SPORT 23
Cheerleaders heading for Florida
Ribbon cutting ceremony to open Eric Liddell Gym
ABERCORN SPORTS Club at Willowbrae
received a visit from Tommy Sheppard
with the local East Edinburgh MP keen to
learn more about the reasons behind
their Tennis Scotland “Club of the Year”
accolade for 2023.
Mr Sheppard was quick off the mark to
congratulate Abercorn on the coveted
award by letter in which he also
expressed an interest in dropping by a
facility that fosters not only tennis but
squash, table tennis and pilates.
He learned that the award centred on
increasing female tennis participation
by 83 per cent over a three year period
helped by reaching out to schools,
youth groups, the Miss-Hits programme
for 6-8 year-olds and women only
coaching sessions.
Tennis membership of Abercorn with
its four all-weather courts (three floodlit)
costs approximately £8 per month for
juniors and £18 for adults with squash
£21 per month.
Joining Mr Sheppard for a photo call
are, left, club president Laura Stewart
and vice president Julie Arnott.FAMILY MEMBERS of the late Eric Liddell
will take part in a ribbon cutting ceremony on
7 September to mark the completion of a
refurbished gym at the University of Edinburgh
Sport and Exercise Centre in the Pleasance
bearing the name of the 1924 Olympic 400
metres champion and Scotland rugby
internationalist.
As well as Sue Caton, niece of Eric Liddell,
the official opening will be attended by
university students and staff.
Described as “renewed, refreshed and
reimagined” the Eric Liddell Gym includes
state of the art equipment and a public
membership category exists.
Developed in conjunction with Technogym,
the cardio equipment now on offer includes 30
new treadmills, 15 cross-trainers, nine exercisebikes and, for the first time, eight stair climbers.
Space, which was previously split into two
distinct areas, one for cardio and one for fixed
weights activities, has been brought together.
A year after the Olympic Games in which
Liddell switched events in keeping with
religious convictions, which precluded him
competing on a Sunday, he returned to China
to do missionary work with his father.
He died of a brain tumour while interred in a
Japanese camp during the Second World War.
The experiences of Eric Liddell and team
mate Harold Abrahams were portrayed in the
1981 film Chariots of Fire.
Katherine Corbett, Active Health Manager at
Edinburgh University, said: “The refurbishment
of the new Eric Liddell Gym will coincide with
the beginning of a new awareness drivelaunched by The Eric Liddell Community, the
Eric Liddell 100 campaign, a programme of
events and activities to recognise and celebrate
the life, sporting and community service
achievements of one of Scotland’s iconic
figures who was the inaugural inductee into
the University of Edinburgh Sports Hall of
Fame in 2008.
“New digital signage will allow us to
share the Eric Liddell story with current and
new members to help preserve and celebrate
his legacy.”
Mark Munro, Director of Sport and Active
Health at Edinburgh University, said: “Sport
and activity underpin community life on
campus. We believe wellness is about choice,
and we want to offer users an abundance of
ways to engage with physical activity.”FOLLOWING A successful US
visit earlier this year, Black
Diamonds cheerleading club
have been invited back to the
Summit competition in Florida.
Flights have been booked for
a party of 56 including up to 23
participants for May 2024.
For Black Diamonds founder
Gill Samuel the accepted “bid” is
confirmation of a distinguished
foray into international
competition in 2023.
She said: “By sitting seventh
out of 25 teams from around the
world on day one we became
the first Scottish cheer team tomake the finals. On day two
every team really upped their
game and we finished 10th in a
competition where a tenth of a
point separated us from sixth.”
The “Summit” is a level below
the world championships but
gives the capital squad an
opportunity to test themselves
when cheerleading has
received Olympic recognition,
on track to be added to the
2028 schedule in Los Angeles.
Gill said: “There is absolutely
no reason why some of our
cheerleaders can’t become
Olympians, but mostly we areabout developing life skills,
discipline and being part of a
team where a lot of trust is
involved given individuals are
thrown into the air.”
To win a “bid” clubs have to
qualify from preliminary events
and it may have helped Black
Diamonds that after a period of
uncertainty they have settled
into East Lothian Council
premises at a community
learning centre, near Wallyford.
They also continue to
operate, to a lesser extent, in
Penicuik and Liberton High
School premises meaning fullon commitment from Gill and
daughter, Natalie.
The hard part may just be
beginning at the club run by
Gillian for the past 16 years.
She said: “The girls are
ecstatic about another
opportunity but it will cost
about £3,000 per athlete so in
addition to fund-raising such as
bag packing at supermarkets
we are reaching out to sponsors
once again.”If you can help, please email:
blackdiamondcheer
[email protected]President Laura Stewart and
Vice President Julie Julie Arnott
with Tommy Sheppard MPGym users will remember the Edinburgh runnerRenewed, refreshed
and reimagined
Edinburgh East
MP visits ‘Club
of the Year’
Andrew Perry