A truly inspirational evening, the only of its kind anywhere in the UK, the Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport (LRS) Oldest Athlete Celebration Event was held on UK Older Persons Day October 1st 2012 to celebrate the achievements of senior sports people, volunteers and physical activity participants from across Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland.
3 tennis participants, each with their unique and inspirational experiences, were among the nominees. Over 2,400 years of physical activity and sporting participation, collated from 33 nominated active older people from across Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland were honoured. Local Go Gold athletes and volunteers involved with London 2012 were also present, sharing their experiences, motivations and ambitions with over one hundred guests in the audience, by responding to questions posed to them by children from Woodbrook Vale School and Hastings High School (members of the London 2012 Get Set network).
This intergenerational element complimented perfectly the Oldest Athlete Celebration Event. The event is proud to be supporting the 2012 legacy ambitions of Inspire LeicesterShire. Also in attendance was Nicola White, GB Hockey Player & London 2012 Bronze Medalist, who presented the ‘2012 Legacy Ambassador Award’ to Tommy Godwin’s son-in-law.
This event, a celebration of our most senior, physically active local community members was a most humbling experience, where it was impossible not to be touched by the shared experiences, including Brian Ashwell, aged 80, living the Mo Farah dream as 5k champion for his age group at the 2012 British Track and Field Championships.
The most dedicated volunteer, Harry Matty (age 74) is bringing the 2012 legacy to life and inspiring tennis players of all ages and abilities through his commitment at Desford Lawn Tennis Club. Ray Capewell (73) continues to make an outstanding contribution to the sport of volleyball and was integral to the volleyball events at the 2012 Games. The star of the show and crowned as the ‘Oldest Athlete’, Nancy Kelly from Melton is truly inspirational swimming twice a week aged 92!
The winners were selected from 33 nominees by a panel of judges. The 2012 winners of the Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport, eight ‘Oldest Athlete’ categories are as follows:
- Athlete Award (Performance) - Brian Ashwell, 80 years young from Leicester
- Physical Activity Award (Participation) - Dave Tomkins, 75 years young, from Oadby
- Volunteer Award - Harry Matty, 74 years young, from Hinckley
- Outstanding Achievement Award - Ray Capewell, 73 years young, from Broughton Astley
- Lifetime Achievement Award - Rowland Tatton, 77 years young, from Loughborough
- Oldest Athlete Award - Nancy Kelly, 92 years young, from Melton
- Judges Panel Special Award - Neville Maggs, 71 years young, from Leicester
- 2012 Legacy Ambassador Award -Tommy Godwin, 91 years young from Solihull
Andy Reed, Chairman of Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport, said: “Our vision is for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland to be the most sporting and physically active place in England by 2025. We hope many of the nominees will volunteer as Physical Activity Ambassadors to advocate the benefits of participation in sport and physical activity. Special thanks should go to Imago for hosting this truly inspirational event.
“The London 2012 Games legacy has been brought to life for us by these wonderfully amazing people and it provides a real and tangible reminder that it is our responsibility to make the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy a reality for us in Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland. We are in a unique situation with the eyes of the world on Great Britain and have an opportunity to gain advantages through health, business, cultural links, volunteering and many more opportunities that the Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport Team are working on.”
The event is sponsored by imago and Kay England, Chief Executive, said: “Loughborough University has a long standing reputation on the world stage for sports so we were happy to support the ‘2012 Oldest Athlete Celebration Event’, especially due to its recognition of excellence from within Leicestershire and Rutland.
“imago is continuing to build on its experience in the sporting arena – from welcoming Team GB as part of the Official Preparation Camp to working with clients including the RFL, RFU and English Golf Union. We hope that many of the attendees at the Awards come back to The Link and choose imago for their Sunday lunches and special occasions such as Christmas and birthday celebrations.”
If this has inspired you to become more active, physical activity programmes in Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland provide regular activities for everyone. For more information please contact LRS on 01509 564888 or visit www.lrsport.org
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Name
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Age
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Supporting Info
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Elsie Randall
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75
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Elsie Randall started playing tennis is 1948 and has played regularly ever since, initially for her school and then for clubs in Lancashire, London and Leicestershire. Elsie is renowned (and feared!) locally for her nifty net play, not always typical of women playing club tennis and very effective. Elsie developed net play at an early age due to her asthma to save her running round quite so much. Elsie currently plays for Rothley Ivanhoe Tennis Club’s 2nd team in Division 3 of the Leicestershire league and also plays in the mixed league. Currently Elsie is ladies captain of the club and a significant contributor to the club committee and the development of the club. Elsie has represented Leicestershire at over 65s level for the last 6 years and was captain of the team for 3 years. She also plays in the county veterans and super-veterans competitions which run through the autumn and winter. As well as playing in these competitions, Elsie also plays throughout the year outdoors (at the club) and indoors (Dan Maskall centre at Loughborough University) at least 3 times a week and galvanises and encourages people to play and arranges games to keep others involved and motivated. She is a very kind and encouraging person, always keen to get new members involved and to listen to the many views that there inevitably are regarding team selections. She is also good at keeping in contact with players who may be injured or ill and ensuring they don’t lose touch and are encouraged to try playing again when they are able. Elsie is simply amazing as a person and a tennis player and deserves recognition – and not just for her age!
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Pete Randall
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68
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Pete Randall plays tennis at Rothley Ivanhoe Tennis Club where he has played for over 15 years, prior to that playing at other clubs. He has played regularly for the club in men’s and mixed competitions as well as playing socially. Although a regular player, this nomination is to recognise the significant effort that he puts into the club as a volunteer working with and encouraging other members of the excellent committee, recognising that everyone’s contribution is important – even though we all know that nobody puts in as much effort as Pete does! Over the last 13 years Pete has played two key roles for the club: competitions organiser and maintenance. The internal club competitions at Rothley are the envy of many clubs and much of this is down to Pete. We have a very high percentage of our 100+ senior members playing in the various club competitions that run throughout the year. These are very inclusive with the tournament formats encouraging players of a wide range of standards to get involved. New members are contacted by Pete to get them involved early – we know as a club that getting people involved will help retain members, crucial to the sustainability of the club. Pete has also looked to involve other members in the organisation of competitions including one of the older juniors - ensuring that competitions can run if he is not there. Since retiring from work the club has benefited from Pete’s willingness to not just oversee the maintenance programme but his hands-on work in keeping the club looking good and being safe. The club has agreed Pete’s maintenance programme and invests in the courts by regular cleaning and painting giving them a longer life. Much of what Pete does is not seen but members really do benefit. Pete has also played an important role in working with the Bowls Club with whom we share a clubhouse and with the Parish Council from whom we lease the courts. These relationships are important and have often been neglected in the past.
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Harry Matty
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74
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Harry is a fantastic role model; he gives freely of his time to support players of all ages at Desford Lawn Tennis Club during coaching, matches and informal club sessions. His enthusiasm is highly infectious and always makes participants feel they can achieve what is being coached to them. We tried to work out how many hours he gives to coaching and supporting players a week and lost count as he always seems to be there. However, we estimate it must be nearly 20 hours a week, come rain or shine. Harry has not just coached tennis though he played football Belvor AFC in Hinckley until he was 42 and them moved to coaching and managing his sons junior football teams for a further 10 years. Harry still plays Tennis recreationally and can give many of the younger players a run for their money. He is a great motivator and encourages everyone to play, often encouraging younger players parents to join the club. Harry is a great believer in “sport for all” and supports the borough’s Sport and Health Alliance Inclusive Club. He has attended every session they have run supporting the tennis sessions and through his encouragement and motivation moved players from this club into the junior section at Desford Lawn Tennis Club. All in all Harry is an amazing example to us all of what we can achieve as an older athlete. His wisdom, encourage, humour and knowledge has touched so many people and encouraged them to achieve so much more than they though possible. He has been delivering for years what Seb Coe wanted to achieve from the Olympics- to inspire a generation. Well Harry inspires generations and long may it continue.
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