CITY of Casey mayor Kevin Bradford has congratulated Team England, Casey’s adopted second team, following its 110-medal haul at the recent Commonwealth Games.
Cr Bradford said Team England received the second-highest number of medals of the 71 nations competing at the Games.
He said Casey was thrilled to officially welcome the team to Australia at a recent civic reception fittingly held at Casey Fields, the soon-to-be sporting capital of Melbourne’s southeast region.
About 50 Team England athletes and officials were welcomed by the mayor, who presented a framed colour photograph of Wilson Botanic Park to Ian Emerson, chairman of the Commonwealth Games Council for England, to commemorate the visit and wish the team good luck for the Games.
“The City of Casey is very excited to support the athletes of England, as part of the Adopt a Second Team Program, given our municipality’s strong sister city relationship with England’s Berwick-Upon-Tweed,” Cr Bradford said.
Mr Emerson thanked the mayor for organising the event at such an outstanding facility as Casey Fields and presented him with a framed picture titled Spirit of the Games which depicts people enjoying the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games.
He also expressed gratitude on behalf of Team England for the support it had received from the City of Casey in its planning for the Games since November 2004 when it was announced that England was Casey’s ‘Adopt a Second Team’ nation.
Following that announcement, the council formed a Get Involved Committee chaired by Cr Wayne Smith with community representatives, which was successful in attracting funding from the Victorian Government for Games-related events and activities.
The committee, council and community delivered a series of events including a Fun Run Festival hosted by Eumemmerring College, the Casey Commonwealth Games Carnival, YMCA open days at council facilities and volunteer training by Narre Community Learning Centre to assist in the delivery of community events and activities.
They also organised the Community Bike Ride and Physical Activity Day at Lysterfield Lake Park, where the Games’ mountain bike events were held.
Council and Team England officials, Claire Huddart and Don Parker, worked together to arrange the See Team England Train and Adopt an Athlete programs and develop education packs for schools.
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