With less than 600 days to go to the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Buckinghamshire County Council is asking people across the county to cast their memories back to help tell the story of how the Paralympic movement started at Stoke Mandeville.

As part of the cultural programme for London 2012 the Council is celebrating the birth of the Paralympic movement at Stoke Mandeville by inviting people to build a living archive around this fascinating story and share their personal stories. 

Were you involved in the 1984 Paralympic Games at Stoke Mandeville? Do you have a story about the early Paralympic Games, Sir Ludwig Guttmann or the pioneering work of the spinal unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital?  Help build the legacy and tell your story at one of three focus groups being held at Stoke Mandeville beginning next week, on January 26th.

Tricia Birchley, Cabinet Member for Adults and Family Wellbeing, is encouraging people to share their memories.
“It is amazing when you realise how one man’s dream to make the Stoke Mandeville Games a worldwide celebration of disabled abilities has come about. So far we have uncovered some fascinating photographs, documents and memorabilia that will help us tell this story to the world. We want to add personal recollections to this to bring alive the legacy of Stoke Mandeville and celebrate the story of disability across the region. If Sir Ludwig Guttmann and his pioneering team or Stoke Mandeville Hospital spinal unit has touched your life in any way we’d love to hear about it.’

The interactive focus groups, taking place on 26th, 28th January and 3rd February, aim to capture individual memories and accounts of people’s experiences of Stoke Mandeville for inclusion in an exhibition and new website later in the year.
To find out more go to www.buckssport.org or contact Ruth Page on 01296 383009 or email rpage@buckscc.gov.uk

The Council’s Paralympic Region project aims to ensure that the role of Stoke Mandeville in Paralympic history is recognised by the world, and is part of the South East’s Accentuate programme to change perceptions of deaf and disabled people and showcase their talents across the region.

Accentuate is the South East’s regional programme which is funded by SEEDA and Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to leave a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Games.
 

Carl Campbell Dance Company's Recycled Teenagers (a dance group for those over 50) were recently featured on Sky One's Got to Dance. They were invited to audition as a result of their Big Dance event in Peckham Square, South London. The Carl Campbell Clap Dance Challenge 2010 was funded by Legacy Trust UK through a Big Dance micro grant.

Although the group didn't make the third round, Carl commented that "I am glad we did it. It was a challenge, trying to break down barriers, showing that dance is for everyone..young and old alike, a concept the public (millions who watch the show) and the Recycled Teenagers members, their family and friends will never forget."

Carl Campbell also speaks of the importance of offering dance opportunities for older people:

"Older people are often seen as no longer useful to society, I firmly believe that is wrong, deep down inside they are young at heart. There is a concept that after 50 you are finished. This workshop shows that older people can be creative and active, it creates a chance to say, no, we are not finished – we have a lot to offer and look at us now!
Older people bring an energy and interpretation that can take your breath away with their commitment"

To view the episode, click here and go to Episode 3.

The Recycled Teenagers meet every Tuesday - 1.30pm-3.00pm at Peckham Pulse.

For more information on Carl Campbell and the Recycled Teenagers, click here.

Venue:    Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB

Date:        Thursday 13th January 2011

Time:        5.30 pm - 7pm

Admission:    Free. Pre-booked places only

Human Race: inside the science of sports medicine is hosting a film and discussion evening in partnership with Scottish Ballet to explore current thinking in the care and treatment of elite performers from football and ballet. Both disciplines demand extraordinary levels of strength and fitness, as well as a near-fanatical commitment to a career that is relatively short-lived and could end in injury at any moment.

Human Race: inside the science of sports medicine is a Scotland & Medicine initative. It is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to create a cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games across the UK, and Creative Scotland. It has also been granted the London 2012 Inspire mark which recognises outstanding projects and events helping to deliver the Games’ lasting legacy.

A screening of Daniel Warren's Mercury will be followed by a panel lead discussion exploring the parallels that are developing between the care and treatment of dancers and footballers. Scottish Ballet and the Scottish Football Association have been working together to learn from each other’s practices and develop new ways to treat injuries. In doing so, they are continuing the long tradition of innovation and development in Sport and Exercise Medicine in Scotland.

Scotland has played a dominant role in the transformation of Sport and Exercise Medicine from a ‘hobby’ interest to a recognised discipline. Sport and Exercise Medicine is concerned with the physical body of the athlete: how to treat it, how to prevent injury, how to enhance its performance and how it works. The standard and type of treatment received by athletes has changed dramatically over time; today elite athletes have access to specialist medical care before, during and after competition. The care of athletes has come a long way since the ‘magic sponge’ and Scotland’s sports teams now enjoy specialist medical care.

Mercury is a 35 minute film that explores dancers' movements: how they are developed and the impact they have on the dancers’ body. The movements are filmed at high speeds, up to 2000 frames per second, a technique normally used in ballistics and engineering. As a result, the images are analytical rather than observational. We see in minute detail the refined adjustment and subtle shifts that a dancer makes in order to shape a movement.

The film also gives the viewer an insight into the complex relationship between the dancer and choreographer and allows us to focus on the intellectual and physical labour of the ballet dancer.

After the film the audience will be given the opportunity to join Daniel Warren, Paul Tyers, Scottish Ballet’s Deputy Artistic Director and Dr John MacLean, Scotland football team doctor to consider and debate the importance of understanding the needs of the elite performer and the parallels between the two disciplines. For more information or to book a ticket visit the Human Race website at www.scotlandandmedicinehumanrace.com, Inspace at http://inspace.mediascot.org or Scottish Ballet website at www.scottishballet.co.uk