Lasting tribute to popular rugby player at Xcel Leisure CentreA lasting tribute to a popular Coventry rugby player, who died aged just 22-years-old, has been unveiled in his home city on his birthday.
Now a memorial garden has been built in his honour at the Xcel leisure Centre in Canley - just a short journey from his family home in Cannon Park. Michael had a passion for rugby and played from a young age for the Old Coventrians and Coventry Bears, as well as captaining his side at Kent University, before he was diagnosed with bowel cancer four days before his 21st birthday. Before his death he asked that people make a donation to the Wooden Spoon Charity rather than purchasing flowers for his funeral. Over £20,000 has now been raised in Michael’s memory and as a tribute The Wooden Spoon the rugby union charity, in partnership with Coventry Sports Foundation and The Living Environment Trust, has built the Michael Whetstone Wooden Spoon Memorial Garden in his honour. Michael’s mother, Teresa Whetstone who teaches at Cannon Park Primary School, explained how the project came about. “Ian Holroyd, who is chairman of the Warwickshire Wooden Spoon, had been in touch about the project and we were looking for a suitable site,” she said. “I took a group of schoolchildren swimming at the Xcel Leisure Centre and thought it would be ideal for the project. “We got in touch with Paul Breed, the chief executive at Coventry Sports Foundation, and he was very enthusiastic about the idea. “Since then we have followed the project every step of the way, everyone at the centre has been wonderful, and they have kept us involved all the way through.” Mrs Whetstone added she felt the project was a perfect legacy to be created in Michael’s memory. “When Michael was younger we used to joke he was like a puppy,” she said. “He used to love the outdoors so we would take him out twice a day to run around and get rid of some of his excess energy – so the idea of an outdoor space everyone can enjoy being created in his memory is a fitting tribute. “We are also pleased that it has been built locally to where we live and that it is something everyone in the community can share. “The fact it opened on his birthday also seems to bring everything full circle – he would have been 24 – and somehow it just seems right for it to have been opened on that day.” The garden was opened during a special ceremony at the Xcel Leisure Centre by former British Lions rugby star Tim Stimpson. It was designed by Louise Kovarovic, from Kova Landscape, and has a rugby-inspired theme with a rugby ball-shaped centre and arches at each end to depict goal posts. Raffaella Tentindo, manager of The Living Environment Trust, said: “We were honoured to be approached with the idea of creating a garden in Michael’s memory at the Xcel Leisure Centre. “When you hear people talking about Michael, you can’t help it but thinking that Michael was just one of those people that you wish you had had the chance to meet. “He lived locally and the rugby-themed design and the concept of an outdoor space for people in the community to enjoy seem like a lovely tribute to such an inspirational young man who loved his sport as well as being outdoors.” ENDS Media enquiries: Simon Gilbert Advent Communications 2 Edison Building Electric Wharf Sandy Lane Coventry CV1 4JA Tel: 024 7663 3636 http://www.advent- # # # Advent Communications is a well-established public relations consultancy based in Coventry. In ten years it has built a reputation as a practical provider of news driven PR to a range of industry sectors. End
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