It’s going to be a big year for Sandwell’s top young athletes, who are gearing up for a busy year in 2017. Eighteen year old para-swimmer Scott Hadley, from Tipton, is aiming to build on a brilliant performance at the National Para-swimming championships in Manchester last month. Overall Scott achieved four personal best performances from his seven races, including winning gold medals in the mens 100m Backstroke (category S8) and the mens 100m Breaststroke (category SB7) representing the Orion swimming club.

It has been announced today that the mental health charity Mind will sponsor the first ever Wellbeing award at the 2017 Lycamobile British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs) on March 18th. Sir Lenny Henry will host the awards ceremony at the London Hilton on Park Lane. Mind is the leading mental health charity in the UK. It provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem, as well as campaigning to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.

UK Athletics has confirmed Richard Bowker as the Chair-Elect who will succeed Ed Warner as Chair in January 2018. Bowker is currently a non-executive Director of London Marathon Events and is an Independent Director of the EFL (English Football League). A former Group CEO of National Express Group and Chair of the Strategic Rail Authority, he received a CBE for services to the Rail Industry in 2005.

Britain’s top female sprinter Dina Asher-Smith will face the best sprinter in the world, double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson of Jamaica, over 60m at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham on 18 February. Elaine Thompson was the shining star of the Rio Olympic Games winning gold in the 100m and 200m sprints. Dina Asher-Smith is Britain’s fastest ever female sprinter and finished fifth over 200m at the Olympic Games in Rio in August.

A new nationwide survey has found that over half of Brits admit that they are inactive when it comes to playing sports - the average person only raises their heartbeat through sports for 88 minutes per week! The survey carried out by Ladbrokes has found that only 43% of residents in the West Midlands consider themselves to be active people who regularly play and participate in sports. Among these, 1 in 4 regularly jog to keep fit.

World Rugby’s newly opened Hall of Fame in Rugby is a must-see experience for any sports fans in the Midlands over the festive period. Large touch-screen panels allow visitors to explore the history of the game, scroll through more than 180 of the sport’s most famous video moments (including Jonny Wilkinson’s famous, Rugby World Cup-winning dropped goal in 2003), learn about how the game is played in its various forms in 120 countries around the world and, best of all, 2.7m ‘blade’ screens project larger than life images of your choice of any of the Hall of Famers.