Picture: Jolande teaching young children how to use starting blocks.
During the European Athletics Championships held in Amsterdam between 6th – 10th July 2016, the FCN and it’s team of coaches delivered sessions and workshops in partnership with Spar International to inspire the next generations of athletes.
The Championships themselves were deemed a huge success by all involved and a statement made by the European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen demonstrated the huge step forward athletics as a sport has taken during the 5 days:
“The fans have been an integral part of the success of these Championships, with around 125,000 tickets sold meaning a packed stadium almost every night. The record number of athletes from 50 of our 51 Member Federations who have competed here have given us so much, and I would like to thank them all. We have seen almost all of our top athletes turn out here, with some great results.
I would also like to thank the City Amsterdam, who have been the perfect hosts, and the Local Organising Committee, volunteers, media and sponsors, including our principal partner SPAR International.”
In between the championship events, the FCN worked alongside Spar International to deliver coaching workshops and athletics sessions to the thousands of young fans who turned up to watch their favourite stars.
Our team of coaches made up of 2 male and 9 female coaches, delivered over 30 hours of running, jumping and throwing sessions to thousands of children from all over the Netherlands and Europe (including Belgium, Austria, Germany, France, UK, Finland, Spain and Italy). Events included high jump, sprinting, shot putt and long jump alongside workshops titled ‘Mental Preparation’, ‘Pre-race Warm-ups’, ‘Athlete Physical Testing’ and ‘Building the Foundations’.
We even had a surprise visit from the Italian High Jumper Gianmarco Tamberi who wowed the crowd with his jump (albeit a small jump compared to his usual heights due to his pending final the day after) who then went on to win European Gold with a much higher jump of 2.32 meters!
“The atmosphere at the Games and Spark was fantastic for all involved and it was a great opportunity to show the children of the Netherlands how much fun sport can be. Athletics has had a tough time as of late, so this was our chance to not only show the positive side of the sport, but to also show how well our team of coaches can work together! I personally loved every minute of the experience and was proud to represent the FCN and Spar International.”
Vicky Huyton – Founder of the FCN
The FCN would like to thank all of the wonderful coaches who worked hard to deliver fun and inspiring sessions to those who took part and a big thank you to Spar International for the opportunity. A special mention to Lydia, Lidy, Jolande, Maaike, Brecht, Georgie, Tom and James for all of their hard work!
From left to right: Brecht, Vicky, James, (Adam), Tom, Maaike, Lidiya
From left to right: Lidy, Vicky, Jolande, Lidiya, James
