As the London 2012 Games fast
approaches, there are still plenty of opportunities for people to
get involved and be part of the Olympic and Paralympic
Legacy.
Over the weekend visitors to Westfield London
will be able to find out about Sportivate, while all next
week Londoners will be able to take part in London Sport
Makers Week and find out how they make sport happen in their
local community.
From the 11th June, a series of
free and interactive Sport Makers events will take place
across several of the capital’s finest sporting venues including
Wembley, Twickenham and the KIA Oval.
Sport Makers aims to capture the
enthusiasm of the Games and give people the opportunities, skills
and networks to give something back to their local communities and
help get their friends, neighbours or colleagues playing sport.
Londoners already signed up have given over
10,500 hours of their time to make sport happen in their local
community, including Adam Stapleton, who found out about the
programme through the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.
“Inspirational – Sport Makers is a
great opportunity for Haringey residents to be a real part of the
2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Adam. “I was born in
Tottenham and have always lived there so this programme has been a
great way to give back and share my love for sport with other
people in the area. Through the programme I have had some great
experiences too such as meeting Sir Steve Redgrave as well as being
invited to the Houses of Parliament to meet my local MP, David
Lammey.”
As well as inspiring people to make sport
happen, we also want to inspire more 14- to 25-year-olds to find a
sport they enjoy.
Sportivate aims to give young people
who currently aren’t playing sport in their own time six to eight
weeks of coaching in a sport of their choice, whether it be a
traditional sport like football or a non-traditional sport like
handball.
Already 80,000 young people have been
encouraged to get into sport through the programme, and this
weekend we aim to inspire even more through interactive exhibition
at Westfield London shopping Centre.
Visitors will be able to find out about local
Sportivate programmes, test their reaction skills on the
batak wall, warm up for Wimbledon with a game of Wii tennis or join
in one of the sporting activities taking place including fencing,
judo, rowing or boxing.
With only 49 days to go until the Games and as
the excitement builds, now is the time to get involved and be part
of the legacy.
To find out more about London Sport
Maker Week and sign up, visit http://www.sportmakers.co.uk/
To find out more about Sportivate and
to sign up, visit www.sportengland.org/sportivate
To find out about other Places People
Play legacy programmes, visit www.sportengland.org