Needles Old Battery – Round the Island Yacht Race Breakfast 19 June 6am – 11am Watch the yachts round the Needles rocks from the spectacular vantage point of the Needles Old Battery whilst enjoying a hearty breakfast in the tea room or, if the weather permits, outside on the grassy slopes. For wheelchair users and less abled visitors there is now a viewing platform at the far end of the Parade Ground overlooking the Needles (limited space). For disabled access please phone 01983 754772. For commercial filming and photography please contact the Assistant Property Manager on 01983 741020. Normal admission charges apply and do not include breakfast. Additional charge for breakfast £6.99. All Images byChris Boynton if you wish to enquire – purchase an image please email: chris.boynton@virgin.net or call on +44 (0)1983 406007. Chris Boynton www.chrisboynton.co.uk

Needles Old Battery – Round the Island Yacht Race Breakfast 19 June 6am is a post from: Isle of Wight - WightBlog.co.uk

Open Day Saturday 19 September 2009 11am to 3pm for potential members, just call in with swimming costume and/or non marking court shoes to try out the facilities – towels provided at no charge.

Membership changes at the Isle of Wight Sports Club.

1. Membership Fees A new schedule of membership has now been established. The changes and new category of memberships are as follows:

The existing ‘Swim Only’ membership is replaced with an ‘Annual Swim Membership’. There is no restriction on hours of use of the facilities for this new category, therefore the pool, steam room and sauna is available to ‘Swim Members’ at all times, subject to classes being held in the swimming pool. Existing ‘Swim Only’ members may take advantage of the extended hours with immediate effect. In response to a number of requests it has been decided to offer participation in Yoga classes to Swim Members subject to payment of the fee due and class sizes.

A completely new category of membership is introduced from 1 September 2009, being ‘Annual Weekend Membership’. This membership provides full use of the facilities available at IWSC from 12 noon Friday until close of the club on Sunday.

An additional new category of membership is introduced from 1 September 2009, being ‘Annual Off Peak Membership’. This membership provides full use of the facilities available at IWSC from 11am to 5pm Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday. This category will require the members to vacate the Gym/Pool/Steam/Courts by 5pm weekdays.

The existing ‘Annual Family Membership’, currently two Adults and two Children (5-13years) is extended to two Adults and two Children/Juniors (5-17years). Existing memberships will automatically be amended at each individual family renewal date.

There will be two categories of Annual Adult Membership. The existing ‘Annual Student Membership’ is renamed and becomes ‘Annual Adult Membership – 18-20 years’. The existing ‘Annual Adult Membership 21 years and over’ remains unaltered.

Members who have attained the age of 65 years should ensure that Reception is made aware of this fact. Membership fees will be frozen at the annual fee payable by you at that young age. However, as membership of IWSC will almost certainly result in one looking years younger than one’s actual age, proof of age may be required!

IWSC

Ryde Road, Seaview – 01983 613108

www.iwsports.co.uk

IWSC Open Day 19th September. is a post from: Isle of Wight - WightBlog.co.uk

Organisers of the West Wight Triathlon which will take place on September 20th are delighted that entries are already much higher than for the same period in previous years. Fifty nine individuals and eight teams are already entered and so the event is well on it’s way to exceeding it’s target entry of 250. The West Wight event is great for first timers and always attracts at least 30 individuals braving their first triathlon. Organisers have set the event up as an achievable challenge for people with a reasonable level of fitness and are always encouraged by the number of people who come back in following years. The West Wight Triathlon consists of a 600 metre swim, 35 km cycle and 7.5 km run – anyone interested in entering can do so at www.westwight.co.uk where there are also training tips and results from previous years. This year organisers have teamed up with the Ellen Macarthur Trust www.ellenmacarthurtrust.org – entrants are invited (although not obliged) to raise sponsorship fro the Trust.

West Wight Triathlon is a post from: Isle of Wight - WightBlog.co.uk

Shanklin FC has one of the largest set ups on the Island, boasting 2 Men’s teams, 2 Ladies teams, 10 Boys youth teams and 4 Girls youth teams. I am often asked if we as a club are successful, I always reply YES. It may then surprise some people who delve further into the clubs history that the men’s team have only won the League title twice in division one, our Ladies finish there or there abouts and our youth section are not multiple league or cup champions. Then comes the predictable reply. “I thought you said you were a successful club” and I always reply, “We are.”

I say this because at Shanklin, more so with the Youth Section, we measure our success not on Winning, but on enjoyment and the development of our children. We measure our success on the kid that comes to us not being able to kick a ball, but after training and encouragement can actually hold their own in a match. We measure our success on the kids that we have taken off of the streets and actually given a purpose to on a weekend.

We have over 150 children in our club, boys and girls, all of whom enjoy playing at Shanklin. All bar none that I have come across, whether they win, lose or draw, always come off smiling and having enjoyed the game, always looking forward to the next training session or match. And the reason why they always enjoy their football? They follow our aim:

• Football is made fun, from training to playing in a match
• Mistakes are treated as a positive thing as children learn by making mistakes
• Parents are not allowed to stand on the sidelines and moan and shout at the children
• Children are encouraged in everything that they do

And this success; is it because of the Football Associations Grass Roots Plan?

Answer! NO.

Is it because of the 20 or so strong set of people, some parents, some not, who week after week, tirelessly spend hours of their time dedicated to these children, all of whom are encouraged and follow the clubs ethos of enjoyment is paramount, and all of whom are successful in their teams.

So have a think, and answer this question honestly!

Win at all costs, or enjoyment and education of football? What should we be teaching our children?

Shanklin FC – Sending the right message to Youth Football is a post from: Isle of Wight - WightBlog.co.uk