Tuesday 1 May 2007
WRESTLING WITH THE ISSUE OF RAIL SAFETY IN DARLINGTON
- Region & Route:
A wrestling club in Darlington, which was set up with funding from Network Rail's No Messin'! campaign, is thriving - with students about to enter a national competition in June. No Messin' Live! is a series of two day events, promoting activities which young people can get involved with, rather than trespass on the railway. After one such event was held in Darlington in 2005, Eastborne School contacted Network Rail, and the company funded a set of mats to allow the school to set up their own wrestling club. Jenny MacMurray, School Sports Co ordinator for Eastborne School said: "Thanks to the funding from Network Rail our club has gone from strength to strength and is attracting students from surrounding schools as well as from Eastborne. In June we are attending a National Schools Competition in Bolton, which will be the first chance our students have had in competition. "With support from the British Wrestling Association (BMA) we offered local primary schools a six week wrestling coaching session and from that we have set up an afterschool club at Firthmoor Primary." Network Rail Route Director Dyan Crowther said: "The young people who use the railway as a playground do so because they think they've got nothing else to do. Network Rail is committed to preventing pointless tragedies and No Messin'! aims to show young people that there is a range of activities available to them which - unlike playing on the railway - don't involve the risk of injury, disfigurement and death. "The success of the wrestling club at Eastborne school is a great reflection on all involved and we are delighted to have been able to help with funding." Yvonne Ball from the British Wresting Federation added: "This club has managed to touch the lives of those who have only ever thought of 'hanging around' either in or out of school time. Wrestling has brought a new dimension to PE lessons in Darlington and it has encouraged pupils who have dreaded and avoided the weekly PE lesson to bring their kit, join in and have a great and new experience of sport. With Jenny's help schools have opened their doors and minds to both wrestling and to keeping their pupils off the tracks."
Notes to editors
No Messin' Live! - a nationwide series of free two-day events packed full of free activities for 10- to 16-year olds - will be running again this summer with events on 7/8 August at the Concord centre in Sheffield and 20/21 August at the Acorn centre in Middlesbrough. The events are part of Network Rail's national campaign to reduce death and injury on the railway by getting young people off the tracks and doing something better instead. See http://www.no-messin.com for more information. In addition to the No Messin'! campaign Network Rail has a dedicated Railway Crime Education team which works closely with other parts of the railway industry, offering railway safety information and visiting schools, youth offending teams, youth clubs and local authorities throughout the UK.Contact information
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