annual review 2000-01 - sport ni · award from the sport for good foundation in london. some...

the new generation for the new millennium

annual review2000-01

3043/ SpC AnnReview 12pp 2/8/05 10:46 AM

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I have great pleasure in introducing to you this annual review. This year’stheme focuses on our young people, the “New Generation, for the NewMillenium.” Sport is for everyone, particularly our young people and wewant them to develop confidence and a sense of achievement at an earlyage.

Our successess will depend on how well we nurture the energies of everychild in Northern Ireland. We hope to have achieved this by providingsporting opportunities at every step along their education. This will helpthem to excel in testing and developing their respective talents,regardless of their ability.

To reach this goal, we are dedicated to dispelling any outdated notionsthat sport is for the few, when clearly it is for all. The Department ofCulture, Arts and Leisure shares this vision and we continue to workclosely with them on the implementation of the Strategy for theDeveolopment of Sport, the overarching framework that co-ordinates allsporting activity, and supports sports development, sports provision andevaluates progress.

We ensure that the money we invest makes the greatest difference in theareas of greatest need and achieves the maximum benefit possible. Thisis particularly important where sport has a positive role to play in dealingwith problems of inequality, social exclusion and employability.

This year we have been determined to encourage the very best in sportsdevelopment so that it can make a contribution to the quality of people’slives. Sport forms a central part of an individual’s learning experienceand it is important that this experience is a positive one from the outset.

Finally I would like to take this opportunity to thank my councilcolleagues, my Chief Executive, Mr Eammon McCartan, and all the staffof the Sports Council.

Best Wishes,

Professor Eric Saundersfore

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annual review 2000-01

chairman’s foreword


schools: youth sport

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The Youth Sport programmes operated in 5 education & library boards,2 vocational education committees in Donegal and Sligo, and across 26district council areas. One hundred and fifteen school sports co-ordinators delivered 1,449 after school programmes involving 29,887young people.

During the year a review group was formed representing those agenciesinvolved in Youth Sport, and others from non-sporting organisations,whose focus was on young people. The first meeting was held in March2001 and the final report will be ready in late November 2001. The roleof the group was to revisit the original strategy on Sport for YoungPeople and amend it where necessary.

During the course of the year the following significant developmentstook place:

BelfastIn line with the sports development policy of sustainability beyond theinitial period of a project, Belfast Education & Library Boardmainstreamed the post of sports development officer. Individual schoolstook on the funding for their school sports co-ordinator posts. Belfastwas the first board to initiate a Youth Sport programme (1992) and it ishoped this approach can be replicated with the other 4 boards.

North EastThe board was successful in its bid to the New Opportunities Fund,which enabled 3 coach development officer appointments to be madein partnership with the district councils in Coleraine, Magherafelt andBallymoney. The grant of £180,000 is for a 3--year period. A furtherNOF grant of £30,000 was awarded for the development of YouthSport at Maghera High School.

South EastFollowing a meeting with school principals, 25 schools are now investingin school sports co-ordinator posts, with a strong commitment to fullyfunding the posts in the long term. The sports development officer posthas been retained for a further 3 years.

SouthernLocal authorities in the southern board area contribute significantly to

the cost of the school sport co-ordinators and their programmes.Following the first year of this most recent Youth Sport programme ameeting was held with the 6 Chief Leisure Officers in the councils toreview their investment in Youth Sport and to explore the formation of aregional partnership in this area.

FoyleThis cross border programme was boosted by the receipt of a LaureusAward from the Sport for Good Foundation in London. Some £80,000was awarded by the Foundation in the first year, with the potential for afurther 2 years of funding. The additional funding enables themanagement committee to develop residential cross border camps tosupport the 12 cross border sports and it also involved 2,380 youngpeople. The Centre for Leisure Research in Edinburgh has recentlycompleted an evaluation of Youth Sport Foyle and is expected to reportin September 2001.

WestThis is a cross border project part funded by the Department ofEducation’s, Special Support Programme (Peace and Reconciliation),which is coming to the end of its first phase of funding. Themanagement committee is focused on identifying the funds to sustainthe programme. Last year 5,051 young people were involved andmany were from small rural primary schools. Eighty-five Youth Sportsites have been established in the Sligo, Omagh and Fermanagh areas.

Roe ValleyThis new project was launched in Limavady in February with theappointment of a Sports Development Officer, whose time is dividedbetween Youth Sport duties and management duties at Roe Valley LeisureCentre. Four school sports co-ordinators have been appointed in postprimary schools. They have attended project management training. Thisprogramme is part funded by Limavady District Partnership.

If sustainability of this initiative is to be generated, secondary schoolsmust be willing to fund their school sports co-ordinator posts. Therelevant education authorities must continue to provide managementsupport and there needs to be a strategic, coherent and integratedmanagement programme developed.

[one hundred and fifteen school sports co-ordinators delivered 1,449 after school programmes involving 29,887 young people]


The TOPs programmes have improved the quality and number of sportingopportunities for young people through PE and community delivery.

All 5 ELBs are delivering TOP programmes as a PE support resource.Some 2,268 teachers have been trained to use TOP programmes insupport of their PE curriculum delivery. The TOP Start programme isongoing at 46 nursery schools and 24 Northern Ireland pre-schoolPlayground Association sites. TOP Play and TOP Sport are now in usein 450 primary schools across Northern Ireland.

Sixty pupils aged 16 to 19 years from 4 schools took part in TOP Linktraining programme whose major focus is on the development ofleadership, key life skills and citizenship. Twenty-four district councils areusing TOPs programmes to provide post-school opportunities.

During the year, 1,098 TOPs community deliverers were trained by localTOP trainers to work with young people in sports clubs, youth clubs,uniformed organisations and community organisations. TOP Play andTOP Sport is now used at 386 community sites.

Seventy-six Youth Sport coaches received TOPs training and resources touse as part of their work in after-school sessions. TOPs training has beenrecognised as an add-on module to the Sport For All Leader Award.

The Sports Ability TOP programme includes adapted equipment,resource cards and training for young people with high support needs.It is now available in 40 special schools to support the PE curriculumand a pilot was conducted with Disability Sport Northern Ireland and 6community sites. Disability Sport Northern Ireland have organised aSport Ability festival and aim to develop competitive structures usingSport Ability revenue.

Ten joint education and library board and local authority, design anddevelopment meetings have taken place to ensure the development ofseamless links between schools and their communities. Two governingbodies of sport have produced community templates for the use ofTOPs in local areas. Links to health via exercise groups and jointworking between local agencies (i.e. local authorities, education andhealth) are also being developed.

The provision of the TOP resource and its associated training iscontinually monitored to ensure effective use.

[seventy-six Youth Sport coaches received TOPs training and resources to use as part of their work in after-school sessions]

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Regional Squad/MYG Programme

During the year 230 coaches and volunteers received child protectionand major event training in preparation for the Millennium Youth Games.

Regional Schools of Sport/RDS Programme

A School of Sport/Regional Development Squad programme reviewand consultation process has been undertaken and completed.

The delivery of 5 regional schools of sport to approximately 1,100performers in 14 sports, offers local opportunities for identifying anddeveloping talented performers.

A new School of Sport has been established in the Western ELB and25 local authorities are involved in the programme.

Additional Achievements

Northern Ireland Millennium Youth Games

The Northern Ireland Millennium Youth Games programme was initiatedin November 1999 following a government directive that a nationalyouth games should be included as a main element of the millenniumcelebrations. It was agreed however that for the programme to succeedand be sustained in Northern Ireland it must complement the existingYouth Sport and Performance Sport pathways. It was agreed that theNorthern Ireland Millennium Youth Games would not be a one-off eventbut part of a programme that would significantly contribute to thedevelopment of sustainable regional development squads across the 5education and library board areas and a wide range of sports. Theprogramme was to link closely with and develop the existing Schools ofSport and provide quality training and competitive opportunities for theunder 15 age group for a minimum of 3 years.

This rationale compliments the Strategy for the Development of Sport inNorthern Ireland 1997 - 2005, which highlights amongst its objectives:

• the need for locally available high quality sportingopportunities;

• the provision of structured opportunities for participantsto remain involved within sport;

• the fostering of co-operation between sportsorganisations, education services, district councils andcommunity groups; and

• the identification and resourcing of talented performers.

With funding secured from the Sports Council Lottery Fund, theNorthern Ireland Millennium Company, the New Millennium ExperienceCompany, and commercial sponsorship gained from Golden Cow, theNorthern Ireland Millennium Youth Games Programme was extremelysuccessful in achieving these objectives. Particular highlights included:

• the creation of 96 regional development squads in 17sports;

• nearly 600 regional development squad coachingsessions;

• 2,365 young performers involved in the programme;• over 200 qualified coaches involved with the

programme;• 2,096 young people took part in the Northern Ireland

Millennium Youth Games;• over 200 coaches and volunteers received training in

child protection and major event management;• a legacy of Schools of Sport operating in all 5 education

and library board areas; and • all 26 local authorities involved in the programme.

Following the Northern Ireland Games a team of 125 competitorstravelled to the UK Millennium Youth Games in Southampton. NorthernIreland was represented in a total of 8 sports. Of the 53 teams fromacross the UK participating, the girls hockey team finished in first placeand the boys moderate learning disability soccer team finished insecond. All the participants were a credit to Northern Ireland and to thesuccess of the Millennium Youth Games Programme.

[all the participants were a credit to Northern Ireland and to the success of the Millennium Youth Games Programme]

performance


[the centre specialises in the outdoor adventure sports of canoeing, mountaineering and rock climbing]

Tollymore Mountain Centre (TMC) continues to fulfil the role of the nationaloutdoor training centre for Northern Ireland. The centre specialises in theoutdoor adventure sports of canoeing, mountaineering and rock climbing.TMC remains the only accredited centre in Northern Ireland to deliver arange of national governing body awards in mountaineering and rockclimbing, including the Mountain Instructor Award.

The most significant development of Tollymore Mountain Centre duringthe year 2000/2001 was the completion and opening of the Hot RockClimbing Wall. This major development cost in excess of £333,000 andwas developed in association with the Mountaineering Council of Ireland(MCI). The Sports Council and the MCI have developed an effectiveworking relationship, which is reflected in the service level agreement.The Hot Rock Climbing Wall now provides an important addition to theprogramme of Tollymore Mountain Centre as well as a sportsdevelopment facility for both beginners and experienced climbers alike.

During 2000/2001 Tollymore Mountain Centre has developed asignificant number of programmes and marketing initiatives. A majormountaineering expedition took place in Bolivia and over 50 peopletravelled outside Northern Ireland on high level courses operated byTMC. Tollymore also developed participation initiatives via one-dayinduction courses in a variety of outdoor sports and provided a numberof leader training courses for youth leaders and teachers intending touse the Hot Rock Climbing Wall as a personal development tool formarginalised young people. The centre also organised a number ofclimbing competitions and coaching sessions on the Hot Rock ClimbingWall. The published annual programme of courses included manyopportunities aimed directly at young people.

During the year 2000/2001 TMC provided 6,262 instructed studentdays. Almost 1,000 students participated in multi-activity courses, 270leaders were trained or assessed in canoeing, rock climbing ormountaineering instructional courses, and over 550 participants of all agesattended skills training courses. Over 20 teachers and youth club leadersattended supervisor training courses at the Hot Rock Climbing Wall.

Tollymore Mountain Centre continues to operate and develop effectiveworking partnerships with other organisations. The centre operatesclose links with the education and library boards with regard toaccrediting leaders trained within the inter board outdoor syllabi.

The centre provides a number of courses which help update andrevalidate instructors from the other outdoor education centres andhosts seminars to enable the effective dissemination of relevantinformation. The Centre Manager is a member of the UK MountainTraining Board and the centre also develops close working relationshipswith the Mountaineering Council of Ireland and the Canoe Associationfor Northern Ireland. The Tollymore Mountain Centre remains anaccredited provider of the national governing body leadershipqualifications operated by these bodies.

Staff at TMC service the meetings of the Northern Ireland MountainTraining Board (NIMTB) and the Northern Ireland Mountain Cave andCliff Rescue Co-ordinating Committee (NIMCCRCC). Theseorganisations, as sub committees of the Sports Council, ensure theeffective operation of Northern Ireland's mountain training and mountainrescue services respectively throughout Northern Ireland.

Tollymore Mountain Centre continues to operate within the qualitymanagement systems of BS EN ISO 9002. The centre is annuallyinspected by the British Standards Institute to ensure that it meets thehighest possible management standards.

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[a Sports Council Lottery Fund capital programme to assist sports clubs & governing bodies with the development of locally-based sports facilities]

sclf: capital programmes

Club Sport

Objectives of Programme: To create well-designed sports facilities at local level that will result in a measurable increase in sports developmentopportunity in that area.

Eligible Groups: Voluntary Sports ClubsGoverning Bodies of Sport

Minimum Grant: £5,000Maximum Grant: £100,000Maximum % Award: 70%Programme Budget: £1,200,000Closing Dates: Twice a year

Case Study:

Dungannon United Youth Football Club

Dungannon United Youth Football Club obtained funding from the SCLF for the development of a new pitch and changing accommodation. Lotteryfunding has provided this vibrant club with much needed facilities and in return the club has substantially increased its membership and has providedfive players in the English premier and first divisions.


[a Sports Council Lottery Fund capital programme to assist community-based organisations with the development of sports facilities]

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sclf: community sport

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Community Sport

Objectives of Programme: To create well-designed sports facilities at community sites in order to cater for recognised sports activities at afoundation/recreation level.

Eligible Groups: Community GroupsYouth OrganisationsOther Community-Based Organisations

Minimum Grant: £5,000Maximum Grant: £100,000Maximum % Award: 70%Programme Budget: £500,000Closing Dates: Twice a year*

Case Study:

Loughgiel Community Association

The lottery award was made to support the development of a community fitness facility. This project formed part of an innovative development, whichincluded a wide range of complementary community services such as a pre-school playgroup, a luncheon club for the elderly and a communitytransport scheme. The fitness facilities have amde a major impact to the sporting needs of young people, women, people with disibilities and olderpeople in this rural area.


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[A Sports Council Lottery Fund capital programme to assist with the development of sports facilities for community and post-primary school use]

sclf: sport share

Sport Share

Objectives of programme: To establish well-managed sports facilities for post-primary and structured community use.

Eligible Groups: Post-primary schools in partnership with the local authority and/or partner organisationsMinimum Grant: £5,000Maximum Grant: £300,000Maximum % Grant: 50%Programme Budget: £450,000Closing Date: Once a year

Case Study:

Christian Brothers Grammar School, Omagh

The SCLF award was made towards the first floodlit polymeric synthetic pitch in Northern Ireland. The lottery-funded pitch and the school’s existingsports hall, fitness suite and changing provision have been made available for a full programme of school and community use. The facilities are usedby a wide range of voluntary sports clubs and community groups for coaching and training opportunities.


[a Sports Council Lottery Fund revenue programme to assist to assist Northern Ireland’s leading sportspeople to compete successfully at international level]

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sclf: talented athlete

Talented Athlete

Objectives of Programme: To assist talented individuals and teams to achieve greater success on the world stage, to improve their internationalranking and to win more medals in the European/World Championships and in Commonwealth/Olympic Games.

Eligible Groups: Governing Bodies of SportMinimum Grant: £3,000Maximum Grant: £12,000Maximum % Award: 80%Programme Budget: £350,000Closing Date: Once a year

Case Study:

Anne Paul, Ulster Branch Irish Triathlon Association

Additional training and racing opprtunities provided through SCNI lottery funding has enabled Anne Paul from Portrush to successfully defend her IrishDualthon Championship whilst at the same time she claimed the NI Cross Country title.


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[a Sports Council Lottery Fund revenue programme to assist potential ‘Talented Athletes’ with their training and competition programmes]

sclf: talented athlete

Talented Athlete – Next Generation

Objectives of Programme: To provide a fast-tracking route for a small number of individuals who, while junior in age, are already exhibiting abilitycommensurate with senior performers in their sports.

Eligible Groups: Governing Bodies of SportMinimum Grant: £2,000Maximum Grant: £4,000Maximum % Award: 80%Programme Budget: £100,000Closing Dates: Twice a year

Case Study:

Zoe Brown

Zoe Brown who represented Northern Ireland as a gymnast in 1998’s Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpar has now switched sports to track andfield athletics, where she now heads the British ladies under 20 rankings list, in the Pole Vault with a leap of 3m 81cm.


Visit us at House of SportUpper Malone Road

Belfast BTwww.sportni.net

T. 028 9038 2222F. 028 9038 3822

For further information obtaining:


annual review 2000-01 - sport ni · award from the sport for good foundation in london. some...

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