Britain celebrates ‘1 year to go’ until the Olympics with a series of events. 
We recently passed the 1 year to go mark until London 2010, by now those of you who tried to get tickets will know if you were successful or not, and the nation steps it up a gear in terms of preparation for the biggest event to hit the UK in a good few years.
Over last weekend around 1200 events were held across Britain including a 26 strong team lead by climbing traditionalist Dave MacLeod sumited the North Face of Ben Nevis. The group hiked up to the North Face where they were treated to stories and history on the previous climbs including MacLeods on Echo Wall ascent which has been called the hardest traditional rock climb in the world.
One hope for London 2012 is that it will ignite some of that traditional British sporting fever in young people and get more people involved in traditional Olympic sports again. The training and dedication it takes to be a professional in any Athletic sport is something that puts off many youngsters, but a healthy dose of national pride garnered by the Olympics may just be the push in the right direction some people need.
MacLeod’s climb holds another significance as Climbing is one of seven short listed new sports being considered for the 2020 Olympic games. For years climbers have expressed the need for the sport to be included in the games and now more than ever, climbing enthusiasts are nearing their goal. If climbing passes for the games, it will take the form of sportclimbing on indoor walls. Doctors say that climbing is an excellent way to keep fit, and a fantastic way to grow upper body strength.
So if you think you have what it takes to be a future representative of GB in the Olympics, head to your local indoor climbing centre, grab your climbing gear and give it a go. Even if you don’t have the dizzy heights of the olympics in mind, climbing groups and athletics groups can be great social forums to get involved for meeting new people.
Roll on London 2012, and Good luck team GB!
Brandon
