New army of volunteers inspired

Running over the anniversary period of the Games, July 27 to September 9, the Join In Summer 2013 is bringing the legacy to your doorstep with over 10,000 local events being put on in clubs and community groups up all over the UK.

Bishop’s Field Sports Centre in Londonderry threw open its doors on Thursday, August 8, to attract new volunteers, supporters and members.

The centre, based in the Creggan estate, has a wide range of sport and physical activity programmes; aerobics, boxercise, body pump, kick-boxing, circuit classes and after-schools health & physical activity programmes. For the more competitive in the community, there are tournaments in sports including soccer, GAA, basketball, netball and judo.

Bishop’s Field Sports Centre was funded through the Big Lottery Fund’s PE and Sport programme in 2005 and was developed in partnership with Derry City Council, Old Library Trust, Creggan Neighbourhood Partnership and St. Cecilia’s College.

The centre is being used by local people, pupils and community groups to encourage young people to stay involved in physical education and to improve the health and fitness of the wider community.

Other organisations in Northern Ireland which have signed up to host Join In events include the Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA), Ulster Rugby, Ulster Hockey and the Irish Football Association (IFA).

Recognising that many people don’t know where to look to find volunteering opportunities, Join In plays matchmaker to local sports clubs and community groups and potential volunteers by helping them locate opportunities to get involved in their local community.

Members of the public simply need to log on to www.joininuk.org and enter their postcode to find events in their local area.