Olympians and sporting stars get involved with Universities Week 2012
In a film launched ahead of Universities Week 2012 Olympians and sporting stars talk about the importance of universities to London 2012 and UK sport.
“Universities play a fundamental role in our society in so many different ways, as demonstrated so clearly by their extensive contribution to London 2012. The films released for Universities Week illustrate the extent to which sporting professionals value the role universities have played in supporting their careers. You do not have to be a university graduate to benefit from the world-class research and facilities that our universities produce; many top athletes for example use universities’ training facilities and sports science innovations every day as Dame Kelly Holmes and Leon Taylor explain, without having been a higher education student themselves.” Says Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK.
The campaign ambassadors featured include Olympic medallists Dame Kelly Holmes, Jason Gardener and Steve Cram, and notable backers such as Tony Blair and Boris Johnson. Other Olympic medallists featured include Allan Wells and Leon Taylor, alongside athletes and London 2012 hopefuls Perri Shakes-Drayton, Scott Moorhouse, Beth Tweddle, Kathryn Twyman and Ben Rushgrove, and Games advocates John Inverdale, Sir Menzies Campbell MP and Baroness Sue Campbell.
In one film, World Champion gymnast and Liverpool John Moores University graduate Beth Tweddle describes how university added a new dimension to her training. During her time there Beth became World Champion and retained her position as national and European champion and says her sport science degree was very beneficial. Beth also benefited first hand from her university’s research work in biomechanical developments and video analysis, which she used to improve her training methods.
Karen Rothery, chief executive officer of British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), “Sport and our universities are inextricably linked. In individuals this relationship develops skills such as leadership and teamwork that are applicable not only to the sports industry but to big business. For graduates, this is a great asset in terms of employability. It is the commitment to sport from both individuals and academic institutions alike which have made university contributions to London 2012 so significant.”
Universities Week aims to demonstrate the contribution that universities make to UK society as whole, not just for students.
All of the films are available to view at www.universitiesweek.org.uk, Universities Week 2012 YouTube channel and www.bucs.org.uk
