Academy of Sport awarded £2.2m to support Olympic legacy

London South Bank University's (LSBU) Academy of Sport has been awarded £2.2m to play a key role in delivering the Government's London 2012 legacy ambitions across Central London.

LSBU's Andrew Powlesland with Kate Hoey, the Mayor of London's Commissioner for Sport

This major funding will benefit both LSBU students and the wider communities across Central London, with projects set to engage young people in sporting activities and to drive them into volunteering opportunities in community grassroots sports.

The projects are a result of the Government's recently announced mass participation London 2012 Legacy Plan: Places People Play.

They will be coordinated by PRO-ACTIVE Central London, which is part of LSBU's Academy of Sport and has a remit to increase participation in physical activity and sport.

LSBU will play a key role in delivering two strands of Places People Play across Central London:

- Sportivate will target young people aged 14-25 years, who are not currently choosing to participate regularly in sport in their own time, through six to eight week programmes of sporting opportunities. A key focus of the programme is listening to young people and providing the types of sport they want, where and when they want them.
- Leaders will use the inspirational pull of London 2012 to recruit, train and deploy new sports volunteers aged 16 and over to help drive community grassroots sport. After an inspiring introduction into sports volunteering, it is anticipated many will continue to give their time long after the 2012 Games.

Andrew Powlesland, Director of LSBU's Academy of Sport, who is also a Board Member of PRO-ACTIVE Central London, said: "We are very proud to have PRO-ACTIVE Central London as part of LSBU's Academy of Sport.

"This is a fantastic opportunity to capitalise on the excitement that is building around London 2012 and to create real and lasting benefits for people as a result of hosting the greatest sporting show our nation has ever seen."

In addition to the strands of Places People Play, LSBU has been awarded further funds to drive related work that will enable improvements in sport across Central London.

Coaching will support an increase in both the number and quality of sports coaches, Children and Young People funding will support the Government's objective to increase the amount of competitive sport and to provide a competition pathway from school to national level, and Core Funding will provide LSBU with the capacity funding required to employ and host the PRO-ACTIVE Central London.

For further information about the work of PRO-ACTIVE Central London, please visit www.pro-activecentrallondon.org or email at copleyt@lsbu.ac.uk

For further information about the Academy of Sport at LSBU, please visit www.lsbu.ac.uk/sports or contact Danielle Linton at lintond@lsbu.ac.uk

LSBU academic gives keynote address at UN conference

Professor John Taylor, Course Director for MSc Development Studies at London South Bank University (LSBU), delivered the keynote address at a United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) conference on poverty issues in China.

Professor John Taylor delivers the keynote address at the Beijing conference The aim of the conference, held in co-operation with the Chinese Government's International Poverty Reduction Centre in Beijing, was to finalise documents making recommendations to the Chinese Government on poverty reduction strategies.
These recommendations have fed into recent discussions both on China's poverty reduction strategy to 2020 and on the poverty reduction strategies devised for inclusion in the country's 12th Five Year Plan, currently being finalised by the National Peoples' Congress.
Speakers and participants at the conference were invited from many countries, from Chinese Ministries and the State Council.
Professor Taylor's speech highlighted five key areas crucial for poverty reduction in the coming years: the impact of climate change on poor areas; developing welfare safety nets covering both rural and urban areas; the importance of counterpart funding for poor countries; and the use of multi-dimensional indicators to measure poverty levels in China.
During the last twelve months, Professor Taylor has worked with Chinese scholars and development practitioners to produce documents in the above areas, forming a UNDP Strategic Initiative on Poverty Reduction document for submission to the State Council's Leading Group on Poverty Reduction.
The UNDP is a global development network of the United Nations (UN), which is responsible for advocating change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.
Find out more about the Development Studies Masters Course at LSBU."

LSBU researchers find cherry juice aids muscle recovery

Researchers from London South Bank University (LSBU) have found that drinking an antioxidant-rich cherry juice concentrate significantly improves muscle recovery from strenuous exercise.

LSBU researchers have found drinking cherry juice concentrate can help muscle recovery

The LSBU research team, led by Dr Jo Bowtell, Head of LSBU's Sports and Exercise Science Research Centre, investigated the effects of CherryActive Concentrate on ten well-trained rugby, football and combat sport athletes, in two trials.

In the first trial, the athletes consumed 30ml of CherryActive, twice a day for ten days, and then for the other trial, the same amount of a placebo fruit concentrate.

After seven days of supplementation, participants completed ten sets of ten single leg knee extensions at 80 per cent of their maximum lifting weight. These exercises were designed to cause muscle fatigue and soreness and the recovery of muscle function was monitored over the following 48 hours.

Trials were completed at least two weeks apart to allow the supplements to wash out between trials and help eliminate any factors that could affect the accuracy of the results.

The participants also completed each trial with a different leg as it is well known that even a single strenuous exercise session will cause the muscle to adapt so that a second identical session will not cause the same degree of soreness.

The research found that muscle function after high-intensity exercise was significantly faster when participants were taking CherryActive, with their muscle strength returning to 91 per cent of their maximum strength within 24 hours after strenuous exercise.

Dr Jo Bowtell said: "This is great news for any serious athlete, sportsperson or gym user seeking to speed up the recovery of their muscle strength between intense training sessions. CherryActive is already widely used in the professional athletic community to aid recovery and this trial shows why.

"By reducing muscle recovery time, athletes should be able to increase their training volume and intensity and improve their performance."

CherryActive Concentrate has already been adopted by leading Premiership Football teams Manchester United and Everton, as well as England Rugby, the Lawn Tennis Association, and GB teams training for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

This research has been published in the American College of Sports Medicine's journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Reference: Montmorency Cherry Juice Reduces Muscle Damage Caused By Intensive Strength Exercise , Bowtell JL, Sumners DP, Dyer A, Fox P, Mileva KN., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2011 Jan 12. [Epub ahead of print]

National basketball victory for LSBU Brixton Topcats

The LSBU Brixton Topcats have fought off stiff competition to be crowned Sportscover National Cup champions.

LSBU Brixton Topcats' Armand Anebo with the National Challenge Cup This is the first time in the basketball club's history that they have powered their way through to claim the coveted national prize.
The Topcats were dominant through the final, upsetting the odds to beat the top team in the English Basketball League, the Bristol Academy Flyers, with a final score of 77-63.
Andy Powlesland, Head Coach and Director of London South Bank University's (LSBU) Academy of Sport, said: 'I thought we were the better team throughout and I got a performance from all 12 guys.

'We were disciplined and intense on defence for all 40 minutes, and our secondary help defence was great. It was a really good team effort and I include the whole squad in that comment.'
Assistant Coach and captain for the day Paul Mundy-Castle, who is also a Schools Based Tutor for Education at LSBU, commended the victory as 'a very important landmark' for the club.

Speaking after the match, he said: 'For us this is a platform from which to build, for both the club and the University team. Nine of the twelve players today are in the London South Bank University programme and the other three work full time.

'For the club to get our name on the oldest trophy in English Basketball sets us up to try for a good run to the end to the season.'

Two players - Armand Anebo and Arturo Noha - had only just returned from injury and their presence was very welcome. Arturo Noha picked up the Most Valuable Player award as he led all scorers with 22 points for the Topcats

Find out more about LSBU's Academy of Sport."

LSBU Drama student in Sky1’s Got to Dance semi-finals

London South Bank University (LSBU) student Ketul Patel needs your vote to help him dance his way to success when he competes in the live semi-finals of Sky1's Got to Dance, on Sunday 20 February. LSBU student Ketul Patel performs as part of Bolly-Flex on Sky1's Got to Dance
Ketul, who is in his second year of studying for his BA in Drama & Performance Studies at LSBU, is performing as part of Bolly-Flex - a 12-strong dance group whose unique style is described as 'variety Bollywood'.
Ketul says: "So many people think Bollywood dancing is just all about the 'light bulb' and 'patting the dog' style of movements, but we want to show how intricate and powerful this genre is.
"In our fusion style, East meets West, as Bolly-Flex blends Bollywood, contemporary, street, and salsa."
Bolly-Flex's first performance was met with rapturous applause from the Got to Dance judges, including Ashley Banjo (leader and choreographer of Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity), who said: "When people come up to me and say Ashley as a judge what do you look for? I am just going to turn to them and say to search for Bolly-Flex, watch it and do that!"
Now Ketul wants everyone to vote for Bolly-Flex on Sunday 20 February to ensure they get a place in the finals.
Ketul says: "Our next performance will be high energy and high impact, so I hope everyone in the local community will get behind us. If we win we'll be donating £100,000 of the prize money to the Red Cross, a charity which our choreographer is very passionate about."
Gill Foster, Senior Lecturer in Drama & Performance Studies at LSBU, said: "We're so proud of Ketul's success in the competition so far. He is a major new talent.
"Everyone in the University will be supporting him, and we hope all South Londoners will tune in and vote for him too."
Bolly-Flex is a group of 19-24 year olds drawn from across the UK, hand-picked by London choreographer Naz Choudhury, who runs Flex FX - a dance project which helps to find platforms for young inspiring artists.
Find out more about
Posted: 17th February 2011LSBU's courses, including Drama & Performance Studies.

Sports student scoops silver medal in Taekwondo championships

LSBU News Online: London South Bank University (LSBU) student Daniel Walters has won the silver medal for England at the fifth Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships.
LSBU student Daniel Walters competes for England and wins silver Daniel, 25, who is in his final year of studying Sports & Exercise Science at LSBU, flew out to Chennai in India at the end of January to compete in the under 68kg category.
This is a world-ranking tournament, and Daniel fought through four challenging rounds to claim his silver medal. It is the first time he has competed for his country.
His achievement is all the more impressive, in view of the fact that it was his first competition for three months, after he sustained a major hand injury in training.
Daniel, who is now teaching Taekwondo to other LSBU students, said: 'To compete on the national stage for your country is such an honour, and I'm so proud to have brought the silver medal back home.
'I'm now looking forward to the next competition, which is the Dutch International Open, and will do my best to bring back another medal.'
David Cook, Course Director for BSc Sport & Exercise Science at LSBU and Daniel's coach, said: 'Daniel competes in the under 68kg group, which is one of the most competitive categories, so his achievement really is exceptional.
'We're very proud of him and are looking forward to watching his progress as there's no doubt he has a very promising future in Taekwondo ahead of him.'
Find out more about LSBU's courses, including Sport & Exercise Science.

Posted: 16th February 2011"

"LSBU attracts top engineering names to student open day

LSBU News Online: London South Bank University (LSBU) was proud to host one of the main events in the petroleum engineering calendar, when it welcomed students from across the UK to the London Petrophysical Society's Student Open Day.
(L to R): Mike Millar, Petrophysicist BG Group; Dr Julie D. Bell, LSBU’s Senior Lecturer of Petroleum Geosciences; Dr Ali Qubian, LSBU’s Course Director of BEng Petroleum Engineering; Jeremy Farrow, President of London Petrophysical Society Around 250 students from universities including LSBU, Imperial College London, University of Leicester, University of Leeds, University of Derby, University of Manchester and Royal Holloway, attended the event.
The students were able to visit stands hosted by the top industry names including BG, BP, Hess, Tullow Oil, and Schlumberger, to find out more about career opportunities and how to progress in the industry.
They then attended a series of lectures given by professionals and academics from BP, BG, Schlumberger, Perenco, Tullow Oil and the University of Leicester, with speakers drawing on their own professional experiences to give students a flavour of what they might expect from a career in different areas of the oil industry - both in the UK and overseas.
Dr Julie Bell, Senior Lecturer for Petroleum Engineering at LSBU, said: 'We were very proud to host this year's London Petrophysical Society Student Open Day, which was a great success.
'With students spread throughout the UK, these events provide a platform for students to network and learn from those working in the oil and gas industry.'
Find out more about LSBU's courses including Petroleum Engineering.


Posted: 8th February 2011"