TYNEDALE TO EXPERIENCE OLYMPIC FEELING

THERE is just six months to go until the home Olympic Games kicks off, and I cannot contain my excitement any more.

More than two weeks of world class sporting activity will be broadcasted to millions of people, and it is incredible to think it is taking place a couple of hundreds of miles down the road.
 

That is despite having to be content, like a large majority of people in this region, with watching it on television due to the limited amount of tickets on offer.
 

Taking my excitement into overdrive is this week’s announcement that a taste of the Olympics is coming to Hexham, in what can only be described as a top class rowing extravaganza to celebrate the retirement of the district’s only ever Olympic medallist, Matt Wells.
 

Matt is an inspiration to all local sportspeople, and he is bringing seven other Olympic rowers with him to Tyne Green, the place where his epic journey in the sport began, in August.
 

Since starting out at Queen Elizabeth High School at 13, Matt’s progress through the ranks has been amazing and London 2012 will be his fourth Olympics, a remarkable achievement in itself.
 

And the opportunity to see him and fellow Olympians, basically the world’s cream of the crop, compete in the little of town of Hexham is unwaveringly mouthwatering.
 

Rowing, of course, is already huge in the area with fantastic clubs at QEHS and Hexham, but this event will eclipse anything that has ever taken place on the River Tyne.
 

Over 100 races are planned during the five hour slot designated, and those will be something to behold in themselves.
 

People will undoubtedly say that watching so many races one after another will be tedious, but the beauty of it is that there will be so much variation among the competitors that each race will be different.
 

And, if all that rowing gets a little bit too much, you can come and go as you please because it is free of charge to attend.
 

I will be joining hundreds upon hundreds welcoming Olympic hero Matt back home on August 18, and fingers crossed the medal hanging around his neck this time is gold.