Tag: sporting events

The Centre Livingston launches ‘Jump Into Summer’ free events programme

To celebrate some of the sporting events taking place this summer, including the Euro’s, Scottish Golf Open and the Olympics, The Centre, Livingston has invited three charities and a social enterprise to take part in its ‘Jump into Summer’ sports themed events programme, which includes a ‘Beat the Goalie’ challenge in a Euro’s football pop up, basketball and table tennis ‘try outs’ and 44 free daily workshops.

The action-packed event is designed to give visitors the chance to try out a new sport or improve their skills and join in the various free sessions for kids of all ages, running from Saturday, 29th June until Monday, 12th August, from 11am – 4pm each day.

In partnership with West Lothian Community Foundation, a Euro’s football pop up will be located at the activity hub near Waterstones from the 4th – 8th July where shoppers can take part in a ‘Beat the Goalie’ challenge and get help from the coaches on how to improve their technique.

Newly signed players from Livingston FC will also be joining in the fun on Friday, 5th at 1.30pm.

To tie in with the Scottish Golf Open, a golf simulator will also be in situ at the activity hub to encourage people to try their hand at the sport or improve their speed and swing from Friday 12th – 14th July.

Lothian Phoenix Wheelchair Basketball Club will also be taking part in the event with various demonstrations and opportunities for shoppers to see how many hoops they can shoot, from Friday 26th – Sunday, 28th July.

On the 3rd and 4th of August West Lothian Community Table Tennis Club, which is a charity based at The Centre, Livingston will also be providing taster and mini coaching sessions. 

Leaderboards will chart the best results on the day at the sports pop ups with lucky shoppers being in with a chance of winning £25 Gift Cards.

To highlight the benefits of cycling, Livingston based social enterprise, West Lothian Bike Library, will be taking up residency next to Car Park 1 on Wednesday, 7th August from 11 – 2pm, where they will also be carrying out bike safety checks.

From the 29th June until the 12th August, on all 44 days, families can take part in a wide variety of free workshops with activity leaders from workouts and storytelling sessions to painting classes and a one mile lap of the shopping centre on Saturday, 10th August at 11am, with kids receiving a wooden keepsake medal at the end for taking part. 

There will also be a ‘Spot the Sport’ trail to find pictures in 10 shop windows and on completion, families can enter a weekly prize draw to win a £50 Gift Card every week. All activities are free with the option to donate to any of the four summer charity partners.

Patrick Robbertze, Centre Director at The Centre, Livingston, said: “Our ‘Jump into Summer’ sports themed programme, which links into some brilliant events this summer, is packed with lots of free fun-filled activities for kids of all ages.

“This is a great opportunity for us to give visitors the chance to either try out a new sport or improve their skills with the help of some fantastic coaches.

“The event also gives us another opportunity to support and shine a light on the great work that our summer charity partners are doing in the local community, including West Lothian Community Foundation, Lothian Phoenix Wheelchair Basketball Club, West Lothian Community Table Tennis Club and West Lothian Bike Library.”

For more information on all free activities, check out www.thecentrelivingston.com.

New RNIB research shows how blind and partially sighted people can’t attend sporting events

Venues not set up for people with sight loss

RNIB guide shows how football clubs can make simple easy adaptions so match days are enjoyable and welcoming for fans with sight loss

To tie in with International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December, the Royal National Institute of Blind people (RNIB) has published new research which highlights how blind and partially sighted fans want to attend football matches and identifies some of the challenges that they face when attending live matches.

  • Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of all blind and partially sighted people said they couldn’t experience or access a sporting event properly because a venue doesn’t accommodate for people with sight loss
  • 41 per cent of blind and partially sighted fans say lack of accessible communication like audio-described commentary during a match, accessible event day programme in large print and braille puts them off attending a live sporting event

However, the research showed some positives with nearly two fifths (38 per cent) of blind and partially sighted people saying that their football stadiums had made a lot of adaptions to make the live viewing experience more accessible.

Tied in with this research, RNIB has created a new guide, See Sport Differently Guidance, showing how sports venues can make the match day experience accessible for fans with sight loss, having worked closely with Arsenal, Everton, Plymouth Argyle, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wrexham to develop best practice, as well as holding focus groups with blind and partially sighted people to better understand the issues they face when attending live football matches.

RNIB has showed the clubs how best to welcome blind and partially sighted fans into their stadiums to ensure they are able enjoy football matches without feeling excluded. RNIB is now proactively sharing the guide with all English Football League (EFL) and Premier League clubs to make their stadiums more accessible to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2023 on 3 December.

Matt Stringer, RNIB’s Chief Executive commented on the launch of the RNIB’s See Sport Differently Guidance: ‘Working with clubs across the football pyramid to create a guide that will enhance the match day experience for people with sight loss has been a fantastic experience for us.

“I’m also thankful to the EFL for sharing the guidance with all its 72 member clubs. It contains some handy checklists and quick wins that clubs can implement to help make stadiums easier for blind and partially sighted fans to navigate.

“Live sporting events need to be easier for blind and partially sighted fans to enjoy. Our new research shows that getting to and from a stadium can be a difficult task for people with sight loss, coupled with when at the stadium, the facilities on offer are not accessible. I enjoy the match-day experience at Watford and blind and partially sighted fans should be able to do so as I do.

“It would make a big difference if match day stewards and all fan-facing staff are trained to be sight loss aware. Making stadiums physical environment easy to navigate through clear signage, marked steps and marked handrails make a big difference in making blind and partially sighted people feel welcome.

“Also, technology such as audio description and quality match day commentary really helps brings the game to life and should be available at every fixture so that blind and partially sighted fans can fully enjoy the beautiful game.”

Charlotte Jones, partially sighted Wolverhampton Wanderers FC season ticket holder and from Wolverhampton, said: ““We need everyone to join in to help create a more inclusive match day for fans with sight loss.

“On match days, my Dad assists me with the challenges I face when attending matches, such as accessing the stadium and navigating through crowds and steps to get to our seats.

“We’ve received great support from the club who have helped us to select seats so that I can have the best spectator experience possible like sighted fans do. They’ve helped to locate seats where the sun wouldn’t be in my eyes during a game, which is very important as glare can affect my vision, and seats near to the halfway line so I can follow the game more easily.”

RNIB See Sport Differently Guidance

  • RNIB’sSee Sport Differently Guidance on making the match day experience accessible for spectators with sight loss is available to download here and can be shared with your football club to show how they can make their stadium more accessible for fans with sight loss.

The launch of the guidance is part of the See Sport Differently campaign, a campaign partnership between RNIB and British Blind Sport.

Crackdown on ticket bots: A better chance of seeing the stars in 2018

Gig goers and sports fans will have more chance to see their favourite stars in 2018 as the Government cracks down on touts using “bots” to bulk buy tickets for resale on secondary ticketing sites. Continue reading Crackdown on ticket bots: A better chance of seeing the stars in 2018