September 2010 £2.75Sport and fitness for today’s youth

By Louise Cordell

SCHOOLS around the UK are beinggiven the chance to use sport toimprove the lives of some of theworld’s most disadvantaged children.

UK charity, The Great FootballGiveaway, are calling on teachers andpupils to get involved in providingmuch-needed sports equipment forAfrican schools. The project involvesnot just raising funds, but gettinginvolved in distributing footballs andnetballs to schools, youth groups andorphanages and building long termpartnerships.

Volunteers have already headed outinto some of the poorest areas ofMalawi, Rwanda, Uganda andZambia handing out balls, andchanging the lives of local children.

Paul Clarke and his wife Sarah setup the charity after seeing the lack offacilities available for kids when theywere travelling in Africa.

He said: “We saw a football matchthat was attended by everyone fromtwo villages, but they just had oneold ball that deflated every time itwas kicked. The younger kids hadmade their own balls out of rags,plastic and string, and we couldn’t

help thinking – wouldn’t it be great ifwe could come back with some realballs for them – and it all escalatedfrom there.”

The charity is looking for schoolswho have seen the benefits that sportbrings to their own pupils and whowant to help provide the sameopportunities for others.

A school in Gloucestershire hasalready got involved and is nowworking in partnership with a‘twinned’ school in Rwanda.

Paul added: “All the pupils in theGloucestershire school drew picturesof life in England and each signed afootball with a message to aRwandan child; then, in Rwanda thepupils did the same thing for theEnglish kids. It has given the schoola great chance to build an ongoingrelationship and, more importantly,one that is led by the children, notthe teachers.

“Sport is such a fantastic connector– most English children will havetrouble understanding the hardshipscaused by HIV or lack of water, butthey can imagine a school that is sopoor it doesn’t even have a football –and they want to be a part of thesolution.” Full story, Page 16

Footballs helpspread thesports message

Schemeon trackfor 2010THE London 2012InternationalInspiration pro-gramme, which takessport to young peo-ple worldwide, hasnow reached six mil-lion children in chal-lenging situations.

Three of Britain’smost famous Olymp-ians, Sebastian Coe,Dame Kelly Holmesand Sir Steve Red-grave, have visited aparticipating NewDelhi school to cele-brate the milestone.

This means that thescheme is now ontarget to reach 12myoung people in 20countries by 2012.

Seb Coe, chair ofthe London 2012Organising Comm-ittee, said: “Internat-ional Inspiration–the programme wecommitted to inSingapore in 2005when we presentedto the IOC and wereawarded the right tohost the 2012 Games,is an inspiring reality,and is leaving a trulyglobal legacy fromthe 2012 Games.”

Pupils at Beech Hill Primary School in Calderdale received avisit from Olympic mascot Wenlock after winning a nation-wide competition.Beech Hill Primary was one of just 12 schools from acrossthe UK chosen to receive a visit and a group of pupils per-formed a street dance routine with the mascot for the restof the school Schools and colleges registered with Get Set, the 2012 edu-cation programme, were able to enter the competition towin the prize by telling Wenlock and Mandeville about howtheir pupils have benefited from sport.For more information see Page 9

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Group editor:Andrew Harrod – ah@whpl.netTel: 01226 734639 Reporters:Louise Cordell – lcordell@whpl.netTel: 01226 734694Christina Eccles – ce@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734463Dominic Musgrave – dm@whpl.netTel: 01226 734407

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Circulation enquiries to:Kelly Tarff kt@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734695

Contacts www.futurefitness.uk.net

Bid to revivecompetitiveschool sportBy Louise Cordell

A NEW Olympic-style sports event foryoung people has been launched bythe government to encourage morecompetition in schools.

Up to £10m of lottery funding is tobe used to create a new sports leaguestructure for primary and secondaryschools, culminating in a nationalfinal that will be held in the run up tothe Games.

The competition is a key part ofplans for a lasting sporting legacy fol-lowing the Olympics and to providemore sporting opportunities for all.

Michael Gove, education secretary,said: “We need to revive competitivesport in our schools.

“Fewer than a third of school pupilstake part in regular competitive sportwithin schools and fewer than one infive take part in regular competitionbetween schools – the SchoolOlympics gives us a chance to changethat for good.”

Schools will compete against each

other in leagues at a local level from2011, with winning athletes andteams qualifying for up to 60 countyfinals.

The most talented young athleteswill then be selected for the nationalfinals and schools will also beencouraged to host ‘in-house’ sportsdays so that children of all abilitieswill have the chance to compete.

There will also be a Paralympic ele-ment at every level of the competi-tion to get young people with disabil-ities involved.

Jeremy Hunt, secretary of state forculture, Olympics, media and sport,said: “I want to give a real boost tocompetitive sport in schools usingthe power of the Games to encourageyoung people, whatever age or ability,to take part in this new competition.

“Competitive sport, whether youwin or lose, teaches young peoplegreat lessons for life.

“It encourages teamwork, dedica-tion and striving to be the best thatyou can be.”

OLYMPIC gold medallists Sir ChrisHoy and Jonathan Edwards joinedschoolchildren at Eltham GreenSpecialist Sports College to celebratethis year’s National School SportWeek.

The pupils took part in a Festival ofSport themed event and tried theirhand at a range of Olympic andParalymic sports, including tennis,handball and badminton, along withthe Olympic Gold Medallists.

Chris said: “Hosting the London2012 Games in Britain provides us

with all sorts of opportunities tointroduce young people to new andexciting sports.

“Events like National School SportWeek are great as they give schoolchildren the opportunity to take partin a new Olympic or Paralympicsport for the first time.

“I tried various different sports atschool before I found something Iloved, and I hope that throughevents like these we can encouragemore children to get involved insport.”

Gold medal pair helpschoolkids celebrateschool sport week

New guidelines on artificial pitchesSCHOOLS planning to install newartificial grass pitches are being urgedto watch out for new advice fromSport England and the FootballFoundation.

Four sports have joined forces withthe organisations to agree a newstrategic approach to selecting artifi-cial grass pitches.

It is hoped that new guidancedrawn up by the sports bodies willensure that the right surfaces areinstalled in the right places, deliver-ing maximum value for investment.

The move has taken place as the lastdecade has seen an explosion in thenumber and type of artificial pitches,but as some surfaces are only suitablefor certain sports, many are notappropriate to meet the needs oflocal sporting communities.

To address this, the national govern-ing bodies for hockey, football, rugbyunion and rugby league have all com-mitted to using the new guidance forselecting the most appropriate artifi-cial pitches. Sport England is recom-mending that schools, universities,clubs and local authorities that areconsidering installing an artificialgrass pitch, should follow the advice.

Hugh Robertson, minister for sportand the Olympics, said: “Getting asmany people as possible to give sporta try is one of my top priorities, so itis important that new facilities aremulti-use and accessible. As a keenhockey player and a fan of footballand rugby, I am pleased to see themall working together to ensure that,where appropriate, artificial pitchesare more versatile.”

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Denise teaching kids how to playBy Louise Cordell

A HEADTEACHER at a Newcastle pri-mary has introduced a range of newactivities for pupils after becoming con-cerned that they no longer know how toplay.

Denise Kendall, head at EnglishMartyrs’ R.C Primary School in Fenham,said: “Today’s children don’t seem tohave an intuitive ability to play games,nor are they natural games players.

“But I believe that young children wantto play and that they respond to playideas – they just need to be inspired toget going.”

In order to address the problem theschool has introduced a raft of new lunchtime activities in the playground, allowing both key stage oneand two pupils to enjoy sport andgames.

They are also being encouraged withthe introduction of new equipment, pro-vided by the Newcastle School SportPartnership, which is aiming to supportplay through its new Active Lifestyleprogramme.

Joyce Matthews, partnership development manager for the NSSP,said: “Many children are non-sporty or at risk from obesity in today’s society where young people spend moreand more time in front of computerscreens.

“We want to work with our partnerschools in the city providing the equip-ment to enable staff to engage young

children and stimulate their competitivespirit with some fun games to enjoy, butwhich carry an underlying activelifestyle message.”

Every lunchtime children are supervised by five play leaders andencouraged to form their own smallcompetitive teams and join in energeticplay. Those that take part are rewardedwith tokens for fruit from the schoolcanteen in order to educate them aboutan active and healthy lifestyle.

To help those with potential weight orbehavioural problems, the school hasalso created an ‘Invitation Friday’ wherethose children are among others special-ly and subtly invited to play ‘highoctane’ games designed to push theirabilities and fitness.

Teaching assistant Valerie Stobbartsaid: “Reluctant children become spec-tators but are soon taking part. Thenthey go off on their own and start to playtheir own team games.

“We find that our ten and eleven yearolds are great at mentoring the youngerchildren and some have even asked ifthey can play ‘old-fashioned’ games likethe egg and spoon race, sack race andthree-legged races.”

Denise has been delighted with theresponse from both children and staffand added: “We only began the ActiveLifestyle programme after Easter andalready the children’s school playtimebehaviour has improved with muchmore team spirit between different agegroups.” Eve Stobbart, Albright Tshisekidi, Jennifer Azaikonou and Daniel Gilbert

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AN elite athlete programme createdby the Newcastle School SportPartnership has received a nationalaward.

The ‘One of Us’ scheme, which aimsto support gifted young people, hasreceived the recognition for‘Innovation and Development Work’from the Youth Sport Trust.

So far it has worked with 37,000 stu-dents across Newcastle state schools,seeking out the most talented andgifted with international potential, tobecome ‘One of Us’.

Joyce Matthews, NSSP developmentmanager, said: “We are immenselyproud to have received this Awardand hope we can go all the way to aNational Award which will enable usto progress our One of Us pro-

gramme with the advice and supportof a Youth Sport Trust BusinessHonours Club member – and maybeOne of Us will evolve into a nationalresource.

“The Youth Sport Trust has a hugeinfluence on what we do at everylevel, not just for elite athletes andour latest Active Lifestyle programmedraws in many primary children toexperience different kinds of PE andSport.”

To find the best pupils, all heads ofPE were sent nomination forms tocomplete, identifying those youngpeople considered to be first classmentors for their chosen sport.

They also had to be role modelswho were articulate and willing torepresent their sport and school

under the media spotlight. Those recommended then faced a

final selection by the Partnership,and successful students eachreceived sporting kit plus a £150 bur-sary from Sport Newcastle with thepromise of further support in the runup to the Olympics.

Liz Greenwell, YST senior develop-ment manager, said: “It has been fan-tastic to read and learn what hasbeen going on in schools across thecountry and Newcastle is a worthywinner because of the refreshing wayit has sought to motivate and encour-age PE and sporting talent withinschool.

“We hope the exceptional youngpeople involved will continue to pro-mote sport when they leave school.”

Liz Greenwellof the YouthSports Trustand JoyceMatthews,NSSP developmentmanager

Elite project wins national award

Recognition foryoung volunteersA GROUP of young volunteerswho have given up their time tohelp organise and coach sportingactivities have been recognisedfor their contribution to commu-nity sport.

A total of 28 members of theDerbyshire Sports LeadershipAcademy – who between themhave logged more than 5,000hours of volunteering in sportover the past year – were invitedto attend a celebration event atAlton Towers.

Among them was RebeccaHinchley from Highfields Schooland Oliver Hooper fromBrookfield Community School,who were given special recogni-tion awards for OutstandingAchievement in Leadership aftereach volunteering for more than900 hours in the past 12 months.

Rebecca has assisted on the SkyLiving For Sport Project, whichuses sport to help 11-16-year-olds improve their health anddevelop self-esteem and Oliver’svolunteer work includes coach-ing in sports such as football,basketball, netball and boccia.

Sarah Jones, youth sport officerat Derbyshire Sport, said: “Derby-shire has a fantastic army ofyoung volunteers who play animportant role in inspiring oth-ers. The dedication and enthusi-asm that all these young peoplehave shown is superb.”

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Coventry scheme allowsyoungsters to shineBy Louise Cordell

TALENTED young footballers arebeing given the chance to shinethanks to a new coaching schemein Coventry.

Twelve-week after-school coach-ing sessions are being held for chil-dren between the age of two andten, which focus on improvingtheir technical ability and buildingtheir confidence.

Around 100 local children arecurrently taking part in the classes,which are held at Coventry SportsFoundation’s Alan Higgs Centre,and around a dozen have nowbeen spotted by professionalteams.

Harvey Billing, seven, and WillBlackmore, eight, are two childrenwho have been asked to train withacademies in the Midlands.

Alex Blackmore, Will’s father, said:“Will always liked kicking a balland we wanted to find a way toburn off some of his energy!

“This is a safe, local, friendlyenvironment and the coaches havereally helped bring him on.

“He’s made lots of friends and it’shelped build his confidence.”

The sessions at Alan Higgs focus

on developing the skills of young-sters, rather than playing matches.

The youngest children are intro-duced to football through‘Socatots’, which is designed tohelp develop a sense of controllingthe ball and interacting with otherpeople, and older classes start towork on all the basic elements ofthe game, such as tackling, pass-ing, shooting and control.

Craig Jones, football developmentcoach, said: “These classes havefocused on helping children enjoythe game and get the sense ofachievement that comes from

improving.“We don’t focus on the competi-

tive nature because that can some-times sap the enjoyment from foot-ball and stop the individual frombecoming a better player, but we’vebuilt a really good environmenthere and that’s why a lot of our kidshave been with us for several years.

“We have a great time every weekand for some of the talented ladsto get spotted by professional clubsis like icing on the cake for us. Itopens up opportunities for themand hopefully they’ll go andprogress.”

Hannah Graney, Socatots coach; Harvey Billing; Will Blackmore and Craig Jones,football coach

State-of-the-artgym for £35mcollege campusin LeedsLEEDS City College is working on thedesign, build and installation of agym at its brand new £35m campusin Keighley.

The college is collaborating withPrecor to create the club, which will feature a cardiovascular centre, a resistance and free weightszone and a relaxation and stretcharea.

The gym will mainly be used forteaching by the sports department,but will also be open for students andstaff to exercise in.

Danny Crabtree, programme manager for sport at the college,said: “The building of this campus is a huge investment in the area and in the future of all the youngpeople who will study there, so wewanted every aspect of it to bestate-of-the-art – including the gym.

“We also wanted our gym to be suitable for sports professionals as well as those new to working out.”

The first intake of students will be arriving at the campus inSeptember with more than 2,500people expected to study at the newsite.

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By Louise Cordell

A NEW study has shown that theMEND programme is able to success-fully combat the growing problem ofchildhood obesity.

Charitable trust Tone Leisure hasclaimed that the results from a family focussed treatment and prevention programme for overweight children prove that theinitiative can be a key tool in tacklingthe issue.

The Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do itprogramme is designed to tackleincreasingly sedentary lifestyles, highconsumption of ‘indulgent’ foods andto help parents maintain a healthydiet for their children.

A review of the MEND scheme inSomerset, operated by Tone Leisure,has found it achieved high levels ofsuccess with children who are over ahealthy weight and their parents, andhas been effective in promotingbehaviour change within the tenweek programme.

Melissa McCarthy, health develop-ment officer at Tone Leisure, said:“This new research brings firmly back

into the spotlight the very worryinggrowth trend in childhood obesityand the need to tackle this issuewhich is one of the most serioushealth epidemics facing our societytoday.

“From our work with MEND it isclear that it is the family approachthat has been instrumental in achiev-ing the positive results we have seen,not only for the children but for thewhole family.

“The initiative successfully pro-motes behaviour change and in ourmost recent ten-week programme theaverage results for the young peoplein the group showed an increase of4.8 hours of physical activity perweek, resulting in a 1.6 unit reduction in BMI, an improvement ineating habits and nutritional intake,and a 2cm decrease in waist circum-ference.

“What’s more, the BMI of the par-ents/carers was also monitored overthe ten weeks and showed an averageweight loss of 5kg which resulted inan average reduction of their BMIs by1.75 units.”

MEND can fixgrowing obesityproblem – study

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By Louise Cordell

BEECH Hill Primary was one of just12 schools from across the UK chosento receive a visit from one of theOlympic mascots.

Schools and colleges registered withGet Set, the 2012 education pro-gramme, were able to enter a compe-tition to win the prize by tellingWenlock and Mandeville about howtheir pupils have benefited fromsport.

Teacher Helen Crowther, whoentered the school, said: “Sport isvery important to us at Beech Hill,especially since our new head teacher Jonathan Moss started two years ago. As a former premier-ship fourth official he has a real loveof sport and passes that on to thekids.

“The children have been reallyexcited about Wenlock’s visit and we have held a series of assemblies in the run up to show the mascots’story and to talk about the Olympics.

“It is really exciting for the wholeschool and we were really pleased tobe chosen as one of the 12 schoolsvisited, out of all of those whoapplied.”

To celebrate the arrival of Wenlock,Beech Hill organised a whole schoolassembly with a street dance per-formance from pupils, which wasalso attended by visiting childrenfrom Highbury School, a local specialneeds school.

The mascot joined in the dancewith the pupils and then handed outcertificates to those who had takenpart in recent sports competitions.

Helen added: “Up until now most ofour children have been Pakistani andBangladeshi, but recently we havehad an influx of children fromEastern Europe. We have found thatgetting involved in sport has giventhem the chance to make new friendsand has really helped them to settlein well.

“We also need to remember thatmany of our pupils do not attendsports clubs outside school due tocommitments at the mosque, so webelieve it is very important to providethem with lots of opportunities tosuceed at sport and work together asa team.”

Pupils at Beech Hill currently takepart in sports sessions including foot-ball, rubgy and tennis with localclubs, table tennis, street dance,karate, street surfing, rock climbing, caving, circus skills, orien-teering, swimming, archery and bikeriding.

The school has also introduced awhole school kit to give the pupils asense of community, which has beenvery popular.

Helen added: “Our pupils have hada lot of success and have now evenstarted to win competitions, with oneteam winning the recent CalderdaleChampionships and going on to play in the West Yorkshire YouthGames.

“Giving the pupils more opportuni-ties has given us a chance to find kidswith some real skills, that they wouldnever have known they had.

“There is something for everyone toget involved in and we want to offerthem as many opportunities as possi-ble.

“We think it is very important that children like ours understandthat they too can represent our country and have the potential to doso.”

Pupils at Beech Hill Primary School in Calderdale were delightedto receive a visit from Olympic mascot Wenlock as a reward fortheir sporting achievement. Future Fitness went along to findout more:

Sporty kidschosen for aWenlock visit

Free gymmembershipoffer for leaversRESEARCHERS at the University ofBath are offering free gym member-ship to school leavers in Wiltshire whotake part in a study to promotehealthy lifestyle habits.

Dr Stefan Koehn from the universi-ty’s School for Health is looking for 16to 19 year olds to take part in thestudy which will look at exercise andhealthy eating.

Each volunteer will be given freegym membership at a local leisurecentre and encouraged to choose anactivity they enjoy which includesusing the gym, playing tennis, foot-ball, basketball or swimming.

They will also be able to receiverefunds on other activities and will beinvited to bring along a friend or fam-ily member to exercise together.

The programme will begin with anintroductory session at local leisurecentres across Wiltshire and this willinclude a meeting with a dietician toteach them about healthy eating.

During the course of the program,participants will be asked to meet sixtimes with a researcher to discusstheir progress and fill out question-naires on their exercise experience.

Dr Koehn said: “The idea is to estab-lish the routine of activity and healthyeating at an age when it is easier tochange habits as young people movefrom school to university or work. Weare particularly interested in thosewho have not been interested in exer-cise in the past.”

Cherwell clubs net cashNETBALL clubs in Cherwell havereceived a cash boost thanks to fund-ing from Sport Unlimited.

The district council has secured£2,300 to develop the sport in thearea and the money will go to SESTornadoes in Banbury, to help start aclub in Bicester and to pay for a net-

ball coach in schools fromSeptember.

District Councillor GeorgeReynolds, said: “This cash boost isgood news for sport in the district.We are espeically excited about High5netball – a mini version of netballthat is played on a full-size court.”

‘It is really exciting forthe whole school and wewere really pleased to bechosen as one of the 12schools visited, out of allof those who applied’

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‘Reward for all’at two thirds of sports daysBy Louise Cordell

TWO thirds of schools are rewardingall pupils on sports days, whetherthey win or lose, to make sure that noone feels left out.

These are the results of a new sur-vey revealing that teachers want to be‘inclusive’ and avoid hurt feelings byhanding out prizes for all.

The study was carried out by SchoolStickers, a provider of rewards for primary and secondary school andshows that Government plans toencourage competition in schoolshave a long way to go.

The company surveyed almost 300schools and found that, on average 69per cent reward all participants dur-ing sports days – 54 per cent of sec-ondary schools and 77 per cent ofprimaries.

Henry Shelford, School Stickerschief executive, said: “Sports day poli-cy is a challenge as all schools have tobalance a number of competinggoals.

“They want to help motivate thesports starts of the future, which sup-

ports an argument for rewarding winners; they want all pupils toengage in sport and life a healthylifestyle, which supports participation; and they want to sup-port their school community, whichsuggests team rewards or competi-tions.

“It is a tricky balancing act.”

The survey revealed that nine percent of the schools questioned, which would equate to more than2,000 schools around the country,refused to single out any winners atall.

On top of this, it also found that two per cent of schools miss out on competitive games altogether as they have no sports days because of the ‘organisational burden’.

Henry added: “Each school isunique and needs to choose the sys-tem that works for them.

“But I feel sorry for the 500 schoolswhere teachers and pupils want asports day but can't.

“All miss out on a fun and stimulat-ing day.”

Sports tutor Dan Bathgate is setting his students a good example by gearing up totake part in this year’s Great North Run.Dan works with underprivileged 16 to 19 yearsolds in Wigan and St Helens in his role withCentral Skills and will be using the half-marathon to raise money for the British RedCross. He said: “I have always wanted to setmyself a challenge like this, so taking part inthe run and raising money for the Red Crossseemed a brilliant idea. My students all seempleased for me, they are quite impressed, butof course pretty confident that they could eas-ily beat me if they were taking part!”

Participation,fair playand fun ...ORGANISERS of BlackpoolYouth Games are celebratingafter over 3,000 pupils turnedup to take part in the event.

Children from 29 primary,eight secondary and three spe-cial schools took part in thefive days’ action, competing inall mainstream school sports,as well as some less commonevents. While many eventswere highly competitive, thefocus was primarily on partici-pation, fair play and fun – ins-pired by the spirit of the 2012Olympics and very child whotook part received a commem-orative medal and certificate.

Blackpool councillor TonyWilliams said: “As with otheryears, the annual Youth Gameshave been a great success. Itwas truly wonderful to see somany young people taking partin such a wide variety of sportsand embracing the challengeof friendly competition.

“Everyone that took partmust be heartily congratulated,they put a great deal of effort into the competition and I hopeeveryone, even those that did-n't win a prize, took a greatdeal of pleasure from takingpart. ”

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BY THE time she was ten she was theDevon county senior champion andwas heading for her first OlympicGames at the age of just 13.

Despite setbacks like breaking botharms after falling out of a tree whenshe was 11 and snapping her cruciateknee ligament stepping in a potholeSharron persevered with her trainingwhich saw her become a competitorat three Olympics in three differentdecades, winning silver in Moscow in1980.

She said: “I went for swimming les-sons like so many kids do but therewas something about it. There wassomething about my ability and nat-ural inclination to want to win.

“I did do other sports but they gotdropped and dropped until all I wasdoing was swimming.

“I never realised I was going tomake a career out of it – then therewas no career in swimming like thereis is rugby and football.

“If you are a swimmer you do itbecause you want to win races. You

had to have a professional attitudeand commitment to it but it wasn’t aprofession.”

Commitment was certainly onething Sharron needed to get herthrough the gruelling schedule shewould follow rigorously for the next20 years.

She would train for six hours a day –a two hour session in the pool earlymorning would be followed by twohours of gym work (circuits, weightsor running) followed by another twohours swimming in the evening.

While she was bringing home thesilverware from club events and galasthe commitment never seemed aproblem until she reached her teensand her friends were gossiping abouttv and parties.

She said: “I was improving at such arate the commitment didn’t comeinto it but when I got to 15 or 16 I feltlike I was missing out.

“At school I couldn’t join in talkingabout last night’s tv because I didn’twatch it and at the time it seemed

very important. But I had put somuch work and effort in by that pointthere was no going back.”

When Sharron is working withyoungsters these days she recounts atale told by her dad who was hercoach years ago.

Back in the day a famous and suc-cessful sportsman was asked why hewas so lucky to which his reply wasthe harder I train the luckier I get.

Sharron added: “It is a cliche butyou get out of life what you put inand anything worth having is worthworking for.”

For Sharron the rest is history andher medal collection speaks for itself.

In 2012 she will be involved in hertenth Olympic games as a commen-tator.

She said: “I am really lucky, it issuch a privileged position to be in tobe involved with top level sport butwithout the training. To win anOlympic medal is amazing. You arepart of some sort of club that you arepart of forever.”

Like so many kids Sharron Davies went for swimming lessons when she was seven.She tell Emma Spencer it was there she discovered a talent that would make her anOlympic medal winner.

How dedication paidoff for Sharron

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By Louise Cordell

THE aim of The Great FootballGiveaway is to get sports equip-ment direct into the hands of someof the world’s most disadvantagedchildren.

Every £10 raised for the charity isconverted into a brand new foot-ball or netball, pump and sparevalves, and is hand delivered by aproject team with a personal mes-sage.

The schools that the team goesout to rarely have more than one,old football for use by up to 1,000pupils, and most schools have noball at all. Paul Clarke added: “Tostart with we didn’t know how we

would be received in schools – wewondered if they would prefer us tobe supplying pens or paper.

“But it was quite the opposite.The teachers said to us, ‘This is somuch more than just a ball’.

“It was attracting kids who wouldnot usually turn up to school,increasing attendance over nightand improving behaviour in class.

“It is just a ball to us, but to themit is a tool they can use to get kidsoff the street and into education.”

The charity is currently planningits next project in Tanzania and ishoping that schools and collegeswill want to get involved and usetheir enthusiasm for sport to help

others.

The plan is to try and sendaround 6,000 balls out to be handdelivered by teams of volunteersdirect to kids in some of the coun-try's poorest regions.

Paul added: “We hope thatschools and colleges will be keen toput together a ‘micro-project’team, maybe PE teachers or sportsleaders, who can raise funds andthen go out to Tanzania, link upwith schools there and see the dif-ference that their efforts are mak-ing. It is also something that pupilsand their families can really getbehind, because it is so immediate-ly rewarding – the kids will be ableto look at a photograph of a

Tanzanian child with the ball theyhave signed and donated, and seethe difference they have made.

“Most charity events are justfundraising, but with this, theschool becomes the charity – wemake it easy for them to create apersonal connection and give dis-advantaged kids the chance toenjoy one of life’s most simplepleasures – kicking a ball about.”

� If your school would like moreinformation about The GreatFootball Giveaway or would like toget involved, visit: www.thegreat-footballgiveaway.org.uk or e-mail:info@thegreatfootballgiveaway.org.uk.

Ball scheme looks to schools for helpPaul Clarke with football recipients in Malawi A young footballer from Angola

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GULLIVERS Sports Travel has beenorganising sports tours for over 35years and runs at least 180 trips ayear for school groups.

These can range from a weekend inCardiff taking part in outdoor sports,to a three-week cricket tour aroundthe Pacific islands and everything inbetween.

The most popular sports that schoolteams take part in are cricket, rugby,football, hockey and netball, howeverGullivers has organised trips foractivities as diverse as Gaelic footballand ‘tug of war’ groups.

Neil Rayer, sports tour manager forschools and clubs, said: “We can real-ly cater for any team sport, it justdepends on what the school wants toinclude.

“It also doesn’t just have to be aboutsport, there are lots of cultural experi-ences to be had and that can tick a lotof boxes for other subjects.”

The company has recently becomeone of only three tour companies inthe UK to be fully accredited with theSchools Travel Forum.

This is an organisation set up toensure the safety of young people onsports tours and accredited membersmust pass a strict vetting procedurefor managing their trips, which cov-ers everything from the airlinesselected to hotel rooms.

Neil added: “We are very proud ofthis accreditation because it meanswe are providing the safest possibleservice. It is also good news for stateschools, as many local authorities arenow advising headteachers that theycan only organise trips with STF affil-iated companies – taking the pressureof health and safety checks off them.”

In his years organising sport tours,Neil has found that there are three

main reasons schools organise a trip.

Some want to give their high per-forming teams the chance to developtowards an elite level, some want toreward a specific groups of players forachievement or effort and others pre-fer to use the opportunity to givepupils a team and character buildingexperience outside the classroom.

Neil added: “It is important toremember that a lot of teachers giveup big chunks of their holidays totake these kids on tour, so it has to beworthwhile. Those that travel with ussay the experiences the pupils havestay with them for ever and that formany it is the highlight of their wholeschool career.”

Trips can be organised around the world, with popular destinationsincluding the Caribbean for cricket and netball, Spain for footballand Holland and Argentina for hockey.

While they can be costly, Neil con-firms that tours are a viable optionfor any school if approached andbugeted for in the right way.

He added: “Many schools fundraisefor their trips and have a lot of suc-cess getting all the pupils and theirfamilies involved.

“Over the last couple of years, people have been adjusting theiriteneraries to fit a smaller budget, for example visiting South Africarather than Australia, but they would always rather do that thancancel.

“This shows how important thetours are to them and we have manyschools who organise them year afteryear. This is great because it giveseven more kids the chance to experience the sporting event of alifetime.”

Spending three weeks playing cricket in the Caribbean might sound like a dream to many young people. However,it has become a reality for pupils around the UK thanks to sports tours organised by their schools. To find outmore about how your PE department could plan a trip of a lifetime, Future Fitness talked to industry expert NeilRayers, of Gullivers Sports Travel:

‘Experiences pupilshave stay withthem for ever’

Stoneyhurst College pupils on a rugby tour of Argentina and Chile

King’s School on a hockey tour to Barbados

Simon Langton Grammar pupils on a cricket tour of St Lucia

18 Adventure Fitness 11/8/10 11:55 Page 1

sports tours 19

MANCHESTER United SoccerSchools are making their worldrenowned football training pro-gramme available to school footballteams for the first time.

In order to work effectively withschools, MUSS has linked up withPGL, a company which shares a fun-damental philosophy with them;both organisations focus on support-ing the development of young peoplewith courses that are challenging butachievable; the aims of both PGL andMUSS include improving self esteemand ensuring that each young personexperiences fun and enjoyment.

Open to both boys and girls therewill be four residential weekends inspring and autumn 2011, run bycoaches from MUSS and based atPGL’s superb outdoor education cen-tre, PGL Liddington (close toSwindon), pictured below.

The very best quality football train-ing will be supplemented with PGL’smarket leading outdoor adventureprogramme, further enhancing team-work, peer support and team spirit.

Those involved will also have achance to take part in ‘ChampionsDay’ – an invitation-only event heldon the pitch at Old Trafford.

Players are selected from MUSS –

and now for the first time from thisnew programme from MUSS andPGL.

One player from each weekend willbe selected to attend Champions Daybased on their performance on thecourse.

The selection process is based onthe course code of conduct (attitude,behaviour, communication, disci-pline, enthusiasm and fair play) andmeans that those who demonstrate acommitment to all aspects of the pro-gramme will be selected.

In addition, there is a chance forteachers to take part in a special one-off MUSS/PGL Teacher Previewevent, on 7 and 8 November, on thesame format as the schools’ week-ends.

PGL teams up with Manchester United

CLUB La Santa in Lanzarote is theideal location for anyone with a pas-sion for sports and fitness.

Situated on the Mediterraneancoastline, the resort has some of thebest sports facilities you can find.

There is the Olympic-sized pool,athletics stadium and racquet courts on site, plus the practicallycar-free roads and volcanic land-scapes are a dream for runners andcyclists.

Club La Santa caters for families,individuals and groups.

With a high standard of coaching

and facilities to keep even the veryyoung entertained, it means that alllevels and ages can get the most outof their holiday.

Those of you with specific goals inmind can arrange your visit aroundsome of the specialist training cours-es, to give you that extra boost aheadof your next race.

It’s why Premiership rugby clubsand world class athletes, includingelite cyclists, Team HTC Columbiaand Formula One world champion,Jenson Button, keep coming backevery year.

The place to befor sports lovers

19 10/8/10 17:14 Page 1

news20

University appoints newhead of sport and leisureA NEW head of sport and leisure hasbeen appointed at the University ofSalford to develop its sports servicesfor students and staff.

James Crowley will be responsiblefor the university’s sports campus,where the Salford City Reds rugbyteam has a training base and also forthe leisure centre, which includes asports hall, squash and badmintoncourts, multi-gym, pool, sauna andspa.

In his new role, James will be devel-oping opportunities for sports volun-teering to build students’ develop-ment and to enhance their employ-ment propects.

He also plans to expand theUniversity’s programme to encouragehealthy activities on campus andbuild partnerships with the localcommunity and other key externalorganisations.

James said: “At Salford we haveexcellent links on the academic sideand a strong sports sciences depart-ment.

“We are also looking to invest ineven more facilities for the universityover the next two to three years.

“I want to look at bringing sporttogether as a package for the univer-sity – developing students as coachesand volunteeers as well as linking up

with the community. “I think it is also important that we

keep developing our health and well-ness programmes and integratingsport with that as much as possible.

“I also want to make sure that weare supporting the elite athletes atthe university as effectively as wecan, through a combination of

grants, bursuries and sponsorshipconnections.”

James has joined Salford fromManchester Metropolitan Universitywhere he was head of sport for fouryears, planning and introducingsports facilities on four differentcampuses.

He has also worked in a sports man-ager’s role at the University ofPortsmouth and in 1997 took over themanagement and development ofEdge Hill University’s £4m lottery-funded sports complex.

He added: “I think that over theyears sport has become a much big-ger part of university life and there isalso a bigger awareness of the partsport plays in overall student devel-opment.

“It is also something that canbroaden what our pupils offer asindividuals, giving them employabili-ty and communication skills.

“Looking to the future, we are nowhaving discussions about how theuniversity as a whole can link in withthe 2012 Olympics, possibly througha collaboration with the Inspire Markprogramme, which would open up alot of exciting opportunities for ourstudents and staff.”

James Crowley

Grantsfor youngathletesA GROUP of young athletes inCrawley have received traininggrants to help them achieve theirdream of reaching the 2012Olympics.

The GLL Sport FoundationAwards were presented to 19young people, who have shownexceptional potential and longterm commitment to succeedingat an international level in theirchosen sport.

They represent a broad range ofOlympic disciplines, rangingfrom athletics, swimming andbasketball to cricket, hockey andgymnastics, and will receive upto £1,250 to spend on trainingtravel and equipment during thenext year.

Peter Bundey, GLL SportFoundation chair, said: “The aimof the Foundation is to providepractical and tangible supportfor talented young athletes.

“After the first two years ofthese awards, it has become clearthat the support given to theseyoung athletes is having atremendous impact.

“The success of the scheme hasalready surpassed our expecta-tions and we have been able topromote these young people asrole models within their commu-nities.”

20 10/8/10 17:15 Page 1

news 21

By Jonathan Williams, CEO, Shokk

THERE is nothing new or surprisingabout the UK’s childhood obesity epi-demic, there has even been aNational Childhood Obesity Weekdedicated to the serious health issue.

It’s forever appearing in the mediaheadlines: ‘Junk food ads contributeto 40 per cent of childhood obesity’,‘One in three British children agedfive to 13 are already overweight orobese’, ‘UK kids getting fatter at twicethe rate of American youngsters’.

Having attended the ChildhoodHealth, Fit for the Future event it wasapparent that all delegates wanted totackle health inequalities with theneed for immediate action.

Presenting on the day was Tam Fry,Chairman of the Child GrowthFoundation who spoke about thecoalition Government and what poli-cies they will put in place; not manywas the conclusion.

However Paul Kelly, of corporatesocial responsibility for ASDA, didshow they are one retailer with ashining light.

Many think solutions to tackle childobesity would be opposed by thefood industry as this could be a threatto their profits.

However Kelly presented theirongoing commitment through posi-tive initiatives such as their sportingprogrammes and ‘Great Stuff’ foodrange they promote in-store, simpli-

fying the process for working parentsand those on a budget to do theirweekly shop.

While industries provide educationand support, and treatment, whererequired, ultimately, individuals musttake personal responsibility for theirfamilies health and well-being.

Not just expecting schools to takeownership, but ensure it continuesoutside of school hours.

Even Jamie Oliver was recently criti-cised for so called ‘ramming’ the eat-ing healthy message, so what can wedo?

Encourage ‘non-competitive’ physi-cal activity.

Kids don’t need to be champions orathletes they need to be comfortablein their own skin and enjoy activity asa customary part of everyday life.

This in turn will promote positiveself-esteem, stopping the downwardspiral of depression and comfort eat-ing.

‘Non-competitive’ physicalactivity to be encouraged

21 10/8/10 17:22 Page 1

news22

Young Olympic hopeful Jacknamed as award finalistA BMX racing champion andapprentice at Gateshead College is inthe running for a national award.

Jack Hall, an Olympics 2012 hope-ful, has been named as a finalist inthis year’s National ApprenticeshipAwards.

Jack, 15, has used his YoungApprenticeship to gain sport and fit-ness experience alongside PE teach-ers and wored with a sports academycoach at Gateshead College.

He has been working to engageothers in physical activity, especially

those who lack confidence, and isnow getting ready to study a BTECDiploma in Sport.

Jack said: “The YoungApprenticeship programme hashelped me to focus on my personaland sporting goals.

“This has allowed me to strike agood balance between studying andmy BMX training.

“I have recently been selected forthe Olympic Talent Team and myaim is to represent Team GB in2012.”

Gaby Knox with Vika de Giorgio

Vika weighs into give Geordiepupils a liftBy Louise Cordell

A WEIGHTLIFTER from the USSRis impressing pupils with hercommitment to raising weightsand self esteem in Newcastleschools.

Vika de Giorgi is originally fromAzerbaijan, but moved to the UKin 1995, where she became concerned about the lack of fitness among pupils in localschools.

She now combines her work as acompetitive weightlifting athletewith running weightlifting classesat local primary and secondaryschools.

She said: “My love of weightlift-ing as a sport has rather set meapart, and I am the only competi-tive female weightlifter in

Newcastle.“However, I am determined to

extend the taster sessions to asmany students as possible.

“I have developed lunchtimesessions and out of school clubsat four Newcastle schools and set up Newcastle’s first OlympicWeightlifting Club for the community, which is open to allages. Watching students pick upskills and gain in confidencemakes me very proud as I seeboth their self-esteem and deport-ment improve too.

“My goal is to increase andmaintain participation in primaryand secondary schools. We mayeven have a podium contenderfrom these talented individualsand I look forward to encouragingthem to that goal.”

Tackling childhood obesity in LutonA FITNESS programme in Luton’sschools is helping to tackle childhoodobesity.

The Chance for Change initiative isbeing delivered by Active Luton andis providing young people with theopportunity to increase their physicalactivity and boost their self-esteem.

Ryan Cameron from Active Luton’sHealthy Lifestyles team said: “We set

out to increase the levels of physicalactivity in children from almost zerohours and working with the schools,we have been able to deliver the pro-gramme successfully. We’ve exceededour target of ten schools and are nowdelivering in 11 schools where wehave integrated at least half the chil-dren into ongoing activities and localclubs.”

22 10/8/10 12:39 Page 1

news 23

The latest school meals report from Ofsted has drawn some worrying conclusions, including the fact that parentson low incomes are struggling to pay for healthy meals and that a third of visited schools are still failing to providehealthy meals. Future Fitness found out more:

Siblings ‘takeit in turns’ forschool dinnersSOME siblings are having to take it inturns to eat school lunches to helpparents cope with the expense,according to the Ofsted report.

The study aimed to investigatewhether children from families on lowincomes were benefitting from thehealthier food being provided.

It found that while some familieswere not eligible for free school mealsthey still found paying for lunches dif-ficult, especially if they had more thanone child.

The report stated: “One family, forexample, had to arrange for the twochildren to take turns and eat aschool meal on alternate weeks.”

It also found that an additional diffi-culty was the fact that many of theselow income families lacked transport,and so had to rely on what was avail-able locally for packed lunches, how-ever, smaller shopkeepers wereunlikely to stock appropriate foods.

This meant that the report conclud-ed that if children were being sentinto school with unhealthy packedlunches, it is not necessarily reflectparents’ lack of commitment or coop-erations, but rather a complex set oflocal circumstances.

To help tackle the problem, someschools have introduced free or sub-sidised breakfast clubs to ensure thatpupils who have not eaten beforecoming to school eat a meal beforelessons begin.

The report also advised schools towork together with parents and localretailers to address the issues, stating:“Within the sample of schools visited,only one had any sort of collaborationwith local business and even then itwas limited to arranging for the localchip shop owner to check that pupilshad been given permission to come toher shop at lunchtimes.”

Report gives tips onbuilding lunch uptakeMANY schools are facing the chal-lenge of trying to increase schoolmeal take up and case studies fromthe Ofsted report reveal some usefultips.

Firstly, schools should find out whatdiscourages their pupils from signingup for school lunches.

Some reasons given by the schoolsquestioned in the report include:price, peer pressure, parental prefer-ence and time spent queuing.

Added factors for secondary schoolstudents were the availablity of alter-native, local food outlets and theopportunity to leave the school site atlunchtimes.

To address these issues, teacherscame up with a range of ideas to tryto increase take up.

In primary schools:

� Taster session evenings for pupilsand parents.

� Free lunches for new pupils.

� Sending menu leaflets home sothat parents could discuss choiceswith their children.

� Asking pupils to taste and givetheir views on new products and foodfrom new suppliers.

� Inviting well-behaved pupils to eatat a designated ‘top table’ at the endof each week.

� Organising themed food days relat-ed to particular countries or sciencethemes.

In secondary schools:

� Providing ‘meal deals’ for a setprice.

� Providing free salads or fruit por-tions with a main meal.

� Organising cooking events wherestudents could see how the food inschool was produced.

� Displaying menus in the diningroom and around the school, some-times even using plasma screens.

Food for thought ...

Food for thought ...One school had invited a professionalchef to work with pupils in order toimprove their knowedge of food handling and preparation.

In one inner city primary school therewere displays for visitors which includedhelpful advice on what to include in achild’s packed lunch.A PE and science project was run in con-

junction with a university sports depart-ment and the school was also praised for

its use of a school garden where producewas grown by pupils and used for cook-ing in school and distributed to olderpeople and the homeless at harvest festival.

Food for thought ...

One school used the data collectedfrom its electronic, cashless canteensystem to identify a number of over-weight students and, through sensitiveconsultation with them and their fami-lies, had established an eight weekactivity programme, run in conjunctionwith the local sports centre, to helpthem improve their fitness.

Food for thought ...A special school with a high number ofpupils with specific and complex dietaryneeds had enlisted the support of apaediatric dietician. As a result all the

pupils, even those who had to be tubefed, were able to take a school lunchand to play a full part in the socialinteraction in the dining hall.

What does your school do to promote healthy food and encourage the uptake of school meals? LetFuture Fitness know. Call Louise Cordell on 01226 734694 or e-mail: lcordell@whpl.net

Food for thought ...In one primary school pupils explainedthat they were now eating more chipswhen they were out with their friendsbecause they could relax from the con-stant focus on healthy eating.

Despite the wide range of initiatives,their impact is not being monitoredeffectively. For example, where schoolshave cashless systems, few used thedata generated to identify dietarytrends – missing the chance to analysechoices and improve their planning.

The report found that some parentswanted more information and adviceabout how to produce balanced butinexpensive packed lunches.

23 10/8/10 17:15 Page 1

news24

By Louise Cordell

A COLLEGE gym has teamed up withthe Rotherham Institute for Obesityto help locals with weight problemsget fit and healthy.

The Thomas Rotherham SportsCentre was approached by RIO inJanuary as the Institute was lookingfor a club that offered a friendly,helpful atmosphere.

It has now referred 25 clients to thecentre, after assessing them as bor-derline obese, where they are receiv-ing two free months of membership.

Each client is given one to one ses-sions with an instructor three times aweek and is weighed and measuredeach month.

Their results are recorded and sentback to RIO and they receive a tenper cent discount if they want to signup when their trial is finished.

Daniel Wilson, centre manager,said: “Every member who has beenreferred by the clinic so far has saidthat they are going to join up oncetheir free two months have finishedand they have also said that the mainreason they like coming here is that isit not intimidating, staff are friendlyand want to help us achieve ourgoals.

“We thought that, as a college club,it would be a good initiative to getinvolved in, because we are all abouteducating people about a fitter andhealthier lifestyle.

“It also means that we have a goodrange of people and ages coming tothe club.”

So far the scheme has beenextremely successful, with members

losing up to two stones using equip-ment including rowers, cross trainers,treadmills, training bikes andstrength training equipment.

The club also holds spinning, danceand aerobics classes that refereesfrom the obesity clinic can getinvolved in.

Daniel added: “The facilities arealso used by a local slimming group,which is another way that the clubcan be useful to the community.

“On top of this they are occasionallytaken over for exams by the college,so we have to look out for timetableclashes there!”

The club is also open to collegepupils, who pay just £5 to becomegym members for the year, andsports course students pay even less.

There are also no time restrictionsfor pupils or the public, the facilities can be used by anyone atany time.

Daniel added: “The clients arereferred to us because they are obese,so we take that into account when weare putting together their person-alised programmes so that they areeffective, but achievable.

“They are also often suffering fromrelated medical conditions as well,for example arthritis, so we need tomake sure that each case is cateredfor individually.

“I think that schemes like this aresomething that all clubs should getinvolved in. It has been very benefi-cial for us and for all the peopleinvolved.”

Thomas Rotherham Sports Centre

College gymhelps tackleweighty issues

Charity givesfunding boostfor disabledchildrenA NATIONAL charity has announcedit has funding available to help pro-vide disabled children with specialistsports equipment.

The ‘Enable Sport’ initiative is ableto donate equipment for disabledchildren engaged in competitive sport and has already helped kidsacross the UK with kit including football powerchairs, racing wheelchairs, javelins, and even iceskates.

Now, thanks to additional fundingfrom Barclays Wealth bank, the chari-ty is searching for children who wantto progress in sport and could benefitfrom a donation.

The record-breaking Paralympian,Lee Pearson, is an ambassador for thecampaign, and said: “There are thou-sands of disabled children out therewho may not be reaching their sport-ing potential because the equipmentthey need is just too expensive, withwheelchairs potentially costing thou-sands.”

The initiative was launched by thechildren’s charity Caudwell Childrenin order to remove some of the finan-cial barriers that families caring for adisabled child face.

Trudi Beswick, charity CEO, said:“Sport has a lot of health and socialbenefits for children and we believethat every child should have theopportunity to reach their full poten-tial.

“The difference for a disabled childis that the additional equipment theyneed could be out of reach for a lot ofparents and preventing them takingpart, we want to help families over-come this barrier.”

The Enable Sport initiative is opento any disabled child aged 18 or underand donations can be made to individuals for any competitive sport.

For further information contactCaudwell Children on 0845 300 1348or visit the Enable Sport page onFacebook.

24 10/8/10 12:33 Page 1

news 25

By Louise Cordell

THE AfPE 2010 Awards were present-ed at the association’s national con-ference at the Cotswold Water Park inJuly.

The awards are presented as a sym-bol of recognition for making a differ-ence at regional or national level andthis year three teachers were singledout for their leadership and influ-ence.

� PeterFaulkner, whohas led theMountbattenSchool SportsCollege anddirector ofsport and headof faculty for 30years.

His nomina-tion stated: “Hehas led a seriesof PE staffteams commit-ted to innovat-ed and chal-lenging physi-cal educationcontent andhas fostered and promoted theseideals in hundreds of young peopleand has led many of them to adopt a healthy activelifestyle.

“His influence stretches far beyondMountbatten school, as he is arespected professional throughoutthe county of Hampshire and his views are valued by all PE teach-ers.

“In his practice he has been vision-ary – an innovative and inspirationalPE practitioner, an outstandingteacher.”

� Helen Miles, who has made a sig-nificant contribution to PESS, notonly in Birmingham, but nationallyand internationally.

Her nomination stated: “Helen has

always kept physi-cal education atthe heart of all thework we do.

“She has workedclosely with anumber of schoolsand other profes-sionals to writeand produce criti-cal guidancearound MuslimGirls participation PE and her workacross key agencies has ensured astrategic and joined-up approach toPE and school sport.

“Helen challenges, motivates andinspires at all levels and this hasensured high quality PE and schoolsport with exceptional provision inBirmingham.”

� YvonneHoyland, part-nership devel-opment manag-er, local deliveryagency manag-er and physicaleducation advi-sor inGateshead.

Her nomina-tion stated:“Yvonne hasstrategically ledthe develop-ment of manyBorough wide programmes toaddress inactivity/ obesity.

“She has successfully developedeffective and sustainable links withmany key partners within the regionand despite the need for quantitativeassessment, Yvonne has alwaysworked to ensure that qualitativemeasures are seen as just as impor-tant.

“She has addressed the ‘HighQuality Agenda’ through programmessuch as the Gateshead High QualityMark and Assessment 4 Learningresources.”

Trio recognisedfor leadershipand influence

OVER 600 young people have beencompeting in the ‘Well London WorldCup’ – one of the city’s biggest everyouth and community footballevents.

Five-a-side teams from 20 Londonboroughs took part in the tourna-ment in the Linford Christie Stadiumafter taking part in training sessionsorgainsed by Well London.

The event was supported by majorclubs including Chelsea, Fulham andQueen’s Park Rangers, who helpedcoordinated the knockout competition alongside over 30 volun-teers from the Well London pro-gramme.

Mark Harrod, Central YMCA’s direc-tor of advocacy, said: “It’s fantastic to

see so many young people takingpart in the Well London World Cup.

“Our team, the volunteers andyoung ambassadors have put in atremendous amount of work torecruit and train their teams andtheir energy has been crucial in making this tournament such a success.”

The competition was won by BlueBorough from Bellingham,Lewisham, who won in all three agecategories 11 to 13, 13 to 15 andunder 17 years.

Stephan, the young ambassador forLewisham and team coach said: “Itshows that when you put hard workand education into the youth oftoday anything is achievable.”

Over 600 compete in capital event

25 10/8/10 17:16 Page 1

news26

A NEW initiative to help primarypupils with motor coordination diffi-culties has been launched in WestSussex. The Jump Ahead programmeis being run as a joint schemebetween local primary schools andthe local occupational and physio-therapy services.

A successful pilot was carried out in2009 at Bognor Community Collegeand as a result the school has sup-ported the programme coordinatorsby providing feedback on changes.

The teachers have also supplied evi-dence of improvement through preand post assessments that were car-ried out on the 14 year eight studentsthat took part.

The 12-week programme focuses onactivities that help to develop stu-dents’ coordination and hand writ-ing. On top of this, to address theirdifficulties in following instructions,they are given practice in listening,playing team games and gettingdressed, which also helps them

improve their levels of self esteem.The students meet four times a

week, under the guidance of a learn-ing support team and each sessionfocusses on different skills. Someconcentrate on fine motor skills andorganisation, while a health and fit-ness coach and a PE teacher will setactivities that involve hand and eyecoordination, motor planning, bal-ance and core stability, using bodyawareness and therapy ball activities.

All of the students that have com-pleted both the pre and post assess-ment tests have showed overallimprovement in the areas tested andthose who had found it hard to focuson handwriting for a sustained periodof time had progressed to being ableto write a full paragraph and stay ontask. The second Jump Ahead pro-gramme, which is working with 15year seven students, is soon due to becompleted and the decision has beenmade to continue with the pro-gramme in the future.

Jump Ahead launched

26 10/8/10 17:17 Page 1

product news 27

An opportunity for every childTHE Aviva UKA Academy provides aunique approach to grassroots sportmaking provision for athletics andgiving every child in the country theopportunity to get involved in athlet-ics by 2012.

The six programmes within theAcademy include indoor and outdoorcompetition formats and a brandnew united awards structure.

Whether you teach or coach, workin schools or on local authority pro-grammes the Aviva UKA Academymembership gives you access to sig-nificant benefits. Each programmeoffers support to our key audiencesand as an integrated model theyunderpin everything a child needs asthey experience our sport, fromschool, into the community and

beyond.Across the Summer young people

attending UKA’s major athletics eventprogramme have been amongst thefirst to experience the new Aviva UKAAcademy Awards.

Supported by the Aviva SportshallTeam, activity has been ongoing atevents including the Aviva LondonGrand Prix.

GREAT Aycliffe Council has recentlyinvested in Shokk’s interactive multi-player dancemats – in a bid to intro-duce the community to alternativeways to engage in physical activity.

Plans to roll out a new health initia-tive in the area have seen the counciloffer local voluntary, communitygroups and staff at Durham CountyCouncil the chance to sign-up fortraining on the new interactiveequipment.

Promoting the dancemats as anactivity for the whole family, theyspecifically want to target young girlswho don’t normally take up sportoutside of school hours and usuallydrop out of physical activity and theolder generation as a recreation tokeep them active and meet new

friends. SHOKK will also deliverIntro2EquipU, a bespoke trainingworkshop that will give an introduc-tion on how to use the dancematseffectively and efficiently.

Delegates will be provided with theknowledge of operating and imple-menting fun workouts with variousgames and sessions to get all partici-pants fully involved.

Council invests in dancemats

GOALS Soccer Centres build, operateand maintain high quality sportsfacilities in school and collegegrounds at no cost to our educationalpartners.

Goals are the most successfulprovider of such facilities in the worldand have an extensive portfolio ofcentres operational across the UK.

Goals seek to identify potential edu-cational partners to which they canoffer these fantastic state-of-the-artcentres.

Goals will create a partnership withthe school, college and local authori-ty which will allow Goals to thenoperate and maintain the facility atno cost to these chosen partners.

The partner will have free use of thecentres during school hours giving

the partner an outstanding sportsfacility for PE curriculum deliveryand after school activities.

Goals then operate the centre out-side of these hours to the wider com-munity on a pay-and-play basis, thusgenerating income to make the com-pany’s initial expenditure into thecentre viable.

Goals and its educational partnersBASILDON Academy in Essex hasrecently converted a spare room offthe main sports hall into a climbingzone using four Freedom Climbers.

In a forward-thinking initiative bythe Academy, a survey carried outwith the pupils of the most popularexercises ranked climbing third of allsports.

After the first Freedom Climber wasinstalled last November it has provedso popular with the pupils, that itwas decided to offer a dynamicclimbing zone for pupils of all ages toexperience the functional benefits ofreal climbing without the health andsafety issues of normal higher climb-ing wall systems.

The new revolving climbing wall

system withits space sav-ing, low ceil-ing heightdesign hasenabled theacademy toutilise a largestore roominto a climb-ing and activi-ty zone forclasses ofpupils of all ages. Appleton Academyin Bradford has now installed its sec-ond Freedom Climber into its pri-mary school sports hall following thesuccess of climber in the secondaryschool.

Freedom Climbers arrive at Academy

Freedom Climber atAppleton Primary

27 10/8/10 12:32 Page 1

product news28

REBOUND UK supply professionalrebound equipment and instructortraining leading to certification forinstructors and sports leaders.

Urban Rebounding is a low impact,cardiovascular workout performed tomusic on a professional, high specifi-cation rebounder, that’s portable andeasy to store. The unique workoututilises familiar aerobic moves, sportspecific moves and strength and con-ditioning exercises providing a goodcardiovascular workout, placing min-imal stress on the body, and continu-ally challenging each person’s bal-ance and coordination.

Scientifically validated Reboundresearch has proven the many healthbenefits from this form of exercise,including; burning hundreds of calo-

ries, stimulatinglymphatic drainage,improving theimmune system,balance and coordi-nation, strengthen-ing the cardio-vas-cular system andreducing body fat.

Urban Rebounding is used in:� Schools – Every child can do thisworkout regardless of ability and fit-ness. It’s particularly effective in mee-ting government targets for dis-eng-aged and semi-sporty populations� Leisure centres – attract and retainmembers, provide sustainable routefrom schools into the community� At home – with a folding rebounderand DVDs.

Offering many health benefits Pulse in LIW launchPULSE will be launching its revolu-tionary range of cardiovascularequipment at LIW in September2010, as the company celebrates its30-year anniversary of designingintelligently engineered leading,commercial fitness equipment.

Although the new range which com-prises; upright cycle, recumbentcycle, treadmill, stepper and ellipticaltrainer, is a closely guarded secretprior to the unveiling at the show, wecan confirm that the range combinesthe very latest in audio visual techno-logical advances, with unique ‘green’features, making it one of the mostadvanced and environmentallyresponsible ranges of cardiovascularequipment available on the market.

Proudly boasting the ‘Best of BritishDesign’, the new range incorporatesthe latest version of the successfulPulse ‘SmartCentre’ software as stan-dard and will embrace many inclu-sive features leading to IFI accredita-tion for the treadmill, upright cycle,recumbent cycle and elliptical trainer.

AN innovative new concept for jumpropes is now available from the awardwinning team at Skip-hop, providinga unique system that is unlike any-thing else currently available any-where in the world.

With a design protected by wordwide patents (pending) Skip-hophope to reinvent the art of high per-formance sport and trick/freestyleskipping.

Scott Robert-Shaw, Skip-hop MD,said: “Our design allows for the usualsports and speed skipping like ourcurrent jump rope but with the addi-tion of our handle extension the skip-hop rope instantly transforms into afreestyle rope, allowing for all sorts ofskip-hop tricks and freestyle movesthat would be difficult or impossible

with a standard rope.“The rope is modular so you can

start with the low cost speed ropesection to get you started and addcomponents such as extension han-dles or weights to go in the handlesas you improve.”

New concept for jump ropesNOW in the UK is Circuits4life – acompany that has the tools to giveyour participants what they want.

Sky rocket metabolism, blast awayfat, increase strength, fitness, flexibili-ty and have fun at the same time!

Here’s a taste of what you’ll find:� The “Trainers toolbox” has 160functional exercises with step-by-stepinstructions with set-up, workingand finish phase. � Take your pick from body weight,boxing combos, gym ball, dumbbell/barbell, stretching, medicine ball,resistance band or power bag exercis-es. � You will have instant access tocomprehensive pre-designed‘done4you’ sessions. � We tell you what equipment you

need, howlong thesessionlasts,things tolook outfor, handytips,rest/workratio. � Plusyou cansee ses-sionsexplainedwith video exercise demonstrations.

Our products are making a differ-ence in schools and health clubsthroughout Australia, let’s make a dif-ference in the UK.

Fitness, flexibility and fun

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product news 29

THE use of ultraviolet disinfection forswimming pool applications world-wide is growing fast.

From small swimming pools, spasand hydro pools to large municipalleisure facilities and full scale watertheme parks, the installation of UVtreatment is now becoming standardpractise in many UK leisure facilities.

As water features, wave machines,flumes and splash pads raise the funfactor in swimming pools, the tradi-tional method of disinfecting waterby using chlorine is causing problemsfor operators and customers alike.

The swimming pool industry hastherefore, been seeking alternativeways of disinfecting water and reduc-ing the organic loading of water.

Ultraviolet treatment provides theperfect answer. UV wavelengthsbetween 240 and 280 nanometresdeactivate all micro-organisms, par-ticularly Pseudomonas (SP) and Ecoli.

Manufacturers such as ATG UV canincorporate UV systems into existingcontrol strategies to protect againstmicro-organisms including chlorineresistant pathogens such asCryptosporidium, an organism that isnow a major concern for leisure oper-ators worldwide.

Additionally a correctly sized UV

treatment system reduces chlo-ramines, the compound responsiblefor skin irritations, red eye and theoften overpowering chlorine smell.

Systems such as ATG UV’s ECF sys-tem, which was designed and engi-neered specifically to suit applica-tions such as swimming pools, spas,splash pads and hydro pools offerspool operators a flexible and costeffective solution, treating up to 2000m3/hr in a single high-output, smallfootprint system. For more information on UV treatment for

pool applications, call ATG UV on: 01942216161 or visit: www.atguv.com

Ultraviolet disinfectiongrows in popularity

GFORCE Sportswear offers high per-formance multi sports apparel to theclub, team and school sports market.

Engineered to offer teams the ulti-mate in customisation experiences,GForce utilises a combination of flex-ible designs, a large colour library,embroidery and badge details, andeven the ability to create your ownbranded neck tapes and labels, tocreate kits that really stand out.

G-Sub, the sublimation service fromGForce, is at the pinnacle of garmentdesign. Working with our in-housedesign team customer’s can bringtheir designs from concept to reality.

What’s more the G-Sub service isavailable across a number of differentsports, including rugby and football,with minimums as low as 15, andlead times of six to eight weeks, G-Sub truly delivers on all levels.

High performance multi sports apparel

KENILWORTH Sports College is cele-brating after a competition win.

The College’s PE department under-went a transformation this summerafter visiting the AbsolutePerformance stand at the SportsColleges Conference back inFebruary. They were the lucky win-ners drawn out of the hat and weregiven the choice of any team orleisurewear, to a value ot £600, and

chose new, specially designed tops.The competition was held to launchthe new Absolute Performance rangeof bespoke sports and leisurewear.

Tony Buchanan, AbsolutePerformance MD, said: “We weredelighted to have been able to pro-vide Kenilworth with this great prizeand have been very excited at theresponse to the new addition to ourproduct range.”

College celebrates competition winWITH a whole school approach inmind, ‘Health Matters Education’ isavailable to support individualschools through the delivery of theirunique ‘Health Focus Days’.

These inspiring one-day eventsinclude a whole school assembly andenergiser, health related exerciseworkshops for all children and ele-ments of CPD for staff.

These unique cross curricular activ-ities will enable school staff to gainan understanding on how they canimplement a more ‘active and cre-ative’ EYFS and KS1/KS2 curriculum.

The emphasis of the day is to provide school staff and pupils withan insight into their nationally recognised ‘Busy Feet’ and ‘HealthMatters’ programme whilst providingall those that observe with a wealth of ideas and an understandingof how the resources work in prac-tice.

Throughout the day their tutors willoutline links between curriculumsubjects and areas of learning, asthey believe this can help deepenchildren’s understanding.

Due to national interest HealthMatters Education are now recruiting

more high quality tutors to delivertheir unique Health Focus Days forindividual schools

In order to fully explain their pro-grammes, Health Matters Educationis available to attend individualschools and deliver their uniqueHealth Focus Days and demonstratethe role their proven resources canplay in achieving National HealthySchools Status.

We have an exciting, high qualitystructured programme that we wouldlike to offer all primary schoolsnationally.

For further information please call VickyBowen, author and National Led Trainer,

on: 01938 579163 or 07746 193131, e-mail:vicky@healthmatterseducation.co.uk or

visit www.healthmatterseducation.co.uk.

Supporting schoolsthrough deliveryof health days

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23

Training & Qualifications

YMCA FIT111 Great Russell StLondon, WC1B 3NPT: 0207 343 1855W: www.ymcafit.org.ukE: info@ymcafit.org.uk

Central YMCA Qualifications111 Great Russell StLondon, WC1B 3NPT: 0207 343 1800W: www.cyq.org.ukE: info@cyq.org.uk

Jump Rope Uk Ltd16 Riverside ParkWimborneDorset, BH21 1QUtel: 01202 840590fax: 01202 840577jumpropes@ntjr.co.ukwww.ntjr.co.uk

National Extension CollegeThe Michael Young CentrePurbeck RoadCambridge, CB2 8HNT: 0800 389 2839 W: www.nec.ac.ukE: info@nec.ac.uk

Sports Facility Development

Sports Solutions GBSuite OneCopse FarmSouth Marston ParkSwindon, SN3 4UQT: 01793 833456W: www.sportssolutionsgb.co.ukE: chris.bevan@sports-solutionsgb.co.uk

Training Equipment

Crazy CatchWall Tree House FarmSteaneBrackley, NN13 5NST: 01295 816765W: www.flicx.comE: ricx@flicx.com

Interactive Equipment/ Dance MatsPulse Dance MachineThe Bromley CentreBromley RdCongletonCheshireCW12 1PTT: 01260 294600W: www.pulsefitness.comE: info@pulsefitness.com

Cyber CoachUnit 1a Britannia Business ParkUnion RdThe ValleyBoltonBL2 2HPT: 0845 869 2848W: www.cyber-coach.co.ukE: info@cyber-coach.co.uk

Fitness EquipmentPulse FitnessThe Bromley CentreBromley RdCongletonCheshireCW12 1PTT: 01260 294600W: www.pulsefitness.comE: info@pulsefitness.com

SportsArt Fitness2 Dean CourtUnit 10 Shuttleworth Mead Bus ParkPadiham, LancsBB12 7NGT: 01282 779234W: www.sportsartfitness.comE: mark.turner@sportsartfitness.com

Mark HarrodUnit 1 Tilla CourtBeccles Business ParkWorlinghamNR34 7BFT: 01502 476882W: www.markharrod.comHexa Sports LtdNew Bond StreetBirmingham, B9 4EJtel: 0121 7720724sales@hexasports.co.ukwww.hexasports.co.uk

Design & BuildPulse SelectThe Bromley CentreBromley RdCongletonCheshireCW12 1PTT: 01260 294600W: www.pulsefitness.comE: info@pulsefitness.com

Football Facility BuildGoals Soccer Centres plcOrbital HousePeel ParkEast KilbrideG74 5PRT: 01355 234800W: www.goalsfootball.co.ukE: keithm@goalsfootball.co.uk

Pulse Soccer CentresThe Bromley CentreBromley RdCongletonCheshireCW12 1PTT: 01260 294600W: www.pulsefitness.comE: info@pulsefitness.com

Professional Associations

Association for Physical Education Building 25London RoadReadingBerkshireRG1 5AQT: 0118 378 2440W: www.afpe.org.ukE: enquiries@afpe.org.uk

British Colleges Sport2/3 North Street WorkshopsNorth StStoke-Sub-Hamdon

SomersetTA14 6QRT: 01935 823444W: www.britishcollegessport.orgE: kate.paul@britishcollegessport.org

Climbing Walls

Freedom ClimberCherry CottageGuildford RdCranleighSurreyGU6 8LST: 07554 016220W: www.revolutionaryproducts.co.ukE: andrew@revolutionary-products.co.uk

Entre PrisesEden WorksColne RdKelbrookLancsBB18 6SHT: 01282 444800W: www.ep-uk.comE: info@ep-uk.

Audio EquipmentSound Dynamics

51 Bridge StBelperDerbyshireDE56 1AYT: 01773 828486F: 01773 828475W: www.sound-dynamics.co.ukE: support@sound-dynamics.co.uk

Sports Clothing

Kitking9, Upper George StreetLeicester, LE1 3LPT: 0116 262 7332E: sales@kitking.co.ukstrskitking@aol.com

Installation & Repairs

Renovate Contracts LimitedUnit 812 Moat WayBarwellLeicester LE9 8EYT: 01455 851900E: duncan@renovatecontracts.–wanadoo.co.ukW: www.renovatecontracts.com

365 directory

30 Classi 11/8/10 09:36 Page 1

product news 31

DAVIES Sports provides an extensiverange of equipment for all PE, sportand leisure activities with exclusiveproducts, inclusive ranges, big brandsand expert advice.

As a leading supplier to sportsclubs, leisure facilities and the educa-tion market we provide innovativeresources and advice from industryexperts.

From grass roots to gifted and talented, Davies Sports understandsthat PE and sport play a central role in developing confidence, team work, social skills and health

and well-being.

“We know it’s important to enhanceand develop sporting skills through activity and engagementwhich is why we work closely withkey sporting bodies and offer a wide range of exclusive kits and products such as Fit for Football,Quicksticks, Tri Golf and GolfExtreme, Val Sabin Parkour and manymore.”

Providing an extensive rangeof exclusive kits and products

POCKETFIT ‘52’ Ultimate Exerciseplaying cards contain 52 differentexercises.

Each body part is colour-codedwhich will help keep workouts variedand challenging. They are ideal forcircuit-based PE lessons, college stu-dents and extra-curricular activities.

Neil Mosley, Head of Sport Imperial,said: “Used across Sport Imperial forour trainers to spice up workouts and

use as induction programmes as wellas circuit training and challenges.”

Pocketfit Kidz ‘Animal Fun’ exercisecards is new concept designed to getkids active. A teachers’ resource packcontaining detailed instructions andsuggestions on how to implement theprogramme supports teachers andleaders in delivering a fun and chal-lenging exercise programme.

Eileen Marchant, AfPE board chair,said: “I am sure this resource will cap-ture the imagination of children andwill impact significantly on them,subsequently raising the levels ofactivity they undertake.”

Other products in the range includethe Pocketfit ‘Fat burner’ circuitworkout and the Pocketfit ‘HealthyEating’ meal planner.

Playing cards boost fitness

GREG Mulholland, the MP for NorthLeeds, has pledged to act as a cham-pion for the increasingly popular ESPmulti-skills campaign.

A number of high-profile profes-sional sports clubs have also joinedtogether with a unified vision to sup-port children through using sport toinfluence all children’s physical activ-ity patterns.

This scheme builds on the existingwork of School Sport Partnershipsacross Leeds that have already invest-ed in pilot programmes and haveused the installation of multi-skillszones to create a context for childrento enhance their movement compe-tencies and become increasinglyphysically active.

These foundation skills form the

buildingblocks forparticipa-tion in allrecreationaland sport-ing activi-ties and,given thecurrentreducedopportuni-ties for chil-dren to playin their nat-ural community environments, areessential components of all children’sabilities to access their rights to ahealthy and active lifestyle alongsidetheir peers and into adulthood.

MP to champion campaignCYQ, the UK’s leading awarding bodyfor health, fitness and wellbeing qual-ifications, has launched majorupdates to its online learning provi-sion.

From 1 September 2010, CYQapproved centres can choose to sup-port their delivery of Level 2 GymInstructor courses with CYQeLearning for Gym-Based Exercise.

This new content joins the existingpackage for Level 2 Exercise andFitness Knowledge, meaning learnerstraining as gym instructors can bene-fit from this interactive and inspiringonline resource throughout theircourse.

eLearning from CYQ features mediarich, interactive content with interac-tive quizzes, videos, informative nar-

ration, unique animations andimagery from Primal Pictures.

In addition to the new content,approved CYQ centres can now bene-fit from accessing eLearning contenton a hosted ‘pay as you go’ basis,opening the resource up to thosecentres without an existing virtuallearning environment.

CYQ launches major updates

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