Category Archives: Sport & Fitness

London 2012: The Volunteer Games. The Legacy Lives on

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While most of us were happy to just sit back and watch the games photographer Felix Kunze had something else in mind. A hugely ambitious project to photograph the London 2012 Volunteers. Kunze’s managed this with aplomb and even caught the attention of The Guardian who paised it saying:

“A stunning portfolio of portraits in which he sought to illustrate the spirit of the men and women he calls “heroes of London 2012.”

Roy Greenslade – The Guardian The London 2012 Volunteers Portrait Project

We have got the lowdown on this impressive project by Felix in his own words.

“My London 2012 Volunteers project has become a microcosm of the Olympic experience. It has been garnering all sorts of attention online and has turned into a place for volunteers to connect. Messages like ‘Hey, we met on the train, I want to stay in touch’ are the kind of interaction I had hoped for.

The project has captured the imagination. It is remind people of the pride, hard work and enthusiastic collaboration that led to the games being dubbed ‘The Volunteer Games’. You need only look at the comments on the album and the photos on facebook: www.bit.ly/London2012Volunteers

Photographically, the project resulted from me solving something fairly negative:

I had turned down various assignments to block out my schedule to be in London during these games. I’ve followed the Olympics with growing enthusiasm since the Barcelona games in ’92. When London won the bid, I couldn’t believe it. 7 years of build up, 5 weeks of intense action and I still can’t believe the games were in my home city. The idea of it still makes me emotional.

When I cleared my schedule at the behest of my assignment editors at Getty Images, I was excited to be involved in some official way. I envisioned shoots for the sponsors, events with the athletes, even things only vaguely related to the Olympics. As I’m not a sports shooter, I wasn’t going to be covering any of the main events at the venues; I knew accreditations were tight. What I wasn’t prepared for was the absolute dearth of assignments. Getty had the same experience as the shops and restaurants of central London. Lots of buzz, but no visitors. Lots of buzz, but no assignments. It was heart-breaking, devastating, depressing even. Add to that the fact that I didn’t get any of the tickets I had applied for, I was in a storm of regret and disappointment. The fear of missing out.

Then a bout of inspiration changed it all. I managed to get tickets for the Women’s Volleyball at Earls Court at the last minute. It was great to watch the game, but what was even greater was the Games Makers who welcomed us with smiles, helped in every way, shared our dismay at not being able to get more tickets. To me they are the stars of the games. I know lots of people felt the same.

On my morning run the day after Earls Court, the idea came to me to do memento portraits of the volunteers. I wanted them to have something they could take away from the games, something they would be able to savour in 10, 20 or 30 years.I knew from the outset that I wanted to take them out of the venues they were working in. I wanted to give equal billing to those stationed directing people over a bridge to those driving the top dignitaries. Lots of people were taking pictures of volunteers, I wanted to do something different.

A couple of challenges came to mind right away:

– I couldn’t spend much time with each volunteer. Their job is to make the Olympics run smoothly, not to be photographed.
– We needed a portable setup that had no permanence, lest we fall foul of local laws regarding business on sidewalks. We also didn’t have accreditation. We had to find a place away from the venues that was swarming with volunteers.
– We solved all of this by using a setup comprised of some black foamboard, 1 simple light. We used a fairly standard ‘strobe-over-daylight’ method to balance the natural and artificial light and I needed a minimum of three assistants every day to make it work. One for the backdrop, one for the light and one to get each person’s details and have them sign a release form on my iPad.”

Games Maker facts:

– More than 240,000 applicants, of which only 70,000 became Game Makers after an interview process and training
– Over 2000 16-18 year olds were game makers during these games.
– Uniforms for the team of Game Makers, staff, officials and contracts required 765.92 miles of fabric, 359.37 miles of thread, 730,610 buttons and 1,069,034 zips. That’s a lot of stitching!
– Most applied over 2 years before the start of the Olympics
– McDonalds is the official partner for the Game Maker program and used their infrastructure to help attract, select and train the volunteers
– They delivered around 8 million volunteer hours to make the games run smoothly

“For the Olympics I photographed over 300 portraits.

 

We heard some amazing stories. The kind of stories that made me foam at the mouth with jealousy – A lot of the Game Makers I photographed were drivers, some drove the North Koreans, some drove family members. Not all of them had ‘All’ passes, but the ones that did were telling me stories of watching the athletics within reach of the Cauldron while their clients attend the stadium, many of them met athletes, many of them met dignitaries, many of them struck up amazing friendships. Many had come from afar, put a lot on the line to make the games work. It’s been inspiring.

 

The Paralympics:

 

After the Olympics I went and spent a couple of days in the sun. On the Eurostar to Paris, I received a phone call from Mr Matt Hatt who was working for the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) who asked if I could photograph the volunteer wrap party. I couldn’t but Matthew Richards, one of my volunteer assistants, jumped in.

Mr Hatt then asked if I wanted to come into the Olympic Park during the Paralympics. We agreed that Matthew Richards should be my assistant, having slaved away at the wrap party. We arranged accreditation and we spent close to a week in the Olympic Park during the Paralympics. We shot 350 more portraits. This time with support in the form of a Lastolite mobile backdrop which was a godsend, it made my setup mobile and easy to use. I was able to put all the equipment down at the Fleet Depot inside the park, no need for 3 assistants.

 

We snuck into the Arcelor Mittal Orbit and watched the women’s 100m final from the viewing platform. We cruised around the park on BMWs über-cool electric bicycles, got so close to the action that we were bombarded by fireworks shrapnel but had the most incredible vista views of the final night’s celebration. We even got driven home by a Games Maker in an official vehicle – Games Lanes and a behind the scenes car tour of the park.

 

On a personal level, the project couldn’t have worked out better for me. I have trouble finding the words to sum up my experience. The Olympic Games are the greatest show on earth. I was a part of it. I did portraiture, I did what I loved. It means so much, it made my year. I did it for free, I didn’t make a dime, I turned down paid work. It was worth it.”

‘FOOTBALL WIDOWERS’ GO IT ALONE AS FEMALE FANS FOLLOW BEAUTIFUL GAME

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  • Over a million men  don’t share their football mad wives’ and girlfriends’ love of the game
  • Nearly one in three women are declared football fans, according to the Capital One Cup

Forget the clichéd images of WAGS following footballers, new research from credit card company Capital One, new sponsors of the Capital One Cup, shows more than a million men are ‘football widowers’ with wives and girlfriends more interested in the game than they are.  The football season kick-off means they are facing a long haul to next May competing for the attention of partners focused on the ups and downs across the football season.

 

The Capital One Cup sponsor’s research shows the changing face of football with nearly one in three women (30%) declaring themselves as fans.  They are not just armchair supporters; more than three million women attend at least one game a season, with seven per cent going to 10 or more matches and four per cent going to 30 or more. Female fans also watch an average of 25 games on TV or online a season.

 

That leaves a lot of time to fill for their husbands and boyfriends and the bad news is that dedicated female fans are less likely than male fans to feel guilty about their love of the game.  Just 29% of female fans whose partners are not football supporters plan to do anything special for their loved ones to make up for their time spent following football, compared with 54% of men.  More than a quarter of men (26%), who do not enjoy the game, still watch matches with their female partners compared to just 12% of females with football-mad partners.

Michael Woodburn, Chief Marketing Officer, Capital One said:  “It’s great to see so many dedicated football supporters out there, with millions of men and women following their team on TV and online. Of course not everyone is a football fan and you have to sympathise with partners who don’t share the dedication. There has to be a degree of compromise but that’s probably best left to couples to sort out!”

 

Men who love football when their partner doesn’t are far more likely to take their loved one out to dinner (19%) than their female counterparts (6%).  Football widows are also far more likely to be treated to presents or holidays than football widowers.

 

WHAT FANS PLAN TO DO MAKE UP FOR TIME SPENT WATCHING FOOTBALL

ACTIVITY MEN       WOMEN
Make an effort to spend more time outside of match times 27% 18%
Cook for them or take them out to dinner 19% 6%
Take them somewhere such as cinema or holiday 14% 5%
Do additional housework 14% 3%
Pay for treats such as shopping, massage or tickets to concert 13% 4%
Buy a present 6% 2%
Nothing 46% 71%

Source:  Capital One Cup

Frost Reflects on the Paralympics

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The Paralympics has come and gone with a bang. Leaving Londoners a little bereft as the London Games 2012 draws to a close. It has been an exciting time to live in London.  Great Britain got a total of 120 medals. 34 of those were gold. Personally I loved the guy in the paralympics advert who, after listing all of the injuries he had acquired, which included broken ribs and fingers, ended the conversation with “nothing serious”.

A peak audience of 3.2 million viewers were watched Channel 4’s Paralympics coverage when David Weir won his second gold of the 2012 Games in the T54 1500m. The Paralympic Games 2012 Tonight programme, from 7.30pm through to 10.30pm was watched by an average of 2.5 million viewers, 11 percent share of the audience.

The early evening coverage of the swimming from the aquatics centre peaked with 1.8 million viewers – averaging 1.6 million viewers, 10 percent share, between 5.25pm and 7.00pm.

Afternoon coverage peaked with 1.4 million viewers – averaging 824k viewers, 11 percent share, between 1.00pm and 5.25pm.

The Paralympics coverage helped Channel 4 record an all-day share of 9.4 percent – up +35% on the 12 month average for Tuesdays.

Seven weeks after Channel 4 launched the critically acclaimed ‘Meet The Superhumans’ Paralympic trail, its sound track had taken the UK music charts by storm and forged an unexpected collaboration between hip hop legends, Public Enemy, and leading British Parlympians.

Channel 4 launched its biggest ever marketing campaign in mid-July to promote coverage of the London 2012 Paralympics with ‘Meet the Superhumans’, a 90 second long film, set to the track, ‘Harder Than You Think’ by, Public Enemy and showcasing the abilities of some of the leading UK Paralympians as they prepared for the Games.

In the weeks that followed the video went viral and ‘Harder Than You Think’, first released in 2007 and never having appeared before appeared in the Top 200, suddenly entered the UK Top 40; currently at number four on The Official UK Singles Chart and number one on the Indie Singles Top 20 Chart. ‘Harder Than You Think’ is now Public Enemy’s highest charting single to date in the UK.

Now swimmer Ellie Simmonds, wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft, blind footballer Dave Clarke and cyclist Jody Cundy are among a host of leading British Paralympians featured in a newly cut video by Public Enemy in tribute to the London 2012 Paralympics.

The video, titled ‘Harder Than You Think – UK Paralympics Version’, blends the herculean efforts of the Paralympians preparing for the Games – filmed by Channel 4 – with the original gritty street locations and hip hop sounds synonymous with Public Enemy.

Public Enemy’s Chuck D says: “These athletes are about self-empowerment and determination. Doing what they do….is harder than ya think.”

James Walker Channel 4’s Head of Marketing says: “Public Enemy are one of the greatest hip hop acts of all time. It’s a fantastic testament to the impact of the Paralympics that we have been able to introduce new fans to their music.”

A peak audience of 7.7 million viewers watched last night’s Channel 4 coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games closing ceremony. The full closing ceremony programme from 7.00pm to 11.10pm was watched by 5.9 million viewers, 26 percent share of the television audience.

Coverage of the final day of the Paralympic Games made Channel 4 the most watched television channel across the whole day – with a total share of 16.4 percent; versus 15.9 percent share for BBC ONE and 13.4 percent share for ITV1. Channel 4 was also the most watched channel in terms of 16-34s and ABC1s.

The closing ceremony was the second most-watched moment from Channel 4’s coverage of the 2012 Paralympic Games, after the opening ceremony which peaked with 11.2 million and Jonnie Peacock’s 100m T44 win on Thursday which attracted a peak audience of 6.3 million viewers – the biggest UK audience for live Paralympic sport ever. On the same ‘thriller Thursday’ David Weir’s T54 800m gold was watched by a peak audience of 5.5 million and Hannah Cockroft’s 200m T34 win attracted a peak audience of 4.1 million. Alan Oliveira’s victory over Oscar Pistorius in the 200m T44 on Sunday was watched by a peak audience of 4.4 million viewers.

Across the Paralympics as a whole, Channel 4’s coverage reached 39.9 million people – over 69 percent of the UK population. This compares to a reach of 20.5 millon for the BBC’s coverage of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.

Jay Hunt, Channel 4’s Chief Creative Officer said: “Last night’s closing ceremony was a suitably spectacular end to a fantastic London 2012 Paralympic Games and I’m thrilled that, over the course of the last eleven days, Channel 4’s coverage has engaged more people than ever before in disabled sport.”

Channel 4 released new research from BDRC Continental and YouGov over the weekend which showed that two in three viewers feel more positive towards disabled people as a result of watching coverage of the Paralympic Games.

Headlines from the research include:

  • Two thirds of viewers (65%) feel the coverage of the Paralympics has had a favourable impact on their perceptions towards people with disabilities.1
  • More than four in five Adults (82%) agreed disabled athletes are as talented as able-bodied athletes, rising to 91% among those who had watched Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics.2
  • Almost two thirds of Adults (64%) agreed that the Paralympics is as good as the Olympics, rising to 79% among those who had watched Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics. 2
  • Two thirds of viewers (68%) felt the coverage of the Paralympics has had a favourable impact on their perceptions to disabled sport. 1
  • Around two in three viewers (69%) said this is the first time they have ever made an effort to watch the Paralympics, while half (50%) said this is the first Paralympics they have ever watched. 67% said they watched more than they expected to.1

Since 2010, as part of Channel 4’s pledge to bring Paralympic sport to a mainstream audience and add authenticity, knowledge and experience to its programming, the broadcaster has invested over £600,000 in identifying, training and developing ten new disabled presenters and reporters who have played major roles in the channel’s coverage of the 2012 Paralympic Games. 80% of viewers enjoyed the fact that there were disabled presenters on screen in Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics and almost three quarters of the audience (74%) agreed that they enjoyed the matter of fact discussions about disability.

Building on this, Channel 4 has committed a further £250,000 across the next two years, to both support and develop the existing disabled presenters across a range of television genres and to continue to identify new opportunities for disabled talent on-screen.

Andy Murray Wins US Open

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He may have lost Wimbledon but since then Andy Murray has been on fire. Winning gold at the 2012 Olympics and now a historical win at the US Open.  Murray defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in five sets at Flushing Meadows 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2. The match lasted  four hours and 54 minutes

Murray has really triumphed this year, proving all of the doubters wrong. The 25-year-old Scot won a Grand Slam final at the fifth attempt having lost his 4 previous tries. Murray won the US open title 76 years after Fred Perry, the last British man to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Afterwards, he celebrated the Grand Slam win with friends at Hakkasan in New York. Murray also signed a copy of the menu for staff. He didn’t drink any alcohol. Opting for lemon soda instead.

 

 

 

A Raincoat That Let’s You Get On Your Bike.

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If you were to treat yourself to the incomparable, stylish, cycling chic apparel
from The Cambridge Raincoat Company, then there would be no excuse not to
jump on your bike for the daily commute. Look stylish from door to door in this
perfectly practical raincoat.

Having experimented with all sorts of wet weather gear over the years including
waterproof cycling trousers and capes and struggling to overcome the negatives each
of them came with, Sally Guyer saw a niche for stylish yet effective cycle wear that is
appropriate for every stage of your journey and every aspect of daily life. This saw a
period of research, development and Savile Row tailoring to create the signature
raincoat of The Cambridge Raincoat Company.

The feeling that it must be possible to produce a coat long enough to keep the knees
dry, be brightly coloured enough to be noticeable yet still chic enough to be a pleasure
to wear was the motivation for Sally.

All raincoats produced by The Cambridge Raincoat Company are made using either
100% taslan, or 100% Cordura, depending on colour choice, both of which offer
considerable qualities in terms of protection from the elements. The fabrics are
highly water resistant and water will simply bead on the surface. With a soft,
polyester lining, the raincoats are very lightweight and incredibly comfortable to
wear, providing a breathable, windproof and stylish alternative to traditional cycle
wear. Best of all, they are washable.

Sally is a firm believer in Mikael Colville Andersen’s (founder of Copenhagen Cycle
Chic) opinion that ‘It’s about dressing for your destination, not the journey’. As much
as this is at the heart of The Cambridge Raincoat Company’s design, the key selling
point of these raincoats has got to be the practical protection and comfort they offer
for the journey itself.

Appealing to a broad age range and tapping into luxury for the astute commuter, The
Cambridge Raincoat Company are in a niche market all of their own. With Sally’s
dedication, there is no end to the potential of this company, Sally herself says, “I live;
sleep; eat; breathe my business all the time. I’m always thinking about what to do
next, and how to drive it forward.”

The new collection will initially feature one style each for both men and women, with
prices starting at £250.00.

Colour options available include red, yellow, mauve, green and navy.

http://www.cambridgeraincoats.co.uk

Inspired by the Olympics? Wish you could take part?

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Michelle Sinclair’s novel Olympicked! imagines just that – a Games where all the competitors are chosen by random selection and given just four years to train in their allocated sport.

Michelle, who lived in London until earlier this year, got the idea from a chance remark made by her husband. “He joked that the Olympics would be much more entertaining if it was ordinary people competing instead of highly trained athletes. It was just a passing comment, but the thought stuck in my mind and the more I thought about it, the more I realised it wasn’t such a crazy idea. People could achieve quite a lot with four years to train, and it wouldn’t quite be the comedy or disaster that you might first imagine.

“In fact, Olympic athlete Helen Glover has vividly demonstrated that it isn’t a completely crazy idea – she only started rowing four years ago, and won Gold at London 2012!”

But Michelle also realised that having to undertake such intense training would be bound to impact on the lives of those chosen, and that became the focus of the novel, which follows eight of those chosen to compete for Great Britain at the 2020 Games.

Gary is a jobless teenager being edged towards a life of crime on a run-down housing estate; can his salvation take the form of a horse? Betty is a campaigning pensioner living life to the full and determined to fly the flag not just for her country but for older people everywhere. Susan is desperate to have a baby and is worried that the Olympic dream will interfere with her own personal goal. And Carl simply wants to impress his young daughter.

Together with an alcoholic civil servant, a party-loving gay man, a bored housewife and an out-of-work actress, their stories are told. Follow them as they learn of their selection and begin their training, facing obstacles along the way. Will they make it to the Olympic Park, and can any of them achieve that elusive Gold medal?

David Beckham Gets His Hand on Gold

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In between sightings at the Olympic games, David Beckham has been back in LA playing for the Galaxy in a series of exhibition matches, including Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur.

Whilst in LA, David got his hands on a different sort of gold when he met mixed martial arts champion Junior Dos Santos from Brazil. Dos Santos competes for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which is shown across the world in over 150 countries and is incredibly popular with a variety of sportsmen. The England rugby team said they often watched the UFC during the most recent World Cup in New Zealand and incorporate mixed martial arts into their training.

The UFC have been hosting events in the UK for the past ten years, selling out arenas from the O2 and MEN, and the Royal Albert Hall. The UFC will be hosting their one-and-only UK event this year on 29th September at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham. Tickets are available from www.UFC.com.

Adams and Taylor Win Historic Golds in Women’s Boxing

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Great Britain’s Nicola Adams made history as she became the first ever women to win an Olympic gold boxing medal. Adams boxed superbly throughout the tournament. She defeated Indian legend and five time world champion Mary Kom in the semi finals.

Adams then crushed her Chinese opponent Ren Cancan in the final bout.  This despite Cancan having beaten Adams twice in previous contests. At one point Adams floored her opponent with a brilliant right hook and she went on to win comfortably by 16 points to 7.

The boxer from Leeds who’s idol is Muhammad Ali was ecstatic at the win and took team GBs to 24 gold medals.

Minutes later Katie Taylor followed Adams and became the second women to win a gold in boxing as she won a closely fought contest beating Sofya Ochigava 10 points to 8. Taylor had been behind by a point after the second round but battled back bravely and dominated thereafter. Taylor, a four time world champion, was carrying the hopes and dreams of Ireland who had yet to win a gold medal until the fight. Taylor had been the flag bearer for Ireland at the opening ceremony and the excel arena was packed with Irish fans.

Taylor delivered and sank to her knees in joy as the final result was read out.