Welcome to 2008 with Active Gloucestershire
In welcoming you to our first newsletter of 2008 may I first wish everyone a Happy New Year to you and yours. This newsletter covers a range of topics which I hope will be of interest and assistance to you in your own work to promote sport and physical activity in the county.
As we look ahead and wonder what 2008 will bring it is already clear that for many of us the next few months will be preoccupied by understanding and responding to the changes to Sport England announced before Christmas by James Purnell, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
To learn about these and the implications for Active Gloucestershire please click here.
Between now and March is going to be a very busy, challenging and probably, at times, a confusing period for everyone involved in sport and physical activity. We will do our best to provide everyone with clear and up to date information as it emerges via the newsletter, our website and, if necessary, special distributions. In the meantime if you do have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us.
John Stevens, Chief Executive Officer
Gloucestershire Club Directory Now Live!
Active Gloucestershire have been working together with Schools, Colleges, Local Authorities and key volunteer organisations to establish a county wide database of clubs within Gloucestershire. The Directory is now live on the Active Gloucestershire website and provides a reference point for anyone requiring information on Sport and Physical Activity clubs within Gloucestershire.
At present there are a good number of clubs registered on the site with more added each day. If your club is not yet registered and you would like your club to be involved please visit the Active Gloucestershire website and go to the ‘Register or Update Your Club Information’ page and follow the instructions. Once your club details have been registered online you will be given a unique password which will enable you to update your club information when required. 
There is no charge whatsoever for any aspect of the club directory, or for modifying the pages within. Active Gloucestershire provides this facility as a service to benefit clubs and participation in sport within Gloucestershire.
For further information please contact Jo Walker, Club and Volunteer Development Officer on 01242 715194 or at jwalker@glos.ac.uk
Calling Active Gloucestershire...
In order to improve on communication when calling the Active Gloucestershire office on 01242 715190 you will now be greeted by an automated voicemail. This is to avoid people calling and leaving messages that may get missed as you can now be directed straight to the department or officer concerned.
The options when calling are:
for Coaching Enquiries including Community Sports Coaches
Press 2 for Marketing and Events including Training Courses Press 3 for Club and Volunteer Enquiries Press 4 for Disability Sports Officer Press 5 for Sports Specific Development Officers Press 6 for Finance Press 7 for All Other Enquiries Press 8 to Leave a Voicemail
Gloucestershire STEP
Active Gloucestershire and the county local authority districts host a number of generic sport specific courses. The courses and workshops are aimed at helping coaches, administrators, volunteers and teachers further their knowledge and qualifications in a number of different areas. For a full list of all the courses available from January to August please visit the Events Calendar on the Active Gloucestershire website. We advise you to book early to avoid disappointment.
A brief overview of workshops available:
- Safeguarding and Protecting Children
- Equity in Your Coaching
- Emergency First Aid
- An Introduction to the FUNdamentals of Movement
- An Introduction to LTAD
- Developing Partnerships with Schools and Clubs
- A Club for All
- Funding Your Club
- Valuing Your Sports Volunteers
- SAQ P-Award
- Coaching Disabled Performers
- and many more on request.
Quote of the Month
"It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself" -Muhammad Ali, retired American boxer and former three-time World Heavyweight Champion and winner of an Olympic Light-heavyweight gold medal. In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and the BBC.
Sport England South West Regional Conference 2008
27/28 February 2008 - Centre Parcs, Longleat - 'All Together Now - The Business of Sport'
The Regional Conference is focused on creating a more active region and looking at the skills required to deliver that goal. Inspirational keynote speakers include Dr John Bird (founder of the Big Issue), Jennie Price, the new Sport England Chief Executive and other high profile experts in the field of Leadership and Influencing. As well as being an ideal networking opportunity, it will also be fun, interactive and a chance to reflect, celebrate and galvanise the collective Sports sector working in the South West. A limited number of subsidised places will be available to encourage attendance from volunteers working in sport. Download 2008 Conference programme. The 2007 event was heavily oversubscribed, so please book online now.
If you are a volunteer then you have the chance to attend this conference at a discounted cost. The offer is open to any volunteer working in conjunction with one of the National Governing Body sports listed below:
- Hockey
- Football
Athletics - Rugby Union
- Gymnastics
- RYA
- British Horse Society
- Squash
- Netball
- Orienteering
- Swimming
- Lacrosse
- Badminton
If you are a volunteer within one of these sports then contact the booking enquiry line on 08453 880037 or email sportengland@breathingspace.uk.com
Active Gloucestershire Achieves the Preliminary Level of the Equality Standard for Sport!
Active Gloucestershire continues to demonstrate its commitment to equality & diversity by achieving the Preliminary Level of the Equality Standard for Sport in December 2007. Jonathan Calderbank – Sport England South West’s Development Manager (Social Inclusion and Equity) congratulated Active Gloucestershire saying: “This is really good news and no mean achievement!”
107 organisations have achieved Foundation Level, but Active Gloucestershire is one of only 26 to have achieved the Preliminary Level. This took a tremendous amount of work and effort – so thanks to all of you who took part in our Equality Action Plan & Participation consultations, which were key to the development and submission of our evidence portfolio.
Being awarded the Preliminary Level means Active Gloucestershire is able to demonstrate it is developing as an organisation to:
- understand the issues and barriers faced by under-represented groups,
- implement a robust action plan for equality which all staff, volunteers and key stakeholders understand.
- ensure staff and volunteers within Active Gloucestershire understand the principles of equality and their role in delivering against the action plan.
As for our services - we have to show that partner organisations and new audiences are aware and engaged in the delivery of the Equality Action Plan.
Click here for more information on Active Gloucestershire’s commitment to the Equality Standard: A Framework for Sport.
Sporting Champions
Would the young people at your organisation benefit from a visit from a world-class athlete? Sporting Champions visits are still available to be used in Gloucestershire. If you have an event which centres on increasing participation in community sport, school & club links or leadership & volunteering, we want to know about it! Sporting Champions can give the young people at your organisation the boost they need to make physical activity a regular part of their lifestyle. To find out more, please visit www.sportingchampions.org.uk or contact Kelly Farr at Active Gloucestershire. (if you are a school please see your Partnership Development Manager at your School Sport Partnership to arrange a visit)
Active Gloucestershire have several briefing packs detailing Champions in the South West, Case Studies and much more. To request a pack please email Kelly Farr kfarr@glos.ac.uk with your address to receive a pack in the post.
To view a video showing the impact Sporting Champions have on young people click here.
Sporting Champions Breaking news... 5 of the England Women's Football Team sign up to Sporting Champions
Our first article is actually a new piece of news! We are delighted to say today that we have signed up five of the England Women's Football Team. Jill Scott (midfielder), Alex Scott (full back/midfielder), Siobhan Chamberlain (goalkeeper), Lianne Sanderson (forward) and Rachel Brown (goalkeeper) join Sue Smith and Lindsay Johnson who have been Champions for a few years.
Hope Powell, FA National Women's Coach said: "The FA see a partnership between the England Women's team and Sporting Champions as being a natural fit.
"Girls' and women's football is the number one female participation sport in England but numerous recent studies have shown that females do not do enough regular exercise, whilst childhood obesity is a real hot topic of late.
"With five of the England team signing up to work with Sporting Champions, going into communities as role models, hopefully they will inspire more young girls to get active, and who knows, maybe end up pulling on The Three Lions shirt themselves one day."
40 new athletes join sporting champions...
With the support of 9 newly-recruited Regional Leaders, we have been able to fully train and support all of the 40 new Sporting Champions and help them become part of a world-class team. This is evident in feedback from organisers:
- 99% rated their Champion as excellent or very good overall on visits.
- 98% said the young people benefited from the Champion being there.
- 91% said they motivated the young people to show greater commitment to sport.
Step into Sport Conference 2008
This years Step into Sport Conference is being
held at Cheltenham College on Wednesday 13th February, 9.45am till 4pm. The conference is for 16 - 19 year old students and encourages young people to volunteer within sport in the community setting such as clubs, leisure centres, summer schemes and after school clubs with community links.
Community Volunteering - What is it?
- Community volunteering is when a young leader commits to undertake a volunteer placement in a local sports club or association within their local community. They will be placed in a club that has been identified by the County Sport Partnership (Active Gloucestershire) and which has all the necessary structures in place to receive and support young volunteers.
- Community volunteering is aimed at young people aged between 16 and 19, who have undertaken some leadership training previously. This is usually in the form of a leadership qualification or NGB awards. They can also include leadership experience through other accredited courses, such as Duke of Edinburgh or any previous volunteering experience.
- They will undertake to complete 50, 100 or 200 hours of active volunteering within their local community. Each School Sport Partnership (SSP) is required to nominate a minimum of 20 young volunteers to take part in the community volunteering element of the Step into Sport project.
- A part of this stage is the delivery of one-day conferences for an average of 20 young volunteers aged 16 – 19 years from each of the SSP’s. These conferences are planned and delivered via your local County Sports Partnership (Active Gloucestershire) and are designed to further enhance the skills and competencies of the young volunteer.
If you would like to find out more information on how you, your students, club volunteer can get involved contact Jo Walker, Club and Volunteer Development Officer at Active Gloucestershire on 01242 715194 or jwalker@glos.ac.uk
Why not visit the Step into Sport page on our website to find out more and see what happened at last years conference and view photos of the day or visit the Youth Sport Trust website.
Stroud Sport Skillz
Active Gloucestershire’s new holiday scheme, Stroud Sport Skillz was piloted on the 3rd January at Thomas Keble Secondary School’s brand new sports facility and proved an instant success with the participants involved.
The holiday camp, established by Active Gloucestershire’s Community Sports Coach Supervisor, Alison Croad, in conjunction with Stroud’s Sports and Facilities Development Officer, Nicola Beattie, provided an inclusive sporting opportunity for children aged 8 to 14.
The day itself was coordinated by Alison and members of Active Gloucestershire’s Community Sports Coach team and provided the participants the opportunity to receive professional coaching in sports such as football and athletics, as well as improve FUNdamental movements, such as Speed Agility and Quickness. As well as the generic sports previously mentioned, the participants also had the chance to divulge in activities such as ultimate frisbee and tri golf.
At the end of an action packed day parents were readily enquiring about future Sport Skillz holiday camps and said their children were “buzzing with excitement.”
For further information on Sport Skillz Holiday Camps send a request email to: activegloucestershire@glos.ac.uk
Paige Stewart: Gloucestershire's England Representative
The Gloucestershire Girl’s Centre of Excellence is proud to announce that Paige Stewart, a member of the under 16’s squad was recently selected for the England Women’s U15 training squad.
Paige, who plays centre midfield and started playing football aged 9 for boys side Tredworth Tigers, joined other talented players from other Centre’s of Excellence around the country, such as Everton, Leeds United and Charlton Athletic. Her international call up consisted of two 3-day training camps and culminated with a fixture against the Welsh under 15’s side.
Paige described her England experience as, “a dream come true”, and her pleased mum said, “I am very proud, Paige has worked very hard to reach this level and deserves this achievement.”
CONGRATULATIONS PAIGE and keep up the good work!
To find out more about the England Women’s U15 set up please click here.
For more information on Gloucestershire Centre of Excellence please go to www.gloucestershirefa.com or contact Martin Alps, Centre Director on 07855 582977
Club Report
This new section of the newsletter lets you add your club celebrations. Why not let everyone know what is happening in your club. Fill out our online form with your story.
Callum completes the double!
Callum Fraser, a member of Deer Park Archers completed the double when winning the British Indoor Target Archery Championships at the National Sports Centre to add to the Outdoor title he won earlier this year. Callum was the 9th member of Deer Park Archers to win a British Junior title in the last 6 years, he also won the 2007 Regional Field Championships.
Deer Park Archers, based between Cheltenham and Cirencester at the Gloucestershire Guide HQ, Camp Training and Activity Centre has around 100 members, over 40 of which are juniors and uses facilities at Cowley, Birdlip and Balcarras School for Target Archery and at Elkestone where their Field Course is situated.
The Club has nine coaches and a number of Archery Leaders to provide the necessary support for its members. In addition to 11 year old Callum who shoots a Compound bow, his brother Alex (13) and Kieran Schneider (8) also won British Outdoor Titles earlier this year, which also saw one of its senior members represent Great Britain in the Archery World Cup, winning a Team Bronze medal.
The club has registered its interest in achieving ClubMark, is very family orientated and runs regular Beginners Courses and ‘Have a Go’ sessions. More details can be found at www.deerparkarchers.com
Gloucestershire's Badminton Parent/Child Competition
Is your New Year’s resolution to get fit or burn off the Christmas turkey?
We will be working in the Stroud District up until the summer to increase participation and opportunities for adults and juniors in Badminton by hosting a Parent/Child Competition on Sunday 30th March 2008 at Stratford Park Leisure Centre. Parents or guardians are being encouraged to enter the competition with their son or daughter aged between 8 and 16 years of age.
Parents and Children will be partnered as a doubles team and will compete against other parent/child pairs. All pairs will initially be in groups where they will play each pair. Winners of each group will be put forward to the next rounds (TBC) where a winning pair will be determined.
We are also lucky enough to have secured a visit from a Sporting Champion at this event; details of the sporting champion are to be released nearer the competition date, but to find out more about Sporting Champions click here.
Entry into the competition is free and application forms and flyers can be found on the Badminton section of our website.
Job Opportunities
There are currently two new job opportunities with Active Gloucestershire. Both posts are community sports coaches working on the Active Start programme. For further details please click on the job titles below:
If you require any further information on these posts please contact Kerry Dexter, Sport Development Team Leader (Coaching) at kdexter@glos.ac.uk or on 01242 715193.
Hello and Goodbye
We are pleased to welcome some new Community Sports Coaches to Active Gloucestershire, Huw Pritchard, Badminton and Martin Lees, Disability Sports.
Martin Lees, Inclusion Community Sports Coach
In his new role as Inclusion Community Sports Coach, Martin will be delivering aspects of Anne-Dorte Andersen's, (Sport and Physical Activity Officer for Disabled People) work programme.
Martin first got a taste of coaching whist on work experience with Watford FC Football in the Community section working in schools delivering PE lessons. I then went onto study Sports Coaching at the College of St Mark and St John's and whilst completing his degree worked voluntarily for the YMCA developing and coaching sports for children in a variety of sports. Martin has been coaching now for 6 years, working with a variety of people but mainly children and adults who have acquired a physical and/or sensory impairment.
Huw Pritchard, Badminton Community Sports Coach
Huw first became involved in coaching badminton and cricket at his local junior clubs in South Wales. After enjoying these experiences Huw studied Sports Coaching at University and undertook various coaching qualifications. Huw has recently completed his MSc in Sports Coaching and is currently coaching badminton within schools, clubs, universities and county squads within Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Huw works with a variety of people, including running the sports section of a home office initiative, for the rehabilitation of young offenders.
