MAYOR'S INTRODUCTION

INSPIRE, INVOLVE, EXCITE, CREATE, PARTICIPATE
All words used by Lord Seb Coe and the London 2012 Olympic Inspire Committee to encourage enhanced Community Identity and active involvement.

Our week long Sports Festival aims to do just that and has been awarded the much coveted Inspire Mark from the IOC.

We have organised a varied programme of sport and well being activities.

BE INSPIRED, JOIN IN , HAVE FUN there is something for everyone. 
AND IT IS  FREE.

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SPORTS FESTIVAL IS INSPIRED!

The Bradford on Avon Community Area Sports Festival is designed to celebrate and extend the wide range of sports and physical activities within our community.  It follows a similar but smaller event held in May 2010 and will lead to a larger Festival next year, as a pre-Olympic 2012 Event.

The Festival has now been officially recognised as part of the national Inspire Mark Programme, linked to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

The Inspire programme is geared to increasing participation in sports and physical activity through the involvement of voluntary organisations.  For the first time ever, the Olympic Committee has sanctioned the use of an Olympic Games logo for those in this programme, other than just for the actual Games themselves!

The Sports Festival is being organised jointly by members of the Town Council and Community Area Partnership, with funding gratefully received from the Town Council and from Wiltshire Council via the Community Area Board.

From Sunday 15th to Friday 20^th May, local sports clubs and organisations will be offering various sports and organised activities on a “come-and-try”, “open-door”, “special demonstration” or “taster” for the general public, either as part of their normal club sessions or as a one-off for the Festival week.

Over the weekend of the 21^st and 22^nd May there will be spectacular events in the Barton Farm and Country Park area.  On Saturday morning there will be a 10-kilometre run, followed by an Aquathon later in the day.  On Sunday morning there is a Sprint Triathlon starting at 8 am., with the swimming leg in the River Avon.

These events are being organised separately by DBMax (see their web site: www.dbmax.co.uk), and many of the competitors will be visiting Bradford on Avon from other parts of the country.

Also on Saturday and Sunday, local groups will be showing off a wide range of sports and other activities associated with a healthy life-style, mainly in the same part of town.  Everybody will have a chance to find out more, try out, join in or take part, sample something new, or just watch.

There will be some very interesting - and sometimes rather unusual – competitions, and prizes to be won: hopefully something to amuse or involve everybody!  Healthy refreshments will also be on hand.

The organisers have some ambitious future targets, for instance, reducing the carbon footprint.  This is being promoted by Climate Friendly Bradford, and they are using the occasion to encourage the principle of ‘Zero Waste’: the mantra being: “Reduce, Re-use, Recycle – in that order”. 

Check the Bradford on Avon Area Community web site (www.bradfordonavon.com) for more details, especially nearer the time.

Photos by kind permission of Richard Craft.