On Monday, LOCOG Chief Executive Paul Deighton was invited to ‘Celebrate Excellence’ during his annual nations and regions visit to Yorkshire. This time it was the turn of Leeds - and specifically Leeds Metropolitan University - to host the visit and give us an insight into the abundance of inspirational activity taking place in the region. From sport, to culture and back to sport again, our day was packed to say the least but we came away with a grin on our faces and rather full stomachs after a day of fine Yorkshire fayre at every stop!

But before all that, here's ‘5 things you may not know about Leeds Metropolitan University’...

1. Former World Record Holder and man behind the Great North Run, Brendan Foster MBE is Chancellor of the University and an alumni.
2. Leeds Metropolitan University own Leeds Carnegie Rugby Union; a ground-breaking arrangement in British sport with an educational institution taking over ownership of a professional sporting organisation. Last year the team, coached by ex-England international Neil Back competed in the Premiership and are set for a return in the 2009/10 season.
3. The Beckett Park Campus, named after the family that own it, is a former military hospital.
4. Dee Caffari, round the world yachtswoman, is a graduate of the teacher training college and often returns for sport science support.
5. Legendary Ethiopian runner, Haile Gebre Selassie was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University who have developed wider links with Ethiopia through their degree programmes.

So, on to Monday...We started the day visiting a school sports competition where teams from six schools in Leeds were taking part in a Goalball competition. The highlight for me was seeing them all dressed in ‘Yorkshire Gold’ t-shirts and tracksuits. ‘Yorkshire Gold’ is the working title for the team of dedicated individuals in Yorkshire, the Yorkshire 2012 Committee who work tirelessly to ensure the benefits both in the run up to and beyond 2012 are seen UK-wide. This is the first time I have seen a regional brand used in this way and it was both highly impressive and visually spectacular.

We moved on to a Skills, Employability and Education Exhibition in the spectacular Ghandi Hall where Paul met representatives from Further Education and Higher Education institutions who were all keen to show him just what they were doing to grab the golden opportunities presented by London 2012.

After meeting a team of primary students who had somehow obtained a coveted Athens Olympic Relay Torch and held their own Olympic Day in the summer, Paul met a British Cycling 2012 hopeful and the Sports Engineering team from Sheffield Hallam University. Sheffield Hallam have created a Sports Engineering MSC for graduates in Engineering who want to transfer their technical knowledge to the world of sport – it was mind-boggling stuff for us mere mortals but fascinating at the same time.

Lunch was hosted by the Vice Chancellor Simon Lee, who has written his own coverage of the day, where we feasted on locally sourced Whitby scallops and Harrogate lamb. We then toured the newly-awarded UK Centre of Coaching Excellence and met a delegation of Chinese officials who are working with the university to create sporting and cultural links between Beijing and Leeds.

Paul addressed the delegates gathered at the ‘Higher Education and Championing Excellence for the 2012 Games in Yorkshire Seminar’ and showed them just what we can expect in London in 2012 with a DVD of highlights from Beijing this summer.

Later we took our seats for the 'Championing Excellence in Education' afternoon performance - and what a performance it was. Sport mixed with culture at its best as the show opened with Strike!, martial arts experts of Britain’s Got Talent fame. They moved their way around the stage displaying their athletic prowess and then their highly toned torsos as they whipped their tops off!! Swathes of teenage girls in the audience were up out of their seats whooping and screaming!!

Strike! were followed by a performance of Tosca from the Northern Opera, who then delighted the sports enthusiast youngsters by singing ‘The World in Union’ anthem.

Back to Yorkshire, we finished the day with dinner at Headingley, home to the cricket team and Leeds Carnegie and we lucky enough to get a brief tour of the facility from Simon Lee, who proudly showed us the newly built rugby stand where Leeds Met sports students have their lectures!!

Our sustainability team at LOCOG would be delighted to hear that dinner was once again entirely locally sourced, even the sparkling wine: we dined on smoked Nidderdale trout, parsnips from Goole, potatoes from Tadcaster, curd from Grassington and Ponte Cake ice cream, homemade on site with a touch of liquorice - yes, liquorice, the only downside to an otherwise fantastic day!!!