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Sport and fitness for today’s youth
March/April 2011 £2.75
Achieving the impossible with games By Louise Cordell A HEAD TEACHER tasked with organising one of the nine School Games pilots has spoken out about his attempts to ‘achieve the impossible’. Billy Downie is head of the Streetly School in Sutton Coldfield and chair of the Local Organising Committee for the Black Country School Games pilot. He has been working with county sports partnerships, state and independent schools NGBs, disability sport organisations and young people to pull together a one day event set to take place this summer. He said: “To be honest, our first feeling about the new initiative was anger. “We were nine of the country’s most passionate head teachers sat in a meeting, but our first conversation was ‘look at what they are doing to us’, “But we had to get over it and we had to utilise that passion to deliver something worthwhile instead – a level three competition, on time and on a budget of £45,000. It felt like we had to achieve the impossible.” However, on 8 July his event will take place, featuring eight Olympic and five Paralympic sports, across six venues,
covering four local authorities and involving over 1,320 young athletes. It is hoped that this day, along with the other pilots, will give organisers a chance to test the School Games formula. Billy, who was speaking at the YST Sports Colleges conference, added: “It hasn’t been easy, but this will be as great as we want to make it – to move forward now we need passion, advocacy and leadership. We owe it to our young people to offer them opportunities and to inspire as many of them as possible and the School Games will give us the opportunity to do that. “The ins and outs of it will be tough, but I am now sure it will engage many more young people than we already do a brilliant job with. I am very excited about our event in July and about engaging young people for life.” Schools around the UK will soon be able to register their own interest in becoming involved in the School Games and, until then, they are being advised to start establishing their own Local Organising Committee and planning the logistics of their own event progression.
John Farnworth
World champ John helps launch sports game WORLD Football Freestyle champion John Farnworth appeared to help launch a new hybrid sports game designed to get young people active and promote community cohesion. The Street Snooker event attracted over 300 young people, who were entertained by John’s freestyle tricks before trying out the football/snooker hybrid game for themselves. Guinness World Record holder
John said: “I wish there had been a game like this around when I was developing my skills. “It’s great to see young boys and girls enjoying the game. “It’s rare that such an inclusive and exciting game is made available to the wider community and I think Welwyn council have been pioneers in hosting one of the first Street Snooker games.” See Page 6 for more information
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news 3
Dress code counts for coaches By Louise Cordell SPORTS coaches who wear suits on match days and tracksuits when training are likely to have the best performing teams, according to new research. The University of Portsmouth’s sports scientists have studied the effect a coach’s appearance had on the players’ impressions of their competence and the work has been published in the International Journal of Sport Psychology. Lead author Dr Richard Thelwell said: “We have found that the clothing coaches wear can have a direct effect on the players' perceptions of the coach's ability. “Players look to their coach to provide technical skills, to motivate them and to lead them. “A coach in a suit suggests strategic prowess – which is obviously ideal for a match. “In our study, coaches wearing a suit were perceived as being more strategically competent than those wearing sporting attire. “However, when wearing sporting attire, they were perceived to be more technically competent than those in a suit.” The researchers rated the reactions of 97 men and women who looked at photographs of four different ‘coaches’ – lean physique and dressed in a tracksuit; large physique and dressed in a tracksuit; lean physique and dressed in a suit; and large physique
and dressed in a suit. The coach who was of large build and wearing smart clothes was ranked the lowest in terms of their competence to motivate, develop technique, develop game strategy, and build athlete character. The coach who was lean and wearing a tracksuit was rated best for technical and character-building abilities – skills most required at training and development of players; and was rated equal best for 'ability to motivate players'. However, the coach who was lean and smartly dressed was rated best as a strategist – the skill most expected and required at matches. Dr Thelwell added: “First impressions can have a powerful and longlasting effect, no matter how quickly those judgments were made. “From the research that has been conducted by individuals within our group, we know that sportsmen and women make snap decisions about their opponents based on first impressions. “Such impressions then often influence the expectations of the performance outcome that ultimately results in success or failure. “While we are becoming more aware to how athletes might judge coaches, we are still unaware of the processes that athletes go through to be able to develop impressions of coaches and this is something that we are now starting to look at.”
Rebecca Adlington passes on swimming tips to school pupils
Gold medallist Rebecca coaches winning pupils DOUBLE Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington has spent a day with pupils from The Dearne High School in Goldthorpe. She made the visit after students secured enough votes to win an online contest run by her sponsor Speedo. Rebecca coached the children in a session at the Dearneside Leisure Centre swimming pool She said: “Swimming is one of the biggest life skills you can learn – it is
so important to know that children are safe and able to look after themselves in the water.” Martin Prest, the centre’s facility manager, added: “Rebecca was talking to the pupils from the school about the importance of learning to swim, not just for safety reasons, but also to improve their health and fitness and encourage positive, competitive spirit. “She was a real inspiration to the young people.”
Pictured, from left: Rhinos player Rob Burrow, Head of Youth Development Barrie McDermott and Sinclair Matthews
Teen rugby player is offered Leeds Rhino scholarship By Dominic Musgrave A TALENTED Newcastle school boy has been offered a rugby scholarship to join Leeds Rhinos Junior Academy. Sixteen-year-old Sinclair Matthews was top try scorer in 2010 for amateur club Wallsend Eagles, played for Scotland U18 Rugby League team last year and was voted the ‘Rising Star’ for Sport Newcastle 2010, among other achievements. Barrie McDermot, Rhinos head of youth development, said: “There is so much competition for young athletes so we look for the best possible talent whether that is on our own doorstep or further afield. “Because of our record with young players here at Leeds Rhinos they know that we can develop potential talent and we are pleased to include Sinclair in that process.”
Contacts Group editor: Andrew Harrod – ah@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734639 Reporters: Louise Cordell – lcordell@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734694 Christina Eccles – ce@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734463 Dominic Musgrave – dm@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734407 Sales and marketing director: Tony Barry Field sales executive: Chris Hartley – ch@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734709
The Rhinos have their own Academy programme for U13s to U16s with up to twenty boys in each age group, however, the spaces are not automatically filled and players must show enough promise to merit a place. Sinclair is also currently studying for his GCSEs at Heaton Manor school and will complete his A Levels there. He said: “Being offered a scholarship from such a prestigious and hugely successful League Club is a dream. “Sport Newcastle supported and encouraged me at school, and then being selected as an elite athlete on the Newcastle School Sport Partnership’s ‘One of Us’ programme has opened doors for me. “I’m really looking forward to some serious training at Leeds.”
www.futurefitness.uk.net Studio manager: Stewart Holt sth@whpl.net Deputy group editor: Judith Halkerston jhalkerston@whpl.net Circulation enquiries to: Kelly Tarff kt@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734695
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4 news
Partnership steps up for Olympics THE Durham City School Sport Partnership have put on a National School Sport Dance event to celebrate 555 days until the start of the 2012 Olympics and raise the profile of SSPs. The 555 date was chosen to represent SSS – Support School Sport and at 11.40 (20 to 12) on that day Partnership schools performed the dance in their classrooms, school halls or at central venues as a show of mass participation. Paul Donaghy, School Sport Coordinator, said: “Whilst funding has been found to see out this aca-
demic year there will be cuts of about 80 per cent from September onwards and the impact on school sport will be enormous. We are continuing to campaign so that a sporting legacy in schools can be continued beyond 2012 and believe that the fantastic work of the partnerships should not be sacrificed for the sake of just ‘competition’.” The aim of the National School Sport Dance was to raise the profile of School Sport Partnerships at the same time as giving young people another opportunity to be physically active and the change to attempt
a world record for simultaneous dancing. Paul added: “We hope that this event can celebrate the power of school sport in uniting people and showcase the strength of School Sport Partnership Network.” The dance was created by young ambassadors and set to the song ‘I Like to Move It’. It is hoped that the event has set a British Record by creating the largest simultaneous dance ever recorded with 600 schools around the country, from Durham to Dorset, joining in.
It is estimated that around 100,000 pupils participated and the Partnership is now planning on another attempt during National School Sport Week, when they will try to break the current World Record, which stands at 264,188. Paul added: “We will be continuing the campaign in order to keep up the pressure on the Government to provide funding so that every child gets the chance to take part in a range of sporting opportunities including leadership, gifted and talented, competition and attending local clubs.”
Wolves basketball team runs club at school THE South Worcestershire School Sport Partnership has been keeping its pupils busy since the start of the spring term. A new basketball club has been created at Evesham High, run by BBL club the Worcester Wolves. The Partnership funded taster sessions in schools before Christmas in order to engage students in the sport, before giving them the chance to attend the new community club. The aim of the club is to increase opportunities for young people to take part in physical activity, to provide competitive opportunities with other Wolves satellite clubs in the area and also to feed gifted and talented players into the Wolves.
This term has also seen the introduction of the Partnership’s gymnastics club, where 30 feeder first and middle school pupils attend sessions supported by young leaders at Evesham High School. Sam Hook, partnership development manager, said: “We have also kick started the year with dance sessions for our feeder first schools. “We have a dance teacher who delivers sessions in four of the partnership schools for the cluster schools to attend and currently all the sessions are at full capacity. “We are now looking forward to seeing the finshed results at an end of term performance.”
‘Cricketers want to win at all costs’ WHEN it comes to cricket, English kids want to win at all costs, while Australian youngsters are more gracious in defeat, according to a new survey. A poll carried out by the Cricket Foundation claims to turn the sporting stereotypes of the competitve Aussie and the gentlemanly Brit on their head. It found that more than four out of five English parents say their child is either ‘quite competitive’, ‘competitive’ or ‘very competitive’; compared to three quarters of Australian parents. In addition, twice the number of
English parents think winning is the single more important factor for their child when taking part in sport - ten per cent, compared to five per cent for Australian parents. Australians place more emphasis on having fun in sport, with 55 per cent saying this is more important than factors like ‘winning’ or ‘never giving up’. Wasim Khan, Cricket Foundation chief executive, said: “The survey challenges certain stereotypes, while highlighting the benefits of competitive sport.”
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Online dance instructor has over 60 classes By Louise Cordell
Mick touches down as new academy coach RUGBY star Mick Slicker has been appointed head coach for the Huddersfield Giants Under 18s’ Academy. The former Giants and Ireland International captain, pictured above, has been working with the club’s scholarship players for some time and, last year, took the talented youngsters on an Australian tour. He said: “It’s a great progression for me to take on the job as coach of the Under-18’s and I was delighted to accept. “I have been involved with the group since they were Under-15’s and I’ve worked closely with them for
quite a long time. “I am pleased with how much we have managed to achieve as a group so far and it’s great that the club have offered me the opportunity to have a shot with them at the Under-18’s competition. “The experience that the players gained from the tour of Australia will prove outstanding for their development and the club will see the benefits on the back of that. “There are potentially a handful of players from that group who could quite easily become Super League players in the next few years if they continue to work hard.”
A NEW online PE programme that gives primary schools access to a wide range of dance classes has been launched. Cyber Coach Smart is an online virtual dance instructor that let pupils take part in over 60 dance oriented classes, hosted by expert instructors. Jodie Williams, a teacher at Anton Junior School in Hampshire, said: “We use the programme every day with pupils as part of our 15minute morning physical activity sessions. “The aim of these sessions is to wake the children up and help them to engage their bodies and minds. “We have found these sessions are a very effective way of doing this as it has a wide range of classes so the children never get bored, it is easy to set up for non PE specialists and requires very little space and equipment, therefore it can be used in the classroom if the hall is unavailable. “We also use it in warm ups for
dance lessons and in the after school dance club.” Last term the school also ran a Cyber Coach club after school and during these sessions parents were invited to take part alongside their children. This was a big success and the school is planning on running the club again this year. Jodie added: “The pupils really enjoy it and it seems to be particularly effective in engaging those who have a tendency to be disengaged from PE. I think the children like the way it provides a different face in front of them with a different style of teaching. “They also like the way the sessions are split into small sections of time so they can see how much longer they are working for – this makes them work harder.” More than 100 schools across England have now signed up to Cyber Coach Smart system, with a large number of these funded by School Sport Partnerships and Primary Care Trusts.
Street snooker launch West London school THE national launch of the first Street Snooker games in the UK have taken place in Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire. The new football/snooker hybrid sports game, designed to get young people active and develop community spirit, was unveiled to over 300 local kids by world football freestyle champion John Farnworth, Olympic medallist Gail Emms and pro snooker player Alfie Burden. The young people took part in a Brazilian Skills football workshop and tried out the Street Snooker installations, which will now be permanently available at Moneyhole playing fields, Welwyn Garden City and Beversbrook Sports Facility, Calne.
The game is the first in a series of outdoor activities designed by Playinnovation, whose aim is to offer a range of exciting, high-quality gaming solutions to councils and youth providers. Alfie Burden, who is also a former Arsenal trainee, said: “I thought it was very good, and I loved the concept of marrying the snooker up with the football, my two big sporting passions in life. “There are a lot of young kids out there who don’t know too much about snooker, but love their football. “And if this is going to get into school playgrounds and playing fields, it can only get youngsters interested and involved, which is good for the growth of the game.”
celebrates success PUPILS at St Stephen’s Church of England Primary School in West London are celebrating after winning the UK’s Fitter Primary School Award. The Fitter Schools programme is run by Fit for Sport and aims to encourage children to engage in a healthier and more active lifestyle by taking part in a 12-week challenge to improve their fitness levels. The pupils were presented with their trophy by Olympic silver medallist Roger Black, together with their prize bundle, consisting of 100,000 school vouchers from Tesco for new sports equipment and a dance machine from Pulse. Lucy Cohen, acting head teacher,
said: “This is the fourth year the pupils have taken part in the challenge so it’s a great delight for them to have won. “Improving our pupils’ fitness levels is a key focus for me and the Fitter Schools Challenge has helped the school to achieve this. “I’ve seen an incredible improvement in the pupils’ speed, endurance and enthusiasm for sport, as well as progress in their attitude towards taking part in challenges and competitions across all subjects. “I’m incredibly proud of our pupils and I know they are looking forward to taking part again next year.”
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Cash boost for ‘doorstep sport’ By Louise Cordell STREETGAMES has announced a new partnership with Sport Wales that will see £25,000 invested into helping young people across the country access ‘doorstep sport’. The scheme is aimed at improving youth sport participation throughout Wales by enabling ten new projects to be developed that will deliver ‘doorstep sport’ – sport delivered in a style that appeals to young people at a location, time and price that suits them. The money will also help to organise eight sports tournaments, to set up three new sports projects in Community 1st areas and start three new pilot projects with National Governing Bodies of sport to target young people from deprived areas. StreetGames already provides doorstep sport through 16 projects across Wales and these, together with the new initiatives, will help ensure that improved participation is high on the agenda in the build up to and following the 2012 Olympic Games. Gordon Clark, senior regional officer for Sport Wales, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with StreetGames and helping to expand their successful brand in Wales. “We are sure that StreetGames will contribute significantly to our vision of every child hooked on sport for life by providing much needed sporting opportunities in some of our most disadvantaged communities.” The Sport Wales funding will also expand the award-winning Co-operative StreetGames Young
100m GB sprinter Tyrone Edgar and former Commonweath gold medallist Diane Modahl with the young athletes Volunteers programme – a scheme that helps young people to gain sports qualifications and community leadership skills whilst volunteering at local projects. Caro Wild, Wales development manager for StreetGames, said: “This partnership shows that Sport Wales are keen to support doorstep sport as a way of increasing participation and sustain-
ability in some of the most hard to reach areas of Wales. The extra funding will allow us to work with even more groups to set up new projects and also inspire more young people to volunteer in sport. “I hope this partnership will go on to bigger and better things, benefitting even more young people in Wales.”
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Rebranding its fitness suite has helped Kingstone School attract new members, from the student body and the general public. Future Fitness found out how small changes can make a big difference when it comes to catering for such a diverse audience.
Rebranding pays off for school fitness centre By Louise Cordell GEOFF Howsan joined Kingstone School in Barnsley as its extended services manager two years ago. The school, which has over 1,400 pupils, is also home to a modern, 30 station Technogym equipped fitness facility that is open to the general public. When he arrived, one of Geoff’s jobs was to increase membership, while balancing the needs of the curriculum with the need to generate income and to cater effectively for the local community. He said: “This kind of extended services certainly presents challenges, but can also be incredibly beneficial for both students and local people. “Our first task was to change attitudes internally – getting children and staff to stop calling the gym a ‘sports hall’ and realise that it is a fitness centre, like any other private or council gym.” To help people get the right idea, the fitness suite was rebranded as ‘The Kube’ – a self contained gym within the school premises. The school’s dance studio was also renamed the ‘Dance Kube’ and is used by pupils during the day and community members at night. Geoff added: “The concept of branding has been very well received – it encourages people to think differently about what we
On top of this, the centre receives around 80,000 visits from its community members each year, and is particularly popular with parents who time their visits to coincide with their children’s after school clubs. Geoff added: “The centre is going from strength to strength and I really believe that fitness facilities can provide a fantastic opportunity for schools to benefit pupils and generate money. “However, most schools have more to learn from the commercial side of things. “I would recommend involving people who can bring that angle to make sure you see all the possibilities that are available – for example, cross borough membership schemes between schools.”
can offer. “We want to give our members a commercial leisure experience – but what many schools don’t realise is that marketing and rebranding doesn’t have to be expensive. “We painted the centre and created logo prints and pictures ourselves and these small touches have made all the difference to the overall image.” As well as being used during school hours as part of PE sessions,
the school has also introduced a scheme called ClubFit. It runs Monday to Friday for an hour straight after school and for just £1.50 a week, pupils get fitness programmes, equipment training, healthy eating advice and structured workout sessions. It’s aim is to bring young people together after school and get them interested in health and fitness, and so far it has been a resounding success - with pupils even requesting and buying ClubFit t-shirts.
Kingstone now aims to keep making the public more aware of the services they offer, while continuing to explore new business ideas ranging from corporate link ups to income generating events. Geoff added: “Schools really can compete with private and council gyms if they pull together – it is definitely achievable. “The important thing is to capitalise on what you’ve got – great prices, diversity and a welcoming atmosphere – and memberships will follow.”
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Olympic dance routine rolled out across county By Louise Cordell A DANCE routine, put together by Witchford School Sport Partnership to help get pupils excited about the Olympics, is now being rolled out across the county. Partnership development manager Diane Baker came up with the idea last September after deciding to start linking all sports competitions to the Olympics. She said: “We wanted to get the children involved in the run up to the Games, so we thought we would include opening and closing ceremonies. One of the team then came up with the idea of an Olympic dance that would be taught to all the primary pupils, so they could perform it at these ceremonies.” Dance teachers choreographed the routine, trialled it with some pupils and it proved so popular that the decision was made to involve all the schools in the Partnership. Young ambassadors from different schools then came together to help run a training day for the pupils involved. Diane added: “We mentioned what we were doing to the Olympic coordinator for Cambridgshire and they thought it was a great idea and want-
ed to film it. The children have loved getting involved and are now completely fired up about the whole project. The video is great because you can really see the concentration and enjoyment on their faces.” The film is currently being edited and will go out to all the schools in the Witchford Partnership and the other four Partnerships in
Cambridgshire later this month. Then, on the anniversary of 500 days until the Olympics, as many schools as possible will be joining together to do the dance live in celebration. Diane added: “It is a challenging time for School Sport Partnerships, but we hope that by doing this we will be leaving our pupils with a lega-
cy. The plan is for the dance to be done every 100 days during the countdown to the Games, filmed by individual schools each time and for that footage to be added to the original video. “Our aim is that this will provide the kids with a project that they can enjoy and be proud of, right up until 2012 and beyond.”
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10 news School Sport was back in the spotlight for the Youth Sport Trust’s National Conference in Telford last month. More than a thousand headteachers, directors of specialist and leaders in school sport attended, to explore how schools can maximise learning and achievement for young people through sport. The two-day event included workshops, seminars and networking that allowed schools to share ideas and innovations on how sport can be used right across the curriculum to improve performance.
School Games plans rolled out at Trust conference NEW plans for the School Games and funding for 450 School Games Organisers were revealed at the conference in a speech by Jeremy Hunt. The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport set out his vision for the School Games tournament and called on head teachers to get behind the competition. He stated that a combination of government and lottery funding will give thousands of young people the opportunity to take part in competitive sport through the initiative. Mr Hunt said: “I want to harness the energy, enthusiasm and commitment teachers have shown over many years to help move school sport to the next level in this critical year of opportunity. “We have worked closely with sport experts to try and come up with something that will allow us to do what is best for our young people.
“We do not want to duplicate what already exists, we want to work with structures that are in place. “We will not have the same amount of resources and there will be challenges – but I hope we can move forward.” He confirmed that the government will be funding 450 School Games Organisers for three days a week and that they expect those who have been working within school sport partnerships to apply for the roles and incorporate their experience. Plans were also unveiled for the inaugural finals of the first School Games to be held in the Olympic Stadium as a test event in May 2012, in order to gain the best media exposure and to motivate the children taking part. The government will now be publishing a prospectus for schools – setting out exactly how teachers and coaches can get involved in the Games, including registering online.
An opportunity for every child THE School Games tournament – inspired by the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics – will aim to give every child the opportunity take part and compete. It will be a four level competition: Level One – 500 schools across nine regions will pilot an annual School Games Day: a ’finals’ day stemming from a programme of intra-school competition which will offer disabled children as many opportunities as non-disabled children. Mr Hunt said: “This will be particularly important for schools who are not yet making the most of the full power of sport. “It should be be a culmination of sport throughout the year, encouraging regular participation and also including a cultural element, providing opportunities for art and music within schools.” Level Two – A rolling programme of leagues and tournaments will promote more competition between schools at a town or district level.
Mr Hunt said: “This level will be very important for the new School Games Organisers and also a great opportunity for disabled children, becuase it will be a chance for them to compete with a wider range of pupils.” Level Three – Up to 60 new, county or citylevel ‘Festivals of Sport’ will showcase the best of local competitive sport in the interschool finals. Mr Hunt said: “Nine pilot Festivals will be taking place this year and to run these we have been looking at successful models like the Kent School Games.” Level Four – The most talented young sports people will have the chance to represent their schools in a high-profile, national event. Mr Hunt said: “We want to make this level an evolution of all the leagues. I want to combine the inspiration of our Olympians for young people with the inspiration teachers are providing every day on the ground.”
Trust chair reflects on turbulent year and looks to the future
Sue Campbell
AT THE conference Baroness Sue Campbell, chair of the Youth Sport Trust, spoke to delegates about the challenges faced over the last year and government plans for new funding to support the School Games s scheme. She said: “It has been a great journey since the first sports colleges conference and we have been an important vehicle for change for sport in education. “The last year has been turbulent and we are now having to face a change in our overall way of thinking. “We know that it will be difficult and we know that we will have to make every penny we spend count – but we also need to see the opportunities. “We are not going to be able to stop the change, so we will have to innovate and move
things forward and during this change it is more important than ever that we work together and support each other. “I know that we have all been asking ourselves: ‘Are we strong enough to cope with the tough times ahead and will we be thrown off course?’ “But I have visited a lot of the best sports colleges in the country – these have been built on sound and enduring values. “We just need to remember to keep going back to what really matters – we are in this to change young people’s lives. “Our mission is still to get every young person participating. We want them to get involved in competition at every level, but we also want them to achieve excellence through reaching their person-
al best. “Staff will have to be adaptable and courageous to stick to our vision and the best tool we have is innovation - let your creative staff unleash their potential. “Working through the School Games may not be way we would have chosen, but we must live in the reality of the moment and learn to work in the context we find ourselves in. “We have demonstrated that PE can be a driver for whole school achievement and proved we can improve academic achievement through sport. “I think we have shown we can achieve the impossible and there is no going back – only moving forward. “I know we will achieve the impossible again.”
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Sports colleges recognised at 2011 awards THE conference also played host to the YST Sports Colleges Innovation and Recognition Awards for 2011. These awards recognise the way sports colleges are using their specialism to have a positive impact on the curriculum and their pupils’ lives. Steve Grainger, YST chief executive, said: “The work of these sports colleges demonstrates how powerful a tool sport can be when used to unlock the potential in young people. “I hope that other schools are inspired by these example of innovative working and are encouraged to look at how they can use sport to meet their own priorities.”
Innovations Awards
Willenhall School Sports College, won the award for ‘Innovative practice in core physical education at Key Stage Four’. They received the award for the way they are putting young people at the heart of their teaching plans, delivering personalised PE lessons. Budehaven Community School won the award for ‘Using the specialism to strengthen links with the wider community’. The sports college empowered a group of students to develop a project that would provide their peers an exciting range out of school activities – the result has been a positive impact on the community. Denbigh High School won the award for ‘Embedding the specialism to narrow the gap in whole school attainment’. Setting up a Sports Academy within the school, they have been using sports based examples in targeted lessons across the curriculum to help students develop writing skills and number work.
Recognition Awards
Hipperholme and Lightcliffe High School and Sports College received the Sky Sports Living for Sport award, given to the school using the SSLfS to raise attainment and achievement in
Budehaven Community School
a core subject. They received the award for the way they have been using the scheme to help pupils with their speaking and listening English coursework. Chadsgrove School and Specialist Sports College collected this year’s Sainsbury's Active Kids award, given to the school that has shown the greatest innovation in parental engagement. A special school for children with physical disabilities, Chadsgrove gave parents the opportunity to share their views and help the school create a wish list of activities that the parents would like to try with their children. Bridgemary Community Sports College were presented with the LOCOG award for successfully joining the Get Set network and their outstanding work using the Olympic and Paralympic Values to drive whole school engagement. Their pupils consistently displayed the Olympic values needed to achieve personal excellence, respect, friendship, inspiration, determination, courage and equality. The Sutton Academy collected this year’s Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week award given to the school who has demonstrated the best use of School Sport Week across the school. They put on an extensive range of sporting activities for pupils during the 2010 week and used sport across the curriculum to encourage active learning. Bacon's College won the Adidas Young Ambassador award given to the sports college that has demonstrated the best use of Platinum, Gold and adiStars Young Ambassadors to increase participation in sport, PE and raise the profile of London 2012. Through their own ingenuity and perseverance these Young Ambassadors worked with schools across their SSP and raised £50,000 to be volunteers at the first ever Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.
Denbigh High School
Willenhall School Sports College
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12 design and build
Flooring that’s resilient, tough, long-lasting and safe SINCE its arrival in the UK in 1985, Pulastic 2000’s multi functional, seamless, polyurethane sports floor system has been supplied and installed, by Sports Surfaces (UK) Ltd, at well over 350 establishments. Kate Jones, project manager at Sports Surfaces has a wealth of experience within the sports surfacing industry and explains the benefits of working with Pulastic. She said: “Practically every indoor sport can be played on Pulastic 2000. “It is resilient, non-reflective, tough, long-lasting and safe. It is a particularly good for schools as it is a topperforming playing surface that is
versatile enough for everything from badminton to boccia. “Pulastic 2000 provides a balance between shock absorption, traction, ball bounce and aesthetics – important characteristics when determining a suitable multi-sport surface. “Pulastic 2000 9+2 meets the European Standard for sports hall floors and due to its versatility is a valuable part of our business. “We find Pulastic 2000 is the facility manager’s choice as it is so low maintenance and can be used for nonsports activities such as plays, exams, parents evenings; even as a dining room floor.”
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design and build 13
Phoenix rises to the challenge Advertiser’s announcement WITH a design model in place, set to raise the game in five-a-side soccer provision, Pulse were looking for a suitable public sector partner to share their vision of creating the ultimate soccer and fitness venue and Phoenix Collegiate rose to the challenge. As the UK’s leading ‘Total Leisure Solutions’ provider, Pulse were able to use all their expertise in creating quality self-financing leisure facilities and developed a £2.7m state of the art five-a-side soccer and fitness concept, that also includes luxury team and fitness change accommodation, sports cafe bar and interactive studio. This exciting new model was launched at the start of 2011 following a 36 week build programme in partnership with Phoenix Collegiate Business Enterprise and Sports College in Wednesbury, West Midlands. The college have the benefit of access to the soccer, fitness and studio facilities during school term and they will also receive a shared income stream for the full term of the partnership, without investing any capital or needing to meet any ongoing operational costs. The new centre, which is open to the local community seven days a week, includes eight third generation five-a-side pitches and a dedicated 60m x 40m coaching arena.
The 6000 sq ft pavilion offers changing room provision for both male and female players, a state of the art fitness suite with a 55 station Pulse gym complete with SmartCentre virtual trainer technology with separate male and female gym changing, a dance studio and function suite incorporating the latest interactive entertainment and gaming systems and a large stylish big-screen sportsbar and lounge. This latest business model from Pulse shows how educational establishments can work hand-in-hand with private business, to create leisure facilities that are beneficial for entire communities, that are not only self-financed, but fully self-sufficient income generating business units. The Pulse Solution: £2.7M Pulse investment; design, build and operate; latest 3G pitch technology; next generation fitness equipment; sales and marketing support; membership services and shared income stream.
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14 design and build
Upgraded college opens fitness suite THE Community College, Whitstable, has opened a £162,500 fitness suite as part of its upgrade under the Building Schools for the Future programme. The redevelopment, designed and carried out by Createability, included linking the main school building with its sports centre and using the’ link’ area, which was previously an open air plant room, as a gym. Use of the school’s sports and fitness facilities, which are managed by leisure trust Active Life, have now been extended to the local community in the evenings and at weekends. Neil West, Active Life CEO, said: “We have carried out other projects with Createability and were confident in their ability to deliver a quality product. “Createability’s approach, as a development partner rather than simply a building contractor, saved us a lot of effort, time and consequently money as they provided all the project requirements in a onestop shop.” Ian Cotgrave, Creatability MD, said: “The ‘development partner’ approach is fundamental to the whole process, from design onwards. “Over the years we have created strong working relationships with a range of experts that help us to deliver this complete solution to our clients.
“At The Community College we partnered with Zynk design, who enhanced the cosmetic appearance of our initial gym design with contemporary lighting, ceiling and wall finishes.” Createability also partnered with Life Fitness to kit out the gym with its Express workout circuit, ideal for
both school and community users, as more people can be accommodated in less time, reducing demands on curriculum and personal time. Neil added: “Createability has done a great job. “What was a derelict building now looks stylish but is also
very functional. “We understand there were problems with an old overflow pipe, but this wasn’t even brought to our attention until it had been dealt with, reinforcing why we are comfortable with Createability, as this is their area of operation and expertise, not ours.”
‘SportsArt were extremely enthusiastic, supportive and interested in our plans’ AS PART of the investment in a new £6m sports centre development on site at the Stockton Riverside College’s Bede Sixth Form Billingham campus, SportsArt was one of several companies invited to tender for the supply of cardio and strength training equipment, before finally being awarded the contract. Ged Coull, associate principal said: “The SRC sports centre was an extremely exciting development that enabled us to offer a huge range of sports opportunities to both the students at the college and the wider community. “So when it came to fully stocking the gymnasium with the latest highspecification equipment, we invited several companies to tender for the contract including SportsArt Fitness UK, who had been recommended by one of our known trusted colleagues and existing SportsArt customer. “From the outset, SportsArt took on board our requirements and were extremely enthusiastic, supportive and interested in our plans. “They discussed our original equipment selection, offered alternative professional proposals to enhance the fitness training and even recommended a change of layout to take advantage of the natural daylight. “All of this reinforced and built our confidence in SportsArt as they used their
experience to gently guide us on product selection and enabled us to optimise on utilisation of available space, whilst providing for a safe flow of people between workstations.” SportsArt Fitness UK supplied some 20 training stations that included four new eco-powered treadmills that offer a maintenance free drive system that uses up to 32 per cent less energy than traditional treadmills. Other cardio equipment included
elliptical, recumbent and upright bikes, plus the revolutionary X-trainer that provides for dual-action exercise, combining cardio and independent lower and upper body resistance to provide a smooth, all-round efficient workout for all levels of fitness and age groups. A range of strength equipment was also selected to provide a proficient workout for all the major muscle groups. Ged Coull added: “Apart from pro-
viding Stockton Riverside College with premier products, SportsArt were very supportive in the build up and successfully completed the project to our satisfaction. “This success has also been born out by the fact that our students and members have reacted very favourably to SportsArt fitness equipment and largely through their recommendations, our membership level is growing daily.”
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news 15
As a PE teacher and Wales’ most successful female weightlifter ever, Michaela Breeze is well qualified to inspire young people into taking up a more active lifestyle. She is now working with Sport Wales to help them achieve their aims of getting ‘every child hooked on sport for life’ and building a ‘nation of champions’.
Why Michaela is working hard to get ‘every child hooked on sport for life’ HIGH points of Cardiff Olympian Michaela Breeze’s sporting life include taking gold at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006 before bowing out at the top of her 18 year career by taking silver at the Delhi Commonwealth Games last year. She credits her success, in part, to positive early experiences in school sport and has always juggled competition and training with a full time job teaching physical education. She said: “Teaching PE is a great way for me to put something back into sport and positively influence youngsters. “I believe having positive role models in PE lessons is key to promoting a healthy and active lifestyle long term. “Being passionate about what you do is important and a PE teacher’s input can potentially be massive. “The majority of those who make it at the highest levels in sport have
a lot to thank their PE teachers for – I certainly do.” Michaela believes that sport should sit at the top of the wider curriculum because of its power to produce healthier, more alert and more engaged individuals. She points out that training and committing time to sport can also assist in developing other skills and behaviours including time management, perseverance, team skills and communication. She added: “We need to make sure that those who are working in sport are supported to provide the
‘I believe having positive role models in PE lessons is key to promoting a healthy and active lifestyle long term. Being passionate about what you do is important and a PE teacher’s input can potentially be massive.’
best possible experiences for children and young people. “We need to make sure that our facilities are accessible to all and that any cost or charge associated with sport is appropriate and doesn’t act as a barrier to participation. I want to see a Wales where we’re all working together to create opportunities for participation and encouraging our children and young people to take part.” Research carried out by Sport Wales has found that young people tend to drop out of sport after the age of 15, and that this is particularly the case for girls. Michaela is now keen to look at why this is happening and how sports organisations can engage with young people to keep them involved. She added: “Are there financial barriers? Is it that they are not aware of the opportunities avail-
able to them, or are the opportunities in our communities not what they want to participate in? “It’s crucial that we have a wide range of diverse opportunities available to our young people if we are to achieve the benchmark of a minimum of five hours of sport a week for our young people. “As for getting more girls involved, I would like to see more TV time for female athletes, which will in turn provide more role models and greater awareness of what sports are on offer. “It is astounding how often significant achievements by our sportswomen go unrecognised, compared to the high profile of some more male dominated sports.” Her aim now is for Wales to be able to measure itself against other great sporting nations like Australia and New Zealand by taking up the challenge to grow participation and raise performance. She added: “My dream is for sport to one day become an inseparable daily ingredient of Welsh life. “I believe that Wales’ record in producing world class sporting stars demonstrates that we can achieve this, if we start young and work together.” Find out more about the Vision for Sport in Wales at www.sportwales.org.uk.
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16 news
System proves a hit in Aberdeen DW FITNESS in Aberdeen has introduced the Freemotion Dual Cable Cross to its personal training zone. Stuart Davidson, one of the club’s personal trainers, said: “The free motion cable cross system allows me as a trainer to get over the preconceptions my female clients have about resistance training and entering the free weights area. “It allows me to give clients dynamic movements that challenge both motor skills and bring about a neuromuscular adaptation in strength, essential for any training programme. “In my opinion the best thing about the free motion is it allows me to push my clients through various full body workouts that work all the planes of movement, allowing clients to get stronger, leaner and more powerful.”
Red Devils’ chance for schools MANCHESTER United Soccer Schools are making their world renowned football training programme available to school football teams for the first time. MUSS has linked up with PGL to provide the programme as both organisations are focussed on supporting the development of young people with courses that are challenging but achievable. The courses are open to both boys and girls from age 11 to 16 and the four residential weekends will run between September 2011 and
April 2012. Run by coaches from MUSS and based at the PGL Liddington outdoor education centre, the football training will be supplemented with PGL’s outdoor adventure programme, further enhancing teamwork, peer support and team spirit. Teachers are also being offered to take part in a one off launch weekend in April to preview the offering. Those attending will be able to experience the coaching, take part in activities and view the accommodation and facilities.
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news 17 World champion freestyle footballer John Farnworth has teamed up with CLIC Sargent’s Kick! campaign to get schools across the UK showing off their students’ skills.
Freestyle footballer John backs Kick! campaign ... YOUNG sports fans from Northdown Primary School in Kent were given the chance to take part in an exclusive skills session at the London Soccer Dome to launch the annual football fundraising initiative for cancer charity CLIC Sargent. World champion John put on a demonstration of freestyling skills for the pupils, before giving them some tips on perfecting core skills like ‘keepy-uppies’ and BBC Five Live presenter Mark ‘Chappers’ Chapman also attended to help pupils create a video of the event for Kick! participants. John, winner of both the World and European Freestyle Championships, said: “I couldn’t perform my freestyle tricks if I didn’t regularly practise key skills like dribbling and headers and I’m delighted to share some of my tips to support the Kick! campaign. “From a simple sponsored kick about to perfect their passing, to a keepy-uppy rally, it’s really fun and easy for kids to develop their skills and fundraise for charity at the same time.” The Kick! events are fun football fundraisers for young people of all ages and abilities. Schools and youth groups are encouraged to hold their own event to help students learn new skills and get active, while also raising money. Since the campaign’s launch in 2005 over 576,000 children have taken part and £880,000 has been raised. Lisa Sparkes, sports coach at
John Farnworth and Team Kick Northdown Primary School, said: “The pupils had so much fun at John’s skills session and were given a real boost knowing the money they raised would go to help children and young people with cancer, and their families. “Through Kick! I have found that putting on your own event is a brilliant way to focus your students and bring them together through football.” CLIC Sargent provides free event packs for teachers and coaches including fundraising tips, publicity
advice, event ideas and template certificates and schools also have the option of keeping 25 per cent of the money raised to develop their own activities or facilities. John added: “The initiative is all about getting the kids involved in something a bit different. “I did a talk and a demonstration and the kids seemed to really enjoy that, as well as getting the chance to try it out for themselves. “The great thing about freestyle football is that every child can get something from it – it doesn’t segre-
gate between those who are good and those who aren’t – because every person is only trying to beat themselves rather than being in competition with others. “It also gives kids the chance to be creative while they are staying active, which a lot of sports don’t allow. “I think teachers should look at what the kids enjoy and try to create games around this – kids like to challenge themselves so it is easy to use that and create something that they really want to get involved in.”
Over 100 attend free conference By Dominic Musgrave OVER 100 head teachers and other education professionals attended the YST ‘From Outstanding to World Class’ conference at the Kia Oval this month. The free conference explored how schools can use academy freedoms to maximise school performance through PE and sport – and was designed for schools who have converted, or who are in the process of converting, to an academy.
Teachers from Bury St Edmuds School Sport Partnership have taken part in a Boxercise training course to help get its school pupils active. Funded through Sport Unlimited, the teachers will be delivering Boxercise sessions back at their schools, supported by specialist equipment including focus pads and sparring gloves. Neil Johnson, partnership development manager, said: “This will provide an entirely new opportunity for students in Bury St Edmunds to take part in physical activity. We have been talking about introducing boxing type activity for some time and this course was a great success, with 78 per cent of the secondary schools in the partnership attending.”
The Youth Sport Trust charity is focused on building a brighter future for young people through PE and sport, and has worked with many schools through the process of becoming an academy. A spokesperson said: “This period of transition is often a time when schools look for ways to inject additional pace into improvement initiatives or are searching for a different focus to bring about further transformation.”
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365 directory 23
Training & Qualifications
Training Equipment
YMCA FIT 111 Great Russell St London, WC1B 3NP T: 0207 343 1855 W: www.ymcafit.org.uk E: info@ymcafit.org.uk
Association for Physical Education (afPE) Room 117, Bredon University of Worcester Henwick Grove Worcester WR2 6AJ Cyber Coach Unit 1a Britannia Business Park T: 01905 855 584 F: 01905 855 594 Union Rd W: www.afpe.org.uk The Valley E: enquiries@afpe.org.uk Bolton BL2 2HP T: 0845 869 2848 British Colleges Sport W: www.cyber-coach.co.uk 2/3 North Street Workshops E: info@cyber-coach.co.uk North St Stoke-Sub-Hamdon Fitness Equipment Somerset SportsArt Fitness TA14 6QR 2 Dean Court T: 01935 823444 Unit 10 Shuttleworth Mead Bus W: Park www.britishcollegessport.org Padiham, Lancs E: kate.paul@britishcollegessBB12 7NG port.org T: 01282 779234 W: www.sportsartfitness.com Climbing Walls E: mark.turner@sportsartfitness.com Freedom Climber Cherry Cottage Mark Harrod Guildford Rd Unit 1 Tilla Court Cranleigh Beccles Business Park Surrey Worlingham GU6 8LS NR34 7BF T: 07554 016220 T: 01502 476882 W: www.freedomclimber.co.uk W: www.markharrod.com E: info@freedomclimber.co.uk Hexa Sports Ltd New Bond Street Birmingham, B9 4EJ tel: 0121 7720724 sales@hexasports.co.uk www.hexasports.co.uk
Central YMCA Qualifications 111 Great Russell St London, WC1B 3NP T: 0207 343 1800 W: www.cyq.org.uk E: info@cyq.org.uk CYQ Jason Fragola 112 Great Russell Street London WC1B 3NQ E: j.fragola@cyq.org.uk W: www.cyq.org.uk Jump Rope Uk Ltd 16 Riverside Park Wimborne Dorset, BH21 1QU tel: 01202 840590 fax: 01202 840577 jumpropes@ntjr.co.uk www.ntjr.co.uk National Extension College The Michael Young Centre Purbeck Road Cambridge, CB2 8HN T: 0800 389 2839 W: www.nec.ac.uk E: info@nec.ac.uk
Sports Facility Development Sports Solutions GB Suite One Copse Farm South Marston Park Swindon, SN3 4UQ T: 01793 833456 W: www.sportssolutionsgb.co.uk E: chris.bevan@sports-solutionsgb.co.uk
Crazy Catch Wall Tree House Farm Steane Brackley, NN13 5NS T: 01295 816765 W: www.flicx.com E: ricx@flicx.com
Football Facility Build Goals Soccer Centres plc Orbital House Peel Park East Kilbride G74 5PR T: 01355 234800 W: www.goalsfootball.co.uk E: keithm@goalsfootball.co.uk
Professional Associations
Audio Equipment Sound Dynamics 51 Bridge St, Belper Derbyshire, DE56 1AY T: 01773 828486 F: 01773 828475 W: www.sound-dynamics.co.uk E: support@sounddynamics.co.uk
Sports Clothing Kitking 9, Upper George Street Leicester, LE1 3LP T: 0116 262 7332 E: sales@kitking.co.ukst rskitking@aol.com
Installation & Repairs Renovate Contracts Limited Unit 8 12 Moat Way Barwell, Leicester , LE9 8EY T: 01455 851900 E:duncan@renovatecontracts.– wanadoo.co.uk W: www.renovatecontracts.com
Sports Surfaces Sports Surfaces (UK) Ltd P.O Box 1010 Chester CH1 3WN Tel: 01244 321200 Web: www.sportssurfacesuk.com E-mail: info@sportssurfacesuk.com
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