Sporting Stars Talk Uni And Careers
Olympians and sporting stars are set to discuss the importance of universities to London 2012 and UK sport in exclusive ‘Talking Head’ films launched ahead of Universities Week 2012, which runs from 30th April to 7th May.
The campaign ambassadors featured include Olympic medallists Dame Kelly Holmes, Jason Gardener and Steve Cram, with 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.
The Talking Heads films aim to demonstrate the ways in which universities across the UK have engaged with London 2012, including the BUCS Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships, a London 2012 test event as part of the London Prepares series.
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.
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, said: ‘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.’
Karen Rothery, chief executive officer of British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), added: ‘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.’
Beyond sports training and development, Universities Week also demonstrates the huge contribution that universities make to UK society as whole.
In London 2012, an army of volunteers from universities around the UK will be helping make the Games through the London 2012 Games Makers programme, and the important contribution of the university-lead Cultural Olympiad projects that will support the London 2012 sporting events.
