Sheffield Steelers Wheelchair Basketball Club to face fierce competition in Euro Cup finals
Sheffield Steelers Wheelchair Basketball club are the only British and amateur team heading to the Euro Cup finals in Spain after finishing third in their qualifying tournament.
As the only team to be unbeaten in the English league so far, they are confident as they head to the finals in April.
The club was formed in 1987 by patients from the spinal injury unit in Sheffield and have become one of the biggest competitors in the sport.
Abs Taghrest, who has been playing the sport since he was 9 years old, said: “It would be massive to win. We’ll be coming up against some tough Spanish teams, which is the best league in the world.
“We are massive underdogs but we always aim to win.”
Cabinet ministers told it’s their job to ensure everyone has the “opportunity to succeed”
The Prime Minister has told his cabinet that he wants everyone in the UK to have "the opportunity to succeed for themselves".
He said: “It’s about a stronger economy, world-class education, backing business and, of course, yes, investing in infrastructure and transport.
“And I genuinely believe that in spite of the tough time that we have had over the past couple of years, that we have turned a corner, that the plan is now working.
“Of course we have got further to go, but if we stick to the plan I know that we will absolutely get there and deliver a brighter future for everyone in our country.”
Rishi Sunak praises Government’s transport plans
After being heavily criticised by the public for scrapping HS2, Rishi Sunak is announcing his new transport plans for redistributing the money originally earmarked for HS2.
Mr Sunak: “It really is levelling up in action, because this is a first of its kind fund that is going to provide long-term funding certainty to smaller towns and rural areas across the North and the Midlands, treating them for the first ever time like big cities with substantial funding and long-term certainty.”
The meeting is taking place in East Yorkshire today.
Giggling and good deeds are the things that make us happiest
New research carried out by Babybel, in collaboration with Comic Relief has revealed that the British Public feels noticeably happier after having a laugh.
Of 2,000 people polled, 54% said they felt more positive after sharing a laugh with a loved one and 55% said they felt happier after giving to charity.
Studies have shown that both giving to charity and sharing a giggle can be proved to reduce stress and promote well-being.
Samir Patel, CEO of Comic Relief, said: “This Red Nose Day, we’re encouraging people across the country to Do Something Funny for Money, and it’s clear to see from Babybel’s research that having a giggle can be more beneficial than we may realise.
"Having a laugh, combined with acts of kindness, can make a real difference. Money raised by Red Nose Day could help tackle poverty, mental health problems, homelessness and food poverty, while supporting families affected by conflict and climate change."
Sheffield MP awaits a response to letter scrutinising local regeneration project
A Sheffield MP has sent a letter to a councillor after hope for a promised £90 million investment into the community has dwindled from seven years of little progress.
Sheffield City Council first discussed the Gleadless Valley Masterplan with the residents of Gleadless Valley in 2017 to improve the area.
Louise Haigh, MP for Sheffield Heeley and the Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, wrote to the Green Chair of the Housing Committee, Councillor Douglas Johnson last week.
In the letter, Ms Haigh said: “In the two years since there has been no movement with delivery of the Masterplan, no confirmation of timelines of plans for refurbishment, building or demolition of homes.
“I hear time and again from residents who are fed up with the lack of progress and information they are receiving.”
She then pressed Coun Johnson for updates on the plan to share with her constituency, including:
- Who will be held accountable for the delays in this project?
- When can residents expect to see their homes and community transformed?
£1.1 million of the budget has been spent on the plan over the last seven years, but questions have been raised as to what progress has been made with that money. Residents are now losing hope in the council's plans.
“I first became highly sceptical of the masterplan after learning about previous plans in other parts of the country," resident Matthew Goodwin told Sheffield Wire.
"It appeared to be more about the physical elimination of visible social housing estates, and replacing them with smaller homes in the same geographical area to provide more profit for property developers, than it was about genuinely putting more resources into these areas.”
Other residents vocalised their distaste for the plan from the beginning. Under a South Sheffield Facebook post, resident Zoe Revill commented: "It’s not what us who live there want, we need more spaces for cars, maintenance of the already existing trees and pathways, walls that are crumbling, wild flowers..."
In 2017, surveys were circulated to determine the main discontent points. 15% of residents thought that Gleadless Valley was a bad place to live, with Ironside, Spring Close Mount and Sands Close namechecked as areas with residents who are the least content. The main reasons for not liking the Valley were littering problems, anti-social behaviour and drug problems.
Over the next seven years, the council encouraged the community to get involved in planning and design workshops and meetings, including the Design for Change workshops in 2019 and public consultations in 2022.
Although the local council highlighted in their plan that regeneration projects take a long time to deliver, there has been little tangible evidence of developmental results for residents to view.
Matthew Goodwin, 58, who is a long-term resident of Gleadless Valley and works as a UNISON steward, was initially quite engaged in the Masterplan process, attending meetings and working with other activists to question the council’s plans.
He said: “I became concerned that the council already had quite firm plans to demolish various properties in the valley, but had not informed the relevant tenant or residents of those properties.
“From discussions with neighbours and viewing comments on Gleadless Valley Community Facebook pages, a lot of the community is highly sceptical about the plans but clearly some want to see it redeveloped and work commence soon.”
At the point this article was published, Coun Johnson had not responded to Ms Haigh’s letter.
Sheffield Steelers Wheelchair Basketball Club to face fierce competition in Euro Cup finals
Sheffield Steelers Wheelchair Basketball club are the only British and amateur team heading to the Euro Cup finals in Spain after finishing third in their qualifying tournament.
As the only team to be unbeaten in the English league so far, they are confident as they head to the finals in April.
The club was formed in 1987 by patients from the spinal injury unit in Sheffield and have become one of the biggest competitors in the sport.
Abs Taghrest, who has been playing the sport since he was nine years old, said: "It would be massive to win. We'll be coming up against some tough Spanish teams, which is the best league in the world.
"We are massive underdogs but we always aim to win."
Despite the Great British team being one of the best international teams in the sport, Abs said this hasn't translated into funding for sport in the UK.
The team had to fundraise to get to their qualifying game in Germany, and will have to again for the Euro Cup Finals.
Tom Harvey, who studies full time while training, said: "All the teams that we go out and play they're all professional. They have sponsors and everything's paid for.
"Whereas over here we have to bring in sponsors to pay for our trips."
Both players are students and plan to head to Spain or Germany when they finish their degrees to play professionally.
In other leagues across Europe, sponsorships fund players, but athletes here have to look outside the sport to support themselves.
Maurice Hammerton, Chairman of the Sheffield Steelers, said they often lose players abroad, so it becomes hard for the team to compete at a higher level. However, there are plans for a professional league in England.
Mr. Hammerton said: "Unless you see it, you don't realise how fast it is. Even on TV, it doesn't really come over as aggressive or fast as it is. If you come, you'll be amazed at how good a game it is."
All the players say that Wheelchair Basketball is one of the best disabled sports out there and more people need to be aware of it.
The Steelers have one more league game coming up on the 24th of March against long time rivals Manchester, who will be looking for blood after the Steelers beat them in the Euro Cup.
Top STEM students will be invited to compete in Global Trading Challenge
Unique, market simulation challenge Prosperity will return, as announced by IMC today.
This challenge will invite top performing STEM students from worldwide to compete in what has been called "the world's most innovative trading challenge" .
Competitions will take place from 8 - 23 April, and students will be tasked with a series of challenges, designed to mimic the trading industry.
Sheffield United players in heated dispute during Wolves match
Sheffield United remain welded to the bottom of the Premier League after a narrow defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers, in a game overshadowed by a heated scuffle between two Sheffield teammates.
Robinson berated his team mate shortly after Sheffield conceded, then the two locked horns, butting one another and aiming a several wayward swipes before the scrap was broken up.
A quick VAR review deemed there had been no violent conduct and the two faced no punishment.
Under-fire manager Chris Wilder played down the incident, saying: “I’m not going to be too critical about it as long as it didn’t overstep the line which obviously it didn’t.
“They’re two passionate boys who want to win, and got frustrated. We move on.”
Doncaster radio show celebrates going viral
The UK’s oldest football phone-in show paid homage to a viral phone call on Friday after broadcasting live from a Doncaster pub.
The Salutation, on South Parade in the city centre, played host to BBC Radio Sheffield and sports fans from across the region as its Football Heaven show came live from the pub’s beer garden.
It followed a call to Praise or Grumble – the show’s fan phone-in since 1986 – on 3 February after Doncaster Rovers’ draw against Sutton United, which host Rob Staton described as “the weirdest call I’ve ever had,” in 14 years of hosting the show.
During the 90-second call, a Rovers fan known only as ‘Paul’ addressed many issues before abruptly signing off by saying: “I’m off to Sal for a pint. See you later mate,” leaving Mr Staton and listeners bewildered.
A clip of the call later went viral on X – gathering more than 800,000 views over multiple posts.
“Powerful” concert held for Palestine gets a standing ovation
Protesters from South Yorkshire sang in a Sheffield church during a "very powerful" fundraiser for Palestine on Saturday night.
The piece was performed at Christ Church in Pitsmoor by The Tadhamon Singers, a group of 17 women who perform protest songs.
Singer Carolyn Leary, 67, said: "Some of it, we struggled to sing because even we were in tears. I think we make a very powerful connection of solidarity."
Janet Wood, 72, the musical director of the group, said: “I think there is something about singing that just touches people’s hearts. You can march and you can wave the flags and you can talk, but there’s something about singing that gets to them on a deeper level.”
Donny delight as local radio show celebrates going viral
The UK’s oldest football phone-in show paid homage to a viral phone call on Friday after broadcasting live from a Doncaster pub.
The Salutation, on South Parade in the city centre, played host to BBC Radio Sheffield and sports fans from across the region as its Football Heaven show came live from the pub’s beer garden.
It followed a call to Praise or Grumble – the show’s fan phone-in since 1986 – on 3 February after Doncaster Rovers’ draw against Sutton United, which host Rob Staton described as “the weirdest call I’ve ever had,” in 14 years of hosting the show.
During the 90-second call, a Rovers fan known only as ‘Paul’ addressed many issues before abruptly signing off by saying: “I’m off to Sal for a pint. See you later mate,” leaving Mr Staton and listeners bewildered.
A clip of the call later went viral on X – gathering more than 800,000 views over multiple posts.
“Hundreds of thousands of people had watched this clip by Sunday morning,” said Mr Staton, 39. “It really struck a chord with a lot of people so we wanted to celebrate that, get to Doncaster and visit the Sal!”
The show featured interviews with notable Rovers fans. This included Paul Mayfield, also known as ‘Mr Doncaster Rovers’, and the Rambling Rovers fan group.
“Praise or Grumble has always been a show involving raw emotions”, said Ainsley Cooper, the groups’ social media manager. “As soon as I heard the tagline, I knew it was going to catch on.”
Co-founder Liam Dale agreed, saying: “Calls like this unite the fanbase. There’s been a lot of negativity in the last few weeks and years so that positive uplift is really good.”
Many fans claim Rovers’ upturn in form since the call is no coincidence. A 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon on Saturday extended their unbeaten run to five games. Winger Luke Molyneux referenced the call on X after their 5-1 thrashing of Grimsby Town last weekend.
‘The Sal’ has always been a popular pub among Rovers fans. According to historian John Coyle, it is possible the founding members toasted their new club there in 1879. Plus, when playing at nearby Bennetthorpe in the early 1920s, players changed there before games.
“Radio Sheffield has a special bond with fans,” said Mr Staton. “We cover six football clubs so it’s great to have a Doncaster-centric show and be part of the broader region."
Football Heaven broadcasts every weekday on BBC Radio Sheffield between 6pm and 7pm. It hosts the Praise or Grumble phone-in every Saturday evening.
Major rail disruption throughout south-east England
There has been widespread disruption across several rail operators in south-east England due to signal failures.
The trainlines affected include Thameslink, Southern, and Gatwick Express.
A Network Rail spokesman said: “At 3.04am there was a loss of power with provider UK Power Networks which significantly impacted our Three Bridges Signalling Centre which controls the signalling – the railway’s traffic light system – across the majority of our Sussex route.”
He said signalling was restored at 6.30am but services remained “significantly disrupted”.
The spokesman added: “We’re really sorry to any passengers disrupted this morning and we encourage passengers to check with their train operator before travelling for the latest information and updates.”