What a brilliant Bank Holiday Monday it’s been as I spent today at the brand new Inspire Sports Centre in Luton as a ‘Paralympic Flame Assistant’!
Our team of four Team Beds & Luton 'Sport Makers' were responsible for looking after the Flame once it arrived from its overnight stay with Bedfordshire’s Fire and Rescure Service following the Flame Celebration events in Dunstable and Bedford yesterday.
.JPG "The Paralympic Flame burning brightly in Luton!") |
| The Paralympic Flame burning brightly in Luton! |
It was a great event with hundreds of people attending and getting a chance to see the Paralympic Flame and hold the Paralympic Lamp before it made its way to Stoke Mandeville for tomorrow’s Paralympic Torch Relay event at the home of the Paralympic Games.
.JPG "Taking good care of the Paralympic Flame while it was in Luton - luckily it didn't go out on my watch!") |
| Taking good care of the Paralympic Flame while it was in Luton - luckily it didn't go out on my watch! |
The Paralympic Flame arrived with Bedfordshire’s Fire and Rescue Service and was handed to Mick Dillon, the Paralympic Ambassador for Beds and Luton and Chief Executive of the Disability Resource Centre. My Sport Maker colleague Lewis and I were asked to accompany the procession in front of our fellow Lutonians. You can see the Paralympic Flame make its entrance on BBC Look East!
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| The Paralympic Flame arrives in Luton! |
There were a number of activities, tours and displays going on at the Inspire Centre, including a Diving display from members of both the Luton and Leeds Diving Clubs. Jamaica’s first male Diver Yona Knight-Wisdom, a Rio 2016 Olympic hopeful, was also in attendance and performed a series of amazing dives.
.JPG "Two of the Diving Team members perform a synchronized dive!") |
| Two of the Diving Team members perform a synchronized dive! |
.jpg "Jamaica's Number One Diver performs a Dive at the brand new Inspire Sports Centre in Luton") |
| Jamaica's Number One Diver performs a Dive at the brand new Inspire Sports Centre in Luton |
The Paralympic Flame had been collected from London by Mick Dillon on Friday 24th August and brought back to the Disability Resource Centre in Dunstable for a number of events, including the Paralympic Flame Festival at the centre on Sunday 26th. Once the four Paralympic Flames have been united at the Stoke Mandeville event a 24-hour Paralympic Torch Relay will take the Flame to London for the opening of the 2012 Paralympic Games on Wednesday 29th August!
It was a great honour to be a part of the Paralympic Flame Celebration event in Luton and I can’t wait to watch the Paralympic Games on TV and in person.
Good luck to the ParalympicsGB team and all the athletes competing.
Sport Makers is an Olympic Legacy programme aimed at making sport happen all over the UK. As a volunteer Sport Maker I have been involved in organising and promoting sports around the country. The Sport Makers programme is well worth signing up to and the Sport Makers workshop is very inspirational.
