Matt Baker visits his Former Durham Gymanastics Club – Ushaw Moor

FORMER British junior gymnast Matt Baker paid a visit to his old stomping ground during a visit to the North East.

The BBC TV The One Show and former Blue Peter presenter, 34, was a star performer with The Deerness Gymnastic Academy 20 years ago, until he had to give up the sport after being diagnosed with anaemia.

Matt – who was born in Easington, County Durham, before his family moved to a farm west of Durham – compensated for his loss to gymnastics by taking up sheepdog trials and pole vaulting.

Yesterday he called in to watch a display by the Deerness Gymnasts at Ushaw Moor, near Durham, a day after he carried the Olympic Torch on to the city’s Racecourse ground.

Deerness Gymnastic Academy is run by volunteers who took over the sports centre in Ushaw Moor last year after Durham County Council threatened to close it due to cost cutting.

It has become one of the top clubs in acrobatics and tumbling over the past 20 years, having trained over 60 international gymnasts, winning more than 50 world and European medals, with five world and four European champions in its roll of honour.

via Matt Baker visits former Durham gymanastics club – Durham – Communities – ChronicleLive.

The Flame in the North East – North East for 2012 Games

The Torch arrives in the region on Thursday 14 June 2012 and leaves the region on Monday 18 June 2012.  During this time it will pass through 62 villages, towns and cities in the North East.

Below are maps of all the places the Torch is going through in the North East: click on the place name to see a map of the route and times of the Torch: timings shown are approximate.  The maps show each stretch of the route when the Torch Relay is in ‘Torchbearer’ mode, and run in the order that the Torch route takes, for example from Alnwick it travels to Hipsburn and then Warkworth.

‘Torchbearer’ mode means when the flame is carried by a nominated person: at other times the Torch will be in ‘convoy’ mode, when it is being driven through less-populated areas or on main roads.  We hope lots of people will come and cheer on the Flame as well as the Torchbearers – people without whom our communities would be poorer places to live.  A full list and interactive map can also be found on the London 2012 website.

Saturday 16 June – Day 29: Gateshead to Durham

Gateshead	Prudhoe	Castleside
South Shields	Stocksfield	Tow Law
Whitburn	Hexham	Esh
Sunderland	Riding Mill	Langley Park
Gateshead: Low Fell and Chowdene	Consett	Durham
Gateshead: Blaydon	Moorside

To SEE MORE PLACES – The Flame in the North East – North East for 2012 Games.

LOCOG confirms the streets the Olympic Flame will be carried along

The Olympic Torch Relay will light up communities right across County Durham during three inspirational days in June this year. Passing though towns and villages from Barnard Castle in the west to Peterlee in the east and Consett to the north, moving down through Bishop Auckland and Newton Aycliffe in the south; thousands of people will get the chance to see the Olympic Flame pass through their community and feel part of a once in a lifetime moment.

Today (7.30am Monday 19 March) LOCOG has unveiled the street level map which the Olympic Torch Relay will follow and the names of many of the inspirational people who will carry the Torch, including some of those who will do so in County Durham. This can be viewed in full via the Olympic Torch Relay visit to County Durham web page.

The map gives important detail regarding not just the street level route but also the times the Relay will pass through. For County Durham the excitement begins when the Flame is carried into Consett on Saturday June 16 just after 4pm. The spectacle then visits Tow Law, Esh and Langley Park on its way to the Durham County Council hosted free evening celebration event in Durham City that evening. On Sunday June 17 the Flame will be carried through communities including Sherburn, Sherburn Hill, Haswell Plough, Peterlee and Blackhall Colliery. Later the same day Sedgefield, Bishop Auckland, Shildon, Middridge and Newton Aycliffe welcome the Flame. Amazingly the county then gets a further chance to host the Relay as it comes to Barnard Castle just after 3pm on Wednesday June 20.

Amongst those who will bear the Torch with pride in the county is international cricketing star Paul Collingwood. The Durham County Cricket Club player was nominated by Durham County Council.

via Press Release-Durham County Council.