Racalay Mason was one of hundreds of students who took part in Olympic and Paralympic themed events at Uxbridge College.Uxbridge College students followed in the footsteps of Olympic and Paralympic champions when weeks of events culminated in a grand final.The Olympic grand finals were held at Hillingdon Athletics Stadium on 25 May, with Paralympic sports taking place the previous day
Racalay Mason was one of hundreds of students who took part in Olympic and Paralympic themed events at Uxbridge College.Uxbridge College students followed in the footsteps of Olympic and Paralympic champions when weeks of events culminated in a grand final.
The Olympic grand finals were held at Hillingdon Athletics Stadium on 25 May, with Paralympic sports taking place the previous day at the Uxbridge campus.
Gold, silver and bronze medals – decorated with the Uxbridge College logo and stamped ‘Olympics 2012’ on the back – were awarded to the winners.
Instead of the countries of the world, teams from each School were entered. The School with the most medals - Sport, Travel and Public Services - will be crowned the Olympic Champion.
Competitors in the grand final took part in long jump, high jump, shot putt, 100m, 800m and relay. There were also novelty races including the sack and three-legged races.
In the paralympic events, students who do not normally use wheelchairs played wheelchair rugby and a sport called Boccia, which is a type of bowls played sitting down. The paralympic activities were provided by Aspire, an organisation which supports people with spinal injury and helps promote disability awareness.
During May, in the run up to the grand final, events including badminton, table tennis and football also took place and the winners received medals. The College was decorated with official banners and bunting featuring the Olympic logo and colours.
Sarah Mottram, Student Support Officer, said: “Our aim when we launched the Uxbridge College Olympics was to get as many people as possible involved in sports – and we have been extremely successful.
“While Uxbridge College has some extremely capable and competitive young sports people who took part, it was some of the less naturally sporty who got the most out of it.
“Wheelchair rugby and Boccia not only offered some unique insights into the reality of living with a physical disability - but the thing which stood out the most was how much fun they were to take part in.”