Research by the University of Lincoln is championed in a national report published today celebrating universities’ contribution to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The report, ‘Olympic and Paralympic Games: The impact of universities’, was launched by Universities UK to mark the start of Universities Week 2012 (30 April – 7 May 2012).

The third annual Universities Week campaign, which aims to increase public awareness of the wide and varied role of the UK’s universities, is this year taking an in-depth look at the contribution that universities make, and have always made, to the Olympics, the sports industry and society as a whole.

The University of Lincoln is included as a case study in the Universities UK report for its Take Part Lincolnshire: Sports Volunteer Leadership Programme. This research project explores the vital role played by volunteers in running amateur sports clubs and events across the country. It has already been awarded London 2012 Inspire Mark status.

The programme is led by Robin Wright, Director of Sport at the University of Lincoln, Zoraida Mendiwelso-Bendek, Senior Research Fellow in Citizenship, and Dr. Rebecca Herron, Reader in Lincoln Business School. It is supported by Lincolnshire Sports Partnership and Lincolnshire Voluntary Sports Forum.

The research team set out to identify what qualities underpin these volunteer networks at the heart grassroots sport – by speaking to those unsung heroes who give up their time for the love of sport and their communities. They are working with 18 volunteer networks in the county of Lincolnshire spanning a range of sports.

They will produce a ‘Take Part Guide’ based on their research findings which will offer a blueprint of best practice for volunteers wanting to provide or improve sporting opportunities in communities across the country. It will also raise awareness of the vital contribution made by volunteers to UK sport.

Robin Wright, Director of Sport at the University of Lincoln, said: “The University of Lincoln is playing an important role in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Not only do we have the Egyptian Paralympic Team training with us prior to the Games, here on our Brayford Campus, we also have a strong research programme which will provide a lasting legacy for local communities across the UK. We’re very proud to be included in the Universities UK report in recognition of this work.”

Universities Week 2012 will culminate in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Athletics Championship, which this year will be held in the Olympic Stadium.

For more on Universities Week 2012, see: www.universitiesweek.org.uk

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Story Credits

 

Ian Richards – Communications Officer – Press & Media

 E-mail: irichards@lincoln.ac.uk

 Telephone: 01522 886042