Rebecca Adlington is the BBC East Midlands Sports Personality 2008. The Mansfield swimmer was presented with her trophy at the BBC East Midlands Sports Awards at the Royal Concert Hall last night (Thursday 27 November).

Her swimming club mate, Sam Hynd, collected awards for both the Junior Disabled Sportsperson of the Year and the Disabled Sportsperson of the Year. 

The award ceremony, supported by Sport England, was a celebration of a terrific year of sport in the East Midlands.

Rebecca rewrote the history books winning two gold medals at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Her coach, Bill Furniss of Nova Centurion swimming club, collected a Judges Special Awards. Sam Hynd, 17, who swims with the same club, has had an outstanding year winning a Paralympic Gold medal in Beijing and smashing world records.

The night saw a parade of Olympic champions. The GB Cycling Team’s Performance Director, Dave Brailsford, from Ilkeston in Derbyshire was named Coach of the Year. Young Nottinghamshire gymnast, Becky Downie, collected the Junior Sportsperson of the Year. Dr Tim Brabants was given a Special Award for his gold medal in the canoe sprint in Beijing; whilst the Enterprise in Sport Award went to Speedo International of Nottingham who designed the world beating LZR swim suit. 

The family of the late Jimmy Sirrel collected the Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to football in Nottingham. Leicester bin man Rendall Munroe (boxing) was presented with the Brian Clough Breakthrough Award. And the GB short track speed skating team, based in Nottingham, were team of the year.

Leicester City’s Joe Mattock, who became the second youngest footballer ever to play for the England Under 21 team, won the Football Achievement of the Year.

The Unsung Hero Award supported by Robinsons was won by Bill Halstead, a Matlock-based rugby coach.

With 2012 Olympiad already under way, 200 children from all over the North East will be introduced to the Olympic sports of swimming, water polo, diving and synchronized swimming.  They will also learn about life saving and water safety with expert tuition from a host of Olympic and Commonwealth games medalists.

The event will be held in two locations on the same day on 2nd December.  The morning session (9:00am and 12:00pm) will be held in the new 50 meter pool housed inside the state of the art aquatic centre in Sunderland next to the Stadium of Light.  120 children aged between 9-12 years old will experience meeting their Olympic heroes at one of the country’s best facilities.

The afternoon session will be held in Peterlee, County Durham between 13:00pm and 16:00pm and will be aimed at around 80 children aged 9 – 14. 

The children will have the chance to race an Olympian and will then finish their day by posing for photographs and getting autographs from the athletes.

Steve Parry, who set up Total Swimming after his medal winning performance in 2004 commented; “Oceans of Fun is run by Olympians and we are delighted to have received the support of Northumberland Water, the Sunderland Aquatic Centre, Peterlee and ASA Swim NE to make this a truly inclusive and exciting community event.”

“The emphasis of all our events is on fun, and by exposing kids to strong role models we aim to inspire them to follow their dreams. The events are open to anyone aged between nine and fourteen and we hope to attract hundreds of children from each of the communities that we are visiting.”

“Hosting the 2012 Olympic Games will undoubtedly have a massive impact on the next generation of young hopefuls. We are trying to get them excited now so that some of them might be in the frame for success in 2016 and beyond. The emphasis, though, is fun, health and a memorable day at the pool.”

You are invited to an exclusive media day on Monday 1st December where you will have the opportunity to try out the bike and find out for yourself what it can do.

• Realistic cycling with gear and hill climbing settings
• The first indoor bike to accurately measure performance
• Precise calibration enables accurate fitness testing and talent ID
• Real time competition and record breaking
• Captures performance data up to 100 times per second across 27 parameters
• Smart training for specific sporting gain
• Affordable and robust
• Bikes now being used by elite cyclists, the Army, gym members and competitive individuals

Are you as hard as Hoy? How much power you can generate compared to Chris Hoy’s score of 2300 Watts.

Media are invited to book appointments during the day or attend a brief presentation and lunch buffet at 12.30pm.

Location: 8 Elder Street, London, E1 6BT (10 minutes walk from Liverpool Street Tube Station)
Date: 1st December 2008
RSVP: Helen Gorman, 07739 456644, helen.gorman@perfectmotion.org, and don’t forget your cycling kit!

For more information see www.wattbike.com

The three young people who have been shortlisted for this award, sponsored by Connexions Derbyshire, are qualified Sports Leaders or Coaches and are committed to helping others to improve in sport. 

Sammi Moujahid, age 17, from Chaddesden realised he had the skills to be a leader during his first year at Lees Brook Community College.  He recalls, “I was a quiet child and didn’t get involved in much of what was happening at school.  My form tutor advised me to try a sport and I picked basketball.  I enjoyed playing but realised I had certain leadership and communication skills within the group and found I enjoyed taking this role more. I loved playing sport but am more passionate about leadership.”

By the time Sammi was in year 10 at school he had qualified as a level 1 Sports Leader and last year he completed the Rugby Leaders Award and Badminton Junior Award.  He has made extensive use of his qualifications by giving freely of his time to deliver curriculum and out of school hours learning opportunities for young people.  

Sammi has volunteered at Primary School Sports Festivals in a range of sports and has coached the Lees Brook lower school basketball team every week without fail for the past year. 

Sammi’s enthusiasm and obvious talent for volunteering led to his appointment as a Young Ambassador for Derby City.  In this position Sammi travels around the county to a variety of sports events, promoting the ideals of the Olympics and London 2012, whilst developing and organising new events.

At the National Step in to Sport Camp this March in Loughborough, Sue Campbell, Chair of the Youth Sport Trust, identified Sammi as an outstanding leader with the ability to engage with and inspire people of all ages.  At the end of the conference Sammi was selected as one of four Young Ambassadors from across England to visit Maine, USA to look at the structure of PE, Sport and volunteering. 

Sammi has continued his commitment to the development of young people by acting as a mentor to new applicants for the Young Ambassador position.  Andy Cunningham, Assistant Principal at Lees Brook Community Sports College in Chaddesden, nominated Sammi for his award, he said:

“Sammi is enthusiastic, personable and a great motivator of young people.  He transferred his leadership skills in to other areas of school life, including being Chair of the School Council and he will continue to develop as a leader and volunteer as he now embarks on the BTEC National Diploma in Sport at Derby College.”

Commenting on his nomination for the award Sammi said, “It is difficult to find the words to say how I feel, I was really taken back by it.  I didn’t expect to be nominated at this level at all.  It is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.”

Lindsey Pearson, from Matlock, was first introduced to her sport of choice, cricket, by her dad at age nine. Now 18, Lindsey has contributed over 550 hours of voluntary service to sport and has become a role model for the development of girls cricket at Highfields School and the whole of the Derbyshire Dales.

Lindsey has been a senior mentor at the Highfields School Sports Leadership Academy for three years now and has just qualified as a level 3 Higher Sportsleader – Gold Award.  As well as cricket, Lindsey has also gained level 1 National Governing Body awards in athletics, badminton and hockey, and up to level 2 in rounders.

She has been selected for the Step into Sport camp in Loughborough for Sports Leaders, a cause which she has championed through being a Derbyshire Ambassador and reporting back to the DCMS. 

Lindsey has also been assisting coaches, such as England international Charlotte Horton in the Derbyshire Dales and at Baileans and Wirksworth Cricket Club. 

Jayne Allen, a School Sports Co-ordinator at Highfields School, nominated Lindsey, she said, “Lindsey is a true role model and an inspiration to all ages.  She is now going to take up a career in coaching in the Derbyshire Dales.  Lindsey is a real success story for the Sports Leadership Pathway.”

Commenting on her nomination Lindsey said, “I really enjoy coaching and want to do it in the future.  I love sport and it’s great to be able to have a career where I am not stuck behind a desk.”

John Selby-Sly from Derbyshire Dales District Council Sports Development Unit also nominated Lindsey. He added, “Lindsey has made the transition from volunteer to paid coach very well.  I believe she will go from strength to strength as a coach due to the passion she has for the job and the dedication she possesses.”  

Oliver Hooper first attended a sports session as a participant and then enquired about volunteering on the Sporting Futures project; a Derbyshire charity which seeks to tackle anti-social behaviour in communities with sport.  It didn’t take Oliver long to build up a rapport with his fellow coaches, volunteers and participants. 

Oliver, age 16, then went on to pursue his level 1 Sport Leadership Award at Hasland Hall Community School, where he volunteers regularly, and was inspired by his School Sports Co-ordinator to take it further.

Outside of school Oliver volunteers regularly with Sporting Futures, commonly giving five hours of his time each week and up to 20 hours in the school holidays.  He has been involved in coaching a variety of sports including football, basketball, handball, tag rugby, boccia, athletics and cheerleading; helping to combat anti-social behaviour in the Chesterfield area.      

Oliver said, “I enjoy giving something back and get a real buzz from coaching.  Working with young people at Sporting Futures has pushed me out of my comfort zone and I like a challenge.  Community coaching proves more challenging than coaching in a school environment as the respect of the children is far more hard earned.  Part of the enjoyment is overcoming this.”

Since September 2007 Oliver has contributed over 500 volunteer hours, with almost half of that in a community environment.  He is constantly looking for opportunities to develop his coaching skills and has gained numerous qualifications in conventional mainstream sports and more contemporary ones such as street cheer. 

Oliver has taken a highly active role in the Sportsability Club at Brookfield Community School and has earned the respect and trust of the members; building strong rapports and ensuring they get the most out of every session.  Oliver said, “I like these sessions as it’s great to work with small groups of kids and it really tests your communication skills.  It’s a challenge but if you manage it you know you are doing something really good.”

Oliver added, “One day I would like to be a doctor but the next step for me is to become a Sports Ambassador for Chesterfield, helping to set up and run Olympic events in schools in the area.”

Alan McGill, Oliver’s Community Sports Development Manager nominated him.  He said, “Oli has been a fantastic example of the positive attitude that young people can bring to today’s society.  We feel he deserves recognition for his contribution towards delivering high quality activities to many young people at local level.”

Commenting on being shortlisted for the award Oliver said, “I am really pleased to be nominated and it was nice to win the Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire award; gaining recognition for what I have done.  I was surprised but happy.”

Children in Need Inspires Cycling World Record Attempt at ASDA stores

Endurance athlete, Neil Rhodes, will attempt to set a new world record for static cycling this Friday and Saturday, 14/15th November for BBC Children in Need. The challenge will take place at ASDA in West Bridgford as part of their efforts to raise £20,000 for charity.

Rhodes, who will celebrate his 51st birthday on Saturday whilst attempting the record, has completed extraordinary challenges such as running an arctic marathon and becoming the first Englishman to run across the Alps and the Rockies back-to-back. He has already made it to the record books on several occasions.

On Friday he will ride one of the revolutionary new Wattbikes for 24 hours. The bike has been developed with some of the top coaches and sports scientists from the world-beating British Cycling team. The record attempt is possible because all Wattbikes are calibrated identically, meaning that people can compete on a like-for-like basis.

Rhodes commented: “When people suggest different sorts of challenges I just don’t know how to say no! People might think I possess super human fitness, but I just know how to keep plodding along. I’ve trained on bikes before but never for this long; this will be something completely new to me.”

The father of two, who currently lives in Yeovil, Somerset, has strong motivation to maintain his super-human fitness after suffering a massive brain haemorrhage five years ago.

He said: “I was given just a 7% change of survival and woke up thanks to the fantastic efforts of my doctors and my fitness levels. They say I was always going to have the haemorrhage at some point, but I survived against the odds.”

“Now I’m driven to stay fit and help raise money for charity through the challenges I take on. Children in Need is a fantastic charity and I’d welcome anyone in the area to come along to Asda on Friday to support me and our fundraising efforts.”

Paul Dennis, store manager at ASDA commented: “We’re delighted to be hosting this event. Fitness and healthy eating is a key focus for us and this is a fantastic opportunity to work with colleagues and customers on a fun event that will help raise lots of money for Children in Need.”

Members of the public are welcome to come to ASDA in West Bridgford on Friday and Saturday to support Neil, ASDA staff and other local businesses taking part in the challenge. Bikes are available to book through nik.emmonds@perfectmotion.org or test your power against scores set previously by triple Olympic Champion Chris Hoy for a minimum donation of £1. You can also pledge donations through nik.emmonds@perfectmotion.org.

For more information contact Nik Emmonds or Helen Gorman on 0115 9258777 or 07739 456644 and contact nik.emmonds@perfectmotion.org.

From 10am on Friday 14th November, each member of the team will take it in turns to ride a time slot on one of the 10 Wattbikes that will be set up at ASDA in West Bridgford, Nottingham.  Our aim is to raise £2,500 towards the overall target of £20,000 over the course of 24 hours.

To achieve this target we need your help in the form of sponsorship. Please give whatever you can to help this great cause that really does make a difference to the lives of children around the world.

It must be worth paying to see the six of us exhausting ourselves in the name of charity – especially those who are doing their stints in the early hours of the morning!

To pledge your support please let us know your name and address (including post code) details and the amount you wish to give and we will collect the money on completion of our challenge.  Alternatively visit our sponsorship page. 

The format of the competition meant that teams were always in with a chance of winning silverware even if they were unsuccessful in  their group games.  FC Fraggle Ruck and Sheffield Sidewinders took advantage of this, going head to head in the Shield final.  Fraggle Ruck, representing East Midlands law firm Freeth Cartwright looked to be heading for a comfortable victory.  However, a remarkable comeback culminating with a score during the last play of the game saw the Sidewinders return to South Yorkshire with the trophy.

In the plate event Perfect Motion Bees took on Eveleigh’s Fluffs, a team made up of players from Toyota UK in Derby.  The match was in the balance until the Bees welcomed back some of their better players from 15 a side duty to secure the win.  Chris Simon, a double try scorer in the final said “ It was looking like Eveleigh’s Fluffs might win it for a while but thankfully we managed to score at important times and this made it very difficult for them. “

The cup final saw two sides from opposite ends of the country come together in a match nobody wanted to lose.  In the end an excellent Oxford Touch team beat a very good Percy Park Pirates from North Tyneside, 7-2 to deservedly take the title.  Nik Emmonds, organiser of the event was pleased with how the day went.  “ Thankfully the weather wasn’t too bad and this allowed for some really great games.  Congratulations must go to the winners but undoubtedly the biggest winner was touch.  Having teams come along in the name of having fun and trying to get better can only bode well for the future. “

For more information about touchrugby in the East Midlands please visit www.perfectmotiontouch.com or call 0115 9258777.  

The Wattbike is an exercise bike, testing bike, competition bike and a rehabilitation bike all wrapped up in one. It is the first product of its kind to be endorsed by British Cycling, which has played a key role in its development.

It will create a new sport, of indoor cycling, and be a pivotal part of the extension of the successful Go Ride and Everyday Cycling programmes.

Wattbike prototypes are already being utilised in talent identification programmes, and the.first batch of production Wattbikes is now available to the cycling public, with British Cycling members qualifying for discounts.

"We are completely sold on the Wattbike’s capacity to provide a positive benefit to every level of the sport”, said Ian Drake, British Cycling’s Deputy Chief Executive. “It will support us in everything from increasing participation in the sport and recreational cycling through to underpinning our World Class Pathways and international success.”

British Cycling’s team of Go Ride coaches plan to introduce them into schools up to, and beyond, the 2012 Olympics. Wattbikes will give them the chance, for the first time, to engage children throughout the winter months. New leadership qualifications for indoor instructors are also being developed.

A pilot Everyday Cycling project will initiate indoor cycling in five universities from January 2009. It is envisaged that this programme will be expanded and rolled out nationally, through to March 2013. The development of a new sport, which embraces new technology and social media, is ideally placed to address the drop-off in participation from the age of 16.

“We believe there is an opportunity to link indoor cycling and gym activity together under the umbrella of Everyday Cycling “said Ian Drake. “This holistic approach should ensure that seasonal outdoor cyclists are still participating throughout the winter months. We will also have the opportunity to promote outdoor opportunities to indoor gym cyclists. “

The Wattbike’s ground-breaking computer console delivers the quality of feedback that, until now, only the world’s best cyclists have been privileged to receive. It reproduces the challenges of the open road with participants able to spin along lightly at a comfortable pace or push themselves to their limits.

It will measure every pedal turn from start to finish and offer scope to compete, online, or in an indoor arena, with the bikes linked together for racing. No other product of its type accurately measures power output – watts. It is suitable for riders of all ages, and abilities.

Dan Hunt, coach to Olympic champion Rebecca Romero, has already been impressed by its potential to aid such talent identification programmes as the Girls4Gold initiative, which sees British Cycling working in unison with UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport.