Swindon Advertiser Column: What A Week Of Sport

What a week of sport!

Have you recovered yet? Has the heart rate returned to normal; the adrenaline stopped flowing?

I am not ashamed to say there was quite a lot of excited jumping up & down in the Tomlinson household last Sunday, as Jos Buttler crashed through the stumps to secure our first ever ICC Cricket World Cup Final victory.

But for a good chunk of Sunday, my sporting loyalties were split, as I was fortunate enough to have been asked by the organisers of the British Grand Prix to present a trophy at Silverstone.

In my role as the Minister for Disabled People, I am constantly working to break down the barriers to employment that some people face and encourage more industries to consider how they’d benefit from the wealth of disabled talent out there.

Motorsport in the UK is particularly successful; with high profile disabled designers, engineers and drivers at the pinnacle of the sport.  I recently met Nicolas Hamilton & Nathalie McGloin – two successful British racing drivers - who are letting their talent do the talking.

It was a huge privilege to meet some of the teams at Silverstone on Sunday who are tackling the stereotypes, and it was a  massive honour to hand over the winner’s trophy for the Formula 2 race (the main support race to F1), to British driver Jack Aitken!

Having finished on official duties at Silverstone, I made it back to Swindon for the majority of the England innings - joining around 8 million people who watched that Super Over from behind the sofa and saw Eoin Morgan’s side lift the trophy; inspiring a nation in the process.

Four million more were fixed to another epic men’s singles final at Wimbledon, while nearly two million saw Lewis Hamilton break the record for the number of British Grand Prix wins for a homegrown driver.

Last week’s successes are just a small part of the amazing summer of sport.

Earlier this month, the Lionesses roared into a World Cup Final and were on the cusp of being the first England football side to win a World Cup since 1966.

Right now, in Liverpool, the best sides from around the globe are competing at the Netball World Championships; while in the mountains of France, Geraint Thomas is in hot pursuit of the famous Yellow Jersey as he challenges for back-to-back Tour de France victories.

Plus, in a fortnight’s time, England’s victorious cricket team return to the field in The Ashes.

With all that in mind, it seems apt that tomorrow sees my third annual Summer Activities Fair. If you’re looking for something fun to entertain the children or grandchildren, or for a new hobby to keep you active, then please do visit us between 11am and 1pm at the Orbital Shopping Park, by the play-park.

We have more than a dozen fantastic local sports clubs & community groups attending who will be handing out flyers and giving young people the chance to try something new.

If last weekend’s sporting successes have inspired you, your children, or the grandchildren, then we look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Who knows – Swindon might be home to the next budding Ben Stokes, Lewis Hamilton, or Lucy Bronze.