GB Women’s Volleyball Team cycle lap of Iffley track

Sport 27 Jul 10 Great Britain Women's Volleyball Team cycled a lap of the Iffley Road athletics track to raise funds for their 2012 Olympic bid on Monday (26 July). The team also held a volleyball session with the Oxford University Volleyball Club (OUVC) at the Iffley Gym, as they stopped in Oxford during a 290-mile cycle ride from Sheffield to the Olympic Park in London between 23-27 July. The ride is part of their 'Money 4 Matches' programme which aims to raise funds for the team in the build-up to the London Olympics in 2012, as the team consider the investment from UK Sport insufficient to achieve their objectives. Nicky Osborne, a key member of the team who captained Oxford University Volleyball Club from 2003 to 2005, said: 'As a student at Oxford University, I was fortunate that not many places are able to provide such an outstanding support network for both academics and sport. Oxford has a long and distinguished history in producing Olympians, and we are happy to help any British team in their efforts to shine in 2012 'On leaving, I played professionally abroad, and am now a post-graduate medical student in a full-time programme with the GB Volleyball squad, with every thanks to the background that Oxford provided. With London 2012 only two years away, we need to be working even harder to fulfil our performance goals as a team, but unfortunately to compete at the top, we need help. Nicky added: 'This ride aimed to take volleyball around the country and I hope it gets a few more people in every city and every town more enthusiastic about this great sport - the second most played women's sport in the world.