Competitive football has returned to the Rec (top of Archer road) with Avenue hotspurs youths sides playing Saturday mornings 10.30am and seniors at 2.00pm.

Our under 15s side has got off to a fantastic start winning the last two games in style 10-4 and 10-1" Come along to watch and support your local football teams.

All results and fixtures can be found on our website click on the what's on button.

At the moment we only managed to get an under 15s and an under 11s registered but next season we in­tend to expand.

We would like to apologise to those who we weren't able to register this season but training for all ages will continue Sundays 2.30pm all wel­come.

We would also like to take this op­portunity to thank Tesco Express Cowbridge road Ely for giving us funding for a new football kit.

Playground is disappearing

I READ with great interest the news brief in the Echo ("Playgrounds get facelift", December 9). It seems eight playgrounds are to be refurbished in the new year. What I would like to know is will north Ely recreation playground be one of the lucky ones to be included in the Cardiff-wide programme?

At the moment it is looking really bare. First was the tyre swing removed from our play centre, then the children's spring horse and now the children have lost their roundabout. All removed, not through vandalism, but wear and tear.

All we have left is five swings. My grandchildren are very upset that their play equipment is disappearing and I am sure there are a lot more upset children in Ely.

Sandra Thomas

Cadvan Road, Ely, Cardiff

Playgrounds get a facelift

EIGHT children's playgrounds are set to be refurbished in the new year as part of a Cardiff-wide programme.

So far this year seven playgrounds have been renovated and a further four are currently being improved.

Councillor Nigel Howells, executive member for sport, leisure and culture, said: "I am delighted to see facilities being created that will take the opportunities for increased physical activity into the new decade."

IN RESPONSE to Dave Yewlett s letter (Viewpoints, February 22), saying that video games are no substitute for real sport, I totally agree.

However, in Ely we have many local children and youths who prefer to play true sport than play games on the TV

Many adults give up their free time to do football training at our much appreciated recreation fields in north Ely, with an excellent turnout.

Here is a picture the parents and children of Ely want to share with all you Echo readers.

This was one of many tournaments they have taken part in. The picture was taken at Canton Community Hall, who kindly invited the Ely children to participate, for a small fee. (Special thanks to Andy and staff for all their hard work.)

This was during half term and they all had to get up bright and early to be there. And they did Ely proud and came first on more than one occasion, and may I add many under-15s were invited to take part in the tournaments and again they came first.

Thanks to all those involved with the Friday night project, the under-19s have been taken on tournaments from 7pm to 9pm, keeping them off the streets.

I would like to add to Dave Yewlett's comment on asking the teachers to do more by getting children involved in real sport.

The junior schools in Ely were approached by the Ely Garden Villagers along with Communities First to take part in a sports day event on June 9 as part of the Ely Festival, which will be called Elympics, and the response was amazing.

All the schools were very keen

to be involved and are looking forward to this event; it will involve 12 children from year six, who will be six boys and six girls.

This will bring many children, parents and teachers working together (leaving no time for TV games) and we hope this will become an annual event.

True sport is good for physical and mental health, and we hope our event

will make people aware -that sports games on TV don't keep you fit. However, true sport does.

Please feel free to have a look

at the Ely Garden Villagers website www.elygardenvillagers. co.uk and see for yourselves how many children and youths in Ely enjoy true sport.

Lynda Sullivan

Llewellyn Avenue, Ely

Cardiff

THE fly-tipping idi­ots who dump household items throughout Ely on a regular basis are so annoying.

Don't they realise that if you phone Cardiff City Coun­cil, Connect to Cardiff, on 029 2087 2870, it will remove any household waste, furniture, mattresses etc free of charge?

I would like to add, in fairness to the waste management, they do a wonderful job.

Our group, The Ely Garden Villa­gers, get contacted on a regular basis with reports of fly tipping which we act upon

in an effort to make our com­munity a better place to live. So please, if you have any rubbish you need removed, please contact Con­nect to Cardiff. Don't dump have a little respect for all the other residents throughout your community. I can only imagine what visitors must think when visiting Ely.

Pete Sullivan

Chairman, Ely

Garden Villagers

AS PART of the Ely and Caerau Festival 2010, which this year celebrated 30 years, the Ely Garden Villagers held an Elympics Event at North Ely recreation ground on Wednesday, June 9.

I would like to thank all the children from all the junior schools taking part in our sports day event called the Elympics. It was a truly amazing event, with a fantastic turnout and the children taking part were all stars.

All the children enjoyed the old egg and spoon race, relay race, sack race and the running, and the bean-bag throw had many laughing. And the parents and staff were also stars, taking part in the male and female race at the end.

The winners, from St Francis School, will keep the trophy for a year until the schools come back next year to compete again for the trophy.

We were so pleased that every junior school took part in the sports day event, and even more pleased they will be coming back so it will become an annual event.

The event was from 4pm to 6pm, so a special thanks to all the teachers and head staff for coming along after a hard day's work. Your support was truly appreciated.

Special thanks to Ieuan Davies and all the 5x60 officers for all their hard work in mentoring the children taking part.

I would also like to thank Collin Hill, from the Parks Department, and Hazel Cryer, from Communities First, for judging the event, also thanks to Simon Murray, Communities First, Andy and staff from the children's Play Centre (Danny you did a fab job

on the loud hailer and thanks to all the stewards and helpers for

your support, and all those who turned up from the community to

support and cheer on the schools.

A big special thank-you to Community Foundation in Wales and Welsh Council for Voluntary Action for funding this Elympic event. Their funding truly did make a difference to the Ely and Caerau community.

Peter Sullivan

Chairman of the Ely Garden

Villagers

WHO says Ely isn't a good place to live? Certainly no-one I spoke to at Glyn Derw High School on Friday afternoon. Some of them (like me) have lived in Ely all their lives.

As part of the Ely festival, Glyn Derw had invited people to a garden party. The garden itself is lovely, but they fed us as well.

The young people are so helpful and polite. We really should not judge the majority by a few. They also entertained us. There was a gentleman there with his African drums and welcomed anyone joining in and playing them.

intergenerational play called It's Complicated, performed by the Lov-elys and co-written by pupils and members of healthy, wealthy and wise and small world theatre.

It left you in no doubt as to why some young people go astray, but I'll leave that to readers' imaginations.

Thank you again,

Glyn Derw.

Una McElveen

Stirling Road, Cardiff