Manchester Futsal Club on Championship pursuit… Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Having clinched the FA National Futsal League North title with a 20-2 win over Crewsadors in their final game of the campaign, Manchester Futsal Club are looking to go one better by being crowned champions of England at the weekend.

In addition to the honour of potentially being the best futsal side in the country, the opportunity to play on a European stage next season is also an incentive for the 2011 FA Futsal Cup winners.

Manchester will face Midlands winners Oxford Lions and South runners-up Genesis on Saturday in Group ‘A’. Should Manchester qualify for the final on Sunday, they will face Helvecia, Team Bath or familiar foe, Middlesborough – who inflicted Manchester’s only defeat of the season in October 2011.

Since then, Marcos Leon’s side have gone on a ten game unbeaten run to ensure they finished top of the pile ahead of the Grand Finals. The team has been transformed into one that never gives in – and it is all down to the manager and his meticulous approach to the game.

To find our more about the Club and Futsal in Manchester click here

40,000 spectators attend opening of London’s Olympic Stadium Thursday, May 10th, 2012

UK sports stars, celebrities and more than 40,000 spectators have helped to mark the opening of London’s Olympic Stadium at an event held on 5 May.

Former Olympians including Sir Steve Redgrave and Mark Foster were among those to take part in the 2012 Hours to Go celebration, which comprised athletics and live entertainment.

LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe said: “I am very proud of this venue and excited that it is set to stage the biggest sporting event in the world.”

Details: www.london2012.com

Last Man Stands World Championships Coming to England Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Last Man Stands England is pleased to announce that the next edition of the LMS World Championship is being staged in England in 2013 (venues, dates to be announced soon)! The build up to this global competition involving teams from over 50 cities and 6 countries starts now! There will be a main event and a Happy Hitters event to ensure LMS caters for players of all abilities!

National champions from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai and England will be given a favourable draw at the 2013 World Championship! The England Champions of 2012 will therefore gain a massive advantage when looking to become World Champions on home soil in 2013! You have to be in it to win it so make sure you keep an eye on the 2012 England Champs draw and work out your path to finals weekend (22nd and 23rd September)! If you have not signed up for a league yet then please do so now before its too late visit the website to find the venue closest to you.

The England Champions of 2012 will gain the honour of taking on the touring LMS Australian Champions in the opening match of the 2013 World Championship! This will be a high profile game and a superb way to celebrate grass roots cricket in an Ashes Summer!

This year teams will naturally be looking to avoid Team Manchester who are the current England champions and the bookies favourites for the 2012 England Champions title and £2500 cash prize! They have an impressive record and it is easy to see why they are ranked number 2 in the Team World Rankings. They have only lost once in 17 games and this was in the the semi final of this years World Championship in Cape Town! They lost to Kings 8 who went on to win the final and became LMS World Champions and $10,000 richer. All the action from the 2012 World Champs can be viewed on the LMS TV Channel  www.lastmanstands.com/tv

Happy Hitters Event at end of 2012 season!

The happy hitters event at the 2012 World Champs was a massive success and as a result there will be an end of season tour / event for social teams at the end of this summer. This will run along side the England Champions league and spaces will be limited to 16 teams. More information on this event / tour to be sent later in the summer! In the meantime please pencil in the 21st to 23rd September in your diaries if this is of interest to your team!

Are you running any events specifically for women to TRY? Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Are you running any events specifically for women to TRY? Women Sports Network are still consolidating their database of Women TRY Sport events – in preparation for National ‘Women TRY Sport’ Day on 21 June – http://women2012.co.uk/trydays/

This is a FREE service which NGBs, sports centres and clubs have ‘jumped’ at to promote their TRY events targeted (primarily) at women.  There are already over 700 registered across the UK. You can submit your 2012 events FREE  on line here: http://women2012.co.uk/submit-event.php

The latest WS&FF report ‘Women and Informal Sport’ – tells us “54% of women say they would like to do more sport and physical activity than they do at the moment”. The Womens Sport Network are committed to:

• getting more women active
• promoting these events/engaging the community in sport
• creating a forum for women to express themselves in sport PLUS some ‘soft/digital’ legacy from 2012 and
• raising the profile of our ‘SportsHeroines’

Register your up-coming events and get them promoted to new ‘customers’ with some of the exciting campaigns planned in the next three months – and beyond the Olympics.

You can also support women’s sport by ‘Liking’ the Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/women.try.sport.day

Manchester City Council Seeks Cultural Delivery Partners Thursday, May 10th, 2012

North West Pre-Training Camps welcome Olympic and Paralympic athletes Thursday, May 10th, 2012

More than 600 athletes from around the world will be coming to the North West in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic Games to complete their final training.

Sir Charles Allen CBE, Chair of LOCOG’s Nations and Regions group was in the region yesterday to visit one of our 25 Paralympic and Olympic Pre Games Training Camp venues. He spent time at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Cheshire campus, which will play host to three Oceania teams: Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Vanuatu.

The new beach volleyball court at the campus has been developed specially for the Vanuatu team, providing a first class court that will leave a local legacy in terms of developing beach volleyball in the local area.

Sir Charles said: “It is fantastic to see the North West welcoming athletes from 22 different nations and every continent in the world to prepare for London 2012. Pre Games Training Camps are an important way of engaging communities around the UK in the Games and I am delighted today to be able to see first hand the quality of provision and legacy programmes that MMU Cheshire and Cheshire East are putting on for athletes from Oceania.”

Andy Worthington, Chair of the Northwest Steering Group for the 2012 Games said: “It is a great testament to the quality of facilities that the region is able to host so many teams in the build up to London 2012. Since hosting our first Training Camps in 2009 we have seen how they can lever economic, sporting and social benefits. All these athletes can be sure of a warm welcome in the region ahead of the Games.”

Other Olympic squads training in the North West include the Australian swimming and table tennis teams, the USA’s basketball and boxing teams and teams from the 15 Pacific Islands in Oceania. There will be 17 Brazilian Paralympic teams training in the region, as well as athletes representing Namibia, Romania and Thailand.

In addition to the overseas teams preparing in the region, the North West is also playing an important role in the preparation of Team GB and Paralympics GB including the GB cycling teams, the taekwondo team and the disability swimming team.

The Pre-Training Camps are based in 25 different venues all over the North West, from Manchester Aquatics Centre and George H Carnall Leisure Centre in Trafford to Kendal Judo Club in Cumbria and Kirkby Sports College in Merseyside.

To find out more about Pre-Training Camps in your area, visit www.nwfor2012.com/the-games/training-camps/

Community Games – Opportunity for Funding Thursday, May 10th, 2012

The Community Games programme is a joint venture between the County Sports Partnership Network and YMCA England.  With £2m funding from the Social Action Fund, the programme aims to transform the West Midlands Community Games initiative that has been developed by the Legacy Trust UK, into a nationwide programme accessible throughout England.

Community Games vision is “Bringing people together through a Community Games in every community, every year” and the next two years is a stepping stone to making the programme more sustainable.

For more information on the programme and to find out whether your event is eligible for funding please contact lydias@greatersport.co.uk or 07793 441 300.

Parkrun heads to Marple Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

The first ever Marple parkrun will be held on Saturday 26 May at 9am in Brabyns Park and then every Saturday thereafter.

For more information and details of the route, please visit the marple parkrun facebook page at  www.facebook.com/marpleparkrun

Thanks to initial setup funding from NHS Stockport, Marple will be the third parkrun in the Stockport area, with Bramhall and Woodbank parks already well established.
parkrun is a a free, timed, 5k run and ANYONE can join in. It is open to all in the community and parkruns get people of all ages and abilities. It is part of a world-wide phenomenon which has grown from 1 park in London in 2004 to over 120 weekly events worldwide, including over 100 in the UK alone.

Runners need to register at www.parkrun.com, print off their barcode and turn up. When they cross the finishing line, they get their barcode scanned and their time is recorded and emailed/texted to them within a few hours.

Are you Ready For A Challenge? Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

Why not enter the Legacy Event Leigh 10k on 29th July 2012 and train for it with weekly runs from Leigh Sports Village?   If you sign up for the legacy events through GreaterSport, you also receive a 10% discount on the entry price. Just enter the discount code GREATERSPORT10 at http://www.legacyevent.org/

The training sessions are free and will take place Sunday mornings 10am – 11am from 3rd June – 22nd July inclusive. The group will meet at the main entrance of Leigh Sports Village Stadium.

Are You a Rounders Umpire? Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

Lidl Supermarkets are organising a mini Lidl Lympics with various sporting events around the UK for their employees.

On Wednesday 20 June their rounders tournament will take place at Manchester University and they are looking for 3 umpires.

If you are interested and are free on 20 June contact Sarah Payne on 0208 971 1106 or email: sarah.payne@lidl.co.uk