Graham Stuart, the MP for Beverley and Holderness, has called on local sports clubs to sign up for a new project designed to get hundreds of thousands of people across the UK to join in with sport during a weekend that will give an Olympic sized boost to sports clubs across the whole of the UK.
The ‘Join in Weekend’ has been established with the aim of getting as many people as possible who have been inspired by the London 2012 Olympic Games to turn up and join in at their local sports facilities on 18th & 19th August – the first weekend between the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Local sports groups will be able to take advantage of this unique moment, to create opportunities for people to give time, support, watch or play sport.
The ‘Join in Weekend’ will enable clubs to convert this wave of interest into a sustainable future of support and membership for sport from their communities.
Graham said, “Millions will be inspired by what they see over the summer and I hope that this translates into greater participation in sport.
“Nearly every champion started out at their local sports club. I want to make sure that here in Beverley and Holderness we can make the most of this opportunity to get people involved.”
A website has been set up (www.joininuk.org) which provides a place for clubs to register and advertise their event, and where they can also join Graham in following @JoinInUK on Twitter for the latest news.
Thank you for promoting the Join In Weekend, as I saw in the free newspaper. I went to the Beverley Leisure Centre today (a beautiful warm Sunday) and there was nothing on offer at all. No-one playing on the grass or tennis courts, no welcome notices at or in the Leisure Centre, no taster sports, no mention at all of the Beverley Paralympic lantern which surely we should be trumpeting?
The grass near the building which was damaged by the Folk Festival has just been reseeded and will obviously not grow by next Wednesday. Lots of litter. ERYC are not serious about a sports legacy of any kind. I tried to stir them up, starting with my objection to the closure of the photographic competition of Olympic Year before the Paralympics have started; but they don’t propose to let us see the local paralympic events, it’s ticket only for the disabled and their carers. What a mistake.
People in town seem not to have heard of the Paralympic lantern, nor of the hastily arranged welcome at the Minster. An ode read by the Town Crier? I do wonder who has written it…
That should have been next Friday, not next Wednesday. Sorry.