Aberdeen’s Golden Games have been nominated for a prestigious award.
The Games have been shortlisted in the Healthier Lifestyle Award Category at the Scottish Health Awards 2015.
Formed in 2011, the Games were first held to encourage older people to remain active and to address the major health inequalities associated with ageing. The organisation has continued to develop through the years with participation levels rising on an annual basis, continuing to deliver a programme of sporting activities for people over 65.
This years games alone attracted over 425 people to take part – a 531% increase in participants compared to the first Golden Games in 2011. The programme of events included over 70 different activities and was held over a five day period. Activities to suit all ages and abilities were organised, including seated exercise classes and wall climbing, allowing a range of elderly people to take part.
Since being established, the Golden Games have not only given older people the opportunity to engage in physical activity, but have also provided them with a chance to meet other older people, reducing the risk of social isolation often associated with the elderly.
All nominees fought off stiff competition from across the country to secure their place at this year’s glittering award ceremony in November.
Paula Bisset, Active Ageing Development Officer, Sport Aberdeen said: “Sport Aberdeen said: We are delighted to be one of the Partners supporting older adults throughout Aberdeen to become more active and try new activities by attending the Golden Games. The Games have become a key part of spreading the message that physical activity is not only an important part of growing older but is great fun too. With such a wide range of activities there really is something for everyone.”
Every year, the Scottish Health Awards recognise and reward the dedicated NHS staff, support workers, volunteers and specialist teams who go the extra mile to provide outstanding patient care.
There are 16 award categories in total, including the Nurse Award, the Volunteers Award, and the renowned Doctor Award. A specially selected panel of judges has selected finalists in every category.
The finalists will be invited to attend an awards ceremony on the 4 November 2015 at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh, where the winners will be announced.
The Running Festival has been nominated for Event of the Year at the Charity Champions Awards which will be held in Glasgow on 3rd December.
The awards were created to recognise Scottish Registered Charities. The public are invited to vote for their Event of the Year online, where a shortlist of five will be created and sent before an independent review panel.
The 10K has risen over the years to become a staple event for runners both local and out with the city and regularly draws 5000 racers with thousands more lining the streets to cheer the runners on.
The event is officially affiliated with ten charities, encouraging athletes to raise money for these causes whilst also welcoming fundraising for other organisations. First introduced in 1987, 29 races have been held to date with a Wheelchair Race, 2K Race and Fun Run added to the festival.
Commercial and Events Manager for Sport Aberdeen, Sam Begg, was pleased to hear of the nomination: “I am obviously delighted with the news. The Baker Hughes 10K is an exceptional event where the local and wider reaching community all come together to make something really special. Just to be nominated alone is an honour, it truly represents the hard work that goes in to make the event so successful and the people of the region who make the race so memorable.”
“I really hope people submit a vote for the event. The people of Aberdeen deserve to be recognised at such a prestigious event, they are the ones who have made the race what it is today.”
To register a vote for the City of Aberdeen Baker Hughes 10K Running Festival simply visit charitychampions.uk/vote and fill in the entry for section 11, Event of the Year.
Wrestlezone returns to the Beach Leisure Centre on 14th November.
WWE Hall of Famer, Mick Foley, will make a guest appearance at the show giving fans the chance to meet and greet the wrestling legend afterwards.
Sport Aberdeen are delighted to welcome back the popular show and to celebrate we have two tickets to give away! Christmas may be coming early with whats set to be another great show but we are still in a spooky mood in the lead up to Halloween!
So for a chance to win these tickets simply visit our Facebook page and post us a picture of you and/or the kids in their Halloween costume!
A winner will be chosen at random on Friday 6th with the winner being announced in the afternoon on Facebook. If the winner has not responded by Monday morning another winner will be selected.
Good luck!
The North Region Secondary Schools 2015-16 ASN Football League kicked off on Thursday 1stOctober with Deveronvale Football Club hosting their first festival.
The sun was shining for this first 5 a-side tournament which Banff and Bucksburn Academy attended at Princess Royal Park, Banff. With Banff Academy bringing 22 players on the day, the side split into 3 teams to play each other along with the Bucksburn team from Aberdeen City. Bucksburn played well throughout all of their matches to take first place. Congratulations to all the players and coaches on what was a hugely successful day.
A special thanks must go to the Princess Royal Sports and Community Trust and the Deveronvale Football Club officials for organising and running the tournament and thank you to all of the accompanying school staff and City Active Schools for helping on the day also.
Caitlin Dudley, Disability Sports Officer for Aberdeenshire Council said “It’s great to see these opportunities being put on around Aberdeenshire with local clubs, hopefully we can build on the success of this first festival to encourage more schools to attend the next two league fixtures. Promising players from the day have also been invited to trial with the Grampian Football Squads which compete at a National Level so this is only the beginning for some of these players!”
This festival was the first of three festivals running in the 2015-16 league with the next one, Cove Rangers Football Festival, being held at Aberdeen Sports Village on 14th January.
Sport Aberdeen would like to congratulate one of our regular swimmers following her development in the pool.
Margaret Allan from Kincorth is in her 60’s and has gone from strength to strength over the years and is now a regular swimmer at Kincorth Swimming Pool having overcome her fears.
Margaret first visited the pool with her brother in law David who taught her to swim and was able to support her. Over time her confidence grew and she began visiting the pool by herself. She gradually over came her fear of entering the pool unassisted and now swims 3-5 times a week.
Margaret’s next challenge was to jump into the water, something she found very difficult to do. However having seen her improvements over time, lifeguards at the venue were determined to help her. She recently overcame this fear, with the fully clothed lifeguards jumping in with her!
Staff at the venue would like to congratulate Margaret on her progress and hope her achievements can encourage others in the city to take inspiration from her.
Aberdeen’s Sports Awards 2015
Oct 12, 2015
Robbie Renwick and Rhona Auckland headed a prestigious list of winners at Aberdeen’s Sports Awards last Thursday.
The duo were awarded the Male and Female Sports Achievers of the Year with Neil Fachie also picking up Disability Sports Achiever again.
The awards come as recognition for the monumental years they have had in the pool and on the track where they have had great success.
The glamorous awards ceremony, which took place at the Beach Ballroom on the 8th October, was well attended with easily over 350 guests, including SFA Development Officer Jo Murphy and Wheelchair Athlete Kenny Herriot.
It was a tremendous year for all of Aberdeen, with a host of athletes of varying ages and sports attending the ceremony hoping to pick up further awards for their achievements. Such was the standard that numerous Highly Commended awards had to be distributed to those just missing out on their awards.
Other awards included Outstanding Commitment to Donald Smith for his tireless with Cove Youth FC, whilst Adam Smith was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award for his dedication to boxing.
Sport Aberdeen would like to extend a huge congratulations to all of the winning athletes, nominees and sponsors on what was a thoroughly enjoyed occasion.
Junior Sports Achiever of the Year Sponsored by Northsound.
Male Commended: Fin Bremner
Male Commended: Jack Dow
Male Junior Achiever of the Year: Gregor Duncan
Female Commended: Cassie Cowper
Female Junior Achiever of the Year: Alix Still
Primary School of the Year Sponsored by Azzurro Blu..
Highly Commended: Broomhill Primary School
Primary School of the Year: Hazlehead Park School
Secondary School of the Year Sponsored by FirstBus.
Secondary School of the Year: Hazlehead Academy
Disability Sports Achiever of the Year Sponsored by Baker Hughes.
Disability Sports Achiever of the Year: Neil Fachie
Volunteer of the Year Sponsored by Citrus Mix.
Highly Commended: Craig Rollo
Highly Commended: Martyn Barker
Sports Club Volunteers of the Year: Marion Douglas
Junior Coach of the Year Sponsored by Chiquitos.
Commended: Murray Collie
Junior Coach of the Year: Caitlin Davis
Coach of the Year Sponsored by TLG.
Highly Commended: George Keith
Coach of the Year: Miquel Vinyals Paton
Student of the Year Sponsored by Balmoral Group.
Commended: Kelsey Stewart
Student of the Year: Lewis Mccue
Team of the Year Sponsored by Ellis Whittam.
Team of the Year: Aberdeen Amateur Athletics Club
Supporter of the Year Sponsored by Langstane.
Supporter of the Year: Exodus Group
Club of the Year Sponsored by Urquhart Partnership.
Highly Commended: Bucksburn Netball Club
Club of the Year: Cove Youth Football Club
Veteran Achiever of the Year Sponsored by Pulse Fitness
Commended: Fiona Davidson
Veteran Achiever of the Year: Audrey Cooper
Sports Achiever of the Year Sponsored by The Evening Express.
Male Highly Commended: Neil Fachie
Male Sports Achiever of the Year: Robbie Renwick
Female Highly Commended: Debbie Moore
Female Sports Achiever of the Year: Rhona Auckland
Outstanding Commitment Sponsored by Balmoral Group
Highly Commended: Jim Addison
Highly Commended: Bill Gray
Outstanding Commitment: Donald Smith
Lifetime Achievement Sponsored by Aberdeen City Council.
Lifetime Achievement: Adam Smith
Aquatics Aberdeen will be running a Survive and Save course for 12-16 year olds at Bucksburn Pool, 19th-23rd October, 1000-1500.
The course covers intro to first aid, CPR, personal survival and dangers of swimming both in outdoor waters as well as in pools. Attendees should be strong swimmers and need to be able to swim at least 50 meters in 60 seconds. The cost of the course is £100.00. For more info please contact Graham Dutton on gdutton@sportaberdeen.co.uk, or to book call 0845 601 3611 or simply visit Bucksburn Pool.
Aberdeen’s premier ice hockey team has pledged to support a local cancer charity during the coming season.
Aberdeen Lynx, who play in the Scottish National League, and are the second most-supported sports team in the city, will be raising money for CLAN Cancer Support throughout the 2015/2016 season.
CLAN, headquartered in Westburn Road, Aberdeen, provide emotional and practical support to people affected by cancer, their family, their carers and friends from 11 support and well-being centres across North-East Scotland, Moray, Orkney and Shetland.
Committee members and players of Aberdeen Lynx, which is a not-for-profit organisation, have been developing a number of fundraising ideas to take place at matches, including a Creepy Clothes for CLAN event, which will take place during the club’s game against Paisley Pirates at Halloween.
The club will also host a charity match against very special opposition, which will see the Lynx players wearing a special CLAN coloured jersey, which will be raffled off post-match and will also be available for supporters to purchase, with a donation from the selling price being made to CLAN directly.
CLAN’s logo is also being prominently displayed on the back of all Lynx players’ and supporter’s replica tops for the season
Aberdeen Lynx Ice Hockey Club chairperson, Martin Hill, said: “CLAN’s support to all is a vital network in what are uncertain and emotional times, and Aberdeen Lynx are very proud to partner with CLAN so they can continue their valuable and tireless work.
“This is an exciting partnership for us and we are looking forward to our large and loyal fan base helping raise a lot of money for CLAN over the course of the season.
“The club has a number of fundraising ideas to implement from now until March, but on a personal level, I am undertaking the CLAN Landmark Walk around Aberdeen shortly and if I can raise enough money, could well be persuaded to take part in the walk as Lennox, the Lynx mascot. I also have a surprise fundraising idea in mind for the end of the season, which if it comes to fruition, could provide not only a boost to the fundraising tally but also very many belly laughs for those fortunate or perhaps unfortunate enough to witness the event”
Susan Crighton, CLAN’s fundraising manager, said: “We are delighted that the Aberdeen Lynx Ice Hockey Team has chosen CLAN Cancer Support as its charity partner for the forthcoming season.
“The team enjoys a large following and this new partnership arrangement will provide invaluable exposure for the services we provide throughout the north and north-east. Supporters should look out for the CLAN Mini, which is currently being raffled, at home games. Ourmascot, Clancy, is also looking forward to being a regular attendee.
“We are very grateful to the Aberdeen Lynx Ice Hockey Team for giving CLAN this fantastic opportunity and wish them every success in the games that lie ahead.”
July’s 12 Month Fitness Membership winner is Lydia!
Sport Aberdeen recently introduced a short Venue Visit Survey on our website and as a reward for completing just a few short questions, every entrant is put in a draw for a free 12 Month Membership.
A participant is chosen at random every month with Lydia the lucky winner for July.
If you would like to be in with a chance to win a free full Fitness Membership with Sport Aberdeen for 12 months, simply complete our short survey via www.sportaberdeen.co.uk/about-us/surveys/
A high-profile ice hockey coach returned to Aberdeen to teach the talent of tomorrow following the success of last year’s junior ice hockey camp.
The Aberdeen Lynx Ice Hockey Club, which attracts over 1,100 individuals to Scottish National League (SNL) season home games, welcomed Canadian coach and head on-ice instructor, Tim Preston, to the Linx Ice Arena for a week from the 13th July.
Mr Preston, co-founder of Impact Hockey Development, returned to the Granite City as guest coach for the Aberdeen Lynx Ice Hockey Club’s junior summer camp with Aberdeen Lynx coaches
The coach from Vancouver, who has previously trained Olympic gold medallists, works with a broad base of professional and amateur players in the NHL, AHL and a number of other hockey leagues.
Children from four Aberdeen Ice Hockey Club teams all participated in the coaching sessions.
In addition, the Learn To Play (LTP) group otherwise known as the “Mini Lynx” group, consisting of players under eight, also had their own on-ice session of an hour each day with Tim and the other Aberdeen Lynx coaches.
The Aberdeen Lynx Ice Hockey Club is the second largest sports club in the region. For more information on the Aberdeen Lynx on 07543634744 and for bookings e-mail contactus@aberdeenlynx.com