City Goalball, a not for profit corporate social responsibility collaboration between Ballymore Properties (Ballymore) and law firm Addleshaw Goddard, is being hosted at the globally renowned London venue Old Spitalfields Market on Wednesday 19th November 2008. The event aims to raise awareness of the relatively unknown paralympic sport Goalball and give organisations and companies the opportunity to get involved and experience playing the game.
City Goalball marks the run up to the 2010 Goalball World Championships in Sheffield and the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, where the Great British team hope to compete.
Goalball is a three-a-side team game developed for the visually impaired. The objective of the game is to score goals, by rolling the ball into the opponents’ net. To defend the goal, players must dive onto the floor and block the ball with their bodies. Team mates can either throw or roll the ball to each other. The game has three main features, which distinguishes it from games played by sighted people:
• The ball contains internal bells, which enable players to hear and locate it during play
• It is played on an indoor court, with tactile markings to enable players to determine where they are on court
• All players wear black-out goggles to ensure that everyone plays on an equal sight level
Supporting the registered charity London Sports Forum for Disabled People, City Goalball is an inclusive opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity. The event promotes the ethos of ‘Inclusive and Active’: A sport and physical activity action plan for disabled people in London 2007 - 2012. ‘Inclusive and Active’ has a clear vision to get more active disabled Londoners achieving their full sporting potential. Events such as City Goalball aim to inspire organisations and companies to become involved in inclusive activity and show how easy it is for disabled and non-disabled people to participate on a level playing field.
The City Goalball event runs from 2:00 pm – 9:30 pm, Wednesday 19th November. There is a range of activities taking place including:
• 2:00 to 2:30 pm: A schools competition
• 4:00 to 5:00 pm: Goalball training led by ex-Great British Goalball player James Ridson
• 5:00 to 5:30 pm: Great British Goalball team exhibition match
• 5:30 to 8:30 pm: City Goalball competition
• 8:30 pm: Celebrity Goalball match
• 9:00 to 9:30 pm: The Ultimate Challenge - The City Goalball winners V Great British Goalball team
Amongst those invited will be a range of VIPs, from the worlds of sport and disability sport, politics and celebrity. These will include the Mayor of London, Leader of the Tower Hamlets Council Councillor Lutfur Rahman, Minister for Sport and Tourism Gerry Sutcliffe, RT Hon Tessa Jowell MP as Minister of the Olympics, and medalists from the recent Beijing Games.
City Goalball follows the success of a previous event held on Friday 13th June 2008, at Clissold Leisure Centre in Stoke Newington. Ballymore are providing Old Spitalfields Market for the upcoming event, which offers the perfect backdrop for City Goalball. Old Spitalfields Market boasts a large, open space for the match to be held and a range of restaurants and eateries for participants and spectators to visit.
Andrew Sparrow, Community Liaison Manager for Ballymore said:
“Ballymore Group is delighted to welcome City Goalball to Old Spitalfields Market. A key part of the Group's 'Ballymore In the Community Programme’ is to ensure that the Group's portfolio of property and investments are made accessible to the local community, and to develop strong partnerships with community groups and charities within these communities. City GoalBall is an excellent example of how sport can unite communities and will show-case, not only the tremendous talent and opportunity there is for developing the sport further, but also how City Firms can play a key role in supporting the future of Paralympic Sport in this country.”
Marcus Jamieson-Pond, Corporate and Social Responsibility Manager for Addleshaw Goddard, said:
“Addleshaw Goddard takes issues surrounding diversity and inclusion very seriously, which is something we are becoming increasingly recognised for. We always look for opportunities to support charities and become involved in communities. To be able to work in partnership to help raise awareness for a Paralympic sport is absolutely fantastic.”
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For further press information, contact Imogen Fry on 0870 240 5536 or email on oldspitalfieldsmarket@redheadpr.co.uk
Editors notes:
• Confirmed companies which are taking part in City Goalball so far:
o Addleshaw Goddard
o Ballymore Properties
o Capital Retail
o Centrepoint
o Goldman Sachs
o SJBerwin
o Pinsent Masons
o Standard Chartered
• For further information on the City Goalball event please visit http://www.citygoalball.co.uk
• For further information on Goalball please visit http://www.goalball.co.uk/
• For the history of Goalball please visit http://www.britishblindsport.org.uk/goalball.htm
• London Sports Forum for Disabled People is the strategic development agency for sport and physical activity for deaf and disabled people in all 33 London boroughs. As a registered charity, we exist to ensure that deaf and disabled Londoners can get involved in the sport and physical activity of their choice, in the venue of their choice and at the level of their choice.
• In 2007 London Sports Forum for Disabled People, in partnership with Greater London Authority and Sport England London Region created ‘Inclusive and Active’ – A Sport and Physical Action Plan for Disabled People in London. The plan sets out 36 targeted actions that, when delivered simultaneously will result in an increased level of participation of disabled people.
• For further information on London Sports Forum for Disabled People please visit http://www.londonsportsforum.org.uk/
Old Spitalfields Market
• Old Spitalfields Market is a world-renowned cultural institution based in the East End of London, situated around the listed Horner building
• The site has been home to a public market since 1682
• The Victorian Market Hall was built in 1876
• Ballymore acquired Old Spitalfields Market in 1999 and undertook a refurbishment and restoration project anchored around the existing market, improved retail offerings and created a flexible cultural space
• Old Spitalfields Market won the 'Best Fashion Market' category in Time Out’s Shopping Awards 2008, a testimony to the ingenuity of the traders and businesses operating here during the works
• Housed under the Victorian market roof are over 30 independent and large traders and a plethora of other traders and entrepreneurs
• High-quality restaurants and piazza-style al-fresco dining and shops and stalls ranging from up-and-coming designers, interiors, fancy dress and arts-and-craft outlets and hairstylists
• The area is home to many of the world’s most prominent and cutting edge creatives such as Gilbert & George, Philippe Starck and Chris Ofili.
• Access to all areas for wheelchair users and a buggy-friendly ethos
Ballymore
• Ballymore is an international property development and investment group, specialising in large scale, mixed use developments in urban areas
• Sean Mulryan, Executive Chairman, founded Ballymore Group in 1982
• Ballymore has grown to one of Europe’s largest property development and investment groups
• The principal offices are in
o Dublin
o London
o Slovakia
o The Czech Republic
o France
o Hungary
• Ballymore currently has projects in:
o UK and Ireland
o Bratislava
o Budapest
o Prague
o Berlin
o Central Europe
• Central Europe is becoming increasingly significant
o This is highlighted with the 400,000 sq m Eurovea project on the bank of the Danube in Bratislava
• The two earliest projects in Docklands area were Dundee Wharf and Millennium Harbour
• Today, Ballymore very active in this area with mixed-use developments including:
o Arrowhead Quay
o New Providence Wharf
o Wood Wharf
o Ontario Tower (with the Ballymore-owned Radisson Edwardian alongside this development)
o Leamouth Peninsula
o Baltimore Wharf
o The waterside development of Pan Peninsula
• Ballymore now has more than 40 projects in various stages of development in Europe and internationally
• The total area of projects under construction or in planning is 4 million sq m
Addleshaw Goddard
• Addleshaw Goddard is a leading UK law firm advising clients who are in the FTSE350 and comparable organisations, institutions, leading businesses and private individuals on a wide range of legal needs.
• Based in London, Leeds and Manchester. Addleshaw Goddard provides clients with unrivalled access to professionals who can solve business challenges across the legal spectrum.
• Its lawyers are recognised experts delivering high value business solutions across a wide range of industry sectors through leading Corporate, Contentious and Commercial, Finance and Projects, Real Estate and Private Client teams.
• The firm has 179 partners, over 500 other fee earners and a firm-wide complement of more than 1,400 people in total.
• Turnover for the financial year ended 30 April 2008 was over £195.4 million, 11 per cent up on the same period in 2006/07.
• The firm acts for more than 80 FTSE 350 clients, over 100 clients of an equivalent size, in excess of 160 financial institutions and almost 100 public sector organisations as well as private equity houses, entrepreneurs and high net-worth individuals.
• The firm is ranked 40th in The Sunday Times 2008 `100 Best Companies To Work For` survey.
• Addleshaw Goddard became a Limited Liability Partnership on 1 May 2006.
• For more information please go to www.addleshawgoddard.com
