Try a new activity for free

Do you fancy trying a new fitness activity this New Year?

South Glos Council's SportsPound programme helps people across the area to get active. If you currently do less than 30 minutes of physical activity per week, are over 14 years old and live in South Gloucestershire, you are eligible to receive SportsPound vouchers. These will give you eight free sessions of any of the activites listed on their website, including aerobics, ante and postnatal fitness, badminton, bowls, cricket, football, martial arts, netball, rugby, running, swimming, tennis and yoga.

You can now register online, which makes it quick and simply to apply for SportsPound vouchers. There is also a team of Sports Pound activators across South Glos who you can speak to - you can get in touch via the website.

South Gloucestershire’s SportsPound received National Lottery funding of £171,324 from Sport England.

Council celebrates gymnast's success

On Wednesday, South Gloucestershire Council held a civic reception to celebrate the success of local gymnast Claudia Fragapane at the Commonwealth Games.

Chairman Howard Gawlger congratulated Claudia on behalf of the council and presented her with flowers and a shopping voucher in recognition of her four gold medals at the games in Glasgow this summer. The medal haul put her in the record books as the most successful English woman at the Commonwealth Games for 84 years.

Last chance to nominate for Sports Awards

Tomorrow (Thursday 17th October) is the deadline for nominations for the 2013 South Gloucestershire Council Sports Awards.

The Awards recognise the amazing contribution of local people who play, coach and organise sport across South Gloucestershire. If you know someone who deserves to be recognised for their achievements please visit www.southglos.gov.uk/sportsawards to nominate them.

The awards evening will take place at the BAWA Club in Filton on Thursday 28 November at 7pm and will be hosted by BBC Radio Bristol’s Geoff Twentyman. The 2013 South Gloucestershire Council Sports Awards are sponsored by Airbus in the UK and the Active Partnership.

See the Rugby League World Cup Tropy

Fancy seeing or even holding the Rugby League World Cup Trophy? Then get along to Yate Shopping Centre between 9.30am and 4.30pm on Tuesday 6th August. The Trophy Tour is coming to town.

If you'd like to see some of the action in the autumn, you can be there for the USA v Cook Islands at the Memorial Stadium, Bristol on Wednesday 30 October, Kick-Off 8pm. The ticket hotline is 0844 847 2013 or you can visit www.rlwc2013.com for more information. If you upload your trophy photos to www.trophytour.rlwc2013.com you might even win some match tickets!

Spring into activity

The Community Sport Partnership that covers South Gloucestershire, Wesport, is currently running "Spring into Activity", your chance to give sport a go for free. To find out more go to their website. The event runs until 15th April.

Could you be a Sport Maker?

Were you inspired by the London 2012 Games Makers? Would you like to help make sport happen locally?

Sport Makers is one of the Government's 2012 Legacy programmes. It aims to use the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to inspire the next generation of sport volunteers. Sport Makers are asked to give 10 hours of their time to help make sport happen in their community.

Free workshops are being held regularly and can be found on the Sports Maker website www.sportmakers.co.uk.

Nominate your local sporting hero now

You have until Friday 28th October to nominate your local sporting hero for an "Active South Gloucestershire" sports award. There are a range of categories:

• Sportsman of the Year
• Sportswoman of the Year
• Young sportsperson of the Year (awarded to members of a Sport England ‘Accredited’ Sports Club)
• Young sportsman, sportswoman and disability sportsperson category
• Sports coach award
• The Sports Link award (awarded to a Sport England ‘accredited’ sports club which has done the most to promote club/school links. Proposals must be independent of the club)
• School sport award (separate primary and secondary school category, awarded to the school which has done the most to promote school sport and physical activity to young people. Proposals must be independent of the school)
• School sport award individual - primary and secondary category (proposals must be independent of the school)
• Team award (awarded to teams who have excelled i e school, adults, Sport England ‘accredited’ sports clubs)
• Personal Achievement Award - sponsored by the Active Partnership
• James Clifford Memorial Award (awarded to sporting and leisure industry professionals for innovation, creativity and / or provision of excellent customer service) James was the popular marketing manager for Circadian Trust (who run SouthGloucestershire Leisure & Sports centres) who sadly passed away this year.
• Community sport award - sponsored by Airbus UK (awarded for outstanding contribution to a lifetime of sport)

All nominees for the awards, which are sponsored by Airbus and the Active Partnership (a partnership between South Gloucestershire Council, South Gloucestershire Leisure Trust and NHS South Gloucestershire to increase participation in physical activity) must live within South Gloucestershire or be involved with a South Gloucestershire club or school.

You can find out more on the South Glos website.

Nominations wanted for Sports Awards

You have until Friday 30th October to nominate people for the 2009 South Gloucestershire Sports Awards. You can find more information on the South Glos website.

Do you know an outstanding sports person or coach?

If so, you might want to check out the annual South Gloucestershire sports awards. There are 13 categories for which you can nominate sports people. All nominees must live within South Gloucestershire or be involved with a South Gloucestershire club or school.

To find out more, visit the South Gloucestershire website. The closing date for entries is Monday 27 October.