London 2012 blog

As the London 2012 Roadshow bus arrived in Lincolnshire, East Midlands, it was greeted by an ominous gathering of storm clouds and one of the most spectacular displays of thunder and lightning that the area has seen for some time.

Fears about soggy athletes and muddy sports displays were allayed however, as the day of the Lincolnshire County show dawned sunny and bright.

We got off to a great start with “MC Dougie” attracting visitors from all over the showground to get involved with the activities on offer, selflessly sacrificing his street-cred to take part in the dance routines and prompting whispers that Davina Mcall had better watch out as her presenter status is under threat…

The kids had a great time taking part in the activities and really showed off their talents. N.A.K (new age curling) proved a big hit with young and old alike, with many returning back to the stand time and time again to see if they could get better.

The dance routines inspired at lot of improvisational moves with one group trying Irish dancing steps to the music of the Scissor Sisters - a big hit with the crowd! Even their teachers joined in with Mrs France from Fosse Way school in Lincoln discovering at the Dream Stats section that she had a grip likened to that of Audrey Harrison – her class were strangely well behaved as they took note of that!

Curling, with the London 2012 bus in the background:



Roger Black was on hand throughout the day to offer sporting encouragement and share his experiences and Olympic Athletes such as Jenny Pacey and Marc Spackman gave talks and question and answer sessions to give the audience the inside track on what it really means to be an Olympian.

The challenge website and message boards on the bus proved hugely popular with pledges ranging from training to get gold medals and eating more healthily to falling in love, passing GCSEs and tidying up more.

Lincolnshire Sports Partnership were definitely kept busy as hundreds of school groups arrived empty handed and came away with leaflets and details about how to get involved with their local sports clubs.

Lewis Garton (aged 11) from Fosse Way Primary School in Lincoln tested out what sport he would be suited to at the National Lottery Dream Stats stand: “My jumping height was over 50cm and the Roadshow man told me that the average man can only jump 25cm!

"I told Marc Spackman (Olympic Swimmer) who told me about winning at the Olympics and said I should keep training and write down my results so I can see if I improve. Now I want to do more sport and beat my record.”

110m hurdler David Hughes has the qualifying time for Beijing of 13.2. Originally from the local area in Gainsborough, he has fond memories of coming to the Lincolnshire Show when he was young and really got involved today, teaching kids the fine art of sprint starts on the stand.

He told me: "Being part of the London 2012 Roadshow today was a great experience. I feel honoured to be recognised for my achievements and invited to such events. The team here have done a great job; the whole event is very colourful and full of charisma.

"The Roadshow has attracted loads of enthusiastic kids and I hope we can encourage them to get involved in sport. All round the day has been a great success and a great way to raise awareness of 2012 and get people involved."

The sun was still shining as the Roadshow closed its doors for the day, ready to kick start more motivation and inspiration tomorrow.