This Monday (26 November) the East Midland’s premier netball team, Loughborough Lightning, took on its arch rival, Team Bath, in the Sir David Wallace Sports Hall at Loughborough University.

Going in to the match, the normally dominant Team Bath were desperate for a win after losing the past few matches and languishing in sixth place in Co-operative Netball SuperLeague.

In order to try and stop the rot they called Jo Binns, England wing attack and centre, back in to their squad, despite the fact that she had only been back in the UK for a week after the World Championships in New Zealand.  Binns slotted back in to a Team Bath squad studded with other England U-21s but they couldn’t stand up to a focused Lightning performance.

The early parts of the game were error strewn, with both sides defending strongly and turning over opposition ball all over the court. As the first quarter progressed Lightning’s defensive pairing of Hannah Reid and Verona Tomlin stepped up the pressure and the Bath attack started to struggle.  With Olivia Murphy starting to exert some control over a frenetic mid-court area, Lightning was able to edge the game, taking a 9-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter saw Lightning bring on Heather Clarke at GA and Natasha Hampshire at WA, creating more fluency as Lightning moved forwards. Team Bath started the quarter strongly but Lightning had found a better rhythm and began to extend their lead.

Astle was the key to Lightning’s attack, consistently finding space in the attacking circle and slotting in chances whenever they presented themselves. Murphy was gradually winning her battle with Binns at centre court and became increasingly influential in both attack and defence as the quarter wore on. Half time saw Lightning with a 9-goal lead: 21-12.

In the third quarter Bath rang the changes bringing on two players from the bench and changing Binns from C to WA and then back again during the quarter.  At this point Lightning’s concentration slipped and their error count began to rise again. A few chances went begging at the attack end and Bath was able to eat in to the lead eventually taking the quarter 10-9.

The final quarter saw Lightning emerge with fresh focus, taking the game away from Bath. Reid and Tomlin stepped up their game again in the defensive circle and the Bath attack couldn’t find a way through. As Bath players began to tire Lightning started to open up a substantial lead. The quarter ended 11-5 in Lightning’s favour and Lightning had won comfortably 41-27.

Lightning player and full-time coach Olivia Murphy said, “It wasn’t a pretty game and in theory we should have won by a greater margin. Winning by 14 goals was good but doing it whilst shooting at only 57% accuracy means there is a lot of room for improvement.  We will be working hard to develop as the season progresses but sitting second in the league as Christmas approaches is right where we want to be.”

The game will be replayed on Sky Sports 3 on Thursday night at 6:00pm.

This Thursday Lightning take on the under-19 South Africa team, that is currently on tour in the UK.  Their next Super League game is on 1st December, away to the Mavericks, who are hot contenders for the league title this year after coming runner up to Team Bath in both 2005 and 2006.

Lightning’s next home game is against Leeds Carnegie on 8th December.  Leeds have shown much better form this season and with Lightning’s recent winning streak, this game promises to be a real nail biter!

Tickets are available in advance on the ticket hotline, Tel: 01509 226250, or through the website: www.loughboroughlightning.com or on the door at the Netball Centre.  At  £5 a ticket for adults and £3 for concessions, the game works out as a bargain priced night out for all.

After the successful launch of their new Racesuit to the public last month, sports clothing specialist Impsport has now received acclaim for their skinsuit and developed a special overshoe to accompany it.

Impsport is providing custom-made clothing for Science in Sport (SiS), whose UCI track team will be racing in the forthcoming Track World Cup season. Riders include Olympic medallists and hot tips for Beijing such as: Victoria Pendleton, Wendy Houvenaghel, Jason Queally, Jamie Staff, Ross Edgar, Matt Crampton, and Jason Kenny.

SiS team manager Peter Slater said: “Science in Sport have been working closely with Impsport and team riders to develop the new skinsuit and overshoes which the scienceinsport.com UCI track team will be using to great effect in the 2007/2008 Track World Cup series. 

The praise adds to Impsport’s increasing popularity and credentials among top-level national and international cyclists, as this is the 3rd UCI registered team they are currently working with.

Nottinghamshire triumphed last night (Monday 26 November) at this year’s BBC East Midlands Sports Awards, claiming two of the top prizes. 

Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club won the Enterprise Award while the county’s Sam Hynd picked up the Junior Disabled Sports Personality at the annual event held at the Assembly Rooms, Derby.

Sam, an S8 category swimmer, who has broken European and British records at the 400m freestyle, gained a place on the world class programme for potential medal winners at the 2012 Olympics.

In another impressive year for sport in the East Midlands BBC Sport’s John Inverdale presented awards to winners from all over the region, including Derby County’s Steve Howard winning the Football Achievement Award; Nottingham’s Sam Hynd winning the Junior Disabled Sports Personality Award; and Northamptonshire’s Hollie Avil winning the Junior Sports Personality Award (see full list of winners below). held in the Assembly Rooms, Derby

The hotly contested East Midlands Sports Personality of the Year Award 2007 was won by Leicester Tigers and England rugby star, Martin Corry.  Shepshed’s Nina Walker won the Sports Unsung Hero Award 2007.

Aziz Rashid, Head of Local Programming, BBC East Midlands, says: ‘Congratulations to all of the winners in what proved to be another memorable awards ceremony for the region. Our sports people have given us another great year to look back on and their efforts and achievements help the BBC East Midlands Sports Awards go from strength to strength.

’What was also pleasing this year was, for the first time, we had members of the public forming the bulk of the audience. This helped create a fantastic atmosphere on the night and it must have been even more rewarding for the winners of our awards to have their fans supporting them during the ceremony.’

Winners of The BBC East Midlands Sports Awards 2007 are as follows:

Football Achievement 2007
Steve Howard

Junior Disabled Sports Personality 2007
Sam Hynd

Junior Sports Personality 2007
Hollie Avil

Enterprise Award 2007
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club

Team of the Year 2007
Leicester Tigers

Active People Award 2007
Steve Pateman

Brian Clough Breakthrough Award 2007
Melissa Reid

Disabled Sports Personality 2007
Tom Styles

Coach of the Year 2007
Billy Davies

Sports Unsung Hero Award 2007
Nina Walker

Lifetime Achievement
Martin Johnson

Judges Award
Ian Armiger - Loughborough University Director of Swimming

Nottinghamshire sportsmen and women are keeping their fingers crossed for the BBC East Midlands Sports Awards, which take place next Monday (26th November).

This year Nottinghamshire finalists have been tipped for the top in a number of categories including the most prestigious accolade of the evening, Sports Personality of the Year. 

Nottinghamshire and England cricketer Ryan Sidebottom will go head to head with other sporting stars from the region including Martin Corry (Leicester Tigers and England International rugby); Christa Cullen (Leicester Ladies Hockey, England and Great Britain Hockey), Mark Selby (Leicestershire snooker).

Shape Up Notts! member Ruth Truswell has been short listed for the Active People award, sponsored by Sport England East Midlands.  The award celebrates people that have had their lives dramatically changed and enhanced by sport or physical activity.

In barely a year, Ruth Truswell, 41, from Mansfield, has gone from couch potato to fitness fanatic.  With the help of Shape Up Notts! she has lost five stone and dramatically improved her health and well being.

Ruth said, ”Since registering on the website (www.sportnottinghamshire.co.uk), I have started going swimming at weekends, and running three times a week. I also go to the gym when I have time.  I am really excited and honoured to be short listed for this award.”

Other finalists from Nottinghamshire include:
Unsung Hero
Steve Spencer – Pleasley Cricket Club
Joyce Stevens – Sutton Harriers Athletics Club

Enterprise Award
Mobilis Performance – physiotherapy
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club

Team of the Year
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club

Coach of the Year
Bill Furness – county swimming coach

Brian Clough Breakthrough Award
Lewis McGugan – Nottinghams Forest midfielder

Football Achievement of the Year
Kris Commons – Nottingham Forest

The star-studded event is taking place at The Assembly Rooms in Derby and hosted by BBC Sport’s John Inverdale.

The Lightning ladies are readying themselves for the biggest game of the Cooperative Netball Superleague season so far.

Next Monday (26th November) the East Midland’s premier netball team, Loughborough Lightning, will take on Superleague champions from the last two years, Team Bath.

Last time the two met at Loughborough it was a close fought match with both teams vying for the chance to win the Superleague title.  It was neck and neck each quarter, right down to the dying minutes of the game, with Bath taking the win by a single goal, 43-42.

This time Lightning are looking for revenge and, with both teams missing some of their key players who are at World Netball Championships in New Zealand, its going to be a fascinating battle.

Two of Lightning’s star players, Jade Clarke and Ama Agbeze, have been putting in sterling performances in the championships, helping England to make it through to the semi-finals where they unfortunately lost to eventual winners, Australia.

Both teams have been winners and losers so far this season in the Co-operative Netball Superleague and the competition is wide open for all to contest. That makes this weeks game a critical match for both teams.

Team Coach Olivia Murphy has high hopes for next week’s game, she said, “If the last game is anything to go by this game should be exciting. Both teams will be committed to their performance I’m just hoping we are victorious this time.”

Tickets for the game are selling fast and a crowd of 1000+ is expected to descend on the Sir David Wallace Sports Hall at Loughborough University to see what is being hailed as this season’s clash of the titans!

Tickets are available in advance on the ticket hotline, Tel: 01509 226250, or through the website: www.loughboroughlightning.com.  At just £5 a ticket for adults and £3 for concessions it’s a fantastic value evening for all.

With the support of UK Sport, the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and Volleyball England, Brighton has been successful in attracting a world championship beach volleyball event to come to Britain for the first time.

Brighton has been announced as the host of next year’s SWATCH-FIVB Junior (Under 21) World Beach Volleyball Championships just as the venue, Yellowave Beach Sports Centre has been damaged by an arson attack. The event, which takes place from 3-7 September will be also be one of Britain’s first major international events of the new Olympiad.

London will accept the flame from Beijing as part of the Olympic closing ceremony on 24 August. Many of the junior athletes competing in Brighton will also hope to go on to compete on Horse Guards Parade in 2012.

SEEDA is investing £50,000 to support the event. SEEDA’s Executive Director of Sustainable Prosperity, Oona Muirhead said: "It is fantastic news for Brighton and East Sussex that World Championship Beach Volleyball is coming to the area.  International events such as these have a significant impact on their local areas in all sorts of ways, including tourism, employment and healthy living. 

“Brighton already has a vibrant cultural community and with the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games on the horizon, the World Championship Beach Volleyball event will provide us with a real opportunity to showcase to the world what a desirable destination it is for hosting sporting events."

Councillor David Smith of Brighton and Hove City Council said: “We are delighted to have been selected as the host for the SWATCH-FIVB Junior (Under 21) World Championships. It’s unfortunate that we announce this just as Yellowave has been damaged by fire. However, rebuilding work has already started and will ensure that the venue is available for a full season of events next year.

“Beach Volleyball is a vibrant sport, attracting different cultures from all over the world to enjoy the sporting spectacle and the best of Brighton’s hospitality.”

Toomas Ojasoo, Chief Executive of Volleyball England said: “We are delighted that this prestigious event is coming to England for the first time. It puts us on the map for international Beach Volleyball and gives us a great opportunity to show what we can do.

“The venue has already held our Volleyball England Beach Tour finals to great success and we look forward to returning for the event."

The tournament will benefit from an award of up to £185,000 from UK Sport’s National Lottery backed World Class Events Programme, which has led the coordinated drive for the hosting of world class events UK-wide since 1997. UK Sport’s Event Consultant, Simon Morton, said that it was an encouraging move to make by the sport in the light of the decision to award the 2012 Olympics to London:

“I am sure that the successful delivery of one of the FIVB’s major tournaments will send a strong message that the UK is ready to play a more prominent role in advance of 2012, and with our athletes automatically qualifying as the tournament host, this presents an ideal opportunity for UK Sport to support Volleyball England’s performance aspirations on home soil”, he said.

Further details of the event will be announced in the New Year.

Continuing its development in to additional sports, sports clothing specialist Impsport has launched a new winter sports range on its website www.impsport.com.  The range showcases the best in bobsleigh, luge and speedskating suits, for all your winter sports needs.

Impsport began developing its range of winter sports clothing when asked to produce speed skating suits by the Great Britain team, for use in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino.  In the end there were five countries at the games wearing Impsport suits.

Impsport is currently producing bobsleigh suits for the Royal Air Force and Norwegian national team, as well as creating speed skating suits for Italian national squad.

Impsport’s bobsleigh and luge range is available in full arm and leg, one piece lycra suits, which are anatomically shaped for extra comfort in the extreme conditions, and have Teflon coated seats for longer wear.

The short track speed skating suits are available in adults and children’s sizes and conforms fully to current International Skating Union Regulations.

To view the full Winter Sports range, follow this link:
http://www.impsport.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?action=search&category=Winter+Sports+Clothing

Director of Impsport, Dan Ellmore, said, “We are thrilled to have been commissioned to create suits for the national teams of Italy and Norway.  We have incorporated the intricate design and textile technologies of their suits in to the ones we offer on our website.”

The East Midlands premier netball team, Loughborough Lightning, is celebrating wins on both sides of the globe this week after victories in the Co-operative Superleague and the World Championships in New Zealand.   

The team was keen to bounce back quickly after its defeat against Northumbria in the Superleague last weekend and did so by a convincing 67-28 margin in this Saturdays (10 November) game, away to Northern Thunder.

Lightning made a quick and confident start with Kara Luck, Vicky Percy and Olivia Murphy turning over numerous interceptions. The fluency in attack had also returned with feeders able to find Goal Shooter Alex Astle with ease.  An air of confidence grew as the quarter progressed resulting in a 22-9 lead at quarter time.

Changes to the Thunder squad in the second quarter, attempting to nullify the threat of Astle, worked well and the Lightning feeds became less accurate, inflating Thunder’s confidence.  However, the Lightning defence continued to pressurise Thunder’s inexperienced attack, forcing them into untimely errors.

Thunder again made changes all over the court for the third quarter, in an effort to stem the flow of Lightning’s pressure.  Play began untidily with both teams making unforced errors but as the quarter progressed Lightning asserted their authority once again with some quick and intelligent interplay and all Lightning shooters maintaining an 80% plus average.

The final quarter of the game was intensely competitive with Thunder turning up their defensive pressure.  Kate Murphy shone as Wing Defence for Lightning with her immense work rate and numerous intercepts.  Kara Luck was named Lightning man of the match and coach Olivia Murphy was really pleased with the team’s performance:

“It was really important for us to bounce back after last weeks defeat and the attitude of the girls was excellent. This also gave some girls an opportunity on court to impress which they definitely took.” 

Lightning’s success didn’t end there with three players currently performing well in the Netball World Championships in Auckland.  Day two of the Championships saw three Lightning players, Jade Clarke, Ama Agbeze and Becky James in action.
 
James was on song for Wales contributing 36 goals as they over came a spirited Botswana team 54-35. This was an important win for Wales as they prepare for Monday's (12 November) game against reigning World Champs, New Zealand.
 
England's opening match against Barbados saw both Jade Clarke and Ama Agbeze in the starting line up. With both players having to battle through hand injuries to be declared fit for the tournament it was great news for England that they are able to play.
 
England's performance was fantastic, clocking up 86 goals from 105 attempts against a shell-shocked Barbados defence. Barbados is not one of the stronger teams in the tournament but a shooting rate of 1.6 shots per min is superb play against any opposition. Clarke looked exceptionally sharp in the England mid-court whilst Agbeze was dominant in the defensive circle, helping restrict Barbados to just 32 goals.
 
The New Zealand media is very aware of the threat England pose in this tournament and this weekend’s performance would have heightened expectations that they are a threat to Southern Hemisphere dominance of the world game and it looks as though Lightning's players will be in the thick of the battle.

The next Loughborough Lightning Superleague game is on Monday 26 November at home against last season’s winners, Team Bath.  It is sure to be an exciting game and tickets are selling fast so get one quick to make sure you don’t miss out.

Tickets are available in advance on the ticket hotline, Tel: 01509 226250, or through the website: www.loughboroughlightning.com or on the door (depending on availability) at the Sir David Wallace Sports Hall.  At  £5 a ticket for adults and £3 for concessions, the game works out as a bargain priced night out for all.

The NGRC is pleased to announce new appointments following the retirement of NGRC Steward, Neville Dunnett, and Lady Hilary Burnham as Chairman & independent member of the NGRC Appointments Committee.

Lady Burnham has been succeeded by existing committee member Michael Darnell, greyhound owner and Chairman of the Greyhound Stud Book.  Neville Dunnett is replaced by NGRC Steward, Bill McDermott who has served the NGRC since 2000 and has vast experience of organisational development and coaching.

In addition, Dr Peter Webbon, currently Chief Executive of the Animal Health Trust, has been appointed as an independent member to the Committee.  Peter has vast experience in the greyhound and horseracing industries and was formerly Veterinary Advisor to the Jockey Club and Chief Executive of the Horseracing Regulatory Authority. 

NGRC Chief Executive, Alistair McLean said, “The NGRC is very fortunate that the formidable skills of Lady Burnham have been replaced by equally exceptional qualities of the new members to the Committee.  Their skills and backgrounds will complement those of the existing members, bringing huge benefit to the Appointments Committee.

The NGRC extends its sincere appreciation to Lady Burnham and to Neville Dunnett for their commitment and dedication to the Committee, and wish them both a very happy retirement.

On Saturday (3 November), the East Midlands premier netball team, Loughborough Lightning, hosted a strengthened Team Northumbria side in its first home game of the Cooperative Superleague season. 

With three players away at the World Championships until January, Lightning had to work at building new partnerships on the court.

Taking place in Loughborough University’s Sir David Wallace Sports Hall in front of an expectant home crowd, Lightning started the game well with quick hands and fast effective moves. Goal Shooter, Alex Astle, held Team Northumbria’s Goal Keeper well and with some accurate feeding from the circle Loughborough appeared firmly in the game. At the end of the first quarter Lightning were just 1 goal down at 11-10

The second quarter saw Team Northumbria using long balls together with aggressive defending in centre court. Lightning failed to penetrate its own attacking third and by half time the home team were down by three, 21-18.

Changes at half time saw Loughborough Student Lauren Doyle replace Lisa Stephenson in Goal Attack, Natasha Hampshire move to Wing Attack and full time Coach, Olivia Murphy, take her place in centre court. The changes worked extremely well with the new shooting partnership creating accurate shots and exciting play throughout the court. Lightning’s defence restrained its opponent’s shooters to make the score tied at the end of the third quarter, 31-31.

For the final quarter Northumbria switched their shooters, which rewarded the team with greater shooting opportunities. Northumbria was able to close Lightning down in its attacking third and the home team failed to capitalise on the few shooting opportunities that arose, enabling Team Northumbria to take the game by 2 goals, final score 38-36.

Team Coach Olivia Murphy said, “We played well, but the pressure got to us and we panicked.  We don’t intend to let it happen again and are really pleased our next game is next week, we want to get straight back in there and get another win.”

She continued, “We face Northern Thunder, away next week.  They beat the Celtic Dragon’s last weekend, so we will have a serious game on our hands, but we are up to the challenge.” 

Loughborough Lightning’s next home game is on 26th November against current holders of the Superleague title, Team Bath.  It’s guaranteed to be an exciting game as Lightning fight for their place at the top of the Superleague, so make sure you get your ticket early.

Tickets are available in advance on the ticket hotline, Tel: 01509 226250, or through the website: www.loughboroughlightning.com or on the door at the Sir David Wallace Sports Hall.  At  £5 a ticket for adults and £3 for concessions, the game works out as a bargain priced night out for all.

Sports clothing specialist Impsport is continuing it’s support of charitable causes by producing a range of cycling gear especially for the Braveheart Fund.

The Braveheart Fund works to support the cycling community in Scotland, helping young riders pursue their goals and ambitions in the sport.  Launched in 2003 by former British champion, Motorola professional and Giro d’Italia survivor Brian Smith, the charity raises funds to allow young Scottish cyclists, be they roadies, trackies or mountain bikers, to fulfil their potential.

Olympic track cycling champion Chris Hoy is a committed patron of the charity, which has many supporters including Impsport.  All purchases of Impsport’s Braveheart Fund clothing will include a donation direct to the charity, helping to spread the word of the fund across the cycling community.

Scott Sunderland, ex pro rider and now Team CSC Sports Director, said:

“Not only is the tartan kit an innovative move in the world of cycling apparel. For me it adds a certain emotional value to create the link between the land, its heritage and the efforts of the people involved with the Braveheart Cycling Fund.  Through initiatives like this, we hope to give the youth of Scotland a well deserved go at international cycling. The tartan itself, although inevitably linked to the Scottish tradition, has fresh and young colours, it looks great!”
 
Impsport’s new clothing range includes:

• Short sleeve cycle jersey
• Bibshorts
• Long sleeve training jacket
• Cycle Cap
• Gilet
• Mens t shirt
• Womens fitted t shirt

To view the full range follow this link http://www.impsport.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?action=search&category=Braveheart+Fund+Clothing
 
In four years, the Braveheart Fund had raised an incredible £100,000. In 2007 more than £30,000 was distributed among 28 riders, including members of the new Braveheart Academy. To date, the number of riders assisted by the Braveheart Fund is in excess of fifty.
 
The Braveheart Fund depends on the continued support of the Scottish cycling community – which turns out in force each year at the annual dinner, and comes up with new fundraising initiatives all the time – as well as the continued emergence of ambitious young riders.

Dan Ellmore, Director of Impsport said, “We are really pleased to be working with the Braveheart Fund and supporting the great work that they do for cycling in Scotland.  We believe strongly in making a contribution to charities in the industry and our work with the Braveheart Fund and the Geoff Thomas Foundation will continue as long as we do.”
 
The fund website is www.braveheartfund.com