Welcome to Issue 10 of our newsletter...
Some of you will have noticed that this is arriving in your inbox very soon after issue 9. From now on we are moving to one edition a month. This should mean more frequent and up to date newsletters but, perhaps, less extensive content. Whatever you think please let us know by emailing your thoughts to activegloucestershire@glos.ac.uk
The last month has seen a particular emphasis on Paralympic and disability sport and physical activity in the county and this is reflected in the contents of this edition. The Youth Games held at Plock Court, Gloucester was an inspirational day and I know that the many visitors and VIPs who spent time with us during the day were very impressed with the efforts of performers, coaches, carers, teachers and the many volunteers who gave their time to make it such a memorable occasion.
Autumn is also the season of awards and there is still time for last minute entries for the Gloucestershire Sports Awards as well as the news of the BBC’s Sports Unsung Hero Awards.
As we move into the autumn we are all waiting to see just what Sport England’s new strategy will mean for sport in Gloucestershire. It is clear that there will be changes in both approach and funding but there will also be many opportunities and I hope that we will be able to bring news of these to you in the weeks ahead.
Best wishes
John ER Stevens
Chief Executive Officer
September A Great Month for Disability Sport in Gloucestershire
Disability sport in Gloucestershire has had an enormous boost with over 300 young people taking part in three events.
Firstly on the day of the paralympic handover from Beijing to London (17th September) Gloucestershire held its very own handover celebrations. During the afternoon at Gloucester's, Oxstalls Indoor Tennis Centre 30 disabled and non disabled young people from around the county were given the chance to play tennis whilst gaining those all important racket and wheelchair skills needed to play the fast and highly competitive game.
Following on from the success of the days event the handover celebration moved to the newly reopened facilities of Leisure@Cheltenham where a further 40 talent identified young performers took part in a showcase of three Paralympic sports - Boccia, Athletics and Football. Active Gloucestershire's Sport and Physical Activity Development Officer for Disabled People Anne-Dorte Andersen a 3 time Paralympian herself said "Hopefully we will find some medal winners but the most important thing is that the children are inspired to get involved and have fun"
A week later on 24th September, 265 children from 25 schools in the county took part in the Gloucestershire Youth Games 2008.
To continue the Paralympic theme, the event had two very special guests Stephen Thomas, Paralympic Sailor and Gloucestershire’s Simon Laurens, who took gold and silver medals in the Hong Kong equestrian events. Stephen and Simon talked about their recent Paralympic experiences to participants and met with the young people during the course of the day. They were also joined by Gareth Picken from Leckhampton Primary school, who was lucky enough to attend the closing ceremony at the Beijing Paralympics as part of the handover to Team GB for London 2012.
Participants at this year’s event had the opportunity to participate in structured coaching sessions in a wide range of sports organised by community clubs such as,; The Blazers Basketball Team; Gloucester Rugby Club; Oxstalls Springers Trampolining; and Gloucestershire Dance. To raise awareness of the Paralympics the Paralympic Challenge was held with the aim to identify talented young disabled pupils. The participants that were identified at the Games will be invited to take part in the county Playground to Podium programme in the future. 
For those who fancied taking a break from the sport, the 2008 Youth Games was also able to offer a musical experience with local music workshop “Baby Head” hosting sessions which encouraged those involved to make up songs and lyrics and try out their skills at being a DJ.
Anne Andersen said “The wider more varied approach to the Games proved hugely successful and as a result we will hopefully see more children taking part in more sport and physical activity in the community. It is an exiting time with a lot of development in Disability Sport in Gloucestershire and more and more opportunities arising for young people”.
Anne would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those who supported the Gloucestershire Youth Games 2008.
(More photos from the Gloucestershire Youth Games 2008 can be found on the Disability Sport website by clicking here
To round off a great month in Gloucestershire for disability sport the Youth Sport Trust and Parasport invited 5 young people from around the county with disabilities to take part in a day of filming at the University of Gloucestershire, Oxstalls Campus.
The footage of the youngsters will be used to link in with the Playground to Podium programme and help with the profiling of physical abilities in young disabled pupils through a newly developed resource 'My Log Book'. This resource enables young disabled people to track their results against a series of physical ability tests.
“The eventual goal is to increase participation opportunities for all young people and to potentially build the talent stream for future national and international honours,” said Senior Competition Manager based at the University of Gloucestershire, Will Parker.
Staff at Active Gloucestershire are the key to planning and delivering the programme around the county and support from the staff and students at the University of Gloucestershire will ensure the development of this national programme is a great success in Gloucestershire and beyond.
Further information on this programme can be found at http://gifted.youthsporttrust.org/page/inclusion/index.html
Gloucestershire Sports Awards 2008
Deadline Extension - Friday 10th October
With the Olympic and Paralympics in Beijing producing so many British and Gloucestershire medallists, and London 2012 now less than four years away, its time to recognise the people who devote their time, energy and effort to helping more people enjoy sport around the county.
Its not too late to nominate that someone special in your area who goes that extra yard to change the lives of others through sport for one of this years awards.
Nominate now by either filling in our online form and clicking 'submit' or if you prefer, print it off by clicking on the link below, fill it out and send it back to the address on the form.
- Gloucestershire Sports Awards 2008 Nomination Form - Online
Gloucestershire Sports Awards 2008 Nomination Form - Download
Nations & Regions SPORTS UNSUNG HERO 2008
This is the 6th year of the BBC Sports Unsung Hero Awards.
It was devised to recognise the many thousands of volunteers across the UK whose time & skills allow many hundreds of thousands of people to take part in sport at all levels.
The BBC recognises the achievements of sports participants (both amateur & professional) in both their coverage and also their annual series of Sports Awards – but they also wanted to pay tribute to at least some of those behind the scenes who ensure sport at grass roots level continues to thrive.
Last year’s overall winner was the remarkable 85-year-old Margaret Simons of Bardwell Football Club in Bicester. She founded the club in 1964, bought the nets kits, balls, medical kits and refreshments from her own money, and was chair, secretary, treasurer, manager and coach to the 20 children in her first year. An estimated nearly 3,000 children between ages of seven and 16 have now represented the club, which has teams in four different leagues.
BBC Nations & Regions began the Sports Unsung Hero category in 2003 – with each of its 15 TV Regions now naming their Sports Unsung Hero on an annual basis. Each of these 15 winners from across BBC Nations & Regions then gets invited to the BBC’s national celebration of sport – the Sports Personality of the Year programme – where one of the 15 is also named the overall winner.
Nominations are sought from the public and this year the closing date is Friday 31st October. There are various stipulations about the nominating process detailed on the nomination form, but basically we are looking for those who have been helped to participate in sport to nominate those who have done that helping. This could be in terms of coaching, facilitating or organising.
Each of the 15 BBC Nations & Regions then selects its winner by way of a Judging Panel chaired by the BBC but with at least two external members.
The 15 Sports Unsung Hero Regional Winners will also have the opportunity to apply for a bursary of up to £2,500 each, to help with their work with sport in the community.
BBC Sports Unsung Hero Bursary Information (pdf download 52.9KB)
We Say Goodbye to ...
Andy Herbert, Active Gloucestershire’s Women and Girls Football coach who is unfortunately leaving us on the 16th October for pastures new. However he is not moving far, as he is set to become the Women and Girls Football Development Officer for the Gloucestershire Football Association, a position that will continue to be hosted by Active Gloucestershire.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Andy for all his hard work in the county and wish him luck in his new role.
Gillian Taylor, Finance and Resource Officer will be leaving Active Gloucestershire on Friday 24th October to join the staff at Tewkesbury School as Finance Manager.
We wish her every success in her now job and would like to take this opportunity to thank her for all her hard work with us here at Active Gloucestershire.
