With the waiting almost over to the opening of London 2012, and the
greatest sporting spectacle on Earth, Nottinghamshire County Council
sends a good luck message to Team GB.
The county council hopes that the success realised by homegrown
sports stars at London 2012 in both the Paralympics and the Olympics can
help inspire more people to enjoy sport.
One of the stars of Team GB, Rebecca Adlington, was named at
Nottinghamshire County Council’s annual Sports Awards as Sports
Personality of the Year in February – her achievements to date already
making her one of the most successful GB swimmers of all time.
Mum Kay said: "Becky was delighted to win the title in February as
the award winners are voted for by coaches and local sporting experts in
Nottinghamshire and there were a lot of strong contenders in other
sports. We are now looking forward to London 2012 and cheering her and
the rest of Team GB on at these historic Games which are even more
special as they are on home soil."
'A year to remember for sport'
Coun John Cottee, Committee Chairman for Culture at the County Council said: "On the eve of London 2012, it has already been a
year to remember for sport and so many athletes have excelled to be
selected for Team GB so they can represent their country.
"Nottinghamshire enjoyed fantastic success at the Beijing Games in 2008
and we are looking forward to supporting our athletes in London. The
waiting is over and everyone will be cheering on the likes of Becky
Adlington, Tim Brabants, Andy Turner and others.
Shining Stars
"The county council is also looking forward to charting the progress
of some of the athletes we have funded through the Shining Stars scheme
- Richard Jefferies, Sam Oldham, Grace Carter and George Pinner.
Representing Great Britain in the Olympics is a wonderful achievement in
their careers and we hope their success will help encourage others to
enjoy and take up sport."
More than 20 Nottinghamshire athletes have taken part in providing
healthy lifestyle tips to local people on the county council’s social
media networks as part of its Fitter Twitter drive this summer. The
final tweet, from gymnast Sam Oldham, who begins his London 2012
campaign on Saturday for Team GB, was posted today on the county
council’s Twitter feed. Read more at: @NottsCC.
Meanwhile, the National Water Sports Centre, which is managed by
Nottinghamshire County Council, hosted Olympic athletes from China from
July 4-16 who will compete in canoe slalom competitions at London 2012.
Around 13 athletes were put through their paces on the white water
course at the centre in Holme Pierrepont but the training sessions had
to take place under a tight veil of secrecy as directed by the Chinese
Olympic Association, which had nominated Leeds as the headquarters for
its pre-Games training camp.
Phil Machin, site manager at the National Water Sports Centre, said: "While we had to honour the Chinese Olympic Association’s request not
to publicise the training sessions, we were delighted to host members of
its squad for these training sessions.
"They demonstrated their considerable skills and enjoyed the
facilities here and as well as Team GB, we will definitely be looking
out for their results at London 2012."
The National Water Sports Centre is also preparing to host the 10th
annual European Dragon Boat Championships tomorrow through to Sunday.
Find out more
For more information about sports activity in Nottinghamshire and the Shining Stars fund, visit www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/sportforall.
