Chris is a great Gold Ambassador!
Chris Hinman has recently been chosen as one of four Gold Young Ambassadors in Pembrokeshire after doing an excellent job at Greenhill School as a Silver Young Ambassador before that.
Chris is a keen budding triathlete and also enjoys basketball but recognises the value of sport and active leisure activities in general – and in his ambassadorial role is charged with the challenge of getting as many people in school to take up one of the number of after-school activities as possible.
Keen to get started
He works closely with 5x60 officer Wyndham Williams and fellow Young Ambassador Scarlett Rushby-Smith and a measure of their success can be gauged from the fact that at the recent Sport Pembrokeshire Awards they were nominated for their hard work in the 'Contribution to School Sport' category and received superb trophies as finalists.
It was Wyndham who started Chris out in the work at a meeting to provide information, which then saw Chris apply to take part and be chosen. He set out by helping at the school's table tennis club and the basketball club, and although he's not a hockey player decided to help with the Boys' Hockey Club as a means of learning a little about another sport.
Plenty of action
Since then Chris also helped out at the new Year Seven pupils' induction course, attended year assemblies to help spread the 'message', and with Scarlett helped set up a Sports Council which has representatives from every year group in school. He also attended the special 'Olympic Torch Day' in Haverfordwest and helped youngsters try athletic events.
Own sporting involvement
Chris plays badminton at school and with the Tenby Badminton Club, although his GCSE studies have limited recent play. He's also a keen triathlete in the making because he has cycled for a long time, swam at Tenby Swimming Club as a nipper before a series of ear infections forced him to stop, and enjoys running in the country lanes around his home in Carew. He recently resumed swimming as part of his GCSE Sport course and now trains twice a week at Tenby Leisure Centre to improve this important aspect of triathlon before he joins the new Five Frogs Triathlon Club set up in the town.
Family support
His dad Paul is a regular cyclist with Tenby Aces Cycling Club and also runs half marathons and 10k races, whilst mum enjoys 'Kettlesize' as her means of keeping fit and both give Chris every encouragement. When he was 12 years of age Chris joined Paul in cycling from Aberaeron to Tenby over two days – a distance of 120 miles! In this he showed the sort of determination that will hopefully lead him one day to give 'Iron Man' a go in Tenby.
Clear aims
Back on the Young Ambassador front, Chris was delighted with the success of the school's 'Olympic Week' where lots of established sports were tried alongside newer ones like Free Running (negotiating a range of obstacles in the way) and Wheelchair Basketball (so participants could experience what it is like to play sport in a wheelchair).
“I just want others to feel the pleasure that I do in keeping reasonably fit and sport is certainly a way to achieve that aim,†said Chris. “I enjoy my role as a Gold Ambassador and it is an honour to be part of the scheme.â€
We at PembrokeshireSport.co.uk feel that it is great to see a young man give something back to the school sporting community and we wish Chris Hinman continued success at Greenhill School.