With less than a year to go until the Olympic and Paralympic Games, University of Birmingham Sport (UBSport) and Gold Challenge have teamed up to get students involved and joining in the excitement of London 2012.
The new charity challenge, partnered with Team GB and British Olympic Association, challenges participants to take on Olympic and Paralympic sports to raise money for one of its 125 charity partners.
Gold Challenge and UBSport are encouraging students, staff and community members to use the facilities at the Munrow Sports Centre and to get involved in the University’s ‘Try Sport’ initiative; a campaign that slashes the cost for those who wish to take up new sports. Participants can team up with friends to take on Olympic Sports and raise money for worthy charities.
Catherine Adams, UBSport’s Participation Development Manager, said “Birmingham is very much a sporting University and we are always looking for ways to enhance participation across all our communities. Gold Challenge allows us to offer a great way to feel part of the build up to the Olympics, raise money for worthy charities and take up new sports.”
The University of Birmingham will be at the forefront of the London 2012 Olympics, with not only many current students and alumni gearing up to compete, but also because the campus will be hosting the Jamaican Track and Field team for their pre-Olympic camp.
Alongside this the University has recently announced a £175m investment in their famous Edgbaston campus, which will include new sports facilities to create space for even more students, staff and community members to get involved with sport.
The University’s Director of Sport Zena Wooldridge comments: “Birmingham is city with a proud sporting heritage and sport plays a huge part in the life of our campus. In less than a year the city will be hosting the Jamaican and US Olympic teams for their pre London 2012 training campus and athletes from Birmingham will be starring at the London games.
Although the new centre will not be open for 2012 we believe it will provide fitting facilities for the UK’s second ranked sporting University and a perfect base to train and develop future Olympians.”
Challengers sign up for free and choose their challenge or create their own. Challenges include the Olympic sport challenge, where participants take on 5 - 30 Olympic & Paralympic sports, the 2012 km challenge where challengers must cover 2012 km (individually or collectively) in one or more of a group of Olympic & Paralympic sports and the family activity challenge which encourages families to learn Olympic sports together.
There are over 125 UK charity partners, including Golden charity partners; Cancer Research UK, NSPCC, Scope, Oxfam and Right to Play the Official Charity Partner of British Universities & Colleges Sport.
Gold Challenge is not exclusively for students, anyone can get involved to raise money for charity, take on Olympic and Paralympic sports and feel a part of the excitement around the Olympics.
For more information contact UBSport Participation Development Manager, Catherine Adams, on 0121 414 3781 or c.a.adams@bham.ac.uk
Gold Challenge (www.goldchallenge.org)
Gold Challenge is an independent, not-for-profit organisation and works with the British Olympic Association, Sport England, sportscotland, Sport Wales, ParalympicsGB and the National Governing Bodies of the Olympic and Paralympic sports.
It is part of ‘Places People Play’, the official mass participation legacy programme for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
By the end of 2012, Gold Challenge aims to have encouraged 100,000 people to complete personal sporting challenges, raising £20 million for charity in the process.
More than 125 charities are Gold Challenge partners including Golden charity partners Scope, Right to Play, NSPCC, Cancer Research UK and Oxfam. Anyone participating in Gold Challenge can fundraise for any one of the 125 partner charities.
University of Birmingham Sport (www.sport.bham.ac.uk)
For over a hundred years, learning and research at the University of Birmingham has played a major part in the success of the city, the region and the world.
For almost as long, the University has pioneered the development of physical education and sport at all levels – from absolute beginner to the support of world class performers.
UBSport is the top two sporting University in the British Universities & Colleges Sport overall points table. We call it ‘Playing with Pride’ and one of the reasons why student athletes from across the country and around the world choose to study, train and compete at the University of Birmingham.
The power of sport to motivate and inspire goes so much further that sporting prowess. Whatever your aspirations – from keeping fit, learning a new activity, becoming a coach, or training for London 2012, you will never have a better opportunity to get involved, meet new people and make new friends.