Today I visited the South West of England and witnessed first hand how
local organisations are using the excitement generated by London 2012 to catalyse local projects and deliver community benefits.
I started the day at Bath University, where I was honoured to open a new Biomechanics laboratory which will enable scientists to analyse athletes movements and work with them to improve their sporting performance. This sort of thing, which was in its infancy in my day, is now a vital part of an athlete's preparation for achieving that tiny advantage over their competitors.
Whilst on campus, I also addressed the annual conference for the British
Association of Sports and Exercise Science. Many of those listening are
already working with the Olympians and Paralympians of the future and
this therefore provided an excellent opportunity to support and
encourage them on their road to 2012.
In Plymouth I visited the College of St Mark and St John where I met
many local school children, who were all taking part in activities
designed to develop the core skills that are essential for success in
sport at any level including agility, balance, coordination, speed and
spatial awareness. I was also introduced to a number of local athletes
who are all fully focused on achieving their goal of competing at a
future Olympic or Paralympic Games. The enthusiasm of all of those
involved on the day was incredible - from the very young taking part in
team games to those in more serious training and from all of the
dedicated individuals supporting them in their training.
My next stop was the city of Swindon, which was staging a 'Get Active
Day', encouraging local residents to try out new activities, and to
think about taking at least 10-15 minutes of exercise every day. I was
introduced to children from the area who were having fun trying out
circus skills and I even had a go myself!
The final destination on my packed schedule was Hartpury college, which
has seen the number of students signing up for sports courses increase
considerably over the last few years. After a tour of their sports
centre and outdoor facilities, I was asked to officially open their new
International Arena for equine events. The Arena was finished in June
this year and will provide equine competitors and their support teams
with state of the art training and event facilities. It has already
hosted the FEI World Para Dressage Championships as its inaugural event.
Having had the opportunity to see such a wide range of facilities and
events in one day, I am really encouraged that the vision we set out
during the bid - to inspire a new generation to take part in sport - is
really starting to happen across the UK.
