Minority sports champion carries Olympic Torch (From Messenger Newspapers)

Minority sports champion carries Olympic Torch

1:33pm Saturday 7th July 2012 in Sport

A CHAMPION for minority sports in Trafford lit up the streets of Manchester with the Olympic torch.

Supported by and driven on by hundreds of cheering residents lining the streets and music from bands from across the community, Robina Sheikh was cheered along for her stretch by carrying the torch on its way to London, last month.

Robina was nominated as a torch bearer for all the fantastic work she has done toward inspiring minority groups in Trafford to get involved in various leisure and fitness activities much of which has been done in partnership with Trafford Community Leisure Trust.

As an officer for Arts and Cultural Development Robina has worked alongside numerous arms of Trafford Community Leisure Trust to deliver initiatives such as womens-only events held at Stretford Leisure Centre, and has had role in the success of the women’s exercise classes at the Old Trafford Sports Barn and women’s only swimming and gym at Stretford Leisure Centre.

Bernie Jones, chief executive for the leisure trust says, “Trafford has a wide ethnic make up and we realise that to get more people active in the borough differing cultures have differing needs. At Stretford for example, we have developed the capacity to isolate the pool so that it is completely private for ladies only swimming. Further to this, a couple of years back, we built a private ladies only gym. Both these developments provide leisure and fitness provision for particularly, the Muslim community which was never really available before.”