The English Institute of Sport played host to an end of season tournament and awards event for goalball, the only paralympic team sport designed for the visually impaired. Played with raised markings on the floor, blindfolds are used to ensure an even playing field as players locate the ball through sound. Goalball is played by men and women and Goalball UK has supported a highly successful national women’s team. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
Sheffield badminton and Team GB athlete Chloe Birch has spoken out against UK Sport’s decision to cut funding for badminton leading up to Tokyo 2020. Funding has been cut despite Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge winning bronze to secure Britain’s first men’s doubles medal at Rio this year. Badminton had its funding cut from £7.4m to £5.9m after London 2012, after no players managed the minimum fourth-to-eighth-placed finish that had been targeted. Yet despite the surprise success of Ellis and Langridge, the sport will not get a slice of the £345m of national lottery and government funding which UK Sport has announced will be invested over the next four years. Badminton England are appealing the decision and have started a petition on their website which has over ten thousand signatures. Our reporter Simon Thake spoke with Chloe Birch and Badminton Sheffield Chairman Alan Barber at the English Institute for Sport.
A new football hub has been opened at Thorncliffe Park following the launch last month at Graves Park of the first of a network of grassroots football hubs. The Parklife programme is a new initiative to develop sustainable community football hubs across the country, raising playing standards and opportunities for all. It is funded by The Football Association, the Premier League and Department of Culture Media and Sport through Sport England and works in partnerships with local authorities and the Football Foundation. Sheffield Live! reporter Bailor Jalloh spoke to Councillor Mary Lea, cabinet response for culture, sport and leisure at Sheffield City Council.
Carlos Carvalhal gave his weekly press conference ahead of their game against Burnley this Saturday, he spoke about the international break, the new formation and also his possible team selection for the game.
Sheffield Live! is hosting an exclusive preview of programmes under development for Sheffield’s new local TV channel.
Join us for a breakfast screening with an eclectic selection of showreels from our independent producers. Sheffield Live! TV will carry a diverse mix of news and current affairs, music, culture, sport, community and alternative programming, featuring Sheffield talent and creativity.
Join us for breakfast, with refreshments, light snacks, a chance to talk to some of our programme makers and a screening at the Showroom Cinema on 24 July 2014 – a taste of things to come.
Please book early – places will be limited! Further details here.
Karen Codling and Charlotte Faulkner receive the award on behalf of the Sheffield Smashers club
A Sheffield Boccia club has been awarded the top level club accreditation after only two years.
The Sheffield Smashers club, based at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, is now a level two accredited club by Boccia England, allowing them access to national funding.
Thanks to this success, the club can now apply to Boccia England to help one of their coaches gain a national coaching award.
To achieve the accreditation, the Sheffield Smashers have consistently demonstrated a high level of development and practice in all aspects of the sport.
Boccia, pronounced Bot-cha, is a Paralympic sport similar to bowls, created for people with disabilities affecting their motor functions. Athletes compete alone or as part of a team to throw, kick or use a ramp to launch a ball to get as close as possible to the ‘jack’.
Marc Scott, club development officer for Boccia, said: “The Sheffield Smashers have put in a lot of work and dedicated hours to achieve all the criteria needed, so congratulations to them. I’m looking forward to working with them in the future to develop the club even more.”
Michelle Hayden, development manager for South Yorkshire Sport, said: “It’s great to see such a worthy club getting recognised by the national association. It’s inspiring to see the members work so hard to achieve something they more than deserve and we hope it will encourage more disabled people to take part in such a fantastic sport.”
For more information about The Sheffield Smashers and to find out how you can get involved with the sport of Boccia, visit www.sheffieldsmashersboc.com or www.gb-boccia.org.
Owlerton Greyhound Stadium is the new home to the Sheffield Eagles, it was announced today.
A two-year agreement sees the rugby league club returning to the venue where it first formed almost 30 years ago.
As part of the deal, the Eagles will play all home fixtures at Owlerton Stadium when the new Championship season kicks off in February 2014.
Sheffield Eagles staged their first ever fixture at Owlerton in September 1984 before leaving five years later following changes to crowd rules.
Ahead of the new season, improvements will be made to the pitch and changing rooms.
The move back to Owlerton, which has a capacity of 6,000, has been supported by Sheffield City Council and backed by the Rugby Football League – the governing body for rugby league in the UK. It follows the closure of the Eagles’ former home, Don Valley Stadium.
Mark Aston, the Head Coach and Chief Executive of the Sheffield Eagles, said: “It’s fantastic that we can announce that we are heading back to Owlerton for at least the next two years.
“We have always undertaken excellent community work within the city of which we are immensely proud and the agreements that we are making allow us to remain within the city, at a great stadium and able to continue our award winning efforts within the community.
“Owlerton has undergone major refurbishments over the past few years and I’m sure all our loyal fans will continue to support us as we aim to once again defend our Championship title.”
John Gilburn, managing director of Owlerton Stadium, said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming the Eagles back home to Owlerton – the place where it all started for the club almost 30 years ago. It is fantastic that we have been able to help the club stay in Sheffield and we look forward to working in partnership to help the Eagles realise their Super League ambitions.”
The Eagles’ first team training sessions and youth matches will continue to take place at Sheffield Hallam University’s sports complex, on Bawtry Road.
Ian Swire, chairman of the Sheffield Eagles, said: “I’d like to thank Sheffield City Council, the Rugby Football League and Owlerton Stadium for their excellent support, ensuring our smooth transition back to our original home at Owlerton Stadium and ensuring that our community work continues within the city.
“Their assistance has crucially ensured we are able to remain in the city of Sheffield which has been our primary objective since the announcement of the closure of Don Valley Stadium. We are all highly impressed with the huge improvements in facilities at Owlerton Stadium since we left there in 1989 to move to Don Valley Stadium and I’m sure all of our spectators, old and new, will enjoy the amenities that the stadium has to offer.
“We intend to play our fixtures on Sunday afternoons and look forward to creating a fantastic experience utilising the varied dining opportunities in the restaurants at the stadium to complement the superb entertainment supplied by the back to back Champions on the field.”
Katie Powell, who won senior ladies gold at the Deeside IJS
Sheffield skaters helped the city’s state-of-the-art ice rink to celebrate its 10th birthday by winning 10 medals at the 2013 British Championships qualifying event.
At the Deeside IJS, iceSheffield won six gold, three silver and one bronze medal and qualified a record number of skaters for the British Championships in November 2013.
Gold medals were secured by Katie Powell in the senior ladies category, Paul Dredge and Charlotte Dyson, who won the junior dance event and brother and sister, Mia and Henry Drury, who were crowned advanced novice pairs champions.
Lizzie Key and Emile Betts-Dawson also won gold in the advanced novice dance, while Abbey Wrobel and Perry Bradford also placed first in pairs.
iceSheffield, which is preparing to celebrate its 10th anniversary with a spectacular skating gala later this month, also skated away with three silver medals.
These were won by Emily Hayward for junior ladies, Eleanor Hirst and Jake Featherstone in junior dance and Summer Herbert and Pierce Fitzgerald.
Dawn Peckett, coach at iceSheffield, said: “This is a fantastic achievement. We’ve qualified the highest number of British Championship entries in the history of iceSheffield and it’s a great way to celebrate 10 years of an amazing venue.
“When the British Championships return to our venue next month, iceSheffield will be represented in every discipline from novice to senior ladies and men to advanced novice and junior pairs and novice and junior dance.
“What makes this success even more rewarding is that most of the novice and junior skaters came from our Learn to Skate programme. It shows the progression that can be made with the right facilities and coaching.”
Adding to the Sheffield International Venues (SIV) facility’s success, Peter James Hallam achieved a personal best score of 152 at the Junior Grand prix in Minsk.
He finished a creditable 7th out of 21 skaters from across the globe and placed above competitors from USA, Russia and China.
Seventeen-year-old PJ is now preparing to represent GB at his second Grand Prix in Latvia after the British Championships at iceSheffield from 26-30 November 2013.
PJ, from Wincobank, who is also appearing in iceSheffield’s birthday gala, said: “I’m so grateful to iceSheffield and really pleased to be helping celebrate its 10th birthday. The gala is going to be an amazing showcase of talent.
“I started skating as a complete novice on the Learn to Skate lesson programme when I was eight years old and now I’m representing Team GB at international competitions. It’s a dream come true.”
What next?
WUKF Action
The World Union of Karate-Do Federations (WUKF) has chosen to bring its prestigious European Karate Championships to Sheffield.
The high-profile WUKF event will take place at the English Institute of Sport (EIS Sheffield) from 16-20 October.
More than 1,400 people aged between six and 60 years old will compete in five different categories during the inaugural five-day championships in the sports hall at EIS Sheffield.
Children, cadets, juniors, seniors and veterans from countries including France, Italy and Sweden will take part in an elaborate opening ceremony before bidding to be crowned European champion.
They will be supported by hundreds of coaches, spectators, organisers and volunteers at the Sheffield International Venues (SIV) facility.
As part of the championships, the WUKF will also host a seminar for referees and coaches; and the WUKF presidents meeting. There will also be a technical Kumite seminar delivered by multiple World Champion, Christophe Pinna, at EIS Sheffield. The farewell party will take place at the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria hotel.
Peter Allen, WUKF European President, said: “The event is the first of its kind, combining all the age groups into a European Karate Championships for all ages. Already booked are over 20 countries from Europe.
“Our European Family of Karate Ka will join us in Sheffield which I hope will be the best European Championships to date. I hope competitors, officials and spectators alike, will take back many happy memories of Sheffield and our English culture.
“The opening ceremony is a combination of British music, football memorabilia and world famous Sheffield superstars such as Sheffield’s golden girl Jessica Ennis-Hill. Sheffield is waiting.”
Councillor Isobel Bowler, Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Leisure said: “It is great news to have such a prestigious event come to EIS Sheffield. It sounds incredibly exciting and once again shows what a world class facility we have here in Sheffield to attract such an event as this.
“I wish all the competitors good luck and hope it all goes well.”
Tickets are available online at www.sivtickets.co.uk, through the ticket hotline 0114 223 3777 or in person at the Motorpoint Arena Sheffield, Sheffield City Hall or Sheffield Theatres.
A competitor at the British Climbing Championships (Photo: Jamie Veitch)
Brand new Sheffield climbing wall Awesome Walls – which we have written about here – opened with a high profile event this weekend (5-6 October) when it hosted the British Lead and Speed Climbing Championships.
Day 1 of the competition featured the youth and veteran lead climbing categories. A full breakdown of scores and results in this categories can be found here.
The pressure was not only on the competitors – it was on the venue and its build team too. Awesome Walls is a brand new venue, which has been completed just in time for the competition.
Managing director Dave Douglas told Sheffield Live:
“As the deadline loomed for the completion of the new Awesome Walls the pressure was on not only to complete the project but to go one step further and give the competitors a facility that they would next forget. As the keen climbers entered the climbing arena never before has the word ‘awesome’ been
spoken with such truth and enthusiasm!”
What next?