Last week Cambridgeshire Artistic Roller Skating Club celebrated its second Birthday at the Paradise Centre in Ely they kindly shared their Birthday celebrations with us.

After building our club from scratch we have now reached the start of our 3rd year! 

Thank you to the over 700 skaters that have come along to our lessons in the last 2 years!

In the last year we have attended 3 competitions, had the first CARSC test day with Judge Carla Smith, been to a training weekend away with coaches Chris Fox, Neil Emms and Paul McIlhone , started coaches in training with 6 of our skaters, launched Cambridgeshire Roller Skating Parties, built a bigger CARSC family and started fundraising for the club.

To celebrate turning two we planned a mega CARSC weekend!  
Starting on Friday we had our party fun skate in the morning with a visit from The Mayor of Ely – Mike Rouse.

In the evening we invited all our improver skaters and their families to an evening party of garden games and awards with an early night ready for our first ever CARSC training weekend.

Saturday our training was based around Free skating and how to prepare for a competition.
We covered 
– Sports psychology, anti bullying, meditation and how to prepare for a competition with Zoe King.
– Fitness with Helen Grey. 
– Nutrition with Emma Cattle.
– Free skating with Chris Fox and Helen Grey.

Sunday our training was based around Dance, Ballet and performance.
We covered 
– Warming up, stretching, ballet, manner of performance, dance basics, turns, travels, clusters, set pattern dance and improvisation with Emily Woods.

Huge thank you to our guest coaches that have come over to help us and share their incredible skills. We’ve loved every second!

Thank you for everyone that has supported us from the like or share on Facebook to taking one of our leaflets to coming along to sessions to entering a competition. Every single one of you have helped and supported us in one way or another and we really appreciate it. 

We look forward to our 3rd year as CARSC! We can’t wait to welcome even more skaters and watch everyone learn and improve in every session.

If you would like any information about our club and what we do please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Team CARSC 

From Cambridgeshire Artistic Roller Skating Club

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Hayley’s excited about the opening of The Hive – but the Paradise Pools hold special memories for the Little Downham record-breaker.

Nicknamed “Turbo Turner” for her super speeds, at the tender age of nine, Hayley helped open the Paradise Pools, together with Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, in April 1981.

The cabinets inside the building host trophies record-breaking Hayley’s won – including one for being the first female in the county to swim 100m freestyle in under a minute.
The Paradise Pool’s last day of opening will be this Monday, with plans by the council to demolish the building shortly after. The Paradise Centre will remain.
Hayley told Spotted in Ely: “The pool closure this week had brought back a flood of happy memories as we say goodbye to our Paradise Swimming Pool.
“For me it was my early start in my successful swimming career and it is with a heavy heart I write this and snap photos of my children and I outside in its final days.”

Then named Hayley Tooke and living in Wentworth, Hayley started swimming in local private pools at the age of six before joining the Ely Swimming Club at the old open air pool – now the cement works – where she met fellow swimmers and lifelong friends, Cheryl Letts, Tracy Nicholas and Kelly Newark.
“We then moved to the Paradise Pool. By this time I was nine years old and already had a band of wins to my name. I was selected to present Sharron Davies with a commemorative plaque when she came to open the pool. Ironically some years later I raced against her on her comeback to swimming in the Commonwealth Trials consolation final.”
The Paradise Pools served as the perfect springboard for Hayley’s athletic career – as a teenager, she was headhunted by the England swimming coach, who secured a spot for her at Kelly College in Devon, which boasts some of the best swimming facilities in the country.
“I am still winning medals at the National Masters each year and last year helped our team finish in gold position for the 4x50m freestyle relay, swimming my leg in close to 28 seconds…not dissimilar to the times I did back in my teenage years.
“The imminent pool closure has meant I have dug out the scrapbooks of photos of my team mates and I winning trophies and club gains up and down the country. I’ve shared these with my children, now six and seven years old, who have loved reading all about my swimming career. 
“And it’s a particularly pertinent time for us as they have literally recently started swimming club and are about to do their second session just before the pool closes, coached by one of my very oldest swimming buddies, Tracy Nicholas.”
At the age of seven, Hayley’s daughter, Faith, is already in Stage 8, while son Toby, six, has almost completed Stage 6. Husband Mark Turner is an Ultra Marathon and extreme triathlon competitor, while Hayley is gearing up for her third and fourth Ironman events this year. 
Hayley recently completed her Level 1 swim teacher training at the Paradise Pools and is planning to go into swim coaching.
Despite being a super sporty family, the Turners don’t plan to push their kids, who both attend Downham Feoffees Primary Academy, into the same lifestyle – unless they want to do it.
Hayley said: “Should they wish to continue their love for swimming there is no doubt in our minds that we shall do as our parents did… dedicating themselves to our competitive edges, driving us everywhere, ensuring we made morning and evening training, juggling homework.”
The former Fenland Flyer star swimmer is excited about the opening of The Hive, Ely’s new leisure centre, but the Paradise Pools will always hold a special place in her heart.

On Wednesday, Hayley went for her last swim at the Paradise with the kids.
“Faith pushed me in as a surprise and that’s a true swimmers celebratory way of doing things!”
Hayley said: “Farewell Paradise Pool…you held a lot of fond memories for me in my youth and now for my children as they start out on their swimming journey.”

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Massive leisure company GLL, who’ll be running The Hive, are advertising for lifeguards and fitness instructors in readiness for the grand opening.

The post The Hive due to open in May appeared first on Spotted in Ely.

Councillor David Ambrose-Smith, who chairs the community services committee, announced today that The Hive is on track to open next year.

“This is a really exciting project for the whole of East Cambs as well as the city of Ely. The addition of the leisure centre to the new leisure village broadens the options for people to visit the area.”
Once completed, the centre will include an eight-lane, 25 metre swimming pool, a learner pool with moveable floor, a 120 station gym floor, two activity studios and a four-court sports hall.
Outside there will be a 3G artificial turf pitch.
The Hive, named to reflect the area’s Fenland heritage and the active nature of the building, is next to the Ely Outdoor Sports Association and is phase two of the Ely Leisure Village.
Construction began in March, with work now focusing on the internal structure and making the building watertight this autumn.
Mayor of Ely and district councillor Richard Hobbs said: “Having supported and championed the development of the new leisure centre, I am thrilled that the construction of the new facility is steaming ahead and I am pleased to announce that it will be called The Hive.”
Eel catching on the River Ouse dates as far back as pre-Norman times and these eels were commonly caught using baskets made of willow called hives.
An eel hive made from willow has been planted in Cherry Hill Park and forms part of the Eel Trail around the city.
Mr Hobbs said: “We are confident that the centre will be a hive of activity – a place that is full of people who are very busy, somewhere where there are lots of activities taking place at the same time.”

Construction of the centre is being carried out by contractor Pellikaan.
Project director Corné Van Mook said: “With the final design elements being nearly completed and construction works progressing well on site, we are in a good position to complete the project on time in Spring 2018.
“We are working with reliable consultants and subcontractors to ensure a quality project will be delivered that everyone can and will be proud of for many years to come.”
The project has been funded by East Cambridgeshire District Council with the help of a £1.5m lottery award from the Sport England Strategic Facilities Fund.

Charles Johnston, Sport England’s property director, said: “Tackling inactivity is a major priority of our new strategy which is why we are pleased to be able to support the development of Ely Leisure Centre. When complete these exciting new multi–sport facilities will encourage more people to lead healthier and more active lifestyles.
“The Lottery funding we’ve given will allow sport and physical activity to become an accessible option for even more people while those already active and playing sport will enjoy a better experience when the centre opens in 2018.”
When the centre opens it will be managed by GLL, a large leisure trust, operating over 200 leisure facilities across the country, on behalf of East Cambridgeshire District Council.
The existing Paradise Pools will close, although the Paradise Centre will remain.

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As well as its second special Vegan Market set for Bank Holiday Weekend, the city is also gearing up to host Cambridgeshire’s first ever yoga and vegan festival.

Cambridgeshire Yoga and Vegan Fest, held at the Paradise Centre on June 11, is hosted by London-based Yogific, which describes itself as a “community of vegan yogis”.

The day is expected to include over 44 yoga and meditation sessions, talks, live music and over 50 stalls.
On its Facebook event page, the group describes the Paradise Centre as a “really nice leisure centre located in the heart of Ely”, adding that it plans to covert it into a “yoga university” for the day, catering for all ages and abilities, including a yoga class aimed specially for children.

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