International sporting spotlight on Leamington
An array of the world’s best athletes will be descending on Leamington this month for the European Cup Race Walking event.
A packed weekend of activities is planned for May19/20, with Victoria Park in Leamington the focal point for the activities.
On the Saturday there will be a mass walk on the very same course to be used by the European athletes the following day.
The mass walk will take place at 2.30pm on the Saturday, and prior to this the fun will get underway with Nordic Walking Demonstrations at 11.30am.
On the Sunday members of the public can spectate for completely free and enjoy about 350 of the top athletes in the sport taking part in junior and adult, male and female races, sponsored by Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council.
Cllr Chris Saint, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Chairman of the region’s 2012 Olympic task team, said: “It’s free to attend and we hope that as many people as possible will go along to support British athletes and perhaps to get inspired to take part in sport. This is a major event for this sport and many potential stars of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games will be taking part.
“It is great news for Warwickshire to welcome an international sporting event on this scale and we are sponsoring it as part of our involvement in bringing the benefits of the 2012 Games to the county.”
On the Sunday BBC C&W radio will be hosting a roadshow and Sky television will be covering the event, raising Warwickshire’s profile as a location for top level sports events.
More info on the event is available by visiting http://www.walk-leamington2007.org