British Transplant Games - Medway 2012
The British Transplant Games - one of the largest
multi-sport events in the UK - are coming to Medway
in 2012.
The Westfield Health British Transplant Games are organised on
behalf of the Transplant Sport UK (TSUK) and are staged
annually in a different UK city.
The Games in Medway will run from 23 to 26 August, between the
end of the Olympic Games and the start of the Paralympic Games.
They were officially launched on 3 November 2011 at
Rochester Cathedral.
History of the Games
The
Games were inaugurated in 1978 in Portsmouth by Maurice
Slapak, who at the time was a Consultant Transplant Surgeon.
Approximately 100 participants took part in the first Games in a
one-day event.
Over the past 30 years, the British Transplant Games have grown
to a four-day annual event for more than 600 competitors
and nearly 1,000 supporters.
The Games have been staged annually since 1978 in a number of
host cities including Portsmouth, Newcastle, Cardiff, Birmingham,
Exeter, Liverpool, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester,
London, Manchester, Sheffield and Norwich, Loughborough, Bath
and Coventry .
The British Transplant Games incorporate a wide variety of
sporting and leisure activities for all age groups. The Games take
place over four days in the summer and from these Games a team
is selected to represent Great Britain in the World Transplant
Games.
The aim of The Games is to encourage transplant patients to
regain fitness and to promote friendship and co-operation between
individuals concerned with transplantation, while increasing public
awareness of the value of organ donation.
About Transplant Sport UK
Transplant Sport UK is a registered charity whose main aim is
to raise awareness of the need for organ donation in the UK and
worldwide.
Through organising sports and social
events for transplant recipients it demonstrates the benefits
of organ donation and proves that people can lead a normal and
active life again after transplantation.
Founded as a result of the first
Transplant Olympics held in Portsmouth in 1978, TSUK has a
varied membership throughout the UK, all having received the
life-saving gift of a major organ.
It welcomes the families, donors
and donor families to join its association and to support
its transplant athletes at the various sporting events it
organises throughout the year.
TSUK is dependant upon
sponsorship and donation to fund the administration and running of
the association. Its appointed trustees and management
committee are all volunteers.
The Medway event
The
four days of sporting competition will focus on Medway Park,
Medway's centre of sporting excellence in Gillingham. However,
sports and activities will take place across Medway.
Paul German is a transplant recipient and
chair of the Local Sub Group for the Medway Games. He said: "It is
an exciting prospect that the British Transplant Games is coming to
Medway for the first time in its 35 year history, and will be a
great opportunity for the people of Kent to experience the games
and witness the success of organ transplantation.
"The Games has grown over the years into a
‘mini Olympics’ spread over four days, with over 700 competitors
taking part in sports such as athletics, swimming, rackets, golf
and volleyball to name but a few.
"Like me, all of the competitors taking part
have received a life saving transplant and for them the games is
not only a celebration of life, but also a way of saying ‘thank
you’ to the donor families for their generosity.
"Although exciting to watch, all of the
athletes compete in a spirit of ‘shared experience’, never
forgetting that one of the main aims of the BTG is to encourage
more people to ‘carry the card’ and sign up to the organ donor
register.
"So please come and support the games – you
will be amazed by what you see!"
The local community will be able to get involved in the action
in the Donor Run, a charity fun run on the Great Lines Heritage
Park Saturday, 25 August.
An army of volunteers will also be needed to support the staging
of the Games. To register your interest in volunteering at the
Games, email sue.bullivant@mls.gb.com.
The
Westfield Health British Transplant Games Medway 2012 are being
staged in partnership with Medway Council and are supported by the
Kent Messenger Group and a
number of other key sponsors and partners.
Sponsorship Opportunities
The sponsors packages offer excellent opportunities to be
associated with the British Transplant Games, offering your Company
the chance to build brand awareness and to show your support for
the work of Transplant Sport UK in a very visible way.
This can be in the form of company endorsement and advertising
during the Games weekend with posters, banners, exhibition stands
or even branding on the athletes’ kit. Corporate hospitality is
also available.
For more information download a Sponsorship
Pack (pdf 358KB).
For the latest news on the Medway Games, visit
the
Transplant Sport UK website.
You can also follow the latest news on the
British Transplant Games Facebook page or
on Twitter @WHBTG2012.