host boroughs, and are now being introduced to towns and cities across the UK as the Olympic and Paralympic Games preparation increases.
The adiZone at Mill Lane is the first to be installed in the East of England, it is free to use, and open 365 days a year. The development of the facility has been supported by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Great Yarmouth and Waveney NHS and Active Norfolk.
Louis Smith
an Junior Champion and 2006 Commonwealth Champion Louis Smith had his first taste of the Olympic atmosphere when hebeat thebest of the World's elite competitors in his age group to takethe pommel horseGold Medal for Team GB at the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney.
At the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart Louis also proved his senior pedigree by claiming the Bronze Medal on pommel horse.
On 9 August 2008 he qualified in 5th place for the Olympic final of the men's pommel horse, and on 17 August went on to win the Bronze Medal in that final, becoming the first Briton to win a medal in the individual gymnastics at the Olympic Games since Walter Tysall won a silver medal in 1908. He was also the first Briton to win a medal in gymnastics at the Olympic Games since the women's team won a bronze medal in 1928.
Since his return from Beijing Louis has been in high demand. In addition to feature interviews in a number of leading National Newspapers, most recently in the Sunday Times and The Telegraph as well as taking to the gym apparatus in various high end brands as part of a Style feature for OSM. Louis has appeared at the Mobo awards and Glamour Woman of the Year Awards as a presenter and took to the pommels again in front of a live television audience at the Sports Personality of the Year awards. In addition he has appeared on shows such as A Question of Sport and Ready Steady Cook.
Commonwealth Games Champion, Pommel Horse, 2006
Two-time Junior European Champion on Pommel Horse (2004, 2006)
2006, 2008 & 2009 British Champion, Pommel Horse
Bronze Medal Glasgow Grand Prix, 2005, Silver Medal 2008, Pommel Horse.
2006, World Cup Final, Brazil, 5th Pommel Horse.
2007, 2nd, Pommel Horse, World Cup, Ghent.
2007, 4th,Pommel Horse, European Championships and World Cup events(Paris and Moscow)
2007, World Championships (Stuttgart), Bronze, Pommel Horse
2008, Silver, Moscow World Cup Event
2008, Bronze, Olympic Games, Pommel Horse
2009, European Silver Medallist, Pommel Horse
Sophie McKinna
Sophie attends Lynn Grove High School.
Another young person receiving the backing of the Norfolk Sports and Cultural Foundation for the first time, Sophie is already competing at national level, with the England Schools Athletics Association.
Trained by former British and Commonwealth shot-put champion Geoff Capes - one of Britain’s most capped male atheletes, Sophie has her eyes firmly on making the team for 2012.
She won a silver medal at the UK School games. Her Games success concluded an amazing first season for Sophie in the under-17 age group, where she has competed against and beat girls who were older and far more experienced.
It is quite some list for Sophie, who won gold for England at the SIAB Internationals in Belfast, silver at the England Under-17 and Southern Indoor championships, bronze at English Schools and Southern Outdoor championships.
She is also Norfolk and eastern region champion, and has broke the 27-year-old county record in July, with a throw of 12.44m.
Her current personal best of 12.56m places her third in the UK rankings.
Norfolk Sports and Cultural Foundation support the county’s most promising and ambitious sports people and artists.
The Norfolk Sports and Cultural Foundation, launched in June 2008 by former Norwich City captain Craig Fleming, is a grant programme funded by Norfolk County Council and through additional business and trust support.
The Foundation has two strands- Rising Stars and Make it Happen.
Rising Stars supports the top talented young people in Norfolk aged 14-25 that have already achieved a significant county, national or even international level within their sporting or cultural field. The funding is designed to allow them to take the next step up in their ambitions.
Grants are up to £5,000 and may span the whole four year period leading to 2012, to give really meaningful support.
Make it Happen supports people of any age to progress in their established sporting or cultural field, which makes a significant difference and allows them to take a step up.
Nations and Regions East
Nations and Regions East (NRE) was established in October 2005 as a representative group to coordinate 2012 Games related regional strategic issues in the East of England. Cllr Stephen Castle is Chairman of this group and member of the national London 2012 Nations and Regions Group. NRE brings together representatives from the key regional organisations of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), Sport England, Go East, East of England Regional Assembly (EERA), East of England Tourism, East of England Skills and Competitiveness Partnership (EESCP), East of England Business Group (EEBG), England Volunteering Development Council (EVDC) and the Department of Health. There is also geographical representation from partnerships serving the six county areas of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
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