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Paralympic star inspires young East Londoners to give free sports a go

Friday 5 October 2012

Tim Prendergast

A veteran of four Paralympic Games called into SportsDock earlier this week as part of a special sports programme aimed at young people in East London.

Tim Prendergast, who hails from New Zealand, has an impressive tally of one gold medal and two silver medals to his name. Despite clocking a personal best time at this summer’s 800M T13 final to finish fifth, Tim showed no sign of post-Games fatigue when he visited the £21million facility for a Sportivate wheelchair basketball session

Sportivate, which started in September, is offering a number of free sports courses for 14-25 year olds. As part of the eight week programme, people will be able to try out a variety of sports for free including paralympic sport, badminton, football, judo, cardio tennis, gymnastics and volleyball.

Speaking to UEL, Tim said: “It is great to be part of something that is engaging people through sport. I have been into a number of schools following the London 2012 Games and they are still buzzing, so it is very important to try and harness that enthusiasm. This is a really good scheme and will hopefully give people the chance to try either an Olympic or Paralympic sport.”

Tim Prendergast is part of Sporting Champions, which is a Sport England initiative bringing world-class athletes face-to-face with young people to inspire and motivate them

To book a place on a Sportivate course, please contact 020 8223 6888 or visit SportsDock reception at University Way, London E16 2RD.  Please be advised that spaces on each course are limited.

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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