Welcome to our May newsletter,
With news of progress at the London 2012 sites, training opportunities and recognition awards for volunteers, Sport England’s new Funding Innovation scheme, events and activities taking place throughout the county and our on- going emphasis on promoting inclusive opportunities for people with a disability I hope that there will be something of interest for everyone.
We are always keen to feature your stories and projects so please do not hesitate to send them through to activegloucestershire@glos.ac.uk
Thanks for your support and let’s hope that summer really is on the way!
John Stevens
Chief Executive Officer
Local Archer Receives the Helping Hand Award.
Roger Crang, of Deer Park Archers in Gloucestershire, took the Grand National Archery Society (GNAS) Jack Flinton Helping Hand award, given for services to archery through coaching.
Roger was awarded this accolade based on a long list of achievements in the past few years. He organises the Gloucestershire County Junior Championships, works with the Gloucestershire Junior Squad, is the Grand Western representative on the English Coaching Framework, has been awarded the GNAS certificate for services to archery, has led Deer Park to achieve Clubmark status, works with local schools to introduce them to archery, and introduces the sport to groups that would not normally get the opportunity.
Roger and Deer Park Archers are also introducing young people from the Cotswold area to archery through the Sport Unlimited programme. Roger is running a total of five programme in five different schools. Further details on the Archery sessions Roger is running as part of Sport Unlimited can be found by clicking here.
For further details on GNAS awards click here.
Gloucestershire Adult Day Centres Get into Football
The Gloucestershire Football Association (GFA) working in partnership with the Onside Project and the Aspire Sport & Cultural Trust hosted a 5-a-side football tournament for Gloucestershire Adult Day Centres on the 12th May. The day centres provide services to adults with Learning Difficulties, and brought with them in the region of fifty players, representing seven centres and support units.
The schedule for the event was a hectic twenty one matches, played under a modified version of FUTSAL rules. The atmosphere of the event was friendly and fun, with all the spectators and competitors lining the balcony area of GL1, providing support to the teams playing.
Jim Hart from the Onside project said “this has been a highly competitive event, played in fantastic spirit, its really nice to see players really enjoying themselves playing with a smile on their faces. This is a great advert for the game of Futsal and the enjoyment it can bring to people”.
The day saw 3 teams equal on points with it coming down to goal difference, with Chesterton Holt the final winners. Paul Arnold the GFA disability officer said “we organised this event to see what sort of response we would get from the Day centres and to see the football ability of the service users. This has proved to be a really successful tournament; hopefully in the future we can work with social services and turn this into a regular event”.
Parents Get Involved in Sport
Parents have been making the most of the University of Gloucestershire Oxstalls Campus gym and are having a work out whilst their childen take part in the 'No Limits' sports club. No Limits is a fully inclusive club where disabled perfomers can take part in multi sports activities. The club also opens its doors to non-disabled performers seeing a number of familes bringing friends and siblings with them.
The sessions are run by University of Gloucestershire students who volunteer their time to support the club. Parents are also welcome to take part in these activities or use the time as respite where they can concentrate on keeping fit themselves.
Te No limits club runs on a Friday from 5pm - 6.30pm. For further details on how to get involved please contact Anne Andersen on 01242 715201 or aandersen@glos.ac.uk.
National Wheelchair Championships 2009
On the 22nd - 25th May 2009 Oxstalls Indoor Tennis Centre was host to the 2009 National Wheelchair Tennis Championships. The National Wheelchair Tennis Championships is supported by The Tennis Foundation as well as Slazenger and Highland Spring.
Visitors to the bank holiday event saw an extremely high level of tennis from some of the best players in the world, including some who are on course to represent Great Britain and those that recently competed at the Beijing Paralympics. The event saw 73 players competing at different levels across the weekend.
Becky Drew from The Tennis Foundation said "It's been a great National Championships and with 73 players our entries are once more up on 2008. It's always a great event and very inspiring for our younger and beginner players to be able to compete for their own National titles alongside some of the best players in the country and some of the best in the world, including Paralympic medallists such as Jamie Burdekin. With divisions for players of all standards, there is something for everyone and it's fasctinating to watch the development of the players over the years as they move through the different divisions on offer and the whole event encapsulates the Tennis Foundation's aim to get more people of all standards playing tennis."
The competition also saw local Gloucestershire players taking part in the novice events with Paul Arnold, Active Gloucestershire’s Football Disability Development Officer, winning the novice doubles with tennis partner Emma Aldred-Tow. Emma also won the novice women’s singles competition.
Paul Arnold said ‘This was a great competition to be part of as there were wheelchair players from the top player of the country down to the novices. It was a great way of learning new skills by watching some of the top seeded players which impacted on my game over the couple of days. It was great to win the doubles and a fantastic achievement from Emma to win both titles.’
For more details on the competition and to see a full list of results click here.
Inclusion Needs You
‘Inclusion Needs You’ is a free training programme aimed at any out of school activity provider that wants to actively welcome disabled children and young people to take part in their mainstream provision or activity.
This training programme is for people who are in a position to influence and make changes within their organisation. This may be a manager, leader, activity coordinator, sports coach or an arts director.
The programme aim is to develop confidence in including disabled children and young people in mainstream groups – and to help you increase the numbers of disabled children and young people who actually come and take part in your activities.
The programme is split into 4 sessions within a 9 month period. For further details of the programme click here.
Places for this course are limited so please contact Anne Andersen on 01242 715201 or e-mail her on aandersen@glos.ac.uk.
Sport Unlimited Year 1
The first year of Sport Unlimited is now complete with year 2 well under way. Year 1 (September 2008 - March 2009) saw 2,129 young people taking part in the Sport Unlimited programme. Young people were involved in 36 different projects running all around the county with local clubs and organisations running sessions to get young people more physically active. Activities such as badminton, watersports, cheerleading and mountain biking were only a few of the activities involved in the previous years programme.
The programme across Gloucestershire saw 72% of the young people who took part completing 60% or more of the sessions. This was a great retention figure as the national retention target was 60%. Some projects such as paddlesports and basketball running at Gloucestershire College, achieved 100% retention of the young people involved with all of them attending every session.
In year 2 we will be engaging with more young people through similar and new activities. The year 2 programme (April 2009 - March 2010) sees trampolining, wakeboarding, indoor bowls and frisbee golf as well as many more.
To find out more about the Sport Unlmited progarmme and for details of the activities taking place in year 2 click here.
Have you ever dared to imagine yourself at the helm of a 72 foot ocean racing yacht?
Or simply wondered what it’s like for Dame Ellen McArthur and all those other adventurers to go off and sail around the oceans of our world in huge yachts?
BIG on Results are helping with a youth sailing project. This sailing project is a registered youth charity and is based around an awesome 72’ round-the-world ex BT Global Challenge steel cutter racing yacht. This boat is being used today to give young people potentially life changing experiences. The results have been encouraging with young people’s horizons being lifted from town and city streets to the open seas, at the same time learning about responsibility for themselves, and importantly, towards other people, as they work together to handle the yacht at sea. Every voyage is designed to be engaging, team-building, work and fun – all at the same time!
One of the ways the cost to running this project are being met is by making the yacht available for private groups of up to 12 to charter by the day. The yacht is based in Cardiff and is the largest yacht in Cardiff Bay. The yacht can easily be sailed out into the waters and ports of Ireland, to Fastnet, to the Channel Islands, to Brittany and beyond.
The experienced crew can handle the boat and show the ropes. For further details call Martin McDonald on 07714 700777 or e-mail him at martin@bigonresults.co.uk.
National Volunteers Week - 1st to the 7th June 2009.
Volunteers' Week is a national celebration of volunteers and volunteering which takes place from 1st – 7th June of each year. This year, Volunteers' Week is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Volunteers' Week plays a huge part in raising the profile of the millions of volunteers who regularly contribute to society, while inspiring others to get involved too.
Active Gloucestershire are running a number of workshops over National Volunteer week to provide coaches and clubs with a variety of experiences to increase their knowledge and understanding of different areas such as fuelling performers for coaches, and the role of the volunteer in clubs. For further details on the courses running over National Volunteer week click here.
For further details on National Volunteer Week Click here.
Sportsmatch announces first awards under new scheme
Sport England’s has revised the Sportsmatch programme and has made its first awards – with a new wheelchair rugby club among the first sports groups to receive investment.
The maximum match funding available per project has doubled to £100,000 and projects can also now apply for up to £25,000 funding for sports equipment.
The West Coach Crash club in Southport was able to apply for £15,000 from Sportsmatch as a result of the increased capital funding limit. The club’s secretary, Andrew Benson, said: “We had sponsorship to pay for a few wheelchairs but what we really needed was extra capital funding to help us buy enough wheelchairs for the whole team. Now we can train twice a week and for the first time, we’ll be competing in the National Wheelchair Games in July and the Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby League next season. We’ve gone from a small group to a thriving club in just six months – and have the potential to get several of our players up to GB elite level.”
The improvements to Sportsmatch will make it even more effective in getting people playing and enjoying more sport. Key features include:
- Expanded eligibility – the programme will now match sponsorship from the private sector, trusts, charities and individuals
- The maximum number of private investors per application has increased from three to five (sponsoring a minimum of £1000 each or £500 for schools).
Go Play Netball, a project which aims out to get more people playing netball, is another programme which has benefited from changes to Sportsmatch. England Netball South West was awarded the maximum £100,000 match funding against their sponsorship from Nintendo UK – and is now set to start delivering more quality sporting opportunities in their community.
Sportsmatch is especially interested in targeting the following priority groups, which are under represented in terms of sports participation:
- Women and girls
- Black and minority ethnic groups Disability groups.
In addition to Sportsmatch, there are a range of opportunities for organisations to apply for funding where they can contribute to Sportsmatch outcomes. The open programmes include:
- Small Grants
- Innovation Fund
- Rural Communities
- Sustainable Facilities Fund
For more information - and to apply to any of Sport England's funding programmes click here.
School Sports Partnership Competition Festival
As part of ‘National School Sports Week’ Gloucester City & South Tewkesbury School Sports Partnership (SSP) are celebrating the ‘Schools Sport Coaching’ programme. Building on the positive work that coaches have made within the schools this year the SSP are running a day of competition as a way of showcasing the sports and activities that have occurred and as a way to further engage with more young people.
The School Sport Coaching programme is one of strands which make up the new PE and Sport Strategy for Young People (PESSYP). The aim of several of the programmes is to create a step change in the recruitment, training and deployment of sports coaches working in school sport. It also aims to increase the number of coaching hours delivered through school sport by 675,000 hours per year. To find out more about the school sport coaching programme click here.
The festival is taking place on Tuesday 30th June 9.20 am – 2.30pm @ the University of Gloucestershire’s Oxstalls Campus. The festival will include Table Tennis, Cheerleading, Trampolining as well as a pilot of QuadKids a new athletics programme.
Alan Beard from Gloucester SSP said ‘This is a great opportunity for pupils across all age groups to take part in a celebration of the School Sports Coaching work and showcase their skills.’
National School Sport Week June 2009
Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week is taking place on the 29th June - 3rd July. This week is used to help motivate pupils and fulfil objectives for PE and school sport using the inspiration of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Values.
The aim is simple: To help you excite and motivate your pupils to do more sport by celebrating and profiling all that's been achieved in PE in your school, and launching new sport based initiatives.
To achieve this, the Youth Sport Trust and Lloyds TSB are providing schools with free resources; including teacher packs, great prizes, and visits from British Olympians and Paralympians to help inspire your pupils in sport and physical activity. By registering with Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week schools will receive:
- Teacher Planning Pack: for ideas
- DVD: with inspirational video
- Sports Pledge logbooks: to help your pupils participate
- Badges and certificates: prizes for everyone
- Posters and local PR support: promoting your school in your community
As part of National Schools sports week pupils across the UK will be making a Sports Pledge which helps them commit to achieving their goals. They will look to gaining support from their families, and understand how they can help support other pupils on their journeys.
The week will inspire pupils to participate, perform and lead in sport and physical activity. It's a chance to embed the Olympic and Paralympic Values in whatever they do.
Click here to see if your school has registered to take part in National School Sports Week.
Quadkids Invite Schools and Clubs to Take Part
QuadKids is a new and exciting athletics concept designed to give more children the opportunity to participate in and enjoy the benefits of track & field athletics and also to identify the stars of tomorrow. Specifically designed to be inclusive, competitive, quick, fun and simple to run, QuadKids can operate in both schools and clubs, giving more children the opportunity to experience the core athletics’ disciplines of running, throwing and jumping.
England Athletics has selected QuadKids to be part of a national framework for athletics competition in England. From 2009 QuadKids will be working with England Athletics and various other governing bodies to deliver athletics based competitions in schools and clubs.
To organise a Quadkids event in Gloucester contact Alison Croad on 07810 197193. For more details on Quadkids click here.
Gloucester involved in Sports Volunteering Pilot Project
This pilot project is operating in Dorset, Plymouth and Gloucester and is being delivered by the South West Forum (the regional voice for the voluntary and community sector), based in Exeter. The project aims:
- To train individuals as volunteer event stewards
- To facilitate the brokering of volunteers for events
- To work with sporting, cultural and community events to develop the way they involve and work with volunteers
- To work with a number of sports clubs/organisations on the way they involve and manage volunteers
Funded by the Learning and Skills Council, Team SouthWest and Sport England the project offers volunteers:
- A training programme leading to an accredited qualification NVQ level 2 certificate in event stewarding; plus 1 day emergency first aid certificate;
- Experience of volunteering at events;
- Ongoing logging/recording of training and experience;
- Ongoing contact re volunteering opportunities at events.
The project also offers event organisers:
- Initial support in developing how they involve and work with volunteers;
- Further training and support around working with volunteers as required;
- Brokering of their volunteer needs with available volunteers;
- Improved volunteer recruitment.
Further details pleade contact Caroline Cook on 07932 863137 or e-mail her at caroline@southwestforum.org.uk
County Health and Wellbeing Conference - 21st May 2009
On the 21st May the University of Gloucestershire organised and hosted a county conference on health and wellbeing with the support of NHS Gloucestershire and Active Gloucestershire.
Over a hundred local practitioners involved in planning and delivering health and wellbeing programmes, interventions and initiatives heard a number of keynote speakers highlight the threat of obesity to both individual and national economic health and wellbeing, responses at national and regional as well as locally in Gloucestershire.
In the afternoon delegates had the opportunity to follow two out of four workshops examining practical responses based on enhancing mental health especially in the workplace, promoting healthy eating, improving the built environment for public health benefits and promoting physical activity through increased opportunities for cycling, walking and swimming. Overall delegates voted the day a great success and consideration is being given to making it an annual “health check” event for the county. Copies of all of the speakers’ presentations will be available to download from the University of Gloucestershire’s website during the week beginning 1st June.
YST - Sports College Innovation Awards 2010
The Youth Sport Trust is delighted to invite you to apply for the Innovation Awards 2010 for Sports Colleges, Academies with sport-related specialisms and Primary Schools piloting a PE and Sport-related specialism. The Sports Colleges Innovation Awards 2010 will identify innovation and recognise good practice that can be showcased and used to help shape delivery and support the challenges faced in 21st century schools.
This year there are three categories of Innovation Award. Each category will have a winning and highly commended school with a fantastic prize donated by the supporting partners.
- Category 1 -Embedding the specialism to ‘narrow the gap’ in whole school attainment
- Category 2 -Innovative practice in core Physical Education at Key Stage 4
- Category 3 -Using the specialism to drive learning with targeted sectors of the wider community
Closing date for applications is Friday, 18 December 2009.
For more details on the Innovation Awards click here.
Cycle England
New research published makes the case for a fundamental rethink in the way local authorities plan cycling. The research, by independent economists SQW, argues that cycling must be treated with the same rigour as other mainstream modes of transport if its benefits are to be fully understood. The research, commissioned by Cycling England, shows how local authority planners can apply conventional cost benefit modeling to ensure a better return on investment for every pound spent on cycling.
The study presents for the first time a Cycling Planning Model (CPM) that will help local planners to better assess the number of additional cyclists required to generate a return on investment. The model shows how a surprisingly small number of additional cyclists will pay for investment in new cycling infrastructure. The model suggests:
- An investment of £10,000 requires one additional regular cyclist
- An investment of £100,000 requires 11 additional regular cyclists
For more details on the CPM click here.
Inclusive Fitness Initiative commits to 2nd Education Programme sponsored by Cybex
Throughout 2009 and early 2010, the Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) will be delivering a programme of seminars and educational events, providing additional support to the fitness and leisure sector in ensuring that not only can facilities be made accessible to disabled people, but that the principles of inclusion impacts upon all business practices.
The IFI has long been regarded as a source of crucial advice to the fitness industry in terms of inclusive provision and through its various projects and funding streams will have supported 400 facilities to achieve the IFI Mark Accreditation by December 2009.
The demand for the development of a 2009/2010 IFI Education Programme has been overwhelming following the success of the 2008/2009 Programme which attracted just short of 400 delegates across 15 events. This, coupled with the on-going commitment from Cybex has made it possible to ensure that leisure and fitness professionals have an even greater opportunity to understand not only how they can make their buildings and facilities accessible, but also how inclusion can be incorporated into all business practices.
The 2009/2010 series of seminars will cover a number of popular topics including inclusive marketing, creating an inclusive fitness environment, staff training and developing partnership networks. The events will highlight evidence of good practice and not only provide delegates with an opportunity to hear from key industry speakers but also to network with like-minded professionals and share their own experiences and ideas.
For details of the venues and dates for IFI courses click here.
