The Games are almost here!

We would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped us to get this far in our journey as Games Makers. The support from staff members at Richard Hale, and their enthusiasm has been hugely supportive, the help and advice from sporting officials throughout the county has also been extremely beneficial to us. 

We will attempt to keep everyone who has been following our blog informed of our Games Time experience. We are working at the Paralympics from the 2nd to the 6th of September, half of the athletic section, which will be broadcast live on channel 4, so please do keep an eye out!

Thanks once again for all of your supports.

Hale News!

OLYMPIC YOUNG GAMES MAKERS

An interview with Aaron Hemsley Y13, Primary Team Leader …

When you watch the 2012 Paralympics look out for a team of Richard Hale students who will be providing a very important service for the athletes. The team was shortlisted from hundreds of entries after an initial written submission. Their second round success was based on their creative idea for use of the Red Tower and demanding interviews of Aaron and fellow Y13 student Alex Cloona, Secondary Team Leader.

LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) were particularly impressed by the amount of voluntary support work they had done at their age, and by the fact that most teams competing were led by teachers or other adults. Although the RHS bid was overseen by PE teacher Anne-Marie Riddle, who selected the original team, the subsequent organisation and leadership were the responsibility of the students themselves. Aaron has done a lot of junior football coaching at the King George Club in Welwyn garden City, and Alex helps to coach and officiate at the Phoenix Athletics Club. Aaron acknowledged the excellent support form Mrs Riddle, and thanked Mr Botheras for his efforts in getting them their kit.

The Paralympics run from 29 August to 9 September. Although they have not been given the precise timings yet, the RHS students, along with two other teams, will be on what is known as “tie-down duty” for the throwing events – discus, javelin and shot. In practice the students will look after and secure the frames the athletes need to support them while they compete in their events. This requires both technical knowledge of the equipment, which consists of winches and pulleys, ropes and chains, and also very good communication skills. There will be over 100 competitors in the three events, speaking a range of different languages, and understandably all very keen that their personal preferences are met – incorrect setting of the equipment could be the difference between Gold and nothing! A very great responsibility indeed.

Apart from Connor Thompson Y13, the team can be seen in the photograph. From left to right: Dotun Fakoya Y12, Liam Dee Y11, Alex Cloona Y13, Aaron Hemsley Y13, James Barker Y13, Chloe Rees Y13, Tom Bryan Y13, Lucy Oxborrow Y13, Ella Lloyd Y12, Liam Cloona Y11, Simon Wake Y13. A group of RHS students of whom we should be very proud.

The team attended the Olympic Warm-Up Trial in April – which Aaron described as brilliant! They were presented with their official stadium passes, and given talks by the stadium general managers on health and safety and the importance of good communication, given that so many different languages will be spoken. They will receive passes nearer the time for their daily travel, but were allowed to keep the kit they were given. They were even allowed to sit in the Royal Box – and better still they all have stadium tickets for the Opening Ceremony dress rehearsal!

They were given further training when they participated in the London Disability Grand Prix in May – the difference being that this time they had real competitors and real crowds. According to Aaron, these experiences really brought it home to them how fantastic it is that they will be so involved in the greatest show on earth!

 At the time of writing the RHS team were looking forward to helping in the Herts Youth Games and the East of England Disability Championships on 19 May, running the field events in the Children’s Section for disabled 5 and 6 year olds. Fantastic!

Curtesy of Richard Hale School- Hale News July 2012

Herts Youth Games- Olympic Torch Relay

On the 8th July the we were assisting at the annaul 'Herts Youth Games Competition'. This event features a wide range of sports, from boccia to basketball, from cricket to rugby. We had been asked to assist in the aquathlon in the morning, a sport which many of us had never herd about before the games, and sports hall athletics in the afternoon, which has by now become a familiar and well known programme.

The Aquathlon is a sport where athletes swim a specific distance, and then complete a gruling run still in their wet kit, the rain ensured that the athletes had no time to dry off in the slightest. The team acted as Marshalls and Timekeeps around the course, and were insturmental in collating the final results and processing the data with great speed, ensuring that the borough teams quickly knew their results and placings.

The afternoon sports hall athletics section was a well-rehearsed and usually well known programme, however, the 8th of July threw up some particular trouble, the Olympic torch was arriving, and we only had a rough idea when this was to happen. The competitors and spectators crowded into the hall, filling the stands and the balcony, the competition began with the sprint races, and then the message came through on the radio's, the Torch was nearly upon us.

We have been thanked over and over again for our efforts throughout the day, which ensured the smooth running of the events, and the enjoyment for specators and competitors alike. I would like to say a special thank you Hannah Craig and Georgie Rowley for staying with us throughout the day as extra help, which was much appreciated!

The torch bearers took their place, ready for the 'kiss' to happen in the centre of the sports hall. The 'Boys in Grey' came into the hall, and took up their positions, ready to guard and protect the torch and its bearer, and the crowds were preparing for immenent arrival. The eruption of noise from the competitors when the torch entered the hall was deafening, and we struggled to hold the children back as they crowded forward to get a better view of the flame.

Easy Riders Launch

On the 3rd of July members of the Games Maker Team including Aaron, Connor, Alex, Liam, James and Tom assisted by Georgie Rowley assembled at Stanborough Lakes in Welwyn Garden City to launch a new cycling initiative. 'Easy Riders' has been created by the Welwyn Hatfield Council, and the Activate Forum to provide recreational cycling for people living with disabilities. The scheme provides a great way for people to stay fit and healthy, whilst enjoying a social opportunities.

The launch was hugely successful, and we successfully guided trialists of the bikes around the lakes, and also met and spoke with special guests and dignitatires, including the borough Mayor, and members of national government bodies.

Photo's are to follow in due course.

National Sports Week!

As part of National Sports Week the Richard Hale Young Games Makers team have been involved in numerous events, within both their Games Maker duties, and their local legacy projects.

On Monday the 25th June, World Sports Day, Aaron, Lucy, Connor, Tom and Simon were all involved in the Top Sports Ability Festival, coordinated by Simon Wake, as part of their Level 3 Higher Sports Leaders Award. The day was a multi-sports event, for local schools, Amwell View and Pinewood, schools for those with learning difficulties. The day was themed around the Paralympic values- courage, determination, inspiration and equality, all of which were shown by the competitors on the day, who all went home with a smile on their face, after enjoying a full day of sporting activities.

On Tuesday the 26th June, 21 schools from Hertford and Ware competed in the WWW Games. The team was involved in many different sports on the day, Simon Wake, Liam Cloona, Liam Dee and Tom Bryan were instrumental in running the athletics section of the competition, whilst Aaron and Connor recalled their year 6 knowledge of Lacrosse to aid in the coaching side of the sport. Other members of the team were also involved in running the Paralympic themed sports for able-bodied competitors as part of their higher sports leaders award. The day once again was featured around the Paralympic and Olympic values, with certificates being awarded to those who demonstrated the values in their competitions. Over 600 local school children enjoyed the day, which is a great achievement for the Games Maker team members, and the local sports partnership!

The East of England Disability Championships

 The East of England Disability Championships were held on the 19th May, at the Chelmsford Athletic track. This is an annual competition where athletes with disabilities and impairments compete within the Eastern region of the UK! For the first time this year, the competition organisers introduced an element of this for primary school children, and we, the Richard Hale Young Games Maker Team, worked alongside Ros Cramp, the North Herts Sports Partnership Coordinator, and a teacher at Knights Templar School to organise this competition. Athletes representing Ashley School, Herts Development Squad, East Herts Special Olympics and Harlow Athletics Club were all present at this event. The event was a multi-discipline event, where the athletes competed in a track event, a throwing event and a jumping event. During our spare time we were invited to assist the technical officials on the field of play, which was a great experience for us, too work alongside athletes who were competing on behalf of grass routes clubs, and much larger organisations. We were also given the time to practice our tie down role with athletes and officials, which will further prepare us for our role at the Paralympics! Our event, which was being run for the first time was viewed by spectators, organisers and competitors alike as a great success, and we hope that the events will continue to run in the future! We would like to express our thanks to Ros who put so much effort into organising the Championships, and ensured that we were very well looked after on the day!

Visa London Disability Grand Prix

On the 7th and 8th May the Richard Hale Young Games Maker Team attended the London Disability Grand Prix (London Prepares Series) as part of our test event programme. The aim of this event was to test every single aspect of Paralympic Athletics, from the ability to start a race, to measuring the distance of throws. This was also an opportunity to test out the equipment which we would be using, and to get some real hands on experience as a 'Tie-Down' crew. Our job involves securing the throwing frames of Paralympic Athletes (who are seated for their throws) to the throwing circle, we have to make sure that the throwing frame remains stable whilst the athlete is throwing, and is in the preferred position of the athlete in question. As a team we performed our role very well, considering this was the first time we had ever attempted the role, we were not expecting miracles, however all six of the athletes which we looked after competed well in their respect categories, and enjoyed communicating and even engaging in 'banter' with us! We would once again like to say a huge thank you to the Parents Association of Richard Hale School who financially supported the team throughout the test event period. We stayed as a team in premier inn during our test event, as the trains did not run early enough for us to journey up from home. During our stay we met with and spoke to many technical officials and many members of the LOCOG workforce, it was great to discuss our journey, our plans and our expectations with other people who were also involved in the games. The general public were also generally intrigued by what we were doing, and our flash new 'London Prepares Series' jackets ensures that we stand out from the usual London crowd!
The next test for us a team will be the East of England Athletics Championships, on the 19th May, where we have been asked to organise and run a disability section for young athletes of all classifications,which will allow them to compete in the year of the London Games, and to see perspective members of Team GB!