The IPC (International Paralympic Committee) Shooting World Cup is to be held at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, Buckinghamshire this year from 1st to 3rd October.

It is the first time the event has been held in Great Britain and the birthplace of the Paralympic Games provides a fitting venue for this exciting event. Holding this event in Britain not only gives the athletes the valuable opportunity to compete on home soil and in front of a home crowd but also helps broaden the knowledge of disability target shooting amongst the nation. The organisations involved in this event aim to create awareness of disabled sport and promote real talent and opportunities for disabled people. We hope that this awareness persuades people to try out disability shooting for themselves as well as other sports that they would have perhaps not have experienced before. 

Esther Appleyard from Accentuate, one of the sponsors of the IPC Shooting World Cup said, “Accentuate is delighted to sponsor the Shooting World cup as part of our project Major Events. Accentuate is a transformational programme of 15 projects, inspired by the Paralympic Movement, which seeks to change perceptions and offer opportunities to showcase the talents of deaf and disabled people.”

Lucy Crickmore, Events Consultant at UK Sport, said, “UK Sport is committed to bringing world class sporting events to the UK ahead of 2012, in what we believe will be the most comprehensive pre-Games events programme ever staged by an Olympic host nation. We are delighted that the IPC Shooting World Cup 2010 will be part of this programme.”

Lindsey Horton, from Tourism South East said, “We are very proud to be involved in this event. It sits very well with our aim to become Britain’s most accessible region in preparation for London 2012 including the improvement of facilities, levels of service and welcome for the disabled and their families and friends”. 

There are around 75 shooters taking part in this competition from 15 nations around the globe including Thailand, USA, Poland and Great Britain.

The recent Shooting World Championships in Croatia showed the British team to be on great form, winning two silver and two bronze medals. Great Britain are now one of the most highly respected nations in Paralympic Shooting which gives the British team great confidence for the World Cup.

Pasan Kularatne, the head coach and performance manager for the GB Team said “I am feeling confident about the World Cup and I am looking forward to it. The athletes are all training hard and I think it will be a very exciting competition.”

The athletes representing Great Britain in this event include Beijing Paralympic Gold medallist Matt Skelhon, who won three medals at the recent World Championships, Nathan Milgate who made the final in his first ever Paralympic Games in Beijing and Di Coates, winner of an incredible eight Paralympic medals over a career spanning seven Paralympic Games.

There are two main categories for disabled shooting, SH1 which is disability not affecting the upper limbs, and SH2 where there is some upper limb impairment. SH2 shooters place their rifles on a spring loaded stand when shooting. The event will feature 10 metre target shooting in both rifle and pistol disciplines. The aim is to shoot as close to the centre of the target as possible, from the outside edge of the circle awarding the shooter one point to the middle scoring ten points. The athletes make it look incredibly easy, but the accuracy required to achieve a high score is extremely difficult to achieve with one slight wobble causing you to go off target.

The event also aims to get local people involved with a community programme including school taster sessions during the event and a volunteer scheme.

Ian Barham, Buckinghamshire manager for the 2012 games said, “We recruited local volunteers to support the event. The volunteers will receive pre-event training in a number of issues relating to event management and accessibility issues. If you are interested, a number of opportunities still remain to support this event. If you would like to be involved please contact Ian Barham on 01296 585184 or email ibarham@bucks2012.org.

Kendal’s residents and visitors will have the chance to play a part in the town’s biggest and most unusual wedding of the year during the popular street Mintfest international street arts festival.

This year’s Mintfest takes place from Thursday 2nd September until Sunday 5th September, and is the climax to the Lakes Alive season of events in Cumbria. 

Big Rory and his pregnant girlfriend Gorgeous Morag are getting hitched, and everyone is invited.  As well as the wedding, the pair will also be having their hen and stag dos in town pubs, and a pre–wedding shopping trip to the recently reopened K Village.

The happy couple will, as always, be accompanied by Big Rory’s over friendly dog Ochie, a hound with somewhat dubious habits.

Big Rory says: "Big Rory and Gorgeous Morag are awfully excited about getting hitched in Kendal at Mintfest! Morag is quite far gone and the baby is due on the 6th so we should just be able to squeeze the wedding in first! Looking forward to seeing you all at the wedding".

Julie Tait, director of Kendal Arts International which stages Lakes Alive, says:”Big Rory is one of the most popular acts from the last two Mintfests, and the wedding will certainly be an event to remember, with the saga unfolding over three days, from the stag and hen dos to the service and reception. It will be the talk of the town, so if you only go to one wedding this year, make sure it’s this one!”

The wedding action begins on the Friday night, as the hen and stag dos take to the town at Kendal’s Globe and Olde Fleece Inns.  Everyone is invited to come and join one of the two parties.  There will also be additional entertainment laid on at both pubs to help the happy couple celebrate their last hours of freedom. 

A spot of last minute wedding shopping takes place on Saturday, including a visit to the recently reopened K Village.  As Big Rory and Gorgeous Morag are both pretty disorganised their last minute shopping is likely to include buying everything, including the wedding dress and the wedding ring, not to mention all the pots and pans for their new home.

K Village – The Lakes Outlet is also the principal commercial sponsor for this year’s Mintfest.  Mandy Dixon from K Village says:

“We’re looking forward to welcoming Big Rory, Gorgeous Morag and Ochie to K Village.  I’m sure the trio will be a big hit with our shoppers and I’m confident they’ll find plenty of the things they need to help them celebrate their big day and to get them ready for married life.”

That evening Rory and Morag host their own irreverent version of cult game show Mr and Mrs at the Brewery’s Garden Stage from 7.30-8.00 pm.

Sunday is the big day itself, with the people being asked to gather at Abbot Hall Park at 4.15pm from where they will make their way to the wedding. The (un)holy union is unlikely to go ahead without a hitch or two.

The happy couple will then make their way to the reception at Kendal Town Hall at 8pm.  The event will also be the end of festival party for Mintfest.  Tickets will cost £8 (£6 concessions) and are available from the Brewery Box Office.  Wedding guests will be able to enjoy a Scottish buffet, including a wedding cake, laid on by Lucy’s of Ambleside.

This year’s Mintfest is bigger and better than ever before, running across four days and taking over the whole town throughout the weekend rather than just on the Saturday. Performers will be arriving from all over the world to take part.

Lakes Alive is one of three annual programmes commissioned for WE PLAY, the Northwest cultural legacy programme for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  WE PLAY is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games. The project is led by the Arts Council England Northwest on behalf of a new regional partnership. Lakes Alive is sponsored by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and has also received funding from Arts Council England and the Northern Rock Foundation.    

For more information about the full Mintfest programme and other Lakes Alive events please see www.lakesalive.org
 

Legacy Trust UK’s CEO Moira Swinbank will be speaking at the Future of Culture, Tourism and Sport conference in London on 14 September.  Moira will be giving a plenary session on the the Trust's contribution to the cultural legacy of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The conference will bring together senior officers and elected members with local partners and national development agencies to co-ordinate their efforts and position culture, tourism and sport within the place shaping agenda. For speaker and ticketing information, please visit www.neilstewartassociates.com/se241/