Tennis moves indoors!

With summer almost a distant memory and the temperatures dropping ever so slightly, tennis sessions once held Thursdays at East Ham's Central Park are now moving indoors.

The weekly sessions for children and adults from 5-7pm are now moving to "The Hub" at Newham Leisure Centre on Thursdays from 4:30-7:30pm.



Come one and all to the indoor sessions!
Starting this Thursday 3 October 2013

This is a welcomed development as the tennis goers who have attended the previous weeks were all keen for sessions moving to an indoor facility, to beat the autumn and winter chill.

Sessions are £3 for entry. For more information, please contact Paul Farthing at activeNewham on 0203 373 9000 or paul.farthing@activenewham.org.uk

Tata Kids of Steel Triathlon- Monday 30 September 2013

On an eventually sunny morning and with the ever present (but fun) sound of Gangnam Style on the iPod playlist blaring on the outdoor hifi at another children's event, Newham Leisure Centre hosted around 800 students from 11 primary schools for the Tata Kids of Steel Triathlon.  

Running for Gold...correction...Steel! Participants race to the
finishline where their medals and water await.

Buzzing from the word go, students aged 8-13 years had the opportunity to take part in the third annual "swim-bike-run" challenge. The students showed their mettle in all the events taking place at the centre and crossed the finish line exhausted but definitely with a sense of accomplishment.

Bikers get set to complete their laps around the track

Medals were awarded and water given to students (much to their delight) who completed the challenge by activeNewham volunteers who spent the day assisting and cheering on the participants.

Well deserved! Runner receives medal from activeNewham event volunteer

South East London Samba group also made a spirited appearance, enthralling the audience with their rhythmic beats on various styles of drums.

Gathering round for samba beats!

The event marked the end of the 12-part series which also took part in Teeside, Birmingham, North Wales and other locations across the UK. Aimed at promoting a healthier and more active lifestyle through sport, the children had a fun-filled day whilst also working up a sweat. Definitely a win-win-win...if you count the shiny medals! 

The proof of enjoyment is all in the smiles!

Make a Splash Plunges into Curwen Primary- Tuesday 1 October 2013

Students at Curwen Primary School in Plaistow were delighted to host a sit down and dive in session today with Olympic swimmer James Goddard. The school is hosting the Make a Splash mobile pool for 12 weeks, giving students, staff and the community a chance to get swimming in a fun, friendly, local environment.

James Goddard speaks to Year 5 assembly at Curwen Primary

After wowing his young audience with gold medals from the Delhi Commonwealth Games, followed by questions on his diet, his inspiration for becoming a professional swimmer and what his future plans are since retiring from competition, Goddard changed into his trunks and joined the Year 5 students for a swimming workshop.

Splashing around at school is not usally allowed...this time- Thumbs Up!

Selected star swimmers from the school showed incredible water confidence in front of guests from activeNewham, the London Borough of Newham and the Mayor of London's office and also flashed great smiles of appreciation for being offered this magnificent experience.


Kids with gills!

According to head teacher Mr. Harris, the mobile pool has proven to be popular with both students and teachers alike. The pool has also proven to be a great hit with parents and local residents who enjoy taking part in the evening and weekend swimming sessions. Not only an opportunity to get kids active, it has also allowed for further community integration. The children also showed a desire to continue to participating in swimming sessions even after the pool is moved from their school. They were very inspired by the tremendous stories of achievement and opportunities that opened for James through excelling in a sport he loved. They also expressed genuine enjoyment for the sport which hopefully translates into future professional swimmers on Curwen's alumni list in the future.


Productive day: Inspired and having fun!

 The pool is set to be dismantled at the end of November. Anyone wishing to get more information on using it can contact Curwen Primary's reception desk at 02084720290 or contact Alex Davis on 02033739000 or alex.davis@activenewham.org.uk

Newham counts down to Rugby World Cup 2015

On Wednesay 18 September 2013, Newham Leisure Centre had the honour of hosting former England rugby player and World Cup champion Will Greenwood for a coaching session with young children from Cumberland School. In celebration of two year countdown before the Rugby World Cup comes to the Olympic Stadium in 2015, fifteen enthusiastic rugby players from the school had the privilege of taking tips from the ex-England ace and receive medals from Mayor Sir Robin Wales. 
 

Sir Robin Wales and Will Greenwood hand out mdals to
students from Cumberland School

The young children were put through the paces with various drills conducted by Mr Geenwood and also Nick Bracken, East London Rugby Club's chairman.  

Will Greenwood and Nick Bracken teach drills to students whilst activeNewham's
Ian Gallagher and Ian Mitchell shadow moves in the background

The two hour session was filled with smiles, groans, intermittent sunshine and praises for good play and skill from Nick and Will.

There are two years left to go before another grand event is held on the Newham stage but lots of time to build excitement for this great opportunity to host another great sporting event.

And if you don't know...now you know!

Another countdown is on!

activeNewham Premiere League is coming!

Just in time for the end of the exciting transfer window, activeNewham has taken on an impressive task by developing its own local football League. With the aim of nurturing local talent, the development of the activeNewham Premiere League is on schedule to get underway just as Gareth Bale gets his expensive feet wet in Madrid.  The 6-a-side football league will operate out of the Newham Leisure Centre, using its first class 3G pitches to host football teams who would like to compete in an organised football league featuring official referees, national affiliation and the most talented teams in Newham vying to be the best of their respective divisions.

Below is a bit of information for the footie fanatics taken from the press release off the activeNewham website for those interested:


Your team can be mixed or single sex but all players must be aged 16 or over.
There will be two divisions – Premier Division and Division 1.
Days: Wednesdays
Venue: Newham Leisure Centre outdoor 3G football pitches. Parking for over 200 cars, nearest DLR station Prince Regent is 500m away
Times: 40 minutes per match

Premier Division: 7.00 - 7.40pm; 7.45 - 8.25pm
Division 1: 8.30 - 9.10pm; 9.15 - 9.55pm
Teams: 6-a-side (+4 substitutes)
Cost: £35 per team per week. (This includes referees fee, pitch hire, equipment, general administration and national affiliation fees)

This is great obviously, as it well known the importance of increasing physical activity for people in the borough. This also gives idle youth an opportunity to put their skills (and mouths) to the test by proving their abilities and is a great tool for developing talented individuals within an organised and disciplined setting, whom could even get scouted! You never know who watch these local matches- “If you’re good enough, generally they’ll find you!”

So if you think you have what it takes, do something about it! Check out the activeNewham adult football page, round up your squad of 10 and head down to Newham Leisure Centre and start kicking…the ball that is, not opponents- there are strong rules against that kind of behaviour and other unsavoury shenanigans!

Who knows where it might get you!

Street Games Festival at Copper Box 15/08/13

Today activeNewham staff were responsible for escorting 200 young people to the Street Games Coco-Cola Mass Participation Festival. This was the first of many “mass-participation” festivals that Street Games and Coca-Cola have teamed up to deliver nationally. The event was held at the iconic Copper Box, which is now  a multi-sport venue at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The event also marked the launch of a three year partnership renewal between Coca-Cola and Street Games confirmed earlier this year, aimed at increasing youth participation into sport.

And it  all happened on our doorstep!

2000 children from across the country descended upon the Olympic venue, many of whom were visiting the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for the first time. Visiting the park was not a first for me and many of the Newham kids but visiting the Copper Box specifically was a first for most of us.

The children were treated to a range of traditional sports including basketball, football, athletics but they also had the opportunity to experience new sports and activities that they had never tried before!

Talented Newham footballer with the ball (left) had everyone
on defence mesmerised!

Outdoor athletics track provided by activeNewham
for 100m dash enthusiasts.

From rollerskiing to parkour, canoeing to graffiti art  workshops and even opportunities to mess with a DJ mixing deck; it was the ultimate sporting and social oasis that the young people were able to engage with! Along with lots of picture-snapping and posing  for updates to Facebook and Twitter, lots of the Newham young people and their peers tried their hand at almost every activity available!

Never seen this before! And I'm sure neither have you!
Welcome to Roller Ski!

Newham teen (black shirt at back) waits impatiently
to have a go at parkour

With lots to pack in during  our four and a half hour stay, I can safely say the event was a success, a great sight to see and absolutely fun-filled.

activeNewham’s participation in this by supervising the 200 young people continues to demonstrate its commitment to ensuring that Newham youth live active and sporting lives and get the opportunity to experience such amazing activities taking place within walking distance of where most of them live. With lots of sport camps and activities coordinated during the summer in the borough, it was a lovely opportunity for staff members to observe and attend an externally organised event take place at the Olympic Park which benefited lots of young people from near and far.

“Legacy” lives on!

Sainsbury's Race to Rio Day

Friday 26^th July 2013 marked the second day when members of the public were allowed to enter the now-hallowed grounds of the amazing Olympic Stadium. The first day being associated with the National Lottery Anniversary Run, which happened the week prior; a 5 mile run around the Olympic park, with participants concluding by crossing the finish line on the inside track at the stadium. 

The Sainsbury’s Race to Rio event was launched with the aim of getting as many children active in sport and to support the development of the next generation of Paralympians, alongside native sons and Paralympic champions Jonnie Peacock and David Weir and many others.  With Sainsbury’s contributing £10 to the British Paralympic Association (to meet their target of a £57,500 donation) for every child that completed a mile (4 laps) around the track, there were many reasons for the kids involved to be totally excited about the opportunity.

Along with this fantastic opportunity, the kids were treated to meeting Tony Minechiello, athletic coach of Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill, got a VIP pass to the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit (which doesn't open to the public until April 2014) and even got to meet, get autographs and question Paralympic athletes, like Dan Greaves in person, who were specially brought in for the event.


...London skyline from viewing deck of Orbit. Can you make
out which iconic London buildings are in the distance?



View from under ArcelorMittal Orbit...

Well that’s it for the introduction!

The kids from Cumberland School, as well as athletes from Newham’s disability athletics clubs, multi-sports ability club and volunteers from Newham & Essex Beagles were all in attendance. Also participating were 100 Sainsbury’s customers who won an in-store competition.

Fiona Miley (activeNewham staff member) makes a face
after being told it was a children's only race!

From their spotlight moments of running for various broadcasting houses including the BBC, who covered a live segment of all the kids doing a 100 meter dash, to them being followed by camera crews to be shown on the stadium screens, just like the "real" athletes would on a game-day, coaching tips from world-class coaches and everything listed before, they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves! The exuberance shown by the children and their moments of immense concentration when listening to the coaches and athletes available was incredible to see! You could almost hear the voices inside their heads saying "Maybe if I impress Tony, he might want to coach me!" or "Wow, how can I become a pro like Dan!"  The interest was so palpable, those mental ponderings were almost audible! 

Coral Nourrice's van couldn't keep up with Sainsbury's
staff member who raced to the finish line! 

You know what else was cool? Those remote controlled Sainsbury's delivery van replicas zooming round the track, getting their test drives in before being put to work for the weekend's big Anniversary Games event at the stadium. They were used to transport javelins and discuses thrown on the field to save a poor volunteer from running up and down, bringing them from where it was picked up, back to the throwing area. "Boys toys" one Sainsbury's staff member stated, only to have England Athletics and activeNewham's Athletics Activator Coral Nourrice, follow up to be the first to get her hands on the control and have a go!

It was amazing to see such a mix of able bodied and youngsters with various impairments be able to have the privilege to be the centrepiece for such an inspiring event. The proverbial road to Rio stretches 5750 miles from London and each child loomed larger than the mile they represented for those who completed their pledge on the iconic red track here in Stratford, E20. They were undoubtedly the stars of this moment! We could only hope that maybe some of them will return as thee stars, victorious for the UK after the Rio 2016 Games.

The stadium staff, representatives from Sainsbury's and the Sports and Activities team from activeNewham, who were all held out of the activities and reduced to cheerleaders and chaperones, all seemed quite pleased with the event. Being able to support and coordinate such an activity for such lucky kids was a pleasure. Hopefully this is just the start of such inspiring moments over the next few years till the euphoria of the next Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016.

Rio here they come!