Sporting-Lincs Forum

Children across the East Midlands will be developing their hockey skills this summer thanks to a festival being run by the England Hockey Board (EHB) and supported by the National Hockey Foundation and East Midlands Development Agency (emda).

Quicksticks is the EHB’s introductory game designed specifically for primary schools and 7-11 year olds. The game consists of teams of six, with four players from each team playing in an area approximately the size of a netball court. A number of Quicksticks festivals are taking place around the region in the lead up to the Samsung FIH Champions Trophy, an international hockey event featuring six of the top international women’s teams in the world, which is being staged at Highfields Sports Club in Nottingham between the 10th and 18th of July this year.

Quicksticks Festivals
Quicksticks festivals, sponsored by The National Hockey Foundation,and emda have already taken place within School Sport Partnerships (SSPs) in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, with one more due to be staged in Nottinghamshire on 25th June. A county wide festival will be held in Leicester on 11th June at Leicester Grammar School. There will also be an East Midlands regional Quicksticks festival on Saturday 10th July, to coincide with the opening day of the Women’s Champions Trophy.

The East Midlands based Quicksticks festivals have been granted the Inspire Mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire Programme.

Commonwealth Games England have today officially launched ‘We Are England’; a photography competition aimed at finding the ultimate photographs that best represent England in all of its glory. The competition is to celebrate everything about England and ‘Englishness’ ahead of the Commonwealth Games that take place later this year in Delhi. The winners will be exhibited at a top London Art Gallery.

Photographs can be of anything at all that represents England – from a historic English landmark, to a traditional English game taking place in a park, or even photographs taken live at an English sporting event. All it needs to do is encompass the spirit of England to those entering.

There are some amazing prizes on offer to win, including

• A lunch hosted by double Olympic Gold Medalist Dame Kelly Holmes

• Centre Court Wimbledon tickets

The ‘We Are England’ competition coincides with St. George’s day, and winners will also be invited to attend a champagne breakfast at the launch of the exhibition at the SW1 Gallery on Wednesday, April 21st, and will be joined by some of the top Commonwealth Games England athletes and representatives as well as members of the media. The exhibition of the winning photographs will run until Sunday, April 25th. Entrance will be free of charge to the public.

The competition will be split into three categories - a professional photographer category, an amateur photographer category for the 16 and under age group, and an amateur photographer category for the 17 and over age group. Entries are to be emailed to weareengland@threepipe.co.uk, and although there should only be one photograph per email, there is no limit to the number of entries that can be submitted.

The England team will be showcasing their new ‘We Are England’ brand logo at the Commonwealth Games in October – a rallying call for the nation to get behind the team - and the photography competition provides a great opportunity for the public to show what England means to them.

For more information please contact Lindsey Evans or Duncan Ross at Threepipe on 0207 632 4816.

A NEW sports pavilion costing £1.1 million is to be built at a Lincoln leisure centre.

The environmentally friendly development is set to have a planted roof, air source heat pumps and under-floor heating, as well as solar thermal hot water and rainwater harvesting for the toilets.

The pavilion, primarily for use by local football clubs, is being built in a bid to improve facilities in the city as well as encourage youngsters to take part in sports. It will be based at Yarborough Leisure Centre.

Antony Angus, team leader for recreation services at the City of Lincoln Council, which is heading up the build, said: "This great scheme will benefit a lot of people. The pavilion has been designed to offer excellent facilities to a range of clubs and teams.

"We've endeavoured from the outset not just to make an excellent facility for all users, but also an accessible, sustainable and attractive building."

The bulk of the funding has come from the council, which put up £807,000. The rest of the budget has been boosted by a £200,000 grant from the Football Foundation and £99,990 from Lincolnshire County Council.

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