Hethersett Library had a juice bike outside. Visitors to the library were able to pedal away on the static bike whilst making themselves a refreshing and highly nutritious drink at the same time. We popped the Hethersett and the Meltons Sports Association banner there to emphasise the fitness aspect of the idea.
It also got me thinking about the Sports Association - I can scarcely believe that it is now 10 years since I had the idea of bringing sports clubs in the village together under an umbrella organisation to promote sport, fitness, well being and the environment in Hethersett, Great Melton and Little Melton.
The association was launched early in 2011 and was all part of the fitness drive in the village in support of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Our aim was to make Hethersett the ultimate sport and fitness village in the country and we achieved that when we became the first village, town or city in the UK to receive a Big Society award from the then Prime Minister David Cameron.
The sports association is still in existence but hasn't met for some time due to the virus pandemic. Over the past decade, however, it has financially supported numerous sports and pastimes with grants from money received via South Norfolk Council which has always been very supportive of our ideas.
I retired as chairman a couple of years ago but am still a member of the association. Starting the association helped to focus residents' minds on the idea of fitness and well being. One of the legacies of the sports association has been the annual two mile funrun which continues to this day.
For those interested, below is an article I wrote on the association in 2015.
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Hethersett and the Meltons Sports Association has made a remarkable difference in the fields of sport, fitness, health and well being in its relatively short four year history.
When we started the association we wanted it to be a "doing organisation" and not a "talking shop". That meant following the maxim that actions speak louder than words. This is something we have adhered to over the four years that the association has been in existence.
If the association didn't quite get off to a flying start, it has now established itself and its reputation amongst councils and organisations such as Sport England and Active Norfolk is quite rightly very high. That gives us the impetus to add clout to grant applications from member clubs.
We can all be rightly proud of what we have achieved in the way of starting up new groups and supporting established groups and the future looks just as bright as the past. A grant from the South Norfolk Council gave us the chance to achieve so many of our aims in a relatively short period of time.
As to new groups. Well the association was either directly responsible or backed a number to take flight. These included a Social Running Group which began in 2012 and within a few months of its inception had been named Run England's Eastern Region Group of the Year through bringing over 40 people to regular running sessions.
The association then worked with Hethersett Methodist Church to start up a regular Friday night Table Tennis Club which continues to thrive and regularly attracts over 20 people to club nights.
Mid 2013 the association supported the setting up of Hethersett Velo Club which has gone from strength to strength and which has over 100 members and regularly attracts 70 plus riders to its club night rides. The year has also seen the establishment of a new Hethersett Croquet Club based on the Memorial Playing Field.
But HaMSA has been much more than just a supporter of start-up groups. So far the grant has allowed the association to give £400 to the Hethersett based Respect Yourself group which provides life choice advice for young people through daily SMS messages. The money has given the group the chance to send out messages relating to health and fitness.
HaMSA has provided Hethersett Netball Club with £400 for equipment and helped with a £1,000 plus grant for its junior section and given Hethersett Athletic Football Club £300 to set up groups at Under-6, Under-7 and Under-8 levels. But it isn't just the youth of the village that have benefited. Hethersett Memorial Playing Field Bowls Club has been given £500 to help extend its premises and the Association also supported a separate grant application from Hethersett Hawks Cycle Speedway Club to purchase its own PA system which is also hired out free of charge to other HaMSA member clubs.
Crusaders Rugby Club has been supported with £250 to buy equipment to help train its younger members and HaMSA is currently supporting grant bids by the Hethersett Environmental Action Team (HEAT) to produce a booklet of local walks and also to replace the out of date maps in public areas around the village.