Join in the celebrations in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with your very own Olympic challenge in support of the Cardiomyopathy Association. The Gold Challenge is a chance for everyone to test their skills in 5, 10, 20 or 30 Olympic or Paralympic sports from fencing to table tennis over the next two years.
You can try completely new sports, taking part as either an individual or as a team with a group of friends, family or colleagues. Gold Challenge is available for all ages and abilities, so whatever your sporting interest, you can design your own challenge and also improve your fitness. You are asked to raise £50 sponsorship for each event you take part in.
You can also take part as a family. Families and those aged 7 to 15 can sign up for free and choose their challenge from a range of family friendly options.
The challenges include the 5 Sport Challenge where families and groups of young people take on 5 Olympic and Paralymic sports, the Family Activity Challenge which encourages families to learn Olympic Sports together and the 2012km Challenge where challengers must cover 2012kms (individually or collectively in one or more of the Olympic and Paralympic sports.
Families can take part as a team made up of at least one adult (16+) and at least one child between the ages of 7 and 15. Adults can be family members, carers or youth leaders. Anyone under 16 must have parental permission to sign up to the challenge.
Sarah Playle (pictured left) and Mike Hurle (right) from Hampshire are among the first people to sing up for the challenge to raise money for the CMA.
Sarah, a 25-year-old police community support worker, said: "We have already been BMXing but will also be playing football and badminton and going trampolining. We are also
trying wheelchair basketball and horse riding.
Sarah and Mike, a 26-year-old Post Office manager, are raising money for the CMA as Sarah has close family members that have suffered from cardiomyopathy. She said: "We wanted to do something to honour their memory and support other affected families."
To take part all you need to do is register on the Gold Challenge website, choose your sports and take part at local sports centres in your area between now and December 2012. There is also a Family Gold Challenge website
We will provide you with a CMA t-shirt, sponsorship forms and our Fundraising Guide as well as all the support we can to assist your fundraising.
For more information about the Gold Challenge, contact Daniel Jackson or call us on 01494 791224.