Our annual Cambridge University Association Football Club (CUAFC) PowerHouseGames took place on Thursday, 3rd October 2024, once again living up to its reputation as a fantastic event!
This year’s games were held at the University of Cambridge Sports Centre, with participation from local schools Ivel Valley, Churchill, and Stephen Perse.
It was wonderful to have two SEN schools attend and see students who might not naturally gravitate towards sports develop confidence and form relationships with their peers through adapted sports.
Charlotte Wells, from Stephen Perse School, perfectly captured this sentiment, sharing her excitement over her students’ development:
“I’m thrilled with how much the students grew. Many of them didn’t consider themselves sporty at the start, but by the end, they’d gained so much confidence.”
This sentiment was echoed by many of the attending teachers and support staff, who noted how fully engaged and immersed all the students were throughout the day.
The PowerHouseGames have truly become a platform for every student to shine, regardless of their physical abilities or athletic ability.
The CUAFC students were once again pivotal in making the day such a success with a record number of 42 student volunteers. As always, it was a pleasure to work with them!
We received some wonderful feedback from the CUAFC players:
Asa Campbell: “The PowerHouse Games are a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding event. I had a lot of fun playing the games and talking with the children, and it was great to see them gain confidence throughout the day. I’d highly recommend people get involved in whatever way they can.”
Dan Lofts: “PowerHouse Games was a very enjoyable experience! It was great to play different games with the children from three different schools and see them all engage in a wide range of activities.”
Deniz Özer: “Volunteering at PowerHouse Games was a wonderful experience. It was a joy to see the children having fun playing all-inclusive sports and encouraging each other throughout the day.”
We also have some exciting news — at least five CUAFC players will be running the Cambridge Half Marathon to support Power2Inspire in March 2025.
Community Outreach Officer, Patrick Brownlow, touched on this, whilst also
sharing some glowing feedback for our dedicated team:
“PowerHouseGames has become an annual tradition at CUAFC, and I was really proud to see more volunteers than ever from the club for this year’s event. It’s clear from the reactions that it’s a great time for all involved and hugely beneficial for the children. Oli Johnson and I would like to add that the team from Power2Inspire, led by John and supported by the entire staff, have been so easy to work with. They make it incredibly easy for us as a club to participate—from communication to organization, everything is top-notch. We are very proud to be supporting the charity and are excited to see how much money our half-marathon runners will raise for the cause.”
The day was packed with memorable moments, but a rather funny anecdote shared by John definitely deserves a mention:
“Patrick kindly volunteered to help me buy food in the morning. But when we got outside for lunch all the food had vanished! The day’s energy certainly brought out an appetite among the footballers!”
The team at Power2Inspire can’t wait to see what next year’s CUAFC PowerHouseGames has in store— we’re certain that it will be another brilliant day!
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.
Bethany Haran
P2I Intern