GCS took part in the fourth FE Multisport Duathlon at Pembrey Country Park on 14 May. The event is part of the Colleges Wales FE Multisport initiative, offering an opportunity for learners and staff in further education to participate in competitive and active events at a range of levels.

Participants range from Independent Learning Skills (ILS) learners enjoying a group activity challenge for the first time through to learners and staff competing at elite level. With over 40% of participants having additional learning needs, the Duathlon provides a fully inclusive approach to further education sport.

This year 36 staff entered the Duathlon, and in the afternoon competitive event, Sion Cairns, Sport & Public Services, took 2^nd place with Gerard Morgan, Engineering, in 3^rd place. The first lady to cross the line was Laura Borelli, Lecturer, who came out of maternity leave to enter, and Sherelle Jermin, Work Placement Officer, in 2^nd place.

The weather was great with lots of sunshine, and feedback from staff was very positive including “Absolutely fantastic day” “Thank you, I loved it” “Awesome day, my tutor group had an epic time too”. Congratulations to all who entered or cheered on and hope to see even more staff and learners at next year’s event.

The results are in!

220 GCS staff have over the month of March formed 42 teams and collectively walked an incredible 65 million steps as part of the March the Month team step challengeto help raise awareness of Prostate Cancer.

The initiative was also to encourage staff to become more active, and saw departments across the college uniting in a shared mission to move more, feel better, and support an important cause. What started as a friendly bit of competition quickly turned into a powerful display of community and determination.

Teams tracked their steps daily via the big challenge app, with the aim of walking from Swansea to Edinburgh a distance of 425 miles. The enthusiasm was contagious, with walking meetings, lunchtime strolls, and post-work power walks becoming the new norm around the campuses.

And with over 65,532,732 steps walked, ran and crawled we stepped ourselves to Edinburgh over 60 times. We also run the equivalent of 1,236 marathons or walked the entire Welsh Costal Path 37 times.

The first teams to reach Edinburgh were the Finance Department and Cleaning Team Gor, and the individual who did the most steps in the quickest time was Sue Parsons, so a huge congratulations to all involved.

The real win, though, is the awareness raised around prostate cancer—one of the most common cancers among men in the UK. Approximately 1 in 8 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and early detection is important to making a good recovery. The College has offered all staff, regardless of age, a free PSA test on campus. To date 63 male staff have had a check and 4 men were later diagnosed with prostate cancer. We are pleased to say that we will be offering more checks at Jubilee Court and Llwyn y Bryn in June, more details on when these will be taking place will be released shortly.

One step at a time, GCS is making a difference.

Monday, 3 – Monday, 31 March

 

March is Prostate Cancer Awareness month.

 

March the Month is a virtual step challenge to encourage us to get active and beat prostate cancer.

 

Join us by forming a team within your department and race other teams to reach Edinburgh, 425 miles away, by the end of March.

 

All you have to do is ……

 

• Form a team of up to 6 within your department (Team name must be your department, eg HR 1, HR 2 etc)
• Choose a Team Leader who will be Admin for your Team
• Everyone download the app, with the link/QR code below, register and sync your fitbit, phone or garmin.
• And then…. WALK… All steps count…. the ones around campus, on your daily dog walk, whilst shopping, or hiking up Pen y Fan on the weekend. Your steps will sync within the app and you will be able to track your Teams progress and see how well other Teams are doing

 

Every team that reaches Edinburgh will win a prize!

Link HERE