The West of England youngsters inspired into sport as Olympic excitement takes hold!
Thousands of young people in the West of England have been inspired to get involved in sport thanks to Sport England’s Sportivate Olympic and Paralympic legacy initiative.
So far 2,013teenagers and young adults in the West of Englandto have completed a six to eight-week coaching course in a sport of their choice through the National Lottery funded project. One example of the 240 Sportivate projects ran in the West of England was run by Minerva Bath Rowing Club in Bath. They ran a six-week long ‘Sportivate Learn to Row’ course for juniors, during September and October 2011. This project was aimed at getting more 14 – 18 year olds trying rowing and then joining their club. The project was fully booked with 8 young people joining the club at the end of the course.
Sportivate is aimed at 14- to 25-year-olds who currently aren’t playing sport in their own time, giving them the chance to find a sport they enjoy. The young people are then helped to find a club or venue where they can keep taking part.
The West of England Sport Trust (Wesport) is running Sportivate in the West of England. You can view all the projects running in the West of England by Clicking Here and searching 'Sportivate'.
Steve Nelson, Wesport Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Sportivate is a great London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic legacy project. It enables us to fund organisations who want to run sessions to help 14 – 25 year olds get into sport. Sportivate is helping to deliver the promise that Lord Sebastian Coe made about inspiring the next generation to take part in Sport.”
Sport England’s Executive Director for Community Sport Mike Diaper said:
“It’s fantastic that so many teenagers and young adults are getting into sport through Sportivate.
“Whether it’s BMX biking, canoeing or netball, I’ve been really struck by the enthusiasm of the young people on Sportivate sessions and impressed that so many of them are continuing to play once the course is over.”
As part of the Places People Play official Olympic legacy programme, Sportivate will benefit hundreds of thousands of young people over four years.
To help inspire and motivate the participants, our Sporting Champions - a team of current and retired elite athletes – are visiting Sportivate sessions to share their experiences and enthusiasm for sport.
