Sporting Champions: Longridge

I am extremely proud to have been selected as a ‘Sporting Champion’ to deliver Sportivate, a programme that has helped create a lasting participation legacy from London 2012.

Sportivate is one of the most important parts of the government’s mass participation legacy plans and I hope, that I can play an important role in helping encourage many young people to get into sport.

About a month ago I helped deliver my first motivational session to a group of young aspiring fencers at Longridge in Marlow. The group were naturally a bit reserved to start with but we soon relaxed into a fantastic session.

The young people grew in confidence and developed a great deal technically as fencers over the course of the programme at Longridge, It was a pleasure to see. They were engaged from start to finish and it was fantastic to see the big smiles on their faces at the end of each session.

It felt very rewarding to see them so enthusiastic about fencing and see that spark of passion for the sport in them that I had all those years ago when I first started fencing.

We did lots of footwork drills, fencing master-classes, games and a final team competition to wrap things up. I’d like to thank Leon Paul for providing posters as prizes - the group absolutely loved them!

During my time at Longridge, I wanted to use my experience as a former elite athlete to provide inspiration to these young people and really encourage them to stick at fencing. Hopefully I did just that. The group even promised me to carry on training hard and to never do less than their best. I’ll be checking in to see if they do!

But seriously, it was about enjoying fencing, having fun and feeling good about themselves. I felt like my visits were worthwhile and made a difference to the group. If I inspired even just a handful of young people to continue fencing, then fantastic.

I’d like to thank Jackie Faulkner and the staff at Longridge for looking after me so well and I very much hope I can work with you again in the future!

Youth Employment Convention

On Wednesday 8th May, I was very proud to speak on behalf of the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust at the Youth Employment Convention in Westminster.

Since stopping fencing, I have been involved in many projects with the Trust that seek to help young people get their lives back on track. The DKH Legacy Trust employ a team of world-class athletes who use their experience and skills gained in elite level sport to help support young people, the majority of whom come from difficult backgrounds.

This is something that I care a great deal about. When I think back at how much my mentors have been there for me and have given up their time and experience so unselfishly for my benefit – I am very grateful. I find it very rewarding to be able to give something back.

It’s not about trying to make disadvantaged young people future Olympians. It’s about trying to help them develop skills like focus, resilience, confidence, self-esteem and work ethic. All of which, I was lucky enough to pick up through sport.

I was honoured to be a part of the Youth Employment Convention, and particularly interested to hear the opinions of the Youth panel who all had different experiences and stories to tell on seeking employment in the current economic climate.

The point of the convention was to stimulate a larger national debate about youth employment and unemployment and what better way to kick-start a conference than to listen to the opinions of a range of different young people.

Those on the panel were enthusiastic, funny, articulate and spoke powerfully. They absolutely stole the show.

It was interesting for me to hear that one of the main barriers that young people face when looking for employment is a lack of confidence and self-esteem, as well as the motivation to keep trying over and over again when faced with multiple rejections.

The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust helps break down the barriers and fears that young people are experiencing. It’s about making young people feel good about themselves, and supporting them whilst they strive to achieve their potential.

I felt a massive sense of pride when I heard the young people speak because it felt like I was part of something that was making a difference and that felt good.

I said in my speech that we need to trust in our young people more and support them as they try to develop and make a contribution to society.

Young people are our future. It is up to families, government, schools, charities and other parties to harness that potential and give them the best possible chance to succeed.

Photographs courtesy of Andy Barker

Claire Bennett - Blue Peter Showreel 2013

Hi guys,

Exciting news! I have applied to become the next Blue Peter presenter! I had a lot of fun making the clip (thanks to my brother for filming) - I hope you enjoy it too! Please like the clip and share the love, thank-you so much! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN-SqwWRnE0

Claire x

Clapham athlete switches attention to improving children’s lives through sport | SW Londoner

Clapham athlete switches attention to improving children’s lives through sport | SW Londoner

US Girls Rocks Festival

On Thursday 1st November I attended the Us Girls Rocks festival in London. It was a free festival aimed at getting women together and having fun taking part in sport and activity. As ambassador of the charity StreetGames I was asked to get as many women and girls aged 16+ to have a go at fencing. There were a range of activities on offer including badminton, basketball, boxing, cricket, skipping class, table tennis and zumba. It was a fantastic day out and I was so pleased to see so many young girls have fun and get involved in sport.

After teaching the girls some fencing basics they got stuck in and really went for it. For most, it was their first time fencing and they were surprised at how much harder it was in reality to what they had seen on TV. Everybody got a bit of a sweat on and had fun doing it.

Olympic boxing champion Nicola Adams also popped in to the event to join in the fun and help inspire the girls. She spoke of what it takes to become the first woman ever to win an Olympic boxing title and how her life has changed since winning gold. Becoming an Olympic champion changes your life forever and Nicola deserves every bit of her success.

I was able to challenge Nicola to a fencing match and I can tell you that she has seriously fast feet. We both agreed that boxing and fencing share many similarities. Still, I was glad I was fencing her and not facing her in the ring!

Nicola has transformed the face of women’s boxing forever. Her skill set and demeanor forced non-supporters of women’s boxing to question their mindset. She is a wonderful role model for women in sport, and she has changed the stereotype of boxing as a brutal, male-dominated sport with her big smile and positive attitude.

The London 2012 Olympic Games was a fantastic opportunity for women in sport. The results the women achieved at London 2012 and the media coverage that they received was extremely positive. The more successes there are like Nicola Adams, Jess Ennis, Jade Jones and Laura Trott; the more young girls will want to emulate their role models. Women have a very important role to play in sport, just as the men do. It is ridiculous now to think that there were no female athletes nominated for the Sports personality of the Year awards in 2011. That surely has to change in 2012.

Major decisions need to be taken at national and local government level and by sports administrators if there is to be an increase in young girls taking up sport. For now, our wonderful female role models like Nicola Adams and events like the US Girls Rocks festivals are doing a great job in promoting women in sport.

What does sport and the Olympics mean to Claire Bennett

Let the Games begin! Thinking of all of the athletes

Can you believe that the countdown is almost over? It seems like we have been building up to this moment for so long. Finally, the Olympics have come to town and the eyes of the world are upon us.

I am certain that London will put on a great show. We are ready to show everyone what we are made of and this is an exciting period to live through. I wonder what spine-tingling, historic moments will come out of these Olympic games? All of the sports adverts and sporting documentaries that have been televised in the build up to the Games have been fantastic. They have managed to capture the real essence of what it’s like to be an elite level athlete at the top of their game. We’ve seen the relentlessness of training and competition, the raw passion, and the sheer grit and determination required to qualify for an Olympic Games. The expression blood, sweat and tears is no joke. Athletes have to be strong in every sense of the word.

The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of any athlete’s career and while the members of Team GB will be focused on performing to their best and reaching the podium, I hope that they will take a moment to savour the occasion. It is a once in a lifetime achievement and competing in front of a home crowd will be very special.

I have been thinking quite a lot recently too about the ‘other’ athletes who did not make the team for whatever reason. There must be hundreds of British athletes who, like me, were on the tip of qualification and missed out on the honour of going to a home Olympic Games.

Many people have asked me if I am excited about the Olympics and if I will be watching the fencing. The answer is yes, but I’d be lying if I said that it hasn’t been tough. Fencing and qualifying for the Olympic Games has literally been the centre of my existence since leaving university four years ago. The intensive training, travelling and competing had taken over my life, almost to the exclusion of everything else, which most people would consider to be a normal part of life. So the thought of watching the Games without being involved in them, is hard. There’s no doubt about that.

I have had some time now to reflect on missing out on the Team and what has kept me going is the knowledge that this experience has toughened me and ultimately, has made me a stronger person. I stood for something I believed in and pushed my body and mind to the limit in order to achieve my goal.

Sometimes you have to accept defeat, but it is how you react to that and move on from that which defines you as a person. Disappointment can allow you to reassess your priorities and your goals. It strengthens your character.

So while I’ll be cheering on our Great Britain Olympic team this summer, I’ll also be sparing a thought for all those ‘other’ athletes who nearly made it. Let’s enjoy it. We deserve it.

I am proud to be the official Fencing expert for the Guardian over the Olympic Games. Watch out for my fencing and Olympic related tweets on @CBennettGBR. I’ll also be commentating on Eurosport this Sunday 29th July.