Sports enthusiasts in Bury St Edmunds are on the starting blocks for the Our Bury St Edmunds Festival of Sport which takes place later this month.
The annual event, which helped Bury to win Suffolkâs Most Active Town award in 2015, focusses on local sports clubs and groups and includes free taster sessions for people looking to try a new activity.
This year the Festival, which runs from October 23-29, is extending its boundaries to include the villages around Bury St Edmunds and thereâs still time for local sports clubs to register their interest and have activities listed on the Festivalâs website at no cost.
Chief Executive of Our Bury St Edmunds, Mark Cordell said: âThe Festival of Sport offers something for all abilities. It doesnât matter whether you have never even run for a bus but want to start exercising, or youâre keen to take on a marathon â we can help.â
This year we want to include the villages just outside Bury too, so if you have sporting or exercise based activities during the half term week that people can get involved with either as participants, volunteers or spectators then please let us know.â Among the highlights of this yearâs Festival of Sport is the St Eds and Unique Bars Running Festival which offers races over 10k, half-marathon and marathon distance. There will also be opportunities to get involved with Rugby, Football, Nordic Walking and Yoga. Charter
Square will be the focus for many taster sessions including Tennis, Netball and Badminton and will also host an evening 5k fun run around the town. For the armchair sports fan a Sports Aid Lunch is being held at the Athenaeum with the guest speaker cricket legend Geoff Miller.
Mark Cordell added: âWe want to feature as many different sports and groups as possible and at the same time hopefully encourage more people to sign up to these activities. We donât expect everyone to bring their activity into the town centre, especially for sports that simply wouldnât be practical such as sailing or horse-riding, but we are happy to hear from clubs and tuition centres with the aim of promoting their sport during the Festival, so please do get in touch.â
The Our Bury St Edmunds Festival of Sport is promoted by a partnership led by the Business Improvement District (BID) organisation Our Bury St Edmunds and including Abbeycroft Leisure and St Edmundsbury Borough and Suffolk County Councils.
For more information visit
www.ourburystedmunds.com/festivalofsport.
If you are involved with a sports club or group and wish to include your event in the festival contact Our Bury St Edmunds on 01284 766258.