Emma Love currently plays netball in the U21 National squad which is sponsored by the University of the West of Scotland, and her local school team.
The 6th year pupil at Robert Gordon’s College was given access to training facilities at Cults Sports Complex thanks to registered charity Sport Aberdeen in the run up to qualifying matches.
Emma was selected to play for the U21 Scotland Team at the Netball Europe Championship which took place in Aberdeen, May 2017, seeing Scotland take Silver Medal.
After the triumph in May, Emma has been selected to represent Scotland at the Netball World Youth Cup, being held in Botswana in July 2017. Twenty countries will compete for the cup including Australia and New Zealand.
Sport Aberdeen Director of Sport and Active Lifestyles, Jo Bell said:
“It is brilliant to see local athletes doing so well at a national level. With backing from community facilities it is my hope that we can support, nurture and encourage more young people to take up sport.
“Sport Aberdeen is committed to creating opportunities and inspiring people of all ages and abilities to participate in physical activity.
“We wish Emma and the Scottish team the very best of luck for July and will continue to support her growing success.”
Caroline Walker Grampian Regional Development Manager, said:
“It is great to have a role model like Emma to inspire the young players in this area. Her achievements reflect her commitment, attitude and effort over a number of years.
“The netball community in Grampian is very proud of Emma and look forward to following the progress of the Scottish Team in July.”
Emma Love also commented:
“Being part of a National squad involves a lot of individual and group training, with the rest of the squad in Glasgow.
“I am very grateful for the support I have received from Sport Aberdeen this year. They made arrangements with Cults Sports complex and I have been able to use the hall at Cults for training and practising.
“The complex is close to my house and has meant that I can continue with my individual training regardless of the weather. This has been invaluable in helping me improve my skills, particularly in the lead up to Netball Europe and the World Youth Cup.”
Active Schools Aberdeen, part of Registered Charity Sport Aberdeen, led much of the extra-curricular sports on offer throughout the year and supported the development of Young Leaders throughout the school.
The sportscotland School Sport Award is a national initiative designed to encourage schools to continuously improve sporting opportunities, with all schools from Scotland invited to apply for the award.
After receiving the silver award last year, Bridge of Don Academy achieved the gold award this year for creating a culture which celebrates sport across the school.
Over the last year the local academy has hosted both an Active Girls Day and an Active Boys Day for P7-S3 pupils to encourage young people to take part in sport and has also expanded their extra-curricular programme and started an Inclusive lunchtime multisport club for Additional Support Needs pupils.
Commenting Sport Aberdeen, Director for Sport and Active Lifestyles Jo Bell said:
“Sport Aberdeen is committed to creating opportunities for young people to take part in physical activity. This award is testament to partnership working between Active Schools and Bridge of Don Academy.
“The school staff, and in particular the PE Department, have been strong supporters of our Active Schools team and what we are aspiring to achieve through the strategy for an active Aberdeen”
Councillor John Wheeler, Education Convener for Aberdeen City Council, said:
“This a fantastic achievement by the staff and pupils at Bridge of Don Academy and it’s great to see yet another Aberdeen school do so well in obtaining national recognition.
“In the short time since I became the new Education Convener I have already been impressed by the hard work and commitment shown by our schools and tangible recognition like the Gold Award is a great motivation for everyone”.
Major works to refit the hockey change area and install a dehumidifier have been planned in addition to the routine maintenance needed to operate an ice rink.
The maintenance, breaking and re-formation of the ice on the ice pad at the Linx Ice Arena is scheduled for every two-three years to maintain the ice to the highest possible standard. Sport Aberdeen today said it was grabbing this opportunity to undertake a wider programme of modernisation.
This has been enabled due to funding secured from external bodies, announcements about which will be made in due course.
To allow the works to take place, the registered charity today advised a three week closure period which will take place from the 17th July until 7th August. The work has been scheduled for this period to minimise impact on clubs and customers.
Commenting, Sport Aberdeen’s Director of Operations, Keith Gerrard, said:
“Ice Aberdeen’s vision is to get more people skating.
“We are grabbing the opportunity of a modest three week closedown to undertake a wider programme of modernisation. It will give us the perfect base to grow our innovative skating programme, and build our capacity to hold excellent events such as the Christmas Show and ice hockey SNL games.
“With our new Learn to Skate Co-Ordinator in place, I hope our customers and clubs are excited as we are about the future direction of the rink. We are grateful for their support during the short closedown and look forward to unveiling the results.”
The public will be able to keep up to date with progress through the Linx Ice Arena Facebook page.
The Fun Run Series, run by registered charity Sport Aberdeen’s Active Schools, took place across five venues, Bridge of Don, Cults, Harlaw, Kingswells and Sheddocksley, with each venue running one event per week over a four-week period.
Historically the event had been limited to P4-7 pupils, but this year Active Schools introduced races for P1-P3 pupils, bringing together more young people from across Aberdeen.
Over 695 pupils registered at the various venues, and 499 of these pupils took part in three or more races.
The Fun Run Series culminated in a Champion of Champions event, which took place on Wednesday 14th June, where the top finishers from local schools at each venue were invited to take part in finals.
Commenting, Sport Aberdeen Director for Sport and Active Lifestyles Jo Bell said:
“Sport Aberdeen is committed to creating opportunities and inspiring more people to take part in physical activity regardless of age and ability. I am thrilled that so many pupils have taken part in the Fun Run Series. With the new option for younger children to take part I hope this will spark an interest in sport even earlier.
“My eldest son has previously taken part in the school Fun Run’s and thoroughly enjoyed himself. He has even taken up running with his friends as a result, so I have seen the impact that community events like these can have!
“This is a brilliant event and one I hope to see go from strength to strength!”
The long-haul Longest Day Golf Challenge, which takes place on Wednesday 21st June, is a UK-wide event where fundraising teams take on four rounds of golf back to back. This works out to be 72 holes played, around 300 shots hit and approximately 20 miles walked in one day.
The day will start at around 6am at Balnagask Golf Course with a finish of around 10.30pm at the MacKenzie Championship Course at Hazlehead, with all four Sport Aberdeen golf courses being played throughout the day.
The event is part of a national fundraising campaign by MacMillan Cancer Support and is a true endurance test for golfers. Across the country over 3,000 teams took on the challenge last year and raised £1.5 million to help people affected by cancer.
This year, Sport Aberdeen have 17 golfers taking part and are well on the way to achieving their £1,500 target.
Commenting, Sport Aberdeen’s Director of Business Development Jill Franks said:
“Last year seven members of Sport Aberdeen took part and raised £1,050 for MacMillan Cancer Support. This year we want to go bigger and better and raise as much money as possible for the charity.
“Sport Aberdeen is committed to playing a positive role in our community, and this initiative has been led from the beginning by colleagues using their own time. It’s a positive reflection upon the company and I wish my colleagues all the best on this test of endurance!”
A Just Giving page has been set up to fundraise for the event here.
The Baker Hughes 10K Running Festival, organised by registered charity Sport Aberdeen attracts thousands of runners and spectators each year, and this year celebrated its 30th year.
Michael Hopkins and Jill Grant met by chance at last year’s race and after three dates, the rest, as they say, is history.
The couple returned to celebrate 30 years of the road race and a year since they met, with the news of an engagement and wedding plans for 2019.
Commenting, Sport Aberdeen’s Director of Business Development Jill Franks said:
“From racing down the Beach Boulevard to racing down the aisle, we have been spellbound by Jill and Michael’s story.
“In its 30-year history the Baker Hughes 10k Running Festival has played host to so many wonderful tales, however I think this might be the first where the race has led to wedding bells.
“On behalf of the organisers I’d like to wish Jill and Michael all the best for their future together.
“We hope that they can save the date for next year’s race!”
Marketing & Communications Specialist for Baker Hughes, Lesley McMullan said:
“Congratulations to Jill and Michael from all of us at Baker Hughes, we hope they continue to run the Baker Hughes 10K together for many happy years to come!”
Michael’s story:
Jill Grant and I met at the Baker Hughes 10K Running Festival on the 15th of May 2016. The story, as it goes, is that I was at a friend’s birthday party in Cove on the 14th and didn’t get to bed until 2am. I didn’t make it back to, Stonehaven where I was living then.
The next morning at 8am I got up, feeling a little worse for wear, but made it to one of the bus stops in Cove to go down the Aberdeen beach, where the race starts. I missed my bus by two minutes! I started walking along the way and one of Jill’s friends, unbeknown to me at this point, Jodie Milne, noticed that I was doing the race (with my number on the front of my t-shirt) and asked if I would like a lift.
We got to the beach and started chatting.10 minutes later Jill appeared and asked who I was, Jodie explained we had only met 30 minutes ago! We all chatted more before the race and promised to meet at the end to see how we got on, as this was everyone’s first Baker Hughes 10K.
We all met at the end and exchanged numbers. Three dates later Jill and I were an item. Since then I have moved to Aberdeen. Jill and I both agreed to do the Baker Hughes again for the 30th year.
We attended the same birthday in Cove this year, however he is now my joint best men. I proposed to Jill in Pitlochry in March as a secret for her birthday. We are planning get married in May 2019
This year’s Golden Games are delivered by the Active Aberdeen Partnership. The AAP is focused on guiding people of all ages into sport and creating opportunities for them to get active.
Formed in 2015, the partnership was created to support and influence partners and key agencies across Aberdeen to improve the quality of life for people of all ages and abilities, through sport and physical activity.
Last year more than 500 older people enjoyed the free events at the Golden Games – many of them for the first time. This year almost 1800 bookings have been made for the various activities.
Tony Dawson Chairman of the Active Aberdeen Partnership said:
“The Golden Games is now in its seventh year and we hope this will be its most successful yet. The festival is a key part of Aberdeen’s event calendar and is always eagerly anticipated by our participants.
“The Active Aberdeen Partnership aims to make Aberdeen the most active city in Scotland by 2020. The Golden Games plays an important role in showcasing the opportunities that are available around the city for our older residents to take part in physical activity no matter their ability.
“I hope everyone taking part this year has a great time and that they continue to be active beyond the eight day programme.”
The 2017 programme gets under way this Wednesday with a multi activity session at Aberdeen Sports Village but the programme steps up a gear from Thursday with full days of activities including bowling, dancing, Qigong, squash, swimming, Zumba gold and climbing and abseil sessions at Transition Extreme.
Old favourites such as table tennis, yoga and health walks feature throughout the eight day programme in addition to exciting new activities such as diving, skiing, floatfit, footgolf and an I-zone interactive fitness session.
The 2017 programme will also feature the popular Care Home Pentathlon in its new venue, Westburn Outdoor Centre.
The Golden Games will come to a close on Friday 16 June with a social event for participants. At this event the winner of the Pearl Mitchell Memorial Trophy will be announced. The award is named after care home resident Pearl Mitchell who, at the age of 104, fully embraced the Golden Games and was an inspiration to all who took part. Each year the trophy is presented to a participant who represents the spirit of the Golden Games.
Lyn Lawson, Golden Games participant and former recipient of the Pearl Mitchell trophy said:
“This will be my third year attending the Golden Games. I first went along to a few of the activities after a friend recommended it to me. I had such a great time so I’ve encouraged my sister to come along this year.
“I was so surprised to win the Pearl Mitchell trophy last year. I was recovering from a hip operation but I still managed to take part which goes to show there really is something for all levels!
“The Golden Games really is a great initiative. It provides a great introduction to activities and venues that you may never have tried before and everyone is extremely friendly. I’d encourage anyone who has never taken part before to come along to the Golden Games next year.”
The Granite City Guerrillas recently triumphed at the Scottish Dodgeball Championships with a comfortable win meaning they will represent Scotland at the UK Championships.
Registered charity Sport Aberdeen hosted the Championship event within the newly modernised Get Active @Jesmond, welcoming over 70 players with both male and female teams competing.
The Granite City Guerrillas Ladies, boasting five international players in their ranks, ran out eventual winners with a 7-0 win in the final.
The Granite City Guerrillas men’s team, headed up by caption Anthony Aldred, one of six Scottish Internationalists in their team, also stole the day to take the title in the final watched by nearly 100 people. Both teams now qualify for the UK Championships on 24th June in Leicester, representing dodgeball in Scotland.
Commenting, Sport Aberdeen Director for Sport and Active Lifestyles Jo Bell said:“Sport Aberdeen is thrilled to support alternative sports in the city and it is so encouraging to see our local team triumph and now set to represent the country.
Sport Aberdeen is committed to creating opportunities and inspiring more people to take part in physical activity regardless of age and ability. This is a brilliant opening for local people to discover a new sport”
Peter Watt, UKDBA’s Active Club Co-ordinator for Scotland, said: “We were delighted to once again take the Scottish Dodgeball championships to the Jesmond Centre and to continue to build on our working relationship with the team there.
The standard of play on the day from all teams was the highest it has been and the introduction of a Ladies Scottish championship is a huge step forward in the sport development locally and especially for the Ladies competing. Good luck to both the male and female Guerrillas heading to the UK Championship at the end of June”.
The project, set up between St Machar Academy and Granite City Boxing Club, is designed to encourage young people to attend school regularly and promote a healthy mental attitude, alongside providing access to top level coaching.
David McAllister, Head Coach at Granite City Boxing Club, is giving up his time and the gym facilities free of charge. Today Mr McAllister said he wanted to give back to his local community and support young people who have become disengaged with education either through truancy or regular exclusions.
Nine participants were initially brought onto the project with the hope that a second group will start in late August 2017 due to the positive feedback.
David McAllister secured sponsorship for all of the boys to attend “A Night With Ricky Hatton” on Friday 12th May 2017 as part of the ongoing project.
Beast Gear, an Aberdeen boxing and fitness brand, kindly sponsored the groups attendance at the Ricky Hatton event.
Beast Gear owner and founder Ben Leonard commented:
“Ricky Hatton is a big hero of mine, so I was delighted to be able to help.”
Commenting, Sport Aberdeen Director for Sport and Active Lifestyles Jo Bell said:
“This is a brilliant project and though in its infancy is proving very popular and effective. Sport Aberdeen is committed to creating opportunities and inspiring people by breaking down barriers to participation in sport and physical activity.
“This is a great example of how working partnerships within a community setting can facilitate new and exciting openings for young people.
“Being physically active has strong links to positive mental health, alongside the obvious benefits of leading an active lifestyle.”
Ben Holme, Boxing Scotland North Region Development Officer, said:
“Boxing Scotland is delighted to see that the initiative with St Machar Academy has had such a positive impact so far. As an organisation our belief has always been that the sport can have a much wider use to help change people’s lives and improve communities.
“Our role in the project was to initially bring Sport Aberdeen and Granite City Boxing Club together to see if there could be something done to further support pupils through the sport of boxing.
“Granite City, and in particular head coach David McAllister, deserve a lot of praise for really making sure that the project has been so successful.
“From my own personal visits to the gym I can see that the youngsters, who might otherwise be misbehaving in a school setting, are giving him 100% focus and commitment. It is our hope that this project with St Machar Academy could lead to even more initiatives throughout the city.”
Sport Aberdeen was the only Scottish leisure trust recognised as finalist for two awards in the 2017 Sporta Awards, which took place in Sheffield on May 17th.
The industry awards, organised by Sporta who represent cultural and leisure trusts and social enterprises nationwide, identify achievements of leisure and cultural trusts in the fields of sport, physical activity, culture and health.
Over 200 submissions were made with Sport Aberdeen securing finalist spots within two categories
Sport Aberdeen’s Move More volunteer Cally Smith scooped the highly commended award in The Volunteer of the Year Award category. Cally has been integral to the development of the Move More Aberdeen programme and has recently decided to pursue a career in nursing.
A participant in the Move More Aberdeen programme commented:
“I would like to thank Cally and those with whom I have come in contact with during the gentle exercise and walking sessions. Her empathy and interpersonal skills when coaching participants are to be commended.”
Looked After Children, a project delivered by Sport Aberdeen which aims to provide support for looked after children to achieve positive destinations through the use of sport and physical activity, was selected as one of three finalists in the Championing Diversity Award.
Commenting, Sport Aberdeen Managing Director Alistair Robertson, said:
“It is great to see Aberdeen at the forefront championing our sport and physical activity initiatives. Sport Aberdeen was the only Trust selected as finalists for two awards amongst a host of excellent entries from across the UK, is testament to the fantastic expertise of our programmes.
“Sport Aberdeen is committed to creating opportunities, inspiring people and changing lives through sport and physical activity. These awards are a humble reminder that we are on the path towards achieving that vision.”