News
Tuesday 6 March 2007
Young people in Nottinghamshire challenged to lead the way through sport
Paralympian Rob Tarr will be at Nottingham Trent University today (Tuesday 6 March) to support a national leadership and volunteering programme for thousands of young people.
Olympic, Paralympic, world, European and other elite sports performers are attending 32 TOP Link “Young people leading the way” conferences at various venues across the country from Plymouth to Sunderland.
The conferences, which are run by the Youth Sport Trust, are designed to encourage 14 to 16 year olds to develop and utilise their leadership and volunteering skills through organising and running sport or dance festivals for local primary schools.
Last year, more than 5,000 young volunteers helped organise 1,200 TOP Link festivals for tens of thousands of primary-aged children.
This year, a record number of young people are set to take part in TOP Link, which forms an integral part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Step into Sport programme – the leadership and volunteering strand of the National School Sport Strategy.
Each of the TOP Link conferences will be run by Higher Education Students who will use the experience to develop their own leadership and management skills. This emphasises the theme of these events being “for young people, led by young people.”
Wheelchair rugby player and Sporting Champion Rob will be among the sporting personalities lending their support.
He said:
“The aim of the TOP Link conferences is to give thousands of young people across the country the training, skills and experience which will be invaluable for them in later life either as volunteers, players, coaches, officials or sports administrators.
“We want these young people to start a life-long involvement in leadership and volunteering in sport and what better way to achieve this than by empowering other young people to deliver the programme and share the positive impact sport is having on their lives.”
The conferences will take place at Universities or sporting venues across the country and feature a mixture of theory and practical workshops – all helping to give those attending further qualifications in sports leadership.
The HE students will set a variety of challenges during the day to test the 14 to 16 year olds’ skills of planning, time management, people management, decision-making, problem-solving, budget control and communication.
Sporting Champions is a Sport England initiative which brings world-class athletes face-to-face with young people to inspire and motivate them to participate in sport.
To view the profiles of all Sport England’s Sporting Champions please visit www.sportingchampions.org.uk
For more information:
Please contact James Webb, Youth Sport Trust Press Officer, on 020 7843 2360 or 07753 372151 or by emailing james.webb@youthsporttrust.org
Dave Rogers, Nottingham Trent University Press Officer, on 0115 848 8782 or dave.rogers@ntu.ac.uk
Therese Easom, Nottingham Trent University Press and Media Relations Manager, on 0115 848 8774 or therese.easom@ntu.ac.uk
Notes to Editors:
1. Media wishing to attend an event must contact the above numbers to confirm their visit.
2. The TOP Link “Young people leading the way” conferences are part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Step into Sport programme, funded through the Government’s National School Sport Strategywhich aims to enhance the take-up of sporting opportunities by five to sixteen-year-olds by increasing the percentage of school children who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum to 75% in 2006 and 85% by 2008. By 2010 the aim is to offer all children at least four hours of sport every week, comprised of at least two hours high quality PE and sport at school and the opportunity for at least a further two to three hours beyond the school day.
3. Step into Sport is a leadership and volunteering programme delivered through the network of School Sport Partnerships and managed by the Youth Sport Trust and Sport England with support from Sports Leaders UK.
4. The Youth Sport Trust is a registered charity established in 1994 to build a brighter future for young people through sport. Its mission is to support the education and development of all young people through sport. For further information please visit www.youthsporttrust.org
5. Sporting Champions, developed and funded by Sport England, brings world-class athletes face-to face with young people to motivate them to take part in sport. It aims to inspire young people to participate in sport as a lifelong activity and works alongside a range of other measures to help create a new generation of physically active people.
6. The scheme consists of an annual programme of 450 visits made by Sporting Champions, organised through the County Sports Partnership and School Sports Partnership networks. A small number of other visits are also available to help promote community sport to young people.
7. The Champions deliver a range of different activities in the community and schools, including coaching workshops and interactive sessions, as well as targeted activity such as supporting gifted and talented pupils, and contributing to curricular work around citizenship and leadership. For more information, visit www.sportingchampions.org.uk
