Link4Life's 'Talented Athlete Support Scheme' Blog

Greater Manchester Sports Awards

2010-11-17T14:57:00.004Z

Greater Manchester Sports Awards, originally uploaded by Link4Life.

The Greater Manchester Sports Awards celebrated its 10th year in style at the Midland Hotel on Friday 12 November.

The awards recognised excellence in clubs, volunteers, sports achievers, disabled sports achievers, coaches and our unsung heroes at a time where the energy of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics is starting to be felt.

The nominees for the above awards had already been celebrated, winning their category at borough level in ceremonies in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

The winners of Greater Manchester awards were Club of the year ... Urmston Meadowside AFC (Trafford)
Volunteer of the Year ... Martin Gaskell (Wigan)
Coach of the Year ... Mike Hack (Wigan)
Sports Achiever of the Year ... Keri-Anne Payne (Stockport)
Disable Sports Achiever of the Year ... Simon Louis Jackson MBE (Rochdale)
Unsung Hero ... June Kelly (Manchester)

During the run up to the Olympics 2012 we have introduced a new award, the Be Inspired Award, where the winners of all awards and then judged on who is is providing the best legacy for 2012. The winner of this award was June Kelly.

Chief Executive Officer of GreaterSport, Richard Saunders says,

"The Greater Manchester Sports Awards is always a fantastic event and this year was no different. The nominees were inspiring and the winners worthy of their awards. GreaterSport are proud to organise and host an event that recognises such hard work from the people of Greater Manchester.

Creating a legacy in Greater Manchester for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics is incredibly important for our community. The work in creating this legacy starts now. All of the nominees this evening are living and breathing a sport and physical activity legacy every day, and
those that won the Awards are true champions in bring 2010 legacy in Greater Manchester to life."

Leo Houlding was the guest speaker. Leo is a Rock Climber and is most famous for appearing in the BBC television programme Top Gear in which he raced presenter Jeremy Clarkson up a cliff face in Verdon Gorge , winning the challenge. Houlding, joined by Tim Emmett, climbed the canyon whilst Jeremy drove an Audi RS4 to the top using the surrounding roads. He has also appeared several times on the Audi Channel .

For more information, please contact Karen Bradley at GreaterSport.
E: karenb@greatersport.co.uk T: 0161 223 1002 M: 07740 883 083

Flickr

2010-11-17T11:39:00.001Z

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Heywood Sports Village

2010-09-21T10:50:00.013+01:00

Olympic and World Champion Swimmer, Keri-Anne Payne, gave her seal of approval to the new Heywood Sports Village at the weekend.

Over two thousand people flocked through the doors during the pre-opening weekend to take a look around the new £10.4 million new sports complex that opened to the public on Monday.

Special guest Keri-Anne took time out from her busy training schedule for the Delhi Commonwealth Games to launch the new pool. After a tour of the facilities she said, “I think the complex here is amazing. It’s so brilliant – so many different rooms and so many different things. And I’m very happy there is a nice 6 lane 25 metre pool here that I can use when I’m at home.”

Heywood Sports Village

2010-02-17T12:05:00.002Z

Heywood SCLV 14 January 2010 (1)
Originally uploaded by Link4Life

The Village taking shape - picture taken 14 January 2010

Get involved in London 2012

2010-01-13T11:53:00.003Z

You don't have to wait until 2012 to get involved with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Explore how you can be a part of 'the greatest show on Earth' today.

Para-Cycling Track World Championships Results

2009-11-16T10:57:00.001Z

Three-time Paralympic judo gold medallist Simon Jackson and Dave Readle finished second in Manchester. Follow the title link to the BBC website for more.

UCI Para World Championships

2009-11-04T12:39:00.003Z

I just thought I'd send you a quick update on how my training is going for London 2012.

My training has been up and down since I went full time in January 2009. I've completed a number of training camps which has helped me with my endurance on the bike.

I completed the May 2009 Paralympic World Cup and won 2 gold medals in both my events, the kilometre time trial and the sprint races. I also completed the National Outdoor Championships for able bodied Tandem riders and came 3rd which I was very pleased with as it was my first race outdoors and also with new pilot, Dave Readle.

After this competition my head coach decided to try each stoker with different pilots to get the best team together. I was put through quite a lot of mental stress with this as I did'nt know who I would be teamed up with for the next big competition, the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships, which is this weekend, Friday 6 - Sunday 8 November.

Finally the teams were chosen and team building training begin. I was also informed I was guaranteed to be part of the paracycling team for at least the next 12 months and being supported by UK Sport.

A lot of time spent on the track and in the gym is beginning to pay off as myself and Dave are producing excellent times. We hope to be amongst the medals this weekend!!

Posted by Simon Jackson 04/11/2009

Helvellyn Triathlon

2009-09-15T08:39:00.010+01:00

Greetings. This may well be the last triathlon of the year.

A week last Sunday (6 September) I made the trip up to Lakeland and Glenridding to compete in the notoriously tough Helvellyn Triathlon.

A friend and my son made up the support team and helped keep warmth in the somewhat cosy 2 man tent. There had been a couple of weeks heavy rain which meant Ullswater lake had collected a lot of cold water off the surrounding mountains and reduced the water temp. to just 11 degrees. This meant the swim was reduced from a scheduled mile down to around 1200 metres.

600 braved the cold, and the conditions made it a pretty aggresive swim as competitors worked hard to generate some heat into their extremities. I shivered out of the Lake in around 19 minutes and somewhere around the top 30 and set out on the bike leg feeling strong and looking forward to the serious undulations of the 38 mile bike course. After heading out North to the A66 Penrith to Cockermouth Road, the route headed through the gorgeous Thirlmere valley past Grassmere and in to Ambleside. This is were the ride gets serious with the 1 in 4 ascent of 'the struggle' over several miles to the top of the Kirkstone Pass. I made good progress through the field to reach the top in 12th place overall and leading veteran. Previously in this event, I have overcooked it on the bike and left myself short of energy for the killer run at the end. This time I felt well within myself and pressed on home down the Kirkstone Pass trying not to touch the brakes too much without risking an argument with a drystone wall!! I maintained my position with a bike split of 1 hour 54 minutes and ditched the bike in exchange for the compulsory kit needed for the fell run to the summit of Hellvelyn and back. This required you to carry full
outer clothing, map, whistle, food and drink. See race photos...

The run course measured 9 miles in total. The climb to the top takes you steeply up via Swirrel Edge which in many places is far quicker to stride up than to try and run and at 3,118 feet (3rd highest mountain in England). The conditions on top make you realise how important the extra kit could be. Spare a thought for the countless martials who brave the elements for such a long time until the last competitor has passed through.

As I scrambled over the top I still had a 12th position but knew that the descent over the remaining 5 miles would see me move down the order. My main aim was to avoid cramp and protect the knees which I knew would potentially throw away any sort of descent finish if I was not careful. Inevitably the fell runners made it look easy but I was satisfied just to get back to Glenridding still with running in my legs and crossed the line in 24th and 5th over 40.

This will probably be my last tri this year and it has convinced me I will need to have some knee investigations carried out so that I can have a good winters run training and achieve my best in 2010. I cannot believe how fast the season has gone. Thankfully I love the training as much as racing so even though the races are now few and far between there will still be challenges.

My finish time was 3 hours 59 minutes and just beat the 4 hour bench mark I was aiming for!

Posted by Andrew Pilling 15/09/2009

Civic Reception for Golden Girl Keri-Anne Payne

2009-09-10T13:23:00.004+01:00

Newly crowned World Swimming Champion and local Olympics heroine, Keri-Anne Payne has attended a Civic Reception held in her honour by the Mayor and Mayoress of Rochdale.
In front of friends and family, the 21 year old athlete from Heywood, showed off the gold medal won in the women’s 10km open water race at the swimming world championships held in Rome in July. Maintaining her favourite lead position, Keri-Anne fought of the Italian and Russian competition winning the race by a body length and just one second in a little over 2 hours.

It is just twelve months since Keri-Anne was welcomed to the Town Hall after her silver medal performance at the Beijing Olympics. Congratulating her on her latest achievement, Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Keith Swift indicated that a civic reception was likely to become an annual event in the mayor’s calendar. He went on to say, "Our many congratulations go to Keri-Anne for her fantastic achievement. Heywood is rightly proud of her – but it is a pride that is shared by everyone throughout the borough of Rochdale."

Guests attended the evening reception held at Rochdale Town Hall on Tuesday 8 September when presentations to Keri-Anne from Rochdale Borough Council and boroughwide cultural trust Link4Life promised continued sponsorship up to 2012 to support her training for the London Olympic Games.

Presenting a cheque from Heywood Township for £2,000, Councillor Alan McCarthy said, "Keri-Anne is a shining example of dedication and hard work and shows that our local young people can be the best in the world. We are delighted with her victory in Rome and hope this continues to gold medal success in 2012."

Keri-Anne was also presented with a Talented Athlete Award from Deputy Managing Director of Link4Life, Peter Kilkenny. This award gives an annual cash grant of £1,000 together with free use of all Link4Life fitness and pool facilities. Twelve local athletes are receiving this support. The Talented Athlete Support Scheme is designed to provide assistance to the borough’s high performing athletes to help them to achieve medal success particularly for 2012. Making the presentation, Peter Kilkenny said, "We congratulate Keri-Anne on her success, she is a fantastic ambassador for sport and a real role model for all our future athletes. We are delighted to be able to give this support to Keri-Anne."

A tired Keri-Anne - who had flown in that morning from New York – was also sporting some bruises from a particularly challenging American 10km competition. In thanking everyone for coming along she said, "It makes a huge difference to any competitive athlete to receive this kind of support. Swimming is not a cheap sport and this money will really help."

She went on to sign autographs and chat to guests who included a group of young swimming hopefuls from the Aquabears swimming club and her former Rochdale swimming coach, Dave Crouch. There was also the chance to swap competition news with another local swimming champion, Jamie Kelly. Twenty year old Jamie from Newbold has been with Aquabears for around five years and recently won two gold medals at the Special Olympics held in Leicester in July.

Posted by Link4Life 10/09/2009

Shand's best yet in Belgium

2009-08-12T09:23:00.001+01:00

Read the full report on the Five-day Tour de la Province de Namur on Rochdale's Scott USA team rider Daniel Shand in the Rochdale Observer

Ironman UK

2009-08-10T11:54:00.005+01:00

Ironman UK from Rivington and Bolton was extremely well supported by local people and visiting spactators. The atmosphere was tremendous, particularly as you rode through Rivington 3 times and along the run route between Horwich and Bolton centre. Ahead of me I had a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile ride and marathon run.

More than 1700 triathletes had signed up for the arduous challenge not least of which was a 6 am swim start on the choppy reservoir. The organisers had said that 41 countries were represented amongst this number!

The swim went really well and I felt comfortable as I exited around the top 50 mark. Most of the professional athletes had emerged some 5-10 minutes earlier. At the end of the day I need to compete against age groupers in my own veteran category so thankfully the pros might as well be in another event altogether.

It turns out I was well placed for a World championship qualification at this point but these are the early stages and a great deal can happen. The ride was 3 laps of 37miles each with some tough drags and otherwise constantly undulating roads. The first and second laps both were on schedule to bring me back within my target time and I lost a little pace on the last circuit mainly over lost concentration but still came in 10 minutes inside schedule and maintaining my race position.

There were great crowds around the Rivington venue as I started the run and the temperature had risen markedly. I carefully controlled my run pace avoiding getting giddy and setting off too quick. It was brilliant to see my family and Rochdale Tri
Club friends who were out supporting me and several other club members. This really is a lift when you hit rock bottom. I reached the place referred to as 'rock bottom' by about 13 miles, with still a long way still to go! The qualifying opportunity slipped by as I rapidly tired and shuffled in with a 4 hour plus marathon. The finish time of 11 hrs 21 mins was by no means shabby but was no good for a World Champs slot.

I think it will take a good winters training and some guidance from marathon guru's to get me on track to crack this Ironman run. I remain positive. Posted by Andrew Pilling 10/08/2009

Final week before Ironman UK

2009-07-28T14:53:00.008+01:00

What a brilliant result for Keri-Anne. I'm in the last week before the Ironman UK Triathlon 2009 at Rivington, Bolton on 2 August. That's 140.6 miles, including a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run. Last few weeks have gone reasonably well with the highlight being a few days in the Pyrenees taking in several amazing mountain rides and a couple of stages of the Tour de France. The scenes were breathtaking and gave us a glimpse of the tough life of a tour professional.

Rest is the order of the day now as nothing will be gained by hard training at this late stage. If I've got any concerns, it's for the marathon, as I've really not done the long runs since Lanzarotte Ironman in May - nursing a sore knee which may need a cartilage clean out pretty soon due to the many years of wear and tear.

This week I will try and keep off the pies and beer and relax. It will be vital to be in a positive frame of mind if only to dull some of the pain ahead! Before I know it my alarm clock will be going off at 3.30am to get ready for a 6am splash in Rivington Reservoir. Whats it all about? Posted by Andrew Pilling

Daniel Shand good form continues

2009-07-25T09:35:00.000+01:00

Daniel's current good form continued last week with a 2nd place at Geel, in northeast Belgium. Read the full report in the Rochdale Observer

Keri-Anne wins gold medal in Italy

2009-07-22T11:49:00.009+01:00

Congratulations to Kerri-Anne on winning the gold medal in the World Swimming Championships earlier today. The 10km open race took place in the Tyrrhenian Sea at the Ostia beach resort in Italy. Read the full story in The Times.

London 2012 - Open Weekend

2009-07-22T08:38:00.000+01:00

Check out what's on in this year's Open Weekend.

Rochdale Grand Prix 2009

2009-07-10T16:35:00.002+01:00

IMG_5385
Originally uploaded by Link4Life

Link4Life banners at the Rochdale Grand Prix - see more on Flickr.

I'ts great to be able to compete closer to home

2009-07-08T08:35:00.006+01:00

..... so that family members can soak up the atmosphere of an event and Sundays race, superbly organised by Calderdale Triathlon Club was particularly fun because my daughter, Emily, was having a go at a Mini Tri within Tod park. Various distances catered for kids between 8-15 before adult newcomers to the sport took part in a 'Try-a-Tri' race. The day's racing was then rounded off with a 'sprint' distance event for more experienced competitors. The categories were apparently oversubscribed weeks in advance, showing the high demand for Tri races in this area. Almost 400 people got the chance to compete.
Em showed great spirit to beat her nerves and finish the course having given it her all. Triathlon is really succeeding at getting children involved in sport and exercise. It was then my turn to work. 400 metres in Tod pool followed by a 20 km cycle out toward Burnley and back, finishing with a testing 5km run based around Centre Vale park. Competitors set off in seeded waves and race time trial fashion against the clock. I felt I had a poor swim and left the pool trailing the triathletes in my wave. A lung burning ride followed and I managed to chase down all in my wave and most of the earlier one. The nature of this type of event means every second counts, especially as everyone is at different stages and you have no idea who is in contention.
Crossing the line at the end of the run, I don't think I could have squeezed out much more effort. When all the times were in I had finished runner up overall and first veteran in 58 mins 29 seconds.
Pretty good day really after a gruelling 5 hour event the previous Sunday. Great to see the kids getting the race bug and also some of Rochdale Triathlon Club's newer members dipping their toes in for the first time. Having a few day's off work this week to take a trip to France with several buddies and our bikes. We have several hundred miles planned with routes to take in a couple of stages of 'Le Tour' in the mountains and see the how the elite of cycling do it. Should be inspiring. Posted by Andrew Pilling 08/07/2009

ISAF Sailing World Cup 2009 at Kiel

2009-07-01T08:51:00.004+01:00

I’ve just arrived home from the Kiel World Cup Regatta in Germany; we competed in the 470M Kieler Woche, where we had a season best result of a silver medal which was a fantastic result for us! We managed to beat the current double world champion Nic Asher and Willis Elliot from the UK who finished 3^rd, and just missed out on the gold medal which was won by Croatia.

Here is a link http://www.world-of-sailing.info/index.php?id=140 to some video footage of me winning the medal deciding race on the final day. Just thought I would email to let you know that the Link4Life support is really helping!!

Results:

1^st CRO 83
Sime Fantela (1986) Sv.Krsevan
Igor Marenic (1986) Sv.Krsevan,

2^nd GBR 843
Jonny McGovern (1986) RYA
Christian Birrell (1988) RYA

3^rd GBR 828
Nic Asher (1984) WOBYC
Willis Elliot (1983) WOBYC

Posted by Jonny McGovern

'A Day in the Lakes' Triathlon

2009-06-30T23:06:00.009+01:00

Inaugural long distance triathlon based at Ullswater Lakeland and called 'A Day in the Lakes' proved to be a tough challenge for the 400 plus triathletes who took part (Sunday 28/6). From the start of the day it was hot which meant the 1.2 mile lake swim was very pleasant. I had a strong swim and exited the water well up in the top 20.

The next stage was a 56 mile cycle taking in some hard climbs, the first of which was the Kirkstone Pass with a couple of miles of notoriously steep gradient. Over the top of the climb I'd moved up into 2nd position although due to defective gears on the bike, being forced to take the climb in completely the wrong gear did nothing for reserving strength.

The fantastic scenery over the Shap Fells and some good spectator support around the course made the ride a memorable one. I dropped a couple of places by the time I had returned to the Lakeside 'transition area'. In the change from bike to run I picked up my own energy drink to carrry, knowing that the hot conditions and a particularly tough fell run over half marathon distance would be a killer. Most sensible competitors did the same. Setting off on the 13 mile run I was lying in 5th.

The fells around Ullswater were awesome. Unfortunately, not so easy to enjoy when fatigue gets hold. I struggled on the technical descents and by the time I'd got down to the Lakeside road with 3 and a bit flattish miles to the finish I had dropped more places. I managed to pick it up again on this last stretch and crossed the line 13th overall in 5hrs 16mins.

It certainly lived up to the expectations of a tough challenge. I'm quite pleased with the recovery from Ironman Lanzarotte in May and am hoping that I can improve on that effort for Ironman UK in August in Bolton.

This coming weekend I will be testing my tired legs at a sprint event Tri in Todmorden. It will also be my 9 year old daughter's first triathlon in a kids event. Really looking forward to that one.

Posted by Andrew Pilling

Heywood Village

2009-06-16T12:58:00.004+01:00

Heywood Village
Originally uploaded by Link4Life
Work on the new Heywood Sports, Leisure & Culture Village started on
Monday 15 June 2009. Follow the building progress at
www.flickr.com/photos/link4life

Man of iron melts after fierce sun takes its toll

2009-06-05T15:21:00.003+01:00

A Super-fit Rochdalian is proving he’s not past it at 40 after competing against ironmen in a test of physical fitness. Read more from the Rochdale Observer at http://tinyurl.com/pj7tln

Red carpet to be rolled out for Gold medal winning Rochdale paralympic athlete

2009-05-27T15:18:00.004+01:00

Rochdale Borough Council and Link4Life are making plans to honour Rochdale paralympic athlete Simon Jackson who scooped double gold in tandem cycling at the recent Paralympic World Cup held in Manchester.

Jackson improved on his silver medal performance in 2008 to take top place on the podium in both the Kilo and the Tandem Sprint. The Kilo is a time trial from a standing start over 1000 metres. The highly tactical Sprint is a head-to-head race between pairs of riders (tandems) over three laps. Jackson’s latest success puts him within 1.3 seconds of the world record and a real contender for 2012.

Visually impaired Simon “Judo” Jackson, 36, is Great Britain’s most successful judo player of all time with 3 Paralympic, 3 World and 16 European gold medals in an astonishing career lasting 20 years.

He took up Judo as a boy, and became a member of Rochdale Judo Club under the guidance of coach Warren Schofield, when he realised that he could take on ‘able bodied’ children on an equal basis and win.

Jackson has competed in five consecutive Paralympic Games. His first gold medal victory was in Seoul in 1988, at the age of 16, followed by Barcelona and Atlanta. His long run of success – with 163 unbeaten bouts - came to an end in Sydney when he had to settle for a bronze medal and in his final Paralympic appearance, in Athens in 2004, he lost in the preliminary round in a fiercely contested referee’s decision. He was awarded an MBE in the 1997 New Year’s Honours List for his services to judo.

A back injury forced him to quit judo in 2008 and the fiercely competitive Jackson turned his attention to tandem cycling. He caused a sensation at the Paralympic World Cup in 2008 when, after only a few short weeks of training, he took two silver medals, having teamed up with former world record holder Barney Storey, widely acknowledged as one of the best pilots in the sport. He narrowly missed out in competing at the Beijing Paralympics by a matter of seconds and despite the disappointment bravely announced his intention to try for the London Paralympics in 2012.

Congratulating Simon on his success, Craig McAteer from Link4Life said, “We introduced our Talented Athlete sponsorship scheme in 2008 to support local elite athletes in their preparations for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. Simon’s second time round cycling success is a real inspiration and he was the first to receive our support. This will continue annually up to 2012 and hopefully beyond and we are pleased to be able to offer support to him and our other London medal hopefuls.” Athletes in the scheme receive an annual grant of £1,000 plus free use of Link4Life training and fitness facilities.

Simon will marry his partner Sarah at a ceremony next week. Rochdale Borough Council and Link4Life will be honouring Simon at a Civic Reception at Rochdale Town Hall as soon as a date can be arranged.

What are you up to and where are you training?

2009-05-12T15:25:00.000+01:00

Link4Life would like to hear from the borough's Talented Athletes about their current training programme.

Our Talented Athletes

2009-05-06T13:26:00.032+01:00

Simon Jackson MBE - British Cycling Team - Team GB.
Simon (born 28 May 1972) is a 3 time Paralympic gold medalist and 3 time world champion in Judo. He has given up competitive Judo because of injury and recently switched to cycling and is aiming towards gold at London 2012. Simon has won two Paralympic World Cup silver medals and his current PB is the 2nd fastest in history. The National Governing Body is The Britsih Cycling Federation.

Emma Louise Jones - Rochdale Goalball Club
Emma (born 19 August 1985) has represented the GB Senior Ladies Squad in Finland, Spain and Italy in 2008. Her best finish was 2nd place in Italy in November. Emma is looking to compete in the European Championships in Germany, the 2010 World Championships in Sheffield, the 2011 Paralympic Qualifiers and the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. The National Governing Body for Goalball is British Blind Sport.

Catherine Marcroft -
Catherine Marcroft (born 10 June 1992) represented GB at the European Juniors event in Belgrade 2008 and has been selected by British Swimming onto the 2012 training squad. She is hoping to compete in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, 2011 World Championships and the 2012 London Olympics.

Jonathan McGovern - Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club
Jonathan has been a member of the Skandia Team GBR since 2004 and has represented GB at many international regattas - his greatest success being a bronze medal at the Youth World Chamionships. He is currently ranked in the top 4 in the UK and aims to be #1 in the UK by 2011.

Matthew Mee - Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club
Matthew (born 12 August 1986) recently became a member of the Skandia Team GBR Olympic Development Squad for Sailing, with the aim of competing in the 470 Mens Class at the 2012 Olympics. He is the 2008 World Champion in the international Fireball Class.

Keri-Anne Payne - Olympic Silver Medalist - Stockport Metro.
Keri-Anne (born 9 December, 1987 in Johannesburg, South Africa and now living in Heywood) is a British Olympic swimmer and silver medallist. She represented Great Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 200m and 400m individual medley swimming events as well as the 10km open water event, in which she won a silver medal for GB.

Andrew Pilling - Rochdale Triathlon Club
Andrew's goal for this season is to qualify for membership of the GB age group squad. He has entered the 18th Lanzarote Ironman this month with the aim of qualifying for the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii. Andrew (born 12 August 1966) will be concentrating on standard and middle distance (half ironman). The National Governing Body is British Triathlon Federation.

Daniel Shand - West Pennine Road Club
Daniel (born 11 July 1987) started cycling at the age of 19. In 2007 he was offered a position in a Belgium Cycling Team to race on the continent as a full time cyclist and won a silver medal in the British Road Race Championships. Daniel has raced in a six day long stage race in the north of Italy and the Alps, plus races in Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Spain and of course the Rochdale Grand Prix. He is hoping to be selected for the 2012 Olympics Road Race.

Lucy Walczak - Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club - Rowing/Skulling
Lucy (born 15 September 1988) represented GB at the 2006 FISA Junior World Championships in Amsterdam in the single skulling boat and won gold representing England at Home Counties on Cork in 2007. She is hoping to be part of the U23s team at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Racice, Czech Republics in July 2009 and aiming for gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
The NGB is the British Rowing Organisation (BIRO).

Ruth Walczak - Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club - Rowing/Skulling
Ruth (born 15 September 1988) has represented GB at the FISA Junior World Championships for the last two years and was 4th on the Womens Double Skulls at the Under 23 2008 World Championships. Along with twin sister Lucy, Ruth is aiming for gold at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Racice, Czech Republics in July 2009 and aiming for gold at the 2012 London Olympics.

Middleton Arena Open Day

2009-05-01T14:55:00.007+01:00

Keri-Anne at the recent Middleton Arena Open Day 25 April 2009.

Swimming sensation Keri-Anne Payne, last year’s British Silver Olympic Medallist said the arena is a fantastic facility for the borough: “It’s fab … and the pool is amazing. I’ve had a great day today, and I’m a big fan of Sir Steve so it was great to actually meet him. There’s been a really positive atmosphere here today, and it’s good to see so many people come out and show their support.”

Simon (pictured here signing the visitor book) also attended the Arena Open Day.

What support do you get under the scheme?

2009-02-20T15:00:00.003Z

Individuals who can demonstrate that they meet the eligibility criteria will qualify for the following assistance:-

Free 12 month Link4Life Fitness membership entitling them to unlimited free use of the Fitness Suites, Exercise Classes and swimming pools in Link4Life Leisure Centres in the borough during public opening times
Free ‘Personal Trainer’ services from Link4Life Fitness Instructors to advise and assist with personal training and physical conditioning
Exclusive access to Link4Life sports facilities for their personal training programmes (by arrangement and subject to availability)
Financial assistance towards competition and training expenses.

Change 4 Life

2009-02-19T14:00:00.002Z

Join the people across England who are already making a Change4Life.

Well done Keri-Anne - RMBC Local Matters

2008-10-01T15:00:00.003+01:00

Keri-Anne gets the red carpet treatment

2008-09-11T09:00:00.005+01:00

Keri-Anne said: "Whether it is for London or future Olympic Games, I hope that even just a few kids, after watching the swimming and the cycling are inspired to take that sport up. That’s what it’s about and that’s why we do it". Middleton Guardian.

Red carpet welcome for Payne

2008-09-05T11:00:00.002+01:00

Flying the flag for Olympics success

2008-08-22T12:00:00.004+01:00

The borough of Rochdale flew the flag to celebrate the official beginning of the London Olympiad in 2012. Rochdale Online