The University of Nottingham

University of Nottingham alumni, staff and students are preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime chance of playing their a part in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

While some of the University’s alumni and current students are training hard for sporting glory others have given up their time to become an Olympic volunteer. In addition, a series of special Olympic themed community and schools events, called The Five Rings Legacy Games, will be held at the University offering opportunities for everyone to engage in sporting competition and provide a lasting legacy at the University.

The culmination will be the Tri-Campus games as teams from Nottingham, Malaysia and China compete for sporting glory in Nottingham to coincide with the arrival of the Olympic Torch in the city on 28th June.

The University’s Sports for All initiative received London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games backing for the second successive year, by being awarded the Inspire 2012 mark. Any-Body Month, which breaks down barriers to participation while inspiring more people to become active, was recognised as an initiative which holds the seven core Olympic values at its heart: friendship, excellence, respect, inspiration, determination, courage and equality.

The University is also playing a leading role in the Cultural Olympiad in the East Midlands which began in March and runs until October. Lakeside, which is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary year, has linked up with partners across the East Midlands to help showcase home-grown, world class music, dance, theatre and art produced in the region.

Nottingham alumni from all over the world are playing their part in the London Olympics. His Royal Highness Prince Tunku Imran Jaafar (Law 1970, Hon LLD 2011) will attend as President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, sports broadcaster David Mercer (Hon LLB 1970) will commentate on badminton for the BBC, Diane Gowers (Social and Cultural Studies 2006) works in Oncology and Haematology at University College Hospital London, and is taking part in the opening ceremony for the NHS while Emma Duncan (Molecular Diagnostics 2009) is a volunteer at the canoe sprint events at Eton Dorney.

Deng Yaping (Contemporary Chinese Studies MRes 2002) is one of the greatest ever players in the sport of table tennis. A six times World Champion and four-time Olympic Champion, she was voted China’s female athlete of the last century. She played a key role in the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and is still a member of the IOC’s Sports and Environment Commission and an Executive Board Member of the Chinese Olympic Committee.

She said: “The Olympic Games not only helped the Chinese people to know better about the world, but also provided an opportunity for China to present its traditional culture as well as latest progress to the world. I am sure London and the UK will also receive a great legacy from this year’s event.”

Meanwhile, the sportsmen and women wait to hear if they’ve made Team GB. Slalom canoeists David Florence (Mathematical Physics 2005), Etienne Stott (Mechanical Engineering 2000) and Tim Baillie (Mechanical Engineering 2000) all qualified at trials in early April as did Honorary Nottingham graduate  and swimmer Rebecca Adlington OBE (MA 2009). But at least a dozen others must still prove themselves before selection or wait for the decisions of their sport’s governing bodies.

Visit: http://tiny.cc/UoNNetCommunity and: www.facebook.com/universityofnottinghamalumni for alumni Olympic updates and let us know if you’re involved.

Right: Alumni Olympians Tim Brabants (Medicine 1999), left, and David Florence (Mathematical Physics 2005) both medallists in Beijing.