December 2008 - Halcrow

Longbridge Sporting success Birmingham:
Development Field of dreams begins...
Life’s a beach
t first glance, Glasgow’s unyielding
A
concrete surfaces may not seem an
obvious choice of venue for a beach
volleyball tournament.
But first impressions often deceive. After
truckloads of sand transformed the Scottish
Exhibition and Conference Centre into a
passable replica of Copacabana, Halcrow’s
team stepped up to do battle in the Urban
Beach Tour.
With abilities ranging from those who had
never set foot on a court to former national
league players, nine representatives from
Halcrow’s City Park office took on all-comers
in the four-a-side competition.
The confidence of Halcrow’s two teams
took an early battering on arrival, having
discovered that their rivals had enlisted the
help of ex-Scotland and UK national players.
Proving that experience is no obstacle,
Halcrow’s outfit brushed aside any lingering
doubts to dig, set and spike its way through
the group stage.
Halcrow’s outfit
brushed aside any
lingering doubts to dig, set
and spike its way through
the group stage
Having faced each other in the opening
round, the crew reformed for the semi final
bout. After a bruising last-four encounter,
the eventual tournament winners triumphed
over the City Park battlers.
Urban Beach Tour
The tour has been successfully
established over the last three years
to make the rapidly growing sport of
beach volleyball more accessible to the
British public.
Tonnes of sand bring the beach to the
city, with man-made courts springing
up in towns across the UK.
Alongside the main spectacle – elite
athletes fighting it out for the coveted
tour title – kids’ coaching sessions and
a beach fours competition give locals
the chance to join
the fun.
Hot on their heels
Bristol’s streets resounded with the
rhythmic thud of 15,000 runners winding
their way through the historic city on
14 September.
Amongst the throngs of athletes competing
in the Bristol Half Marathon were seven
uber-fit Halcrow employees, trading their
work shoes for trainers to complete the
21km course.
They dug deep to finish the route in
unseasonably balmy conditions, each raising
donations for their chosen charities.
The Bristol runners included Eleni Pappa,
Tendayi Munyebvu, Ryan Anthony and Gavin Hall
They shoot, they score
Friendly office rivalries have been
transposed to the football pitch, with a
Burderop Park (BP) 11 a-side team taking on
all-comers over the British summer.
The BP outfit triumphed 2-1 over a well
organised side from the Reading office before
coming up against an Oxford-based House of
Fraser team. After 90 action-packed minutes
the scores stood at 3-3, with penalties to
decide the match. After a nail-biting shootout,
BP sent all of its five spot kicks into the
back of the net to prevail 5-4.
A 6-1 drubbing of a spirited Bristol side
capped off a successful season for the BP
team, emerging proudly unbeaten from its
three encounters.
To Tahiti or bust
Halcrow’s seafaring Jill
Morgan braved the Pacific
Ocean’s vast expanse to
take part in the revived
Los Angeles to Tahiti
yacht race.
Returning after a 14 year
hiatus, the 3,700 nautical mile race surged
into action on 22 June. Part of the 15m-long
Fortaleza’s hardy crew, Jill encountered a
cornucopia of sea creatures. Shoals of giant
tuna rammed the hull, while flying fish and
squid launched themselves onboard.
King Neptune made a customary appearance
as the sloop powered across the equator, and
five pollywogs re-emerged as shellbacks.
Seventeen days after bidding farewell,
Fortaleza’s intrepid crew disembarked at
Papeete to regain their land-legs.
Jill Morgan
52
Connections Vox | issue one | July 2008