About three years ago, a group of youths attempting to play five-a-side football in the MUGA court in the park, next to the tennis courts, handed me a list of things they would like to see fixed in the park. Top of their list was to have the MUGA lines repainted. This had last been done at the time of the 2012 Olympics, but the lines had faded badly, making competitive games difficult. This was about the time that the Friends of the Park group was being formed, and we added it to our list of projects. Earlier this year, we became aware of the Freshwater Foundation, a charity operating in Ealing and Hounslow that gives grants for exactly this sort of project. We put in an application in May and in late August we heard we had been successful. This Monday, contractors from Centurian turned up to revitalise the lines. Rain paused their activities but they came back yesterday and finished the job! You can see the results below.
As it happens, the first group that turned up to use the MUGA was members of the RedGreen group, who do exercises in the area each Thursday (10.30-11.30) and on Tuesdays in the adjacent athletics stadium. Although their numbers were reduced today because of the rain, you can see them performing their balancing exercises, using these newly visible lines.
The second part of the project now starts. The Friends will be visiting Brentford FC Community sports trust next week, who will undertake two sessions of five-a-side training in our MUGA for groups of youngsters. We will announce the date for this after our visit and how to apply for a place. So WATCH THIS SPACE for more detail coming soon.