London 2012 blog

Last Wednesday, I travelled to Sunderland, Gateshead and Newcastle to meet some of the individuals and agencies who are working together to ensure the North East makes the most of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities the 2012 Games offer.

I also met lots of very enthusiastic children from local schools who had come along to the Tyne and Wear festival of sport. Having addressed a lunch meeting of Local Authorities about the sorts of opportunities we believe the Games will generate, it was great to then go out into the stadium and see so many young people being encouraged to try out different sports - building towards the increase in participation that we are hoping to achieve. I was also 'cheer-led' by a local troop who had come along to show off their talents, which was certainly unexpected and a first!!

In Sunderland I saw the progress that is being made on the development of a 50m pool and met some local athletes who were each part of regional talent development schemes.

It is great to meet young people who now have a home Games to aspire to - returning to Gateshead Stadium still makes me feel a little adrenalin rush when I think of competing.

And there are a lot of dedicated support staff and facilities out there assisting our young athletes to build towards their dreams. My final stop of the day was at Glen McCrory's boxing school to meet with him and some of the boxers he is training, along with the Trustees and supporters who are helping Glen to make a huge diference to these youngsters' lives.

It was great to see the inspiration that Glen is providing - he's encouraging these young boxers to train hard and their dedication is fantastic to see in action.

All in all a great day in the North East - a region that is demonstrating that it really is passionate about sport!