Goodenough College PowerHouseGames 2021
It was strange, delightful, rewarding and rejuvenating to return to London House, some 38 years after I had lived there, to deliver a PowerHouseGames. London House is now part of Goodenough College, a residential community for international postgraduate students studying in London.
I was one of the lucky ‘Brits’ to live there for three years as I trained to be a solicitor. I made lifelong friends there, so it has a special place in my heart.
Just over 40 residents and some Power2Inspire guests attended to turn the wonderful dining hall into a recreation room for the afternoon. Playing five inclusive games the 10 teams melded the nationalities, faiths, races, ages and abilities of the globe. We had South Africans playing with Indians, Canadians with Pakistanis, a real melting pot of the global community.
The enthusiasm was so great all the volunteers were early and into their stride quickly. Alex bonged the gong to start us all off, Director Alice welcomed us all, and Dean Alan kept us all under control with a benevolent smile. There was much debate as to which was the best sport.
New age kurling was popular, not just with the Canadians, with the competitive spirit in evidence as stones on the target were unceremoniously knocked off by later stones.
Boccia even attracted Alex into combat from his wheelchair but Orla flew the flag for the young person’s brigade.
Goalball induced squeals, laughter, cheating, brilliance and great communication as players battled with being blindfolded.
Sitting volleyball was the favourite of my old pal Martin, whom I met at the College when we were starting our legal careers. He explained – note to self – that the smaller beach balls were better as they seemed to go where they were hit, more than the larger ones which floated anywhere, including, rather impressively, onto a high window ledge.
Sitting netball, which I claim to have invented, was very popular but regarded as way the most tiring and also the one that brought out the real competitive side.
Thanks to Rohit and his family for supporting the event – I look forward to hosting a PowerHouseGames in their community soon. Also thanks to Neville, another old London House friend, Chris who had popped in to show his support, but above all to Lindsay, my wife for coming with me and getting stuck in.
I would also like to mention Patrick, Rosie, Thomas and Tess, residents who garnered support and helped make this inaugural version happen. And of course, to Dean Alan and Director Alice and Hannah, who defies a label, for commissioning these games. I really do hope we can return in the summer to deliver an even bigger version outdoors.
I left feeling a real glow: from bringing people together, from seeing families with disabled children get involved, but above all from seeing that Goodenough College is just as vibrant, young at heart and generous in spirit as it was. Keep up the good work guys and spread this wonderful ethos to the world.
Inspired? Then Get Involved!
If you are interested in hosting a PowerHouseGames in your school / college / company / community group then we would love to hear from you. As you have read we have even found a way to make our PowerHouseGames a success in lockdown so don’t hesitate to get in touch and we can help you plan your very own PowerHouseGames!!
Click the button here to find out more.
Ely College PowerHouseGames 2021
This was two days at Ely College for the price of one! On the Thursday morning the Power2Inspire team taught some fantastic Year 12s all the different inclusive sports and then, on the Friday morning, they Year 12s led 60 Year 7s in a full PowerHouseGames. What a great event!
I was really impressed by how well the Y12s stepped up to run their first event. Taking charge of each group of 10 (the Y7s were split equally between the six activities) was daunting but they grew in confidence and were able to start coaching as the rotation proceeded. After a break we had the Y12s move to a different sport to extend their learning and to see how to develop their coaching to a new activity.
The six games were goalball, sitting netball, sitting volleyball, new age kurling, boccia, and with parachute games. The latter was a challenge as the Year 12s had to remember back to their childhood for suitable games. The parachute is a vital part of the inclusive games armoury as disabled youngsters can often only truly join in with this. The Y12s soon became imaginative, creating fun games for their younger fellow students to play.
The Year 7s had a great time, going by the noise and the comments! One pupil asked Ms Bays, the teacher in charge:
“Can we do these games every week, miss!”
On the Thursday during the training, we were visited by the Principal, Simon Warburton, and head of Sixth Form, Adam Steels. They were so intrigued they had to have a new age kurling match – won rather convincingly it has to be said, by Mr Warburton, who seemed very pleased with himself!
Thank you to Gemma Bays and Ben Crosbie for creating the opportunity, to the Year 7s for making such a racket and enjoying all the games, but above all to the Year 12s for leading the games with skill, courage, and persistence.
If any other Sixth Forms out there are interested, please do get in touch, because this model is a fun way to embed leadership learning.
Inspired? Then Get Involved!
If you are interested in hosting a PowerHouseGames in your school / college / company / community group then we would love to hear from you. We have even found a way to make our PowerHouseGames a success in lockdown so don’t hesitate to get in touch and we can help you plan your very own PowerHouseGames!!
Click the button here to find out more.
Team Power2Inspire at the Cambridge Half Marathon 2021
Twenty runners, a fully-fledged charity tent, nerves, excitement, laughter, relief, some pain, and oodles of smiles! What a wonderful day Sunday 17th October was.
Power2Inspire has had runners at the Cambridge Half Marathon before, but this was different. Thanks to our great friends and partners, Cambridge University Sports Centre, we were allocated 20 charity places at this year’s race. Our runners came in all ages, sizes and shapes – but with two things in common: a desire to enjoy themselves and to raise funds for Power2Inspire!
The day started early. Needing to park up on Midsummer Common before 7:00 am, I was up before 6:00 am, driving through the empty streets, and enjoying the unseasonal warm weather. Andrea and Mark joined me, two intrepid volunteers. They started by dressing our gazebo, ably erected on the Friday by our great friend Bob Barnes. Tables, chairs, leaflets, banners and flags all set out and we were ready for our runners. Well not quite – Mark acquired coffees and sausage rolls which made for a wonderful breakfast.
The runners came in clusters. The Macklin family – Jeremy, Debbie, Fiona and Hugo – had dragged along their partners, Jemima and Thea. What a great family effort and all ran very creditable times, though Hugo’s was very fast! Fiona and Thea in their CUBC kit (both Blues) sped round and looked as if they hadn’t disturbed a hair. Hugo and Jemima are working on a trip for Power2Inspire to Magdalen College School, Oxford for a PowerHouseGames, which is exciting.
Guy Hinchley, an old schoolfriend, and former Managing Partner of Mills & Reeve, brought along his colleague Brian Marshall. Guy completed his second half marathon thirty years after his first, a wonderful achievement. Brian was concerned that interrupted training would jeopardise his run so his successful completion was even sweeter. And he is fundraising for Power2Inspire post-event.
Justin Ott and Parthiban joined the Team back in January. Justin had run a couple of half marathons for Power2Inspire a couple of years ago, the latter marvellously with our great friend Don Hutchinson, a World Ironman and coach; but for Parthiban this was his first. Great preparation, a plan to pace himself, led to a perfectly executed race, finishing one minute inside his targeted time. Well done Parthiban.
Edward Delville-Jones was our youngest runner – he is in his last year at Rugby. He blitzed the course in 1 hour 29 minutes, captured expertly by dad Gareth in front of one of our new banners.
Trustees Gemma Thake and Vanessa Ibbett added to their board role by taking on the challenge. Vanessa persuaded friend Steve Barnard to run and fiancé Tom to carry the flag – literally a rucksack with a flag banner. Volunteer Steve Shaw joined Tom in moving to different vantage points on the course to cheer and clap. Dan Blackburn and family stood in Grantchester at the 8 mile banner and clapped and shouted so hard comments came back to me!
Ieva Andraityte, Marissa Snook and Elisabetta Conti came separately but faced the challenge with similar nerves, but they all completed and smiled so much afterwards I thought we could power the whole event. Well done ladies.
Mark Howarth, our virtual boat race friend from mch.london (big shout out for his firm – see the links on the front page) fought a bad back and aggravating feet in turn to complete and raise another stonking amount of money for the charity.
We were joined by Johnny Pickthorn and his ‘I am supporting not running’ dad Tom, who is also from Mills & Reeve, as our tent was so convivial, and Johnny knows Edward. Hopefully they can add their fundraising efforts to the Team Power2Inspire page.
Ian Hunneybell (whose partner Andrea got up early and supported) is a veteran of these events but had never run the Cambridge Half. He galvanised the team in the last weeks, creating a WhatsApp group and provided much needed advice and encouragement. He liked the flat nature of the course but all the runners commented quite how tiring the long incline back from Grantchester was – not as flat after all as they had believed. The course received compliments all round – running through the colleges and along the backs was a treat.
Sam Mascarenhas was a lovely addition to the team, coming in through the internet. This was his first half marathon and he stormed home in 1 hour 30 minutes, a remarkable effort. Thanks Sam and I am so pleased raising money to ensure “No one is left on the bench!” resonated with you.
And a final big shout out to Katherine Rutherford, who fundraised for us, but entered through her own steam, rather than one of our charity free places. Her fundraising of over £650 has been stupendous and will enable us to deliver more PowerHouseGames in schools like Duxford (see the latest blog) and see Inclusion through Sport in action!
Thanks to all the other supporters (Annabel, Kate, Rose, Sam to name some) for making this a great day.
I will leave the final word to our chair Jeremy Macklin:
“It is not too late to support the runners by giving to fund the great work Power2Inspire does. Nobody got left on the bench on Sunday, and we work to ensure that keeps happening everywhere we go. See you all next year – Sunday 6th March 2022.”
Inspired? Then Get Involved!
If you would like to support us in our mission to “embed inclusive sport in the sporting, education and community landscapes” then we would love to hear from you. We are always looking out for people willing to fundraise for Power2Inspire through their own inspiring means. Or, you could volunteer at one of our events, or you could give to the ongoing work of Power2Inspire. Click the button here to find out more.
Duxford School PowerHouseGames 2021
Sam Butler, Year 3 teacher at Duxford Primary School, found Power2Inspire off the internet and has been thrilled with his choice.
We delivered a whole school assembly and a PowerHouseGames for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 on Friday 15th October. The whole school assembly was new to me in that I had never delivered a ‘hybrid’ version before. This meant that the Year 3s were in the hall and the rest of the school were watching through the camera on Mr Butler’s laptop. It took Patrick Gosling (my wonderful assistant and Power2Inspire volunteer) and I a few moments to co-ordinate the change in slides so the classes in and out of the hall were able to follow along simultaneously, but we pride ourselves at being flexible and we learnt quickly.
The pupils loved learning about my life, the challenges I have faced and overcome, and the gadgets – particularly my car – that empower my life. They also loved the short version of the Road2Rio video, as it highlights riding and diving. They were quick to catch on to my main lessons:
- Practice makes progress
- Never give up
- Have one more go; and
- I can’t do it…. YET!
Flexing to the school timetable we had four sessions through the day, just under an hour for each one-class year group. We played in three separate groups – goalball (a blindfold-wearing Paralympic sport), new age kurling (a non-ice version of curling), sitting netball to build core muscles and learn about space and, as a whole-class activity, sitting volleyball. There were a few SEN pupils with one-to-one support through the school and we were delighted to include them in our games, developing confidence and good behaviour in ways that delighted the teaching staff.
The feedback has been awesome. One teacher described the day to another as the best external provider day he had ever experienced. Sam Butler said:
“It was a real success! A lot of the behaviours we have been working on have been learnt; such as how we talk to each other and respect other people’s feelings. These were seen and reinforced incredibly well today. I recommend this to all schools! My children (the Year 3 class) have not stopped talking about the mottos they learnt – they used them throughout the day.”
Patrick and I had a great day at this small rural school. It is wonderful to reflect at the end of the day that ‘No one was left on the bench!’
Inspired? Then Get Involved!
If you are interested in hosting a virtual PowerHouseGames in your school / college / company / community group then we would love to hear from you. As you have read we have even found a way to make our PowerHouseGames a success in lockdown so don’t hesitate to get in touch and we can help you plan your very own PowerHouseGames!!
Click the button here to find out more.
Cambridge University Rugby Club PowerHouseGames 2021
The smiles, the laughter, the cheers – it was so good after 18 months of Covid-19 induced inactivity, to be back in the Cambridge University Sports Centre’s main hall – basking in its size; back with student rugby players, embarking on a year when the Varsity Matches will take place in April on a Saturday; and back with our friends. Wow, it was special!
Our friends came from all quarters. First our wonderful sponsors for the event – PEM. PEM are the leading independent firm of accountants, tax and business advisers based in Cambridge, and were the sponsors of our first PowerHouseGames in 2018. They are great friends and completely undermine any stereotypical image of accountants – these guys are fun, caring and anything but boring!
As we had missed a year, only a few of the rugby players had experienced a PowerHouseGames before, so there was some trepidation. But the 13 men and 11 women (there was a little last minute juggling to make the 24) soon were at ease, helping the disabled students bed in to their teams and leading the touch rugby sessions. Though they held back in the rugby, I received reports that the walking football became quite competitive!
Centre stage were the Castle School students. I take my hat off to them. These young people often do not get out much in ordinary times; add in Covid-19 and quite a number have not been out at all for 18 months. To come to a large sports complex with 60 people and the lights, it was really intimidating. They did so well, even those who joined in sporadically. As you can see from some of the photos, they really enjoyed it.
Impington Village College and Felsted School are experienced participants though these year groups had never been before. Maya, the teacher from Impington, was so enthusiastic she joined in and loved it.
The games are all accessible. The feedback showed the games were liked pretty equally across the board. As this version was hosted by the University Rugby Club, we included Touch Rugby. Alex Laybourne, our not-so-new deputy CEO, was experiencing his first PowerHouseGames over a year into his role, and as an international rugby coach, was tasked with supervising the Touch Rugby. He demonstrated his skills by delegating the coaching to the rugby players – after all in this company they are all experts! It was great to see them work out how to teach youngsters with limited knowledge of the game and varying abilities, and in doing so grow in confidence. It also allowed Alex to post lots of messages on social media. Excellent work.
I love the colours of the t-shirts – a big shout out for Silver Screen Studio – which create teams and break these youngsters away from their schools. I love the squeals and shouts as a good shot, run, pass or stone (new age kurling is very exciting) explode. I love the joy on the faces as everyone receives a certificate. And I love the fact that Leila Ong, a veteran now, can still say:
“The games were fantastic last week. Boccia was my favourite station!”
And there is great news for more PowerHouseGames. At the Cambridge University Sports Fair 15 clubs showed interest in being involved. Some of the clubs will be grouped, so for example we will have a rackets PowerHouseGames. Exciting times indeed, just the tonic as we come out of Covid into the new post-pandemic world. If your school or company would like to be involved, please get in touch.
To finish we should leave it to one of the rugby players:
“Helped me see what sports can do for disabled people in bringing joy and friendships”.
Inspired? Then Get Involved!
Would your university sports team, or school love to be involved in a PowerHouseGames? Could your company support our mission by volunteering at one of our PowerHouseGames? If so, then we would love to hear from you. We are also always looking out for people willing to fundraise for Power2Inspire through their own inspiring means. Or, you could volunteer individually at one of our events, or you could give to the ongoing work of Power2Inspire. There are SO MANY WAYS we can all help to ensure “no on else is left on the bench!” Click the button here to find out more.