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I have been inspired by this rare opportunity of the Olympics coming to London in 2012 to help raise awareness of the work StreetGames is doing to help bring sport straight to the doorstep of young people living in disadvantaged communities in England, Wales and Scotland.
The Challenge: I will attempt to complete 2012km before the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. From now, that gives me over 40 weeks, which will be the equivalent of running just over 1 marathon every week. I intend to stick to running and rowing, however alternative methods including cycling are permitted: http://www.goldchallenge.org/2012kmchallenge
In addition to this I will also be learning Olympic sports I have not tried before including Handball, Wheelchair Basketball (Paralympics), Archery, and Boxing.
Background: Why Street Games? My life has always featured sports to some extent. I grew up with a parent who was involved with sport for a living, and like most people I've dabbled with a few sports growing up such as Basketball, Judo, Tennis, Athletics, and my true love Football.
Sport has been the cause of some of my happiest days, and also some of the more frustrating days! I've also made some of my best friends through sport, and learned some of life's more important lessons such as discipline, hard work, building self-esteem, healthy lifestyle, handling disappointment, and team-work.
However some young people do not have the opportunity to reap the benefits sport can offer. They may not be able to afford classes/lessons, nor afford to buy the necessary kit and equipment.
Sport can bring purpose to many causes and people, on a smaller level for an individual, or to a larger scale for example where Nelson Mandela used the Rugby World Cup in 1995 to help the post-Apartheid nation-building process in South Africa. Similarly Didier Drogba used an African Cup of Nations qualifying match to try and unite Ivory Coast, pleading for the match to be held in Bouaké (the stronghold of the rebel forces) the first time since the start of the civil war that a match was to be played in the north.
I hope you share my belief in how sports can help provide a much needed platform for some young people to reap the benefits it can offer. All money raised will allow Street Games to continue to provide such opportunities.
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