Tag: Olympics

Tension mounts as 'Oh-Limp-Nix' training gets underway!

Tension is mounting as residents at St Nicholas Court Sheltered Housing Complex are gearing up for a four-day ‘Oh-Limp-Nix’ tournament, bringing their own touch of the Olympics to Leith!

With just over a month until the games begin, the sporting pensioners are taking part in twice-weekly training sessions, brushing up on their skills for the for-day, four-round event.

Four teams, each with four people, will represent the UK, USA, South Africa and Australia. The countries were picked by the team members through personal connections to those countries. Dubbed ‘Oh-Limp-Nix’, the tournament will kick off on July 30 as the London games get underway. Each day, the theme for food and fun will represent each of the countries taking part.

St Nicholas Court, on Ferry Road, is owned by Port of Leith Housing Association and Chief Executive Keith Anderson will bring the week of fun to a golden finale with a  medal presentation ceremony on August 3.

Maureen Tait, who manages St Nicholas Court, said: “The training sessions are going very well and there is already a fair bit of friendly rivalry building between the teams. It’s nice to be able to celebrate in our own way what is going on in the country and creates a real buzz amongst the residents.”

The teams will have four different rounds to complete. The first round is archery and bowling on the Wii, before playing ‘triominoes’, which are triangular dominoes. Contestants will then have a shoot out, standing on the spot throwing a ball into a net and hoopla, throwing a hoop onto a pole.

Keith Anderson, Chief Executive at Port of Leith Housing Association, said: “It’s fantastic that the residents at St Nicholas Court are really embracing the sporting and competitive spirit of the summer and I look forward to watching the competitions. In the meantime, I wish them luck in their training regime!”

The event is being held as part of St Nicholas Court’s support of Active Ageing recognising the importance of exercise, fitness healthy eating has on the physical and emotional wellbeing of older people.

 

 

Olympic Reflections

 

The North Neighbourhood Olympic Torch Project came to a dramatic finale on the 30 May when participants took part in a Mini Olympians final event at Bangholm (writes Ricky Karoyan). Pupils were split into countries before taking part in various Olympic sports – from athletics to martial arts – and competing to win gold!  Pupils were awarded prizes based on effort and being a good player in keeping with the Olympic values.

The torch started it’s journey at Craigroyston Primary on Tuesday 21 February.  The torch was then delivered to St Davids and ended up at Lorne Primary on the 21 May.   As the torch travelled from school to school the pupils got to experience one of the Olympic sports, whilst also sharing the experience with a neighbouring school.  They even got to meet some Team GB Olympians, such as hockey player Graham Moodey) and athlete Lynsey Sharp, who visited schools in their Olympic Games kit!  This project involved P3’s from 11 schools from across North Edinburgh.

The activities experienced were hockey, basketball, judo, athletics, Paralympics events, handball, taekwondo, seated volleyball, fencing and boccia.

The pupils had a great time and learned lots of exciting new sports and skills with neighbouring schools.  Active Schools were really impressed with the effort that the classes put into their class presentations and their flag and mini torch making.

A special thanks to all the schools who supported this project and for their enthusiasm and energy.  Also a big thanks to Telford College who delivered our final festival, bringing lots of energy and excitement to the event. Lets hope our mini Olympians are future Olympic athletes in the making!

Ricky Karoyan

Active Schools Coordinator, Craigroyston Cluster

Sneak peek at Olympic torch!

Can’t wait for the arrival of the Olympic torch this afternoon? Well, here’s a sneak preview to whet your appetite!

This version of the torch was on display at Bangholm Playing Fields for the culmination of the Active Kids Olympic events on 30 May. Local Active Schools Coordinator Ricky Karoyan (above, right) was joined by her Trinity Academy cluster colleague Nicky Wheatley for the big finale.

A great day was had by all, and special thanks to Johnny Martinez from Edinburgh’s Telford College, who with a team of Year 2 HND Events Management students, ensured the festival event ran without a hitch!

For those who insist on seeing the ‘real thing’, however, times this evening are as follows:

18:15 – Depart Chesser Avenue along Slateford Road to Shandon Place

18:35 – Colinton Road at Gray’s Loan

18:40 – Bruntsfield Place at Holy Corner

18:55 – Lauriston Place at Tollcross

19:00 – George IV Bridge

19:05 – Lawnmarket at North Bank Street/The Mound

After that, the Flame will travel up to the Castle for the ticket only Evening Celebration event – NOTE tickets have all been allocated.

On the morning of Thursday 14th June, you will be able to see the Flame at the following locations:

07:00 – Festival Square at the Big Screen

07:12 – The Grassmarket

07:20 – George IV Bridge at the Royal Mile

07:30 – Scottish Parliament

07:45 – Pleasance

08:00 – Scottish Widows building opposite Royal Commonwealth Pool

08:15 – Duddingston Village on Old Church Lane

08:25 – Milton Road West

The torch will then leave Edinburgh and continue on to Musselburgh.

NB all timings are approximate and subject to change.

Young Scot to stage Olympics at Craigroyston!

Young Scot Youth Legacy Ambassador Bina Radhi is hosting an Olympic-themed day at Craigroyston Primary School next month.

Bina, who is 18, explained “On 11 May, myself and Jodi, another YLA from Edinburgh, will be hosting an Olympic themed sports day at Craigroyston Primary School for the primary sevens who are in transition to moving to high school. Since it’s the year of the Olympics, we have decided to host an Olympic themed day, by allocating each class with an Olympic country for the chance to compete against one another. There will be a mixture of different stations, from trying out sports such as football, javelin throw, as well as educational activities, where pupils will have to test their knowledge and learn some fast facts about each country!”

She went on: “As it is a transaction event, we have been working closely with the Active Schools Coordinator to invite other cluster primary schools in the area to come along, so that they can meet other young people that they will be going to high school with. Since then, we have had confirmation for a couple of schools to say they are coming. We also have all equipment, photographer, music, some media, sponsorship money (hopefully), all organised for the day! The event is on the 11th of May and will run from 9.30- 11.30am. We hope to see around 120 pupils come along and have already recruited around 30 volunteers.”

Sounds like a lot of fun!