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Articles I have written for my university degreeTRANSCRIPT
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Articles
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Trials and Tribulations of a Triathlete
Emma Smith is a one off. How many people would give up a high paid job as a Commercial Property Solicitor to become a professional triathlete? Not many. The most remarkable thing of all is that she was training and competing as an amateur whilst working in the City. “The main reason I gave up my job is simply that life is too short. The job was all about money and the ‘city lifestyle’ and that is not what I am about. I always wanted to work in a hand’s on profession. I had also won everything as an amateur so it seemed like a natural progression to move onto the professional circuit. I hadn’t indented on becoming a professional athlete, it was just that I was top of the amateurs and a world-‐class coach in the name of Julie Dibens took me on. She is a multi world champion herself and gave me the chance to race full time.” Emma was introduced to triathlon when she was studying at Birmingham University. A man named Paul Robertshaw spotted her in the gym and he saw enough in her ability to suggest she went down to Birmingham Running Athletics and Triathlon Club. Many of the members worked full-‐time and that was when Emma realised that it was possible to continue training even after university. Although Emma was one of the top female triathletes in the country, she admits that she did have a weakness: “My strongest of the three phases was cycling, followed closely behind by running and my weakest was certainly swimming. This is because I hadn’t done much swimming is a child and technique is paramount. Swimming isn’t about power, it’s all about technique and if you get into bad habits, which I had, then you won’t be doing it to your full potential.” Emma’s career has come to an abrupt end due to being massively over trained: “I pushed far too hard by a horrible coach to the point where my body completely broke down. When you train it takes years to get fit, you can’t just suddenly pick it up overnight, and he tried to get me to that point far too quickly and that’s why my body broke down. He’s done it to a lot of other people, so I should have seen it coming really but I didn’t.” It is dreadful to think that this goes on in sport. I wonder how many athletes this country has lost due to maltreatment by professional coaches. Emma has a relentless fighting spirit, though, and she will use it to fuel her dream of becoming a physiotherapist: “I have wanted to be a physiotherapist since the age of 16 and I should have done it then but I didn’t. I was always going to take up being a physiotherapist after my career as a professional triathlete, but I didn’t expect it to be quite this early.” Emma has started a three-‐year physiotherapy degree at University West of England in the hope that she can pursue the career she new she should have done years ago. It is highly likely that she will succeed in this challenge just like she has done so many
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times before: “I want more out of life really. Some people plod on in a job they are not passionate about. I just don’t want to be that person.” emmaruthsmith.com
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Mencap Feature Article
Cool pool tables, a state of the art sensory room, a ball pool, loads of games, a luxury waiting area and the friendliest staff you could wish for. This is what you are greeted with when you visit the Hawthorn Family Support Centre in Leeds (funded by mencap). The centre, funded by Mencap, offers families the help that they need with caring for a child with a learning disability. The children are aged from 0-‐3 and have various disabilities, although Downs Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy are the most common. The groups are split into a maximum of nine children and there must be a ratio of 3:1 of children to carers. There is an in-‐house cook who serves food that is available for both the children and parents. Mary Cotton, the leading carer at Hawthorns says: “Parents are often told about having a child with a disability in the wrong way. Often the parents have to keep going back to their GP and asking if there is something wrong, as they weren’t told during their pregnancy or when their child was born. It is understandable with Autism and other disabilities where it only becomes apparent as the child develops, but I have seen cases where children with Downs Syndrome aren’t diagnosed till much later. Sometimes they are told in the wrong way. Sometimes it might even be just a passing comment from a doctor.” “Frequently, parents are filled with negativity by doctors and others during their child’s upbringing. We are here to give them positivity. When they see their children playing and learning crucial social skills they see all the great things about their children. Parents frequently form friendships here and meet up socially. Some parents come here just so that they can meet other parents. I think there is a statistic that shows that families with children with additional needs are more likely to suffer from poverty and break-‐ups.” It is fantastic to see all the smiling faces on the children as you walk around the play area. This is a place where children come to have fun and where the parents can have a bit of time to themselves. They can play with their child if they please, or they can sit and relax in the waiting room and whilst their children play with supervision from the carers. At Hawthorns they try to teach children how to be independent by helping them learn how to eat independently and how to communicate. They do this by teaching Makaton, which is a simple sign language. It helps the children learn how to use gestures. They don’t just teach sign to those with hearing difficulties, they teach it to all the children to improve their communication skills. They aren’t taught traditional British sign language because it is so complicated. It is like learning a new language, according to Mary. “We are funded by various people. Leeds Building Society bought our ball pool and waiting area for us. We have extremely comfy chairs including recliners, so the
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parents can really relax whilst their children play. A lot of our support comes from the Leeds Community Foundation, who encourage corporate agencies and local communities to give money to people who need it most. The council is another fundraiser although less substantial than some of the others” The impressive fundraising is evident to see, especially when you go into the century room. It is dark and relaxing and the brilliant lighting effects make it seem like you are in outer space. It is a place where the children go to relax. The company who provided the equipment for the room, Spacekraft, specialise in making equipment that help people with learning difficulties develop their sensory skills. “Times have changed a lot in the twenty-‐five years or so that I have been a carer. The facilities have improved immensely and so have the resources. For example when I started we used square pieces of bed linen, cut leg wholes into them and that was what we used as a nappy. Additionally there is a lot more understanding now in society. People are far more accepting of people with disabilities nowadays,” says Mary. Hawthorns Family Support Centre isn’t the only support Leeds Mencap provides. Junior Youth Clubs are available for 9-‐18 year olds with additional needs. These are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Playschemes are available for children and teenagers aged from 2-‐19 year. Gateway is there for support for adults with additional needs, which take place on Monday evenings. There is also a Friday Club for people in their late teens and twenties. “We (Mencap Leeds) have a home in Chapel Allerton where twelve adults with additional needs live. There are also dance groups that are available. The joy that the children get out of it and the pride the parents have in their child’s performances is fantastic to see.“ “We have a Christmas carol concert coming up at Roundhay Methodist Church on December 9th. This will be a great opportunity for parents and the public to see the children perform” Charities like Leeds Mencap are essential in ensuring that everyone in society can live a happy and normal life. The members of staff are an inspiration and it is important to stress how remarkable the work that they do is and how important it is that people keep donating. (896 Words)
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Oar Inspiring
“Lots of drinking, there wasn’t much water involved” was the comment given by chairman Stephen Henderson, regarding the latest expedition Leeds Canoe Club went on in Wales. This lighthearted approach sums up the club. They take what they do seriously and want total commitment; however it is predominantly about fun, fun and more fun. This is something that has arguably been lost in sport. Coach and member, Duncan Blakely, gives us insight into the various activities available at the club and also divulges into their coaching philosophies and gives some tips on the best paddling technique: Playboating “Playboating is like doing gymnastics in a kayak. You sit in a smaller version of a kayak (a playboat), and you do tricks by driving yourself down in the water. One of the main tricks is called cartwheeling. This is when you try and balance upright on one end of your kayak and switch directly to the other end in one motion. Canoe Polo “There are two nets set up at each end of the pool; it’s a bit like football but in boats. There are two teams of five and the aim is to lob the ball to each other and score in the net. It can get quite violent. If you get hit you can flip upside-‐down quite easily. The boats you use for Canoe Polo are very long kayaks and they are normally grey in colour and covered in duck tape because it is a contact sport and the boats will get ruined otherwise. We don’t all participate in Canoe polo, it depends on the member.” River Running “The main activity we concentrate on is River Running. You start off at one point of the river, kayak until you get to your chosen finishing point, and get out. When we go to rivers we look out for dangers like rocks because they can cause a person serious harm and the boat can be damaged too. There are parts of the river that we take breaks in called ‘Breakouts.’ These are pools of water that are formed when water goes around both sides of a rock and a still swell is formed the other side. We paddle our boats into these still pools and relax before moving on down the river. It’s not an easy task positioning your boats in these pools. You’ve got to hit it just right so you don’t fall in, you glide in. We teach our members all about these things before we put them in the river so they are ready for all eventualities.“ Kayak Surfing “There are two forms of kayak surfing that we do. One is where we go to the coast and ride waves in our kayaks just like you would on a surfboard. The other is when
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you try and ride a wave that is formed between two rocks on the river. You try and ride the wave for a long as you can before moving on. River Sessions Every Sunday Whilst most of us are making a cup of coffee and stirring our porridge on a Sunday morning, the members of Leeds Canoe club are preparing for their weekly river outing. They meet up at 9 o’clock sharp. Hangover, or no hangover, they will be there with their oars ready to paddle. You would think at this point everything is pretty straight forward-‐ plonk the boats in the water and paddle…..it’s not. “We have to check the water levels first, mainly for safety reasons. You don’t want the water to be too shallow in case somebody capsizes and seriously hurts themselves. The other reason is that if it is too shallow the boat will scrape against the bottom of the river. One of the most common places we go to is Washburn River, because there is a damn release there, so the water level is pretty consistent. That is about an hour away, but we do travel as far away as Tees Barrage which is a white water centre about half hour away in the car’ You’re Doing it Wrong!!! It’s not about the size of the boat; it’s how you use it. Apparently if you’re knackered after a few minutes of kayaking, it’s not because you’re unfit, it’s because you’re rubbish at the technique. “Lots of people think that Kayaking is more tiring than it actually is but that is mainly because you are doing it wrong. We call it cycling with your arms. This is when you are literally only using your arms to paddle. It is more about using your core areas like your abdominal and shoulder muscles. It is all to do with shoulder rotation; you keep your arms straight and move your shoulders around-‐ that is where the power comes from. Once you have got that technique it is actually quite relaxing and you don’t have to use much energy.” Easier said than done. Coaching If you go on the Leeds Canoe Club website you will see that the coaches are qualified and CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checked. “We take the coaching very seriously here. We have people of all different standards at the club, but here at the pool we are coaching beginners to become skilled enough to come on the river. We have three different ways of teaching. One is called kinesthetic learning. This is all about feel-‐ learning all about movement and how to use their bodies to balance. The other two are audio and visual. This is all about using voice and then demonstrating. We also have a game plan called IDEAS. I-‐ stands for Introduce, D-‐Demonstrate, E-‐Explain, A-‐Activity, S-‐Summarise. Another thing that we like to use is something called a meat sandwich (excuse me!?). This is
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when you praise someone, give him or her an idea of how they might be able to do it better and then they improve.” After spending time with the people at the club you realise what sport is about. It’s about having a good time as well as being committed and improving in your ability. Kayaking is an activity that people of all ages can try and it is also a great sport for amputees or people who have suffered paralysis from the waist down. It’s something a bit different as well. That is why there seems to be an added passion amongst the people at the club. They’re doing a sport that most people don’t have a passion for and may not have tried. Take a bow Leeds Canoe Club.
Image courtesy of informatique
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Max Fowler Interview
Max Fowler doesn’t know whether his upcoming role in the inaugural BBC Drama ‘MAYDAY’ will be his “big break” but one thing is for sure, he is determined to go all the way in the acting industry. The series (MAYDAY) is about a young girl who goes missing and the affect it has on the town: “It’s essentially a murder mystery and the running theme of the show is that all the characters you follow, at some point, suspect someone close to them. I play Linus who is one of the leads in the story and I’m the next-‐door neighbour of the girl who goes missing.” It seems that this is only the beginning for the 21 year-‐old actor who clearly has an idea of the paths he wants to take to success: “My ultimate passion and goal lies in cinema, as that was the medium that made me realize acting was in fact what I wanted to do. I am, however, keen to experience theatre one day as I want to keep learning and improving and I believe theatre would do just that.” Acting is something that has very much been part of Max’s life from a young age. With a filmmaker for a brother and an actor for a sister you could say it is in his genes: ‘I first realised I wanted to become an actor when I was 10. I was watching Minority Report, and I remember watching Tom Cruise and thinking how amazing he was, and it hit me there and then, that was what I wanted to do. With my brother and sister doing what they do, it seemed like an obvious path for me to go down. As Max got older and grew out of idolising Michael Jackson and Spiderman, he started to draw inspiration from actors-‐ particularly Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt: “They were more heroes of mine. It’s not until recent years that I have been able to draw inspiration from specific performances: Christian Bale in 'The Fighter,' Andrew Garfield in 'Boy A' and 'The Amazing Spiderman' and Gary Oldman in all his performances. Ryan Gosling, though, has really shown me what it means to completely immerse yourself in a role. He's one of the few actors out there who I genuinely cant catch 'acting' in every one of his performances.” “It is difficult to name an actor who’s career I would like emulate but for the sake of argument I would say someone like Andrew Garfield or Ryan Gosling. Both have had wonderful careers.”
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Like in any industry, it is difficult to know when your next break will be and indeed whether your next big achievement will propel you to another Level. Max is very pragmatic when talking about what might come of starring in the series: “I believe that MAYDAY will definitely help me, whether or not something is your 'big break' is always hard to tell. I believe that in the industry you can often have lots of gradual breaks that eventually lead you to the place you're aiming for. But we'll have to wait and see.”
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Priced Out? In recent years there have been a large number of local shops closing in Barnes due to increased rent prices in the area. The quaint village in South West London has also seen two Sainsbury’s Local stores erected in the last few years. David Dixon, who manages Castlenau Tiles, explains: “Our rent hasn’t changed in fourteen years but shops owned by other landlords have increased by at least 10 or 15 percent in the time that we have been here.” According to David, there are three property-‐owners who own the whole of Barnes. One landlord owns the majority, including Castlenau Tiles, and his rent prices haven’t increased. It is the shops owned by the other two that have seen their rent skyrocket and this is why shops have been closing in the area. Most seem to think that the introduction of the two Sainsbury’s, especially the one on Barnes High Street, have had a positive affect on the local shops in the area. Nigel Talbot, owner of antiques store Grosvenor Prints in Covent Garden, and a resident in Barnes for over thirty years, says that: “The introduction of Sainsbury’s has been a huge help to those who own shops on the high-‐street because it has increased the passing trade.” Some fear that if local stores continue to close down, and big brand stores like Sainsbury’s start to take over then Barnes might lose its charm and become commercialised. David, at Castlenau Tiles, believes that this would never happen: “There is a strong community association in Barnes that would kill anything that came in.”
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Aim and Fire! “I like the fact that it’s just you and your bow no one else to blame for a bad result”
This is the view of Richard Watts, chairman of York Archers Club. The club was founded in 1873 and is heralded one of the oldest in the country. There is a perception that Archery is quite a boring sport and that it is taken up by the older generation but Richard believes it isn’t hard to get young people interested.
“I don’t think it is difficult to make it appealing in the beginning but once the honeymoon period is over it is hard to keep teenagers interested if they don’t have the willingness to practice the required amount to be good at it.”
Richard got into archery because of his son. He made the decision to give up football but Richard insisted he took up another outdoor sport. He chose archery and he followed.
Although we may all think that archery is very much still in its raw form, there have certainly been developments in the equipment, as Richard describes:
“From the original long bows to today’s recurve and compound bow the level of accuracy achievable shot for shot is a lot better. With all the modern fibers used from the limbs to the strings, we have it so much easier.”
“Most of our members seek us online but we have banners outside our grounds and we get a lot of drive in’s asking for information. We have several members who have various disabilities. With the huge range of available equipment today archery can cater for most disabilities“
When asked about what he would say to someone to encourage them to take up archery Richard said: “Archery is a sport that everyone can do with a great sense of achievement on reaching their goals but with new goals always there to be taken.”
So if you live near York and fancy taking up the sport go down and sign up!