On Saturday 26 January the Get Set London Roadshow arrived in Barking and Dagenham. This was the first chance for people living here to find out exactly what the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will mean to the borough.
We were stationed in the Vicarage Fields shopping centre throughout the day and hundreds of people came along to try out the diagnostics equipment, to see which sport they have a natural strength in. The batak was a clear favourite - testing hand eye coordination. The grip strength was another popular choice, with a high score revealing who would be good at sports such as the javelin.
Having my heart rate tested:
It was such a fun day and both adults and children were keen to find out more about how they could be a part of such an exciting four years for London.
It was fantastic to have our budding Karate champion, Conor Lynn at the Roadshow. He’s such an inspiration having already achieved the position of British National Champion. He’s receiving support from our Living the Dream trust which is helping to provide the necessary equipment and training for borough athletes hoping to compete in 2012.
It was also great to see shoppers at the roadshow finding out how they could develop skills and get involved in volunteering for The Games. There is a goal of getting 70,000 people into employment in the run up to 2012 which the East of London will particularly benefit from. So with London officially taking over the reins from Beijing in just a few month, Barking and Dagenham is already on the way to maximising opportunities for residents now and in the lead up to 2012.
