Tag: Sport

Dalkeith Rugby Club welcomes more than 400 families to Minis Festival

Families from across Edinburgh and the Lothians turned out in force at the Dalkeith Minis Rugby Festival 2022 on Sunday (15 May), which was supported by leading housebuilder Stewart Milne Homes.

Hosted at King’s Park by Dalkeith Rugby Club, more than 400 primary school children across six teams including Dalkeith, Falkirk, Lasswade, Leith, Penicuik, and Preston Lodge competed in the round robin festival of 12-minute matches throughout the day.

With a people-first ethos, Stewart Milne Homes was the main sponsor of the event and provided funding to support the organisation of the minis rugby festival which has been encouraging friendly community sport for over 15 years.

The award-winning housebuilder also provided a gazebo for the event which was the main hub for all attendees on the day and supplied re-usable water bottles for all the children to keep them hydrated throughout the event and take home for future use.

Rugby balls were also donated to the club for the kids to use when on the pitch and all participants proudly took home a competition medal as a keepsake of the action-packed day.

Dawn Lawrence, Sales Consultant at Stewart Milne Homes’ Shawfair development, said: “Events such as the Dalkeith Minis Rugby Festival are the foundation of thriving communities, and at Stewart Milne Homes we share the club’s passion in creating vibrant places and a sense of belonging that people want to call home.

“After virtual events have dominated the agenda for the last two years, it’s fantastic to see a huge number of youngsters get outdoors once again into green, natural space and participating in activities that promote healthy lifestyles.

“We’re very proud to work with community groups and sports clubs, and it is humbling to be able to offer a helping hand to an organisation which shares our people-first values.  I’d like to say thank you to Dalkeith Rugby Club for collaborating with us on such a fun, family-orientated event.”

Christopher Boyle, Head of Minis Rugby at Dalkeith Rugby Club, said: “The Minis Rugby Festival is one of the highlights in our calendar and we are thrilled to see such a fantastic turn out for the 2022 event.

“The whole team shares a passion for enhancing sporting opportunities across the Midlothian region and beyond for our next generation and seeing these efforts culminate in events is incredibly rewarding.

“The funding support and gifted items from Stewart Milne Homes have been gratefully received by the Club and everyone who attended.”

Stewart Milne Homes is currently creating a number of new developments across Central Scotland, including Shawfair in Midlothian, which will feature 115 new homes as well as communal green space and excellent active travel links to the wider community.

The luxurious three-, four-, five- and six-bedroom homes on offer are from the housebuilder’s new ‘Villages’ range which has been expertly designed for modern-day lifestyles, creating the very best of contemporary and considered living for the whole family.

For further information, visit www.stewartmilnehomes.com

Tennis: US Open trophy drops in to Broughton Primary School

Children encouraged to give tennis a shot

The US Open trophy made a special appearance at a school in Edinburgh as part of a UK-wide trophy tour to celebrate Britain’s No.1 women’s singles player Emma Raducanu’s success at last year’s tournament.

Tennis Scotland is working alongside the LTA to deliver the US Open Trophy Tour as they aim to increase tennis participation and inspire young players to take to court across the United Kingdom and children at Broughton Primary School welcomed the trophy to their school for the Scotland leg of the tour yesterday (Friday, 13 May).

The morning’s activities included a special message for the pupils from Raducanu, followed by an on-court session delivered by an LTA Youth coach. During the trophy presentation, there were also opportunities for pupils and staff to have their pictures taken with the famous piece of silverware.  

Emma is currently an ambassador for LTA Youth Schools and all the participating schools have signed up to deliver LTA Youth Schools for current pupils.

At just 18-years-old, Raducanu became the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title in 44 years and made tennis history when she became the first ever player to come through qualifying to win a Grand Slam title when she defeated Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-3 in New York.

Speaking about the tour, Emma Raducanu said, “I’m really excited to be teaming up with the LTA to take my US Open trophy on a tour of the country.

“All the schools we are taking the trophy to have played tennis as part of the LTA Youth Schools programme and my hope is that the trophy will inspire them to continue their tennis journey both inside and outside of school.” 

Blane Dodds, Tennis Scotland Chief Executive, added, “The US Open trophy tour is the perfect opportunity to highlight Emma Raducanu’s incredible success and showcase the opportunities in tennis. We hope this tour will inspire younger players to keep working hard and follow in Emma’s footsteps.”  

The schools part of the programme is delivered in Primary and Secondary Schools across the country, and offers free teacher training and content that has been specifically created to help address the nation’s challenge of declining physical literacy and activity among children.

The programme offers free teacher training and content that has been specifically created to help address the nation’s challenge of declining physical literacy and activity among children.

LTA Youth Schools is designed specifically for schools to support the curriculum and wider school outcomes. The programme brings together inclusive PE lesson plans, personal development resources, teacher training and much more. It’s all been designed by teachers, for teachers, and it’s all free.

For more information, click HERE.

Tennis Scotland provides advantage to youngsters in deprived communities

New partnership programme with UK charity

Tennis Scotland has partnered with ‘Rackets Cubed’ to enhance the lives of school children in deprived areas of the nation through an innovative tennis programme which aims to support fulfilment of academic potential whilst improving physical and mental wellbeing.

Rackets Cubed, a UK-registered charity currently operating South of the border, delivers integrated programmes comprising of racket sports, STEM education and nutritious meals as part of its weekly activities.

Founded in 2016, the organisation has a vision of ensuring that primary pupils perform to the best of their ability by benefiting from participation in sport, enhanced extracurricular lessons and an introduction to healthy eating: driven by evidence that active children perform better in school, whilst a healthy diet has been proven to have a positive impact on classroom behaviour.

Research suggests that children in disadvantaged areas are less likely to participate in physical activity outside of school, subsequently leading to issues such as low self-esteem and obesity which can impact their academic achievements and overall wellbeing.

Designed to provide stability and project sport as a positive vehicle for change in communities, Tennis Scotland launched pilot sessions of the Rackets Cubed programme in Glasgow yesterday, with pupils at St Paul’s Primary School in Shettleston alongside students at Antonine and Camstradden primary schools in Drumchapel, the first to benefit from the initiative.

The Drumchapel programme will see students continue their development outside of official school hours at Drumchapel Tennis Club; a facility that has been selected as an ‘aspirational’ venue to host the sessions, aiming to increase youngsters’ confidence in joining and participating in activities at local community clubs.

Capitalising on increased interest in tennis and substantial growth of club memberships in recent years, the governing body also plans to roll out the programme over the next 12 months to continue increasing the provision of tennis activities to underrepresented groups, having already engaged around 350 youngsters from socially deprived areas last year through the LTA SERVES initiative.

Blane Dodds, Chief Executive of Tennis Scotland, said: “Tennis Scotland’s mission is to Open tennis up, and this exciting programme will enable us to take tennis to more disadvantaged communities and use tennis the vehicle to raise wellbeing and attainment of young people.

“Over the last couple of years during the covid pandemic, many children have been less active and missed out on education. This exciting programme is a great opportunity to increase children’s physical activity, wellbeing and support extra education and nutrition resulting in a positive impact on the children.”

Geoff Newton CEO of Rackets Cubed: “Rackets Cubed is delighted to be partnering with Tennis Scotland to offer opportunities to young children from disadvantaged backgrounds to learn a new skill, and help open up tennis to a wider audience.

“Combined with additional tuition in a STEM subject, and a nutritious meal, all in an ‘aspirational’ location, we are delighted to launch the first programmes in Glasgow and look forward to working closely with Tennis Scotland to develop many more.”

Welcome Dnipro Kids to Easter Road

As you will have read in the media a couple of months ago Dnipro Kids rescued 50 orphans and their carers from Ukraine and they are now safe and settled in Edinburgh.

It has been a busy and stressful time for them and we are very excited that they will receive a huge welcome to Edinburgh this Sunday.  

On May 15th, the Dnipro Kids are being welcomed to Edinburgh and Easter Road for the final match of the season against St Johnstone.

They will be taking part in a family friendly day filled with activities including prematch entertainment, presentation of the match ball, play on the pitch and more.

It will be a great day for all, and to promote a fun atmosphere in the stadium for the match, Hibernian FC is offering two free kids tickets with the purchase of an adult ticket.

We would love as many people to come along and welcome the children as possible and would ask that you promote the event amongst your network and on social media.  We want the group to feel excited and safe in Edinburgh and your help would be great appreciated.  

See below for match QR code:

 

Edinburgh locals net national tennis awards

The winners of the Tennis Scotland Awards 2022 have been announced, celebrating the outstanding individuals, clubs, programmes and competitions that made a significant contribution to tennis in 2021 by helping to create an accessible and welcoming environment which supported 8000 incoming club members across the nation.  

Former ITF circuit player Karen Lamb has been named as Performance Coach of the Year, an award given to an individual that has delivered a successful coaching programme in an inclusive, diverse, and safe environment, acknowledging her contributions to East of Scotland tennis and the East Wee Aces programme.  

Mary Byrne-Leitch (above) has earned the title of Senior Veteran Player of the Year as a result of her outstanding accomplishments as a member of Thistle Tennis Club, with honours including becoming a Scottish 65s ladies doubles champion.

Meanwhile, former Merchiston Castle School pupil Matt Rankin has been awarded the Junior Player of the Year after a breakthrough year on the Junior ITF tour which saw him climb to World No. 68 in the rankings and qualify for his first Junior Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open in January.  

Elsewhere, Musselburgh Tennis Club has earned the Communities and Park award, having innovatively engaged local groups of players, both new and returning, to play tennis in a welcoming community venue setting.  

Finally, Scotland’s nominee for the LTA President Award,reserved for individuals that have gone above and beyond the call of duty to serve the tennis community, is Graeme Soutar in recognition of his services to Craigmillar Tennis Club. 

The category winners were announced on Friday (29 April), with an awards ceremony to be held for recent winners at the Davis Cup in September, as part of the celebrations marking the Emirates Arena’s role as a host of group stage matches.  

   

Blane Dodds, Tennis Scotland Chief Executive, said: “I would like to congratulate each of the winners of this year’s Tennis Scotland Awards, alongside everyone who stepped up and played their part in continuing to grow our sport by facilitating welcoming tennis environments all over the country.”     

“As the governing body, it gave us great pleasure to witness a plethora of Scottish success stories across the year, on a national and international level. I wish the very best of luck to our winners and LTA President Award nominee as they aim to pick up more accolades at the LTA Awards later this year.”  

You can view the full list of winners here: https://www.lta.org.uk/about-us/in-your-area/tennis-scotland/news/tennis-scotland-awards-2022/    

To learn more about the Tennis Scotland Awards, please visit www.tennisscotland.org or follow @TennisScotland on Twitter and Instagram.  

Musselburgh Racecourse hat-trick of race meetings to celebrate summer

The Musselburgh race card is packed with possibilities for spectators as the track prepares to host a top-class trio of summer races this year.

Join in the excitement with Edinburgh Gin Raceday (21 May), celebrate The Queen’s magnificent Platinum Jubilee weekend (4-5 June) or get glammed up to the nines for Scotland’s most prestigious five-star Ladies Day (5 August).

The exhilarating Sensational 7, Summer programme begins with the return of The Edinburgh Gin Raceday featuring The Edinburgh Cup.

In addition to high-quality racing, there will be plenty of opportunities to party and enjoy some great food and drink: catch live music from local bands on the courtyard stage; sip botanical-inspired cocktails from the Edinburgh Gin Tipple Trailer and savour dishes from some of Scotland’s finest street food vendors. 

Musselburgh Racecourse has a proud Royal heritage, opened by Princess Anne and visited by The Queen, and its Platinum Jubilee Weekend in June will honour the monarch’s 70 years on the throne in a way that pays tribute to her enthusiasm for the sport.

Offering a fabulous weekend of celebrations for everyone, from racing enthusiasts to families, groups of friends and couples, it begins on Saturday, June 4 with the £50,000 Inch’s Cider Scottish Sprint Cup Raceday. Then the Skybet Sunday Series Raceday, featuring the Queen of Scots Fillies Stakes and the Jubilee Family Fair, follows on  5th June.

As well as racing, spectators will be able to enjoy live music, indulge in delicious fresh street food and enjoy a range of local beers and ciders. The Funkwagen DJ will also be there to get the party started.

With a real family feel and party atmosphere, the event is suited to all ages and visitors are encouraged to bring along a picnic and join in the street-party extravaganza.  The day is also packed with family activities including a free funfair and face-painting, plus prizes for the best dressed Prince and Princess.

The course’s Queen Stand is also hosting the Big Jubilee Lunch, catered for by Royal Warrant holders Heritage Portfolio, followed by Afternoon Tea inspired by items served at The Queen’s Garden Parties.

Glad rags will be the order of the day later in the summer when the course welcomes the glamour of Stobo Castle Ladies Day on August 5. Part of the Sensational 7 series, it has traditionally been held on a Saturday but will now take place on Friday.

An annual sell-out, for more than a decade, it has been Scotland’s premier five-star Ladies Day and one of the country’s biggest fashion extravaganzas.  Showcasing all the top racing action alongside dazzling fashion parades,  there is an after-race party with celebrity DJs, A-lister celebrities, some fantastic food and drink, live entertainment and amazing fashion prizes.

Packages include a day at the beautifully decorated Picnic Pavilion marquee. Located alongside the running rail, it is in prime position for viewing the action and has its own dedicated bar, betting facilities and private washrooms.

Elegance is obligatory and the most marvellous afternoon mandatory!

  • Book tickets for the Edinburgh Gin Raceday before midnight on May 20 and save £5 per person

https://www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk/view-fixture/the-edinburgh-cup-2022

  • Book tickets for the Jubilee Weekend before midnight on April 29 to save £10 per person

https://www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk/tickets/afternoon-meeting-04-06-2022

  • Book tickets for Stobo Castle Ladies Day – Purchase your advanced adult ticket now and save £5.00. On the day gate price will be £55.00

https://www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk/view-fixture/stobo-castle-ladies-day-2022

Junior Dodgeball coming to Granton

Thursdays at WARDIE RESIDENTS CLUB from 6.30 – 8pm

Starts 5th MAY

Hey folks!

Junior #Dodgeball is coming to #Granton

First session will be completely free for anyone to come along and give it a go!

Register via Spond: https://group.spond.com/UYNRU (an app we are using to manage attendance)

#ChooseDodgeball #Parents #Kids

St Andrews lights up as the countdown to The 150th Open continues

A spectacular light and sound projection show was beamed on to the iconic clubhouse of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews as the countdown to The 150th Open continued in the historic town last night.

Ahead of the move into British Summer Time and the Major Championship season, The R&A Celebration of Light was attended by residents of St Andrews who gathered at the world-renowned Old Course to watch celebrated moments from the Championship’s cherished history brought to life through the dramatic projection show.

The state-of-the-art production was narrated by actor and lifelong golf fan Gerard Butler. It charted the remarkable journey of golf since The Open began in 1860, celebrating renowned Champion Golfers and unforgettable performances from many of the sport’s greatest names.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “The R&A Celebration of Light was a spectacular way to continue our countdown to The 150th Open at St Andrews. You felt a real sense of excitement among the spectators who attended this evening as we enjoyed reliving the iconic moments which have made this great Championship so revered by millions of fans around the world.

“The 150th Open is a going to be a momentous occasion for golf and we look forward with great anticipation to seeing the world’s best men’s golfers create more history when they compete for the Claret Jug over the Old Course in just over three months’ time.” 

A tribute in support of Ukraine and its people also took place as colours of the nation’s flag were projected onto the clubhouse building. A live performance from the City of St Andrews pipe band entertained the attending crowd prior to the show.

For those unable to make it in person to experience the show, the entire display is now available to watch via The Open’s social media channels (@TheOpen) and TheOpen.com.

The show was the latest activity in a schedule of special events taking place before the first tee is struck at the Championship. The R&A is also hosting the Celebration of Champions on Monday 11 July, a special exhibition of golf on the Old Course that will bring together a number of the world’s most renowned golfers during the week of The 150th Open.

The R&A has been working with Rolex, a Patron of The Open, to develop a series of exclusive content which will be published via TheOpen.com in the lead up to the Championship.

‘The Journey’ will provide a unique insight into golf’s oldest major championship and focus on players, fans and the moments that have been written into history. The series launched last month and will continue over the coming months.

For more information on The R&A Celebration of Light, and latest news on The 150th Open, please visit TheOpen.com

Scotland for Ukraine event at Spartans

SUNDAY 3rd APRIL from 12.00 – 4pm at AINSLIE PARK

The World Cup play-off between Scotland and Ukraine was meant to take place on the 24th of March. It was postponed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Moved by the recent events, Spartans have decided to team up with the Edinburgh-based charity, Dnipro Kids Appeal, and host a five-a-side football tournament to raise money to support Ukrainian orphans forced away from their home.

Join us on the 3rd of April at Ainslie Park Stadium and support our cause.

Get your friends together and play football for those in need!!! ⚽️💛💙

Get your team tickets at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/scotland-for-ukraine…

Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scotlandforukraine/