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Nailsworth Games
2008
Well, the fortnight
of Games, sports and fun is now finished. Lots of young people and
adults participated and they had fun. Clubs reported that they have
been really pleased by the numbers who became involved. The town has
received lots of positive media attention from local and regional
newspapers, Radio Gloucestershire and Severnsound FM. We are pleased
with its success.
In July 2007 a
number of sports clubs and youth organisations met together with the
town council in Nailsworth. Our objective was to plan for a celebration
of sport in town during the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and
also a means of attracting more young people into sporting activities
and exercise. We went on to form a Games committee that met regularly
at Forest Green Rovers football club and we put in a great deal of hard
work in its planning over the following months..
Members of the
Games committee were drawn from many groups in town: sporting clubs and
youth groups, Town and District Councillors, our Youth Worker and the
Neighbourhood Wardens, the Chamber of Trade and the local police. They
were PCSO Stephen Phillipson; Tracy Young our Youth Worker; Gail Smith
from Shiny Goodness shop in town; Dorcas Binns; District Councillor John
Jeffreys; Stephen Robinson from the Town Council; Jim Ellen from the
County Council’s Playing for Success Team; Ian Probert from FGR Football
Club; Ashley Nicholson our Neighbourhood Warden; and myself. They all
deserve mention since everybody really worked hard to make the Games a
success. We canvassed local groups to find out their views and we were
pleasantly surprised by their positive responses. Virtually every
sporting club and youth group wanted to participate. So, after almost a
year in planning we had some fifteen events together with an Inaugural
Family Fun Day on our local playing field. We decided to have a launch
event on Sunday 6th July and for the Games to continue over
the following two weeks.
Which clubs and
groups took part?
At the Inaugural
event on the King George V Playing Field Stroud Athletics Club offered a
range of activities mainly for young people ranging from running to
welly wanging and soft javelin. Nailsworth Tennis Club provided a
tennis-related taster day for young people. We had a hot air balloon
and a craft fair, food and music. Gloucestershire’s Lord Lieutenant Mr.
Henry Elwes came along to give an official launch to events and then
himself tried a balloon ascent! We had Olympic style medals for winners
and certificates for everybody who took part. On the day the weather
was dismal in the morning, but quickly improved by the afternoon. Many
children and their parents came along and the day was a happy success. |
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During the
fortnight of subsequent activities Stroud Swimming Club provided an
evening of activities at Beaudesert Park School’s swimming pool; there
were two equestrian events by local riding stables; a table tennis
competition at the Youth Club; the local cycling clubs arranged two
events, one competitive and the other a family fun ride; the Bowls Club
offered a taster day for all comers; the Ladies Badminton Club arranged
a taster morning; Nailsworth Comrades Club arranged a ‘triathlon’ of
events for grown ups – darts, pool and skittles! And Ruskin College and
Nailsworth Primary School each incorporated their own sports events into
the Games.
Nailsworth’s own
Beijing Olympic marathon runner,
Dan Robinson, also took part. On the
morning of the Primary School’s sports day he jogged from the town
centre to the school, accompanied by a relay of six children from the
school and from St. Dominic’s Primary School Woodchester. They carried
a bouquet in the shape of an Olympic torch and this was presented on
their arrival at the school. In return Dan was given an honorary gold
medal for his efforts.
The fortnight
finished with a ‘skatejam’ on the town’s skateboard park when BMX
bikers,, skaters and bladers were all welcome.
We could not have
mounted these Games without the financial support of the Town Council,
the County Council’s Playing for Success Team at FGR, and other generous
donors. We are all very grateful for their assistance. Our local
police were really supportive, as was the District Council’s
Neighbourhood Warden Service. Jacaranda kindly donated the bouquet and
Ermin Plant gave some equipment at no cost. Shiny Goodness also
assisted us. Our thanks to them all.
We think we have
achieved our immediate objectives. The clubs saw new faces taking part
and hopefully they will have been sufficiently enthused to carry on. It
has helped to foster our town’s community spirit for which we are
renowned . And we all had fun!
Norman Kay
Nailsworth Town
Council
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