Championship leaders Sheffield Sharks to start SLB Cup campaign against Reading Rockets on Sunday
Sheffield Sharks, top of the table in the SLB Championship, have turned their attention towards the upcoming SLB Cup Round 1.
The Sharks are heading into this away game against the Reading Rockets on Sunday as the more favourable side.
They are undefeated in their last 12 meetings against lower league teams.
Prentiss Nixon stood out for the Sharks in the victory against Surrey 89ers, with an MVP performance as he put up 22 points.
Rodney Chatman also put on an impactful performance with 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and one steal.
Rodney Glasgow Jr did not start the game, but his 18 points and 10 rebounds were crucial for Sharks to eventually breeze past their opponents.
A victory against Reading will take Sharks directly to the quarter-finals where they’ll be facing either Nottingham Hoods or Cheshire Phoenix, depending on the result from their tie.
Sheffield Sharks have only ever faced Reading Rockets once before in the club’s history.
In that 2014 match-up, Sharks came out on top with an 85-73 victory.
Reading Rockets have started their season strongly, as they currently sit third in the NBL Division One with a 7-3 record so far, behind Derby Trailblazers and leaders Hemel Storm.
Both Mitch Clarke and Justin Hopkins from Reading Rockets have been in stellar form recently, with Clarke putting up 24 points, two rebounds and six assists in the recent game against Nottingham.
Hopkins got 23 points against them with three boards and assists to round off a good performance.
Victor Olarerin had a smashing performance as well, dishing out 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
Reading coach Samit Nuruzade said: “We are thankful that we have been invited into the SLB Cup and we are thankful to be playing one of the most decorated teams in the country in Sheffield."
“The Sharks have an amazing history and are a top organisation with many good players. It’s good to test ourselves.”
The inaugural Super League Basketball Cup pits nine SLB teams, five NBL Division One teams, and two Scottish Basketball Championship teams against each other in the 16-team tournament.
Unfortunately, there will be no live streaming of this contest, but fans can stay updated with live commentary or watch the game live at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre in Reading.
From Rhythm to Relief: The Sheffield students changing lives through music
A Sheffield DJ is is using the power of music to raise money for humanitarian causes across the world.
Afua Nicholas, an Education, Culture and Childhood undergraduate, at the University of Sheffield, is hosting musical events across the city to help countries and people in crisis.
She set up an events series called The Rhythm of Giving, in July, raising over £800 for charities including Medical Aid Palestine, Focus Congo ,and Dafur Women Action Group.
Afua initially started playing at gigs to showcase herself as a DJ, but she quickly supported her passion for music with her affinity for activism.
She is no stranger to using music as a tool for social impact. Throughout her time at university, Afua has interned at the social enterprise and events company, Ritetrax, which help vulnerable young people and adults.
She says: “Thanks to volunteering throughout my university experience, I understand first hand how important it is to have those spaces and so to be able to contribute to that was just a yes for me.”
Afua’s decision to start the Rhythm of Giving was propelled by a message she received on Instagram from a 20-year-old girl, named Hanan, who was desperately trying to help her family flee Gaza.
Afua was spurred on to make a difference that could “touch someone’s life directly”.
“It’s so dystopian because you can see that her videos stop when the war started," says Afua. "My heart kind of dropped because I realised that she’s actually a real person suffering.”
Hanan and her family, are aiming to raise £40,000 so she, her parents, and her four siblings can seek refuge in Egypt.
Her GoFundMe page has raised over £2500 in three months, with over £400 raised by the Rhythm of Giving.
Afua has hosted a further four events at venues across the city, including Panke Social, Dam House, Dorothy Pax and the Harley. Initially donations were simply encouraged but the latest gigs have been ticketed with all proceeds going to the charities.
A similar student-led initiative has been organised by the Student Action for Refugees Society (STAR), who also organise The Refugee Rhythms.
At their last event (2 November), three live bands and five DJs performed, and a poet gave a short recital, at the Sidney & Matilda. Art by refugees and asylum seekers, from across the city, was also on display.
Committee Member, Charlie Rees, joined STAR when he discovered the society was at risk of folding.
He described Refugee Rhythms as an “amazing experience” where people come together in a show of solidarity around a “common cause”.
So far ticket sales and a raffle for the event last month, which received donations from local businesses, has raised over £2000.
The profits went to local Sheffield charity, City of Sanctuary, who work to provide safe spaces and communities for refugees and asylum seekers.
Charlie said: “The event raised a lot of money but it also encouraged people to become more politically active and it made many attendees more politically aware.”
It is hoped the socials events will act as an opportunity to educate people on the plight of those who are suffering across the world.
Afua says: “It’s so interesting to see how much people are actually willing to give, but either they don’t have access, or know where to give.”
The merging of underground music culture with fundraising may not be a new revolution, but it is certainly reasserting itself in the spaces of a younger generation.
For Afua, though, there is more to be done and these efforts should not lose pace or push. She says: “A company, or a group, or organisation are going to raise money, but why can’t we do that all the time, or at least have this system going where at least some of the funds are going to a charity.”
Heroic Rotherham businessman raises over £2000 for struggling families
A generous business owner and his nine-year-old daughter have launched their third annual fundraiser to support vulnerable families at Christmas.
Dean Whitehouse, owner of DW Interiors in Rotherham, has run the festive fundraiser since 2022.
He uses the funds to donate toys, clothes, and Christmas dinner ingredients to local food bank, South Yorkshire Street Angels (SYSA).
Mr Whitehouse said: “As the cost-of-living crisis goes on, it’s so important to help families who need it, it feels good to give something back.
“My daughter loves to get involved, she helps me choose the toys we are donating.”
The local businessman set a target of £2,000 to help 12 families over the festive period.
So far, £1,138 has been raised on GoFundMe, and £1,500 has come from direct donations, putting the fundraiser on track to raise over £3,000.
According to Rotherham Borough Council, 22.1% of children in Rotherham are affected by income deprivation, 3.1% higher than the national average.
SYSA, in Rotherham, helps vulnerable families access food, clothing, and other essential services year-round, including at Christmas.
Jessica, a volunteer at SYSA, said: “We ensure everyone can enjoy Christmas, no matter their income.
“Dean and his daughter have been so helpful over the past few years.”
Alongside the online donation page, Mr Whitehouse has placed cash collection tubs across the pubs and cafes he partners with.
Mr Whitehouse said: “This year is our biggest fundraiser yet, it's growing every year.”
The fundraiser receives support from businesses across South Yorkshire, including Crest Regalia, C J Carley, 360 Degrees Sol Tanning, and others.
He said: “I wouldn’t be able to do it alone."
“I advertise on Facebook and it surprises me how many people end up getting involved.”
Mr Whitehouse will collect the funds on 18 December and donate to SYSA on 23 December.
Barnsley project refurbishes bikes to donate to refugees
Bikes that would have been "destined for landfill” have been refurbished as part of a recycling scheme that donates them to refugees and asylum seekers in Barnsley.
The Barnsley Refugee Bike Project began two years ago, after Alex Simon, the founder, attended the Penistone refugee and asylum seeker support group and donated a bike after someone had requested one for one of the refugees.
Others donated their spare bikes, so Alex, who has been involved with cycling since he was young, used his skills and initiated bike refurbishments from his own garage.
Earlier this year the scheme was awarded a £20,000 grant from the National Lottery which has gone towards a new workshop which was officially opened by Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council and Ed Clancy, an Olympic Gold Medalist and South Yorkshire’s Active Travel Commissioner.
The core of this project is to help refugees and asylum seekers.
Alex said: “Refugees are on a very limited budget. A £2 bus journey is £2 worth of food they could’ve bought. Having a bike enables them to save money.”
“We organise monthly bike rides with the group which is good for community cohesion and excellent for picking up language skills and cultural understanding,” he added.
The group has regular Sunday morning bike rides along the Trans Pennine trail which allows members to discover new routes across Barnsley, Sheffield and other areas of South Yorkshire.
Barnsley Borough City of Sanctuary, which works towards making Barnsley a safe place for those fleeing war and persecution, support this scheme and said: “The project is a great one to help refugees to get out and about and explore the area without cost.
"It has brought people together from different communities in Barnsley - from donors, people volunteering to renovate bikes and for those who have been given them."
The main source of bikes has been through HW Martin, who run recycling centres across Barnsley, and have given the team access to discarded bikes left in the centre.
The team have also received donations from the local community. Alex said: “The people around Barnsley, South Yorkshire have been nothing more than generous with the bike recycling scheme.”
Over 450 bikes have been donated so far, and there are around 20 volunteers who are regularly involved.
Every bike donated is fully renovated and comes with a helmet, a hi-vis jacket, a lock, a satellite and a small toolkit.
The idea of the group was to, “get the refugees involved and take an active role in renovating bikes for themselves and other people, upscale the number of bikes we are getting out, and to have monthly social bike rides,” said Alex.
“All the goals that we set have been achieved in this short time that we’ve had together.”
Looking to the future, Alex hopes to get more volunteers involved so the workshops can run three to four days a week.
If you have any bikes that you would like to donate, contact penistonebikedonations@outlook.com
“If this was in America, they would have made a movie about us”: Inclusive Netball Team’s plea for other sports to follow suit
A netball team providing sports opportunities for young women with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), is calling for more opportunities to be created in South Yorkshire.
Net4All was first set up in 2019 by Helen Thorneloe, from Sheffield Concord Netball Club.
It was set up initially as a ‘trial run’, to see if there was a want or need for people with intellectual disabilities to play netball.
Ms Thorneloe was inspired to set up the team after seeing the lack of netball opportunities for her niece Jackie, who is autistic.
The team offers an inclusive environment with lenient and adaptable coaching.
Jill Newbolt, one of the head coaches who helped to start the team, said: “It’s about these young women being visible and valued in the netball world and not being hidden away. I think it’s given them confidence but it’s bigger than that.”
Ms Thorneloe added: “Netball is great but it’s a small part of what we do.
"It’s socialisation, it’s playing as a team, learning to win and lose but also it’s coming and feeling comfortable with the group.”
Despite starting small, Net4All has led to a range of playing opportunities including the South Yorkshire League and the ParaNetball Championship, where the team have earned both gold and silver medals.
Jackie Mitchell often travels from Scotland to play with the team because there aren’t any netball opportunities close to her.
She said: “It's great because [she] started off with one person and thought maybe there isn’t this demand, but she didn’t give up and I’m glad because now when we go to ParaNetball Championships there’s two teams playing.”
Even in South Yorkshire, Net4All is “the only group for miles that runs a netball session.”
Ms Thorneloe said that whilst there are some opportunities available, such as Sheffield Special Olympics groups, these opportunities only cater to a select few, adding that “there’s very little for just girls in a supportive environment”.
The group has also provided these young girls with a safe space to socialise and develop their independence.
Ms Newbolt said: “Young people with SEND often go from home to school, they don’t get to hang around or be with their friends outside of school.
"They’re transported to school so their friends aren’t where they live, so this gives them somewhere to sit and meet other people.”
Net4All isn't just for women with special educational needs; the majority of the team consists of young players aged 11 to 18, and the organisation is inclusive of all genders, sexualities, and backgrounds.
As Net4All continues to grow in size, the team is continuing to call on local authorities, organisations and sports teams to recognise the need for more inclusive sports opportunities.
They want to ensure that all young people, regardless of their abilities, have the chance to participate and feel valued in the community, especially young girls with SEND.
“Managers prefer profit to people”: Hospitality staff express concern about “endemic” sexual harassment ahead of the busy Christmas period
Sheffield hospitality staff are “powerless” as managers prioritise the high profits in the festive season, despite a new duty on employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment.
Dr Bob Jeffrey, of the Sheffield Trade Union Council said: “Sexual harassment is an endemic in the hospitality industry.”
His co-author on a study of the hospitality industry in South Yorkshire, Dr Ruth Beresford, said: “At least half of hospitality workers are on low pay, part-time and precarious work.
“There is a high staff turnover and many of them are from minority groups and are women who are more vulnerable to sexual harassment.”
Alice* was serving drinks at a Sheffield bar when a customer showed a naked picture of himself and asked if she was interested. Her manager did not ask the man to leave.
Sadly, this is one of the multiple sexual harassment experiences I've had. I've been groped and sexually harassed by men. I was reduced to an object. From my own experience, managers prefer profit to people.
"It makes hospitality a scary place to work for many women."
Bea* who works in a restaurant said: "When I was bending over to collect glasses a man nearly triple my age grabbed my bum. I politely told him to please not do that but an hour later he grabbed both my waist and bum again.
“I told my floor manager but it was swept under the rug because it was a profitable night.”
Bea said she experiences inappropriate comments “almost daily” and often in large groups, other men will "join in on the joke."
Although it is not clear what these steps are, UKHospitality has told businesses to carry out risk assessments, train staff and managers on how to respond to sexual harassment, and promote an open culture that encourages people to report it.
However, Dr Beresford is concerned this legislation is not enough.
Sexual harassment is part of the business model and calling it out is too much of a threat to their business.
She said there is a “sexualisation” of hospitality work and that employers will use female staff to attract male customers.
“They put their profit before the needs of their workers.”
Over Christmas, pubs, bars, and restaurants employ a high number of agency and part-time staff.
Dr Beresford said that these workers are particularly dependent on managers to give them work which can be “dangerous” because “they have complete control over their staffs’ working lives."
"You feel powerless."
She shared the experience of a woman in Sheffield who complained about the inappropriate behaviour of a supervisor and her manager, in retaliation, cut her hours.
However, the Employment Rights Bill means that zero-hour workers will be offered guaranteed hour contracts which Dr Jeffrey said “will make it harder for employers to reduce your hours in retaliation for speaking out.”
Dr Beresford advised: “Speak to your colleagues. It's empowering to find out you’re not alone.”
*Not their real names
Featured image (Source - Adobe Stock).
Winning week for Sheffield United
Heading into the final few weeks of the year, it’s safe to say Sheffield United's season has got off to a good start.
Manager Chris Wilder has been named the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the month, for the second time this season, having also won the award back in September.
The award is further recognition of Wilder's ability to help the club bounce back after last season's Premier League relegation. Allowing the Blades to identify themselves as firm contenders for this year's Championship title.
When asked about the award, Wilder shared his gratitude for the staff at SUFC.
He said: "We've got a fantastic group, a really connected group of staff that work tremendously hard together."
"It always comes out as manager of the month but really it's team of the month."
"It's always a collective."
Sheffield United's latest match, which took place on Wednesday night, saw the club take victory in a 1-0 win against Millwall, placing them back up at the top of the table, one point clear of Leeds United.
It was a big moment for 24-year-old Rhian Brewster who scored his first goal since 2022.
Although, the moment came bitter-sweet as he dedicated the goal to his younger cousin Kaylen Dennis, who died on Wednesday.
Brewster paid tribute to Kaylen, taking to Instagram after the match to write: "What a Win on the Road but that was definitely For You KK 👼 Love you Young king, May you rest in peace🤍❤️".
The Blades are back in action tomorrow at 3pm as they take on Plymouth Argyle.
Sheffield University students petition for Diamond’s 24/7 access to be restored after changes in the opening hours.
Students are "unsupportive" of the University of Sheffield's decision to close one of its buildings overnight to save energy.
First opened in September 2015, The Diamond is the University’s Multidisciplinary Engineering Education’s largest ever capital investment (£81 million).
It originally provided students with 24/7 access to its facilities. However, in July this year, the University decided to change the opening hours, shutting down the building from 10 PM to 7 AM every night, except during assessment periods.
The university said: “To balance the needs of our students with our responsibility to reduce our carbon footprint, we made the decision to close The Diamond overnight.”
A pilot study conducted by the university in 2023 found that the overnight usage of the building accounted for 2% of its daily users but 23% of its energy usage, prompting the decision.
The university suggested the Information Commons as an alternative for The Diamond.
Unhappy with the change is Fayez, a civil engineering student. He started a petition for the university to reconsider the decision.
Citing the unique features the building offers and highlighting its relevance for students over the Information Commons, he explained that the computers in the building have all the software that the students use which may not be available elsewhere.
He said: “The decision was taken with no consideration of the students’ opinions or suggestions. I and many of my peers are unsupportive of this decision.”
The petition started by him on change.org has around 500 signatures.
“I am not able to find a suitable place to study anymore. I've been studying at night in the diamond for the past 3 years”, said one of the students who signed the petition.
Another student said: “I have had to leave for home during the middle of my study sessions and I have been unable to use services such as the computers and iforge that I could use previously.”
Fayez has also come up with alternate solutions for the university to save energy and still keep the building open.
He said: “There are so many lights around and computers that stay on even when unused, all of these can be turned off … which according to my calculations can save double to triple the amount of energy savings.”
Talking about the impact, Fayez explained that the issue has been escalated with the authorities and is under consideration.
However, the university told the Sheffield Wire that it will not revisit the decision and the closing “is unconnected with the university's financial position.”
The university has installed high-performance computers in the Information Commons to compensate for the ones not available due to The Diamond’s closure.
“I still see his face”: What does the fall of Assad mean for Syrians in Sheffield?
In the wake of the Assad dictatorship's dramatic collapse on 8 December, Syrians living and working in Sheffield are 'euphoric' and hoping for a brighter future.
Members of the Syrian community gathered outside Damascus Bakery & Sweets in Spital Hills on Tuesday to celebrate and to honour Syria's dead, waving the Syrian revolutionary flag as the bakery offered customers a 50% discount.
For 14 years, Syria has been torn apart by a complex civil war, marked by foreign meddling and brutal atrocities. The uprising began in April 2011, when protests in the south of the country were met by the regime with extreme violence.
One of its first casualties was Hamza Al-Khateeb, a 13-year-old boy tortured to death by security forces.
"I still see his face," said Kenan Alrahabi, an aerospace engineering student at the University of Sheffield.
"Even though I didn't have any personal connection to him, every Syrian has him in his heart."
Kenan was born in the UK to a Syrian family. He was 5 years old when the war began, and has been protesting the Assad government ever since.
"When I speak to my family they always tell me it's not a civil war - it's a genocide" he said, comparing Bashar al-Assad to the Cambodian dictator Pol Pot.
Kenan's father made several dangerous trips to rebel-held territory in Syria during the conflict, as part of a medical aid programme for civilians.
They were separated for a decade from family members in Syria, several of whom were detained and tortured in the regime's secret prison system; at least one died there.
He remains jubilant at the regime's sudden, shocking fall to a lightning rebel offensive, spearheaded by the Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS): "If you'd asked me a year ago, even a month ago, we'd have never ever seen this coming."
He said other Syrians in South Yorkshire share in this exhilaration, at the return of freedom of speech, and freedom from the horrors of Assad's jails.
"We all have the same idea that we can finally see a future in our home country".
Kenan is thankful for Britain's support for Syrian refugees, but hopes that the British government will do more - including moving beyond stereotypes about 'Islamist' movements to actually engage with the new interim government, and judge it by its actions.
HTS began life as an al-Qaeda affiliate with a bloody track record, but also fought against the jihadist empire of ISIS and offered stable, effective government in its territories. Its leader has promised to guarantee the safety and participation of religious minorities such as Christians, Druze and Alawites in the new Syria.
He also believes that the UK must condemn the recent Israeli airstrikes on Syrian military sites and occupation of Syrian land.
He said: "They've been bombarding every inch of infrastructure that we have, which is completely illegal and unprecedented." Most Syrians, he says, identify their struggle closely with that of the Palestinians.
Beyond this, Syria's future is not yet settled. Fighting is ongoing in the country's northeast - between the SDF, the Kurdish-led coalition which controls the region, and the SNA, a militia backed by the Turkish government. Painful questions of economic reconstruction and a political settlement remain in a country scarred by warfare.
Kenan remains optimistic, and hopes to finally return to Syria in the near future. He points to millennia of coexistence between Syrians of different sects and languages before the dictatorship, and his relatives' experience in the cosmopolitan city of Damascus.
He said: "There is an element of fear - but it's outweighed by the immense hope that we have."
Featured image credit: Yassin El-Moudden
New five-year strategy to make Sheffield dementia friendly to be launched in 2025
A five-year dementia strategy, beginning in 2025, has been approved by Sheffield City Council.
The strategy follows on from the 2019-2024 plan and seeks to build on its pros and cons. Particular improvement goals in the new nine-step strategic vision include the mission to make Sheffield a "dementia friendly city".
This will include the collaboration of "individuals, communities, organisations and businesses" to improve the general quality of life for Sheffield residents living with dementia.
Jo Pass, Assistant Director for the Living and Aging Well Service, said that after consulting the previous plan there are "areas of concern and a real challenge to people, one of those being transport services in the city, another being how long people are waiting for diagnosis."
Of the six to seven thousand people estimated to have dementia in Sheffield, only 70% have a recorded diagnosis.
Ms Pass said the estimated figures were known to be a "significant underestimation."
One contributing issue is the long waiting times for an official diagnosis after GP referral.
The report says people may currently wait up to a year to be diagnosed, which they aim to improve under the new strategy. They also seek to increase access to referrals in general.
Ms Pass said "We are not as responsive as we need to be to the diverse communities we have in Sheffield."
Women, for instance, make up two thirds of dementia patients in the UK, and those who identify as Black, Caribbean or African are diagnosed less.
The plan was approved unanimously, and councillors celebrated the plan's detail.
One of the councillors who approved the plan, Cllr Steve Ayris, said "I do welcome this. It's a very comprehensive, well-written report."
The plan also commits to doing more to "prevent, reduce and delay the risk of developing dementia", and includes surprising risks such as exposure to air pollution, high cholesterol and social contact.
The plan states it will prioritise "supportive community environments" to combat this.
Cllr Ruth Milsom, Chair of the Health Scrutiny sub-committee, said on reading the report "I thought woah, hang on a minute.
"There are things I can do to prevent dementia."
The plan will be reviewed regularly on its progress throughout the next five years.
Featured image (Source - Sheffield City Council).
“Whatever happens, we will persevere”: Sheffield’s Mojisola Kareem on Crucible debut
A grassroots theatre production of Death and the King's Horseman is due to grace the Crucible's stage in early February, becoming the first ever performance of the West African play at the iconic Sheffield venue.
Utopia Theatre - a local organisation that seeks to pioneer African and Caribbean performance art and nurture young artists from the city - has also signed up non-professional actors from across South Yorkshire.
The vast majority of them have never been on stage before.
Mojisola Kareem, CEO of Utopia Theatre and an award-winning multidisciplinary artist who is directing the production, talks about working with the community ensemble for the past three months, which included learning songs in Yoruba - a language indigenous to parts of Nigeria, with around 47 million speakers.
Death and the King's Horseman was written by the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Wole Soyinka, who was also the first person from sub-Saharan Africa to win the prize and is by Ms Kareem's own admission, one of her favourite playwrights.
She said: "[The play] speaks a lot to where we are in the world now. It speaks to that kind of divide, but it also speaks to some of the legacies of the past".
Directly referring to the summer's riots as influencing her decision to put on certain plays, Ms Kareem feels that "one of the reasons why this type of event, this type of thinking happens is because people are not taught their history."
"The politics of art, and art, cannot be separated".
According to the director, it is also about a sense of duty. She said: "this is one of the biggest lessons about this play."
"There are so many leaders all over the world now where it's just about them, they don't have a sense of duty to their community or their people".
The cast themselves are practicing in the Creative Hub, located in The Moor Quarter of Sheffield, and it also includes major names in African theatre such as Wale Ojo who starred in the 2023 film Breath of Life and Grange Hill, and Blood Sisters' Kehinde Bankole.
The vibrant and open space has been in operation for just over a year. It also plays host to the theatre company's Youth Academy which Mojisola Kareem highlights as having started with only one member and two facilitators.
"We could have said 'ah, this is not going to work, people are not going to come'. People were telling us then that 'oh, Sheffield hasn't had this kind of offer in such a long time'. That is kind of the history of the city where things are given to our community, but very quickly, it doesn't work out and it's withdrawn from them. So, they've learnt to limit their expectations and not feel that anything is going to work."
"I said whatever happens, we will persevere"
- Mojisola Kareem, Utopia Theatre's CEO and director of the upcoming performance of Death and the King's Horseman
The Youth Academy now has 25 regular attendees.
Looking to the near future, Utopia Theatre intend to take Death and the King's Horseman on an international tour after its showing at the Crucible.
There are also plans in the work to build on current collaborations. Ms Kareem smiled and said "so, we are continuing in exactly the same kind of trajectory".
Walking back through the Hub, past sand-yellow walls dashed with proverbs like "tomorrow belongs to people who prepare for it today", meticulous artwork and posters cataloguing the company's portfolio of work, there is a sense that Utopia Theatre is ready to take 2025 by the reins.
Formula One driver with Sheffield connection completes his farewell race
A Formula One driver who trained in Sheffield as a youngster has spoken about the highs and lows of his racing career after competing in his final race.
Zhou Guanyu was in the driving seat at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend (December 8).
The Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber is having a shake up for next season replacing both Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas. They will be swapped for rookie Gabriel Bortoleto and long-standing racing driver Nico Hülkenberg.
Zhou Guanyu, 25, said: “I hope that my racing continues to inspire others who are following my story.
"I would like to thank the team for this opportunity and all of the fans for their continued support. They have been fantastic and continue to inspire me.”
Zhou made his debut in 2022 for the Alfa Romeo team, which became Stake Kick Sauber this year.
He is also the only driver in Formula One history to represent China and was able to race in the Chinese Grand Prix this year, 20 years after being a fan in the crowd.
“I am immensely proud to represent my country as the first ever Chinese Formula 1 driver," said Zhou.
His F1 journey hasn’t always been easy, but the Chinese driver has much to celebrate.
He said: “I am happy to have already achieved many things under difficult conditions in Formula 1, including scoring points in my first race, fastest lap, and some memorable battles throughout the grid."
Zhou moved to Sheffield in 2012, to compete with his karting team Strawberry Racing UK, who are based in Handsworth.
He attended Westbourne School in Broomhill and came back to the city for a visit in 2023.
It has been a tough season for Kick Sauber after they finished last in the constructors' championship, 13 points behind 9th place constructors Williams.
Zhou scored their only four points in the penultimate race of the season in Qatar, which saw him go from starting 12th on the grid but ending eighth.
The race earned him the Driver of the Day award but Zhou has not secured a seat for the 2025 season, meaning his future in the world of racing is still undetermined but he remains positive.
He said: “Sadly, the last two seasons have been challenging for all, but I want to look forward. I am positive about the future, and I am now totally focused on making sure that I can truly show what I am capable of.”