Manx National Heritage’s ‘Our Sporting Life’ exhibition is nearing the end of its yearlong run at the Manx Museum. The exhibition’s last day will be Saturday 22nd September, so now is your final chance to see the popular exhibition which celebrates all aspects of sport on and from the Isle of Man.
The exhibition opened last September to coincide with the launch of the Commonwealth Youth Games, and has been updated throughout 2012 to celebrate even more sports, athletes and of course to celebrate the excitement of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Curator of ‘Our Sporting Life’, Katie King says:
‘Visitors to the Manx Museum have thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the Island’s sporting achievements and we have received fantastic feedback about the vibrancy of the exhibition. We have spent the last two years interviewing current and former Manx athletes about their sporting successes, and telling their inspirational stories in the exhibition gallery. It has been fantastic to continually update the exhibition to include new athletes and sports, which has kept the exhibition fresh and encouraged people to regularly revisit.
The interactive element of the exhibition has also proved hugely popular with our visitors, of any age! We have grandparents and their grandchildren challenging each other to ten pin bowling competitions; we have witnessed Dame Kelly Holmes beaten in a sprint race against a young girl who had practiced a lot (!); and we even have an arm chair exercise group popping in to throw the javelin and practice their cycling technique each week. It really has been an extraordinary year!’
The exhibition, as well as telling inspirational stories, also contains an impressive collection of sporting artefacts. Highlights include Mark Cavendish’ Tour de France stage winning road bike, together with his Commonwealth Gold medal and the Green Points Jersey from the 2011 Tour de France ; David Knight’s World Championship winning motorcycle; Zoe Gilling’s Olympic snowboard outfit; swimming and cycling legend Ian Sharpe’s Paralympic medals and London 2012 Relay Torch; swimmer Grant Halsall’s European Youth Olympics and Commonwealth Youth Games medals, the first ever won by an Isle of Man competitor; Conor Cummin’s TT podium motorbike; and London 2012 Olympic Gold medal winner Peter Kennaugh’s Team GB kit and Junior World Champion track bike.
Katie went on to say:
‘Although we are sad to see ‘Our Sporting Life’ come to an end, many of the panels will be finding new homes in the sporting communities on the Island. A large section of the exhibition, which includes the Commonwealth Games panels and profiles of our most famous stars, will be put on display at the Isle of Man Sports Institute at the NSC. We are also actively looking for other sporting venues on the Island who might wish to use some of the panels.
In addition all the sporting stories we have gathered, including film footage, archives and photographs, will be added to our National Collections and will form part of our sporting heritage archive.’
The exhibition at the Manx Museum will close at 5pm on Saturday 22nd September. If you have a sporting venue that wishes to utilise some of the panels in the exhibition please contact the Manx Museum on 648000 and ask for Katie King.