Mary Macleod, the local Member of Parliament for Chiswick, welcomed Lord Coe to the Dukes Meadows Golf and Tennis Academy to show him the local sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He visited Chiswick as part of his programme of visits to London boroughs in the run-up to the 2012 London Games. Lord Coe took a tour of the facilities and watched many talented young children playing tennis as well as meeting children from St Mary’s Primary School in Chiswick who were taking part in a multi-sport programme hosted by Dukes Meadows.

Mary Macleod, the Chiswick MP said “It was great to welcome Lord Coe to my constituency today and to show him the work that is being done in the London Borough of Hounslow to encourage young people to get more involved in sport.  He has been an inspiration to so many people in sport today because of his personal sporting achievements and I know that the country is also grateful for his dynamic leadership of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games. With Lord Coe, we saw young people participating in tennis, golf, athletics, boxing, rowing and even skiing!  It was a fantastic opportunity for the pupils of St Mary’s Primary School in Chiswick to meet him and demonstrate some of the different sports they are getting involved in.

“The true legacy of the Olympics will be if more Londoners participate in more sport in the years to come and become fitter and healthier as a result.  Stephen Marks at Dukes Meadows has shown real leadership in London by creating an Academy, here in my local area of Chiswick and is giving 3,000 school children every year the opportunity to get involved in sport for free.  Stephen and his team at Dukes Meadows have worked so hard to bring to life their vision of a top class sporting environment that is open to everyone. They are hoping to expand their tennis programme over the summer holiday, with free tennis courses for primary schoolchildren across the borough in a scheme that will rival the best in the country. What better legacy could we have locally in this exciting Olympic year?

“Alan Watkinson, the Schools Sport Partnership Manager, has also worked really hard to implement the legacy programmes across the Borough.  We are proud to be part of the city that is hosting the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. We want to also be part of the legacy following the Olympics, creating a fitter and healthier city, for ourselves, our families and generations to come.”

Also present for the visit were the Mayor of Hounslow, Jagdish Sharma Leader of the Council, Mary Harpley CEO of Hounslow Council, Seema Malhotra MP for Feltham and Heston and Cllr Robert Oulds local Councillor for Chiswick Homefields.

Photo:

Local MP Mary Macleod with Lord Coe and Stephen Marks, owner of Dukes Meadows Tennis and Golf Academy

Details of Programmes

§   Rowing Development Programme, led by Boat Race Co and London Youth Rowing, which has attracted £100,000 of funding from the Oxford and Cambridge Rowing Foundation, with the aim of having all 12 secondary schools in the Borough rowing within 5 years and to have over 250 young people rowing every week by 2014

§  Tennis and Golf Programme, led by Stephen Marks, owner of Dukes Meadows Tennis and Golf Academy which provides up to 30 hours free coaching (and free transport) every week for schools as well as holiday programmes for young people – estimated investment of £100,000

§  Athletics Programme, which gives free coaching to schools as  a result of Sport England funding, with free access to the Osterley track