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

By Louise Cordell

THE MEND weight management pro-gramme has been hailed as a break-through for overweight children in anew independent study.

Research carried out by UniversityCollege London has proved the suc-cess of the ‘Mind, Exercise, Nutrition,Do it!’ scheme, showing that partici-pants lost weight and improved theircardiovascular fitness through takingpart.

Results also revealed that the chil-dren lowered their body mass indexand waist circumference as well asimproving their self esteem and physi-cal activity levels.

The MEND programme is a free tenweek, after-school weight manage-ment course where overweight andobese children and their families learnhow to eat healthily and enjoy physicalactivity.

These findings are important as thestudy is the first randomised con-trolled trial in the UK to investigate thebenefits of a community based childweight management programme.

The research project was led byProfessor Atul Singhal of the UCLInstitute of Child Health, and involved116 children aged between eight and

12. They attended a nine-week MENDprogramme, followed by 12 weeks offree family swimming between January2005 and January 2007.

The children were assessed at thestart of the programme and again atsix and 12 months - and all measure-ments improved at six months andwere sustained at 12 months.

Professor Singhal said: “The resultssuggest that the MEND programmehelps overweight and obese childrenlose weight, at least in the short term.

“They also show that child weightmanagement programmes have a pos-itive effect on a child’s health and socould help to address the rising obesi-ty problem in children.”

By the final year of primary school,nearly one in three children aged tenor 11 is overweight, according to thelatest data from the Government’sNational Child MeasurementProgramme in schools.

Harry MacMillan, MEND chief exec-utive, said: “The MEND Programmeisn’t a miracle pill for obesity, but whatthis independent study does show isthat child weight-loss programmesthat involve the whole family are a sci-entifically-proven and sustainablesolution to the child obesity crisis.”

Weight schemehailed as abreakthrough

Rower Jameshelps launch2012 schemefor childrenTWO-TIME Olympicrowing championJames Cracknell hasbeen inspiring school-children as part of a2012 scheme to getyoungsters to becomemore active.

He has been helpingto launchSmallSteps4Life, aFood StandardsAgency initiativewhich uses an interac-tive website to moti-vate kids to improvetheir health and well-being inside and out-side the classroom.

The steps young peo-ple are encouraged totake include settingthemselves challengeslike walking to andfrom school, eating ahealthy breakfast orgetting more sleep.

James said: “I amproud to help launchthis unique projectthat addresses well-being in a way that isfun and meaningfulfor young people.

“I look forward toseeing the kind of cre-ative challenge ideasthat young mindscome up with whenthey are shared on thewebsite.”

Teacher Dan Martin is calling on schools around theUK to support him in his attempt to complete a glob-al triathlon. Dan will be setting out in May with theaim of circumnavigating the world, swimming, run-ning and cycling, over 18 months. He is hoping to getinvolved with 100 schools from across the country bybroadcasting live into assemblies from various pointson his trip – ranging from the Atlantic to Alaska andfrom Siberia to New York.How to get involved, Page 3

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Group editor:Andrew Harrod – ah@whpl.netTel: 01226 734639 Reporters:Louise Cordell – lcordell@whpl.netTel: 01226 734694Mary Ferguson – mf@whpl.netTel: 01226 734712Christina Eccles – ce@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734463Dominic Musgrave – dm@whpl.netTel: 01226 734407

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Contacts www.futurefitness.uk.net

Teacher Danset to tacklethe AtlanticA TEACHER from Peterborough isaiming to swim across the Atlantic aspart of a global sporting challenge.

Dan Martin is in training for an 18-month global triathlon, which he willbegin in Canada in May.

He aims to swim more than 3,600miles from Nova Scotia to Brest inFrance and then cycle across Europe.

He will then pass through Russiaand Siberia, cross the Bering Straitsto Alaska and then run acrossCanada.

The biggest challenge of the journeyis the Atlantic swim, which Dan isexpecting to take around fourmonths.

He said: “I’ve actually never done atriathlon in my life!

“But when I was at university Iheard about a guy swimming theAtlantic in a wetsuit and flippers andwas fascinated by the story – so I likethe idea of attempting my own, purerversion.

“Every night we’ll take a GPS read-ing and return to that place the nextday so I can swim the whole ocean

and I’ll be wearing just trunks, gog-gles and a swimming hat plus petro-leum jelly for protection.”

Dan already has a history of adven-turing, having cycled from Korea toCape Town last year and fromLondon to Cape Town the year before– covering over 55,000kms across thetwo trips.

His core values for this trip are edu-cation, environment and expeditionand he is aiming to use his experi-ence to inspire young people aroundthe world.

Dan is looking for 100 UK schools,100 schools on his route and another100 from around the world to teamup with and plans to broadcast liveupdates into assemblies throughouthis adventure.

He said: “I think kids seeing thiskind of trip first hand will be a greatinspiration for them.

“I have never been a particularlysporty person and was always last inrunning races at school, but I want toget the message out to kids thateveryone has this kind of trip inside

them.“Hopefully, I can show them that

even someone like me, who isn’t themost athletic guy in the world, cando this – and let them know about all

the possibilities out there.” If your school would like to get involved

please contact Future Fitness or Dandirectly on: dan@danmartinextreme.com,

www.danmartinextreme.com.

Dan at the Gyatso-La Pass in Tibet”

Dan training for his swim

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Concern overobesity viewsamong parentsBy Louise Cordell

THE majority of parents do notrealise that their four and five-year-olds are overweight, according to newresearch.

Half of mothers who took part in astudy at the University MedicalCentre Groningen thought that theirobese four or five year old was nor-mal weight, as did 39 per cent of thefathers.

In the case of overweight children,75 per cent of mothers and 77 percent of fathers believed that the childwas normal weight.

More than 800 parents and 439 chil-dren took part in the Netherlandsstudy – five per cent of the childrenwere overweight, four were obese andthe rest were normal weight.

The study revealed that parents ofoverweight and obese children weresignificantly heavier than the parentsof normal weight children and thatwhile most of the parents did notworry about their child’s weight, themothers of obese children were themost likely to be concerned.

The results also showed that parentsof overweight and obese children didnot think their children were lessactive than others and 94 per cent feltthey could influence their child'sfood choices and eating habits.

Professor Pieter Sauer from theCentre’s department of paediatrics,said: “Public perception of what is anormal weight has shifted upwardsbecause more people are overweightor obese.

“Overweight children are very likelyto become overweight teenagers andadults, so intervening when they areaged between three and five couldprevent weight problems later in life.

“The fact that the parents in ourstudy perceived their children to belighter than their BMI indicated iscause for concern.

“Our findings point to the need forhealth education programmes thatencourage parents to recognise whatis a normal healthy weight for theirchildren and work with health profes-sionals to tackle any weight prob-lems.”

SCHOOL pupil Martin Drabble hasbecome one of the top junior bad-minton players in the country aftertaking up the sport just four yearsago.

He was 12 when he first picked up aracket at a holiday club at All SaintsCatholic High School and, after com-pleting a number of coaching courseshe has gone on to win a host of titles.

Martin said: “I really enjoy lots ofdifferent sports, which is why I signedup for the club at EIS Sheffield.

“At the time, I was playing footballto a high standard for MiddlewoodRovers but was keen to improve myspeed on the pitch.

“Then I met Peter Elliott, the formerOlympic middle distance runner, andhe recommended that taking up aracket sport would help so I enrolledonto the beginners’ badmintoncoaching scheme.”

Martin is now also helping toinspire the next generation of youngbadminton hopefuls.

He has taken his level one coachingqualification and now coaches EISSheffield's beginner and intermediategroups.

Paul Hudson, general manager atEIS Sheffield, said: “Martin is yetanother incredible sporting successstory for Sheffield.

“To go from a novice player to oneof the most promising youngsters inthe country in the space of just fouryears is quite incredible.”

Martin Drabble

School boy Martin goes from novice tosuccess in four years

Gary Lineker with some of the pupils

Gary coaches youngstersto help charity net cashFOOTBALL legend Gary Lineker hasbeen coaching pupils from a Surreyschool to promote the CLIC Sargent’sKick for Children with Cancer cam-paign.

Pupils from Carew Manor School, acommunity special school inWallington, helped him to launch theannual football fundraiser by practis-ing their penalty skills.

The school also took part in thefundraising campaign last year andraised over £750 through sponsoredmatches and a ‘beat the goalie’ com-petition.

Charity patron Gary said: “With theWorld Cup kicking off in June, foot-ball fever will be sweeping the coun-try.

“Penalties will surely come into playin the tournament at some point andit’s been great talking to pupils abouttheir technique.

“Practising how to beat the goalie isa fun way to get fit and active and Ithink you’re never too young to starttrying to score a spot kick.”

More than 450,000 children havetaken part in Kick for Children withCancer since the campaign launchedfive years ago and over £700,000 hasbeen raised to date.

Registration is now open for thisyear’s campaign with schools andyouth football clubs encouraged tohold events between May and July2010.

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By Louise Cordell

ONE of the country’s most promis-ing young female boxers has beenshortlisted for a national sportsaward.

Ambreen Sadiq, from Keighley,West Yorkshire, has been nominat-ed in the Junior Sports Personalityof the Year Female category at theChange4Life British Asian SportsAwards.

The 15-year-old EastburnAmateur Boxing Club member wascrowned Amateur BoxingAssociation schoolgirls' nationalchampion in 2009 and currentlyhas a 100 per cent competitiverecord.

She said: “To be nominated forthis award is an honour in itself, towin would be fantastic.

“It is great recognition fromBritish Asians and shows just howfar the sport has come in terms ofencouraging female participationfrom different communities. If Iwin, it would reward for all thehard work put in by my coachesand would hopefully inspire othergirls to consider taking up thesport.”

Women's boxing is one of thefastest growing sports at grassrootslevel and the latest figures fromSport England's Active PeopleSurveys show that a quarter of the149,000 boxing participants in thecountry are now women.

Naz Jalil, Ambreen's coach, said:“It is almost unheard of for anAsian Muslim girl to take up box-ing but Ambreen has demonstrat-ed great determination and excep-tional potential to achieve in thesport.

“She has faced an uphill struggleof showing to the Asian communi-ty that it is acceptable for girlsfrom her background to take upboxing and, with a lot of hardwork, success is possible.

“Although Ambreen has beenshortlisted to the final three, sheneeds as many votes as possible towin and we just hope people willnow support her by voting for her.”

All nominees are judged by apanel of experts including Englishcricketer Mark Ramprakash, Even-ing Standard Sports Editor, MihirBose and Olympic gold medal win-ner Denise Lewis, OBE, before thepublic decide who will be crownedwinner for each category.

Previous winners have includedcricketer Samit Patel, kickboxerand boxing champion Sunny Hiraand Change4Life British AsianSports Awards official ambassador,Amir Khan.

Ambreen Sadiq and England natioanlcoach, Mick Gannon

Teen boxer Ambreenmakes awards shortlist

New £9mfacility ischosen asgames’ venueA NEW £9m sports and leisure facilitythat will be a venue for next year’sInternational Children’s Games hasopened.

The centre, which is housed withinthe Broadwood Stadium in Cumber-nauld, features a gym, fitness studios,sports hall and football pitch.

Up to 1,500 competitors are expect-ed to come to Lanarkshire for theworld's biggest youth sports eventnext summer and a £32m regionalsports facility being built atRavenscraig will also be used to hostthe Games. Chair of NorthLanarkshire Leisure, Councillor JimLogue said: “Combined with the cur-rent 8,000 seat stadium complex atBroadwood, this has created a majorsport and leisure venue, at an easilyaccessible prime location. We arehoping that it can be used by coun-tries as a pre-training facility ahead ofthe Commonwealth games, Olympicgames and 2011 Children's Games.”

The Broadwood facility also hasmartial arts and dance studios, a kidssoft play area and a café.

Blane Dodds, chief executive ofNorth Lanarkshire Leisure Ltd, added:“We’re encouraging people along tosee for themselves just what a superbfacility this is.”

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GREG and Active Kids are nowpreparing for a link-up withMillwall Football Club and theLondon Scottish Rugby Club.

They will be working together tomake sure children in their selec-tion programmes are getting off tothe best start and are developingthe basic skills they need to ensurea good performance as they devel-op.

Greg said: “These professionalclubs know how to coach kids bythe time they reach age eight orten, but before that they don’t havethe specialist skills needed.

“It is all about adapting teaching

methods to the age of the children– when you are starting with ablank slate you have to be teachingthe right content in the right way.”

The company now has three franchises as well as the originalcentre and is now also starting toget into specific sports in an inclu-sive way.

Tennis and football groups havebeen launched to take place along-side the multisports classes, how-ever, they are only available for thenine year olds and older to makesure that the kids have developed awide skill base before starting tospecialise.

Club link-ups aim to makesure kids get the best start

SIX years ago Greg Dryer was work-ing as head of PE in a London sec-ondary school, but after taking histhree-year-old to a range of sportsactivities, he developed an interestin the different ways children arefirst exposed to fitness.

He said: “I started observing howmy kids played and wanted to knowmore about how and when weshould introduce sport to kids, andwhat activities are appropriate atwhat age.

“Classes start out combining struc-tured play with technical input, butit needs to be presented in a fun waythat is suitable for young children –and all the sessions I saw seemed tolean too far one way or the other.”

This inspired Greg to create ActiveKids, a progressive pathway for kidsaged three to 11, that would intro-duce them to sport in a way thatwould help them enjoy keepingactive, as well as preparing themwith the skills needed to develop

Former PE teacher Greg Dryer has gone back to basics to make sure that kids get the best possibleintroduction to sport. Future Fitness found out more:

Greg’s toddler inspires himto create Active Kids ...

later on. The classes are run after school,

at weekends and in school holi-days and focus on age specific skilldevelopment, rather than tradi-tional single sport sessions.

He added: “The idea is to try andgive kids the very best start intothe world of physical activity.

“We want to give kids the essen-tial building blocks, so that by theend of key stage two they reallyfeel that they can access sport.

“It is about giving them the confi-dence and competence they needto take on the wide range of differ-ent sports they will be introducedto later in life.”

Greg hopes that giving youngpeople this confidence will gosome way to addressing theincreasing PE drop out rate experi-enced at secondary schools.

After seeing many teenagers loseinterest in physical activity duringhis teaching years, his idea is todevelop the right attitudes towardssport early in order to prevent theproblem.

He added: “There are some won-derful sport practictioners outthere, but many are doing moreharm than good because ofinnapropriate delivery.

“You often see very young chil-dren attempting exercises that are

more suited to teenagers and theycan’t access it – it makes no senseto them so there is no benefit.

“We are then left doing remedialwork – parents are bringing us fiveyear olds who have lost all confi-dence in their abilities thanks tothis style of teaching, and we haveto try and build them back up.

“I believe that every child shouldbe challenged at an apppropriatelevel, but also be given the oppor-tunity to succeed.”

Greg has found the children whoattend the classes see an improve-ment in their general movementskills, their response to stimuli and in their personal and socialskills. The results often convertparents who have been unsureabout the best type of sportscoaching to provide for their kids.

He added: “I think there is a lackof quality awareness when itcomes to what kids are doingphysically.

“Parents are passionate aboutgetting the best quality start in llit-eracy for example, but they don’tcarry that through to physical edu-cation. You wouldn’t want yourchild growing up on a diet of justone author – but many childrenare not getting a balanced sportdiet, and this is what we need toaddress.”

Greg leading an Active Kids class

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Cash for street rugbyA SCHEME that provides rugby train-ing for disadvantaged children is setto expand following a six-figureinvestment.

Scottish Rugby has announced thatits Street Rugby initiative will be con-tinuing for at least the next threeyears thanks to a sponsorship dealwith G4S Events.

This means that more young peoplefrom neighbourhoods not tradition-ally associated with sport will be ableto take up an easy to play andportable version of the game.

The project, now named G4S StreetRugby, is targeted at areas wherecrime and anti-social behaviour arehigh, in an attempt to offer a healthyalternative at key times.

Glasgow Warriors props Moray Lowand Jon Welsh attended the mostrecent event to join in the gamebefore taking part in a question andanswer session from the youngerplayers and signing autographs.

Jon said: “The Street Rugby cam-paign is absolutely brilliant becauseit means that kids who don’t go to arugby playing school, or haven’t yetgone along to their local rugby club,can stay active and get involved inthe sport.

“G4S Street Rugby is a great intro-duction to the sport as it gets thebasic skill elements of the gameacross, like passing, using things likeplastic mannequins or giant inflat-able goalposts to help them work ontheir accuracy while keeping it prettybasic and, importantly, fun.”

The initiative aims to provide freerugby coaching and playing activitiesfor a total of 12,000 youngsters by2011 by using a non-contact form ofthe game that introduces the basicpassing and running elements beforecoaching participants in the basicelements of the contact game as thesessions progress.

Colin Thomson, Scottish Rugby’shead of community rugby, said: “Webelieve that Street Rugby can play amajor role in helping young Scots tobecome healthier, safer and stronger

while increasing the opportunities foryoung Scots to play rugby – especiallythose in disadvantaged areas.

“We can link this activity to schoolsand local rugby clubs through outnationwide network of jointly fundeddevelopment officers. These devel-opment officers will offer rugby toyoung people in primary and second-ary schools, especially those schoolswhere there’s little chance to playrugby just now, creating local rugbycentres for disadvantaged and disen-gaged youngsters.”

Martin Milarky, Scottish Government Justice Department; Jon Welsh, Mark Hamilton, G4SEvents MD and Moray Low

Students puton classesat primariesSTUDENTS from BebingtonHigh Sports College have beenimproving their sports leader-ship skills by putting on a rangeof extra-curricular clubs at localprimary schools.

Currently three are teachingfootball at BrackenwoodPrimary and Church DrivePrimary, and another is coach-ing tag rugby at Brackenwoodand St Andrews.

Fifteen more leaders are alsodue to start teaching clubs inrunning, basketball, netball,dance and multi-skills this term.

After delivering a six week ses-sion, leaders will then repeat thecourse at another school, creat-ing a ‘carousel’ of sports clubsproviding local primaries withspecialist expertise.

Their session plans arechecked by PE staff to ensurethey contain all the relevantactivities needed for youngerpupils to improve their perform-ance and gives the leaders expe-rience in structuring classes.

Through volunteering, they aregiven the chance to move up thefive steps of the ‘leadership lad-der’ before being enrolled on theCommunity Sports LeadershipAward when they reach the sixthform.

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Boccia project gains Inspire badgeBy Louise Cordell

A NEW project to develop thesport of boccia in Derbyshire hasbeen awarded the badge of theLondon 2012 Inspire Programme.

This programme recognisesinnovative and exceptional proj-ects that are helping to get peopleinvolved in the Olympic andParalympic Games.

The Go Boccia! scheme aims toencourage more disabled youngpeople to play the sport and

organisers hope to see a youngperson from Derbyshire becomepart of the England Boccia Squad.

Five community boccia groupsare to be set up for 11 to 24 yearolds in the area using funding fromthe Derbyshire County CouncilYouth Opportunity fund.

Catherine Slater, DerbyshireSport disability sport developmentofficer, said: “This project will giveyoung people an opportunity tonot only become physically activebut to develop their confidence,

boccia skills, social skills and apersonal level of independence.

“It really reflects all of theOlympic and Paralympic values,and so it is fantastic to be recog-nised and granted the Inspire Markand be part of the legacy thatLondon 2012 will bring.”

Funding will also be used to hostan Under 15 and Under 25 countytournament, where two teams willbe selected to compete at theannual regional boccia tourna-ment, and to provide boccia train-

ing for young leaders and coaches.

Seb Coe, chair of the LondonOrganising Committee of theOlympic Games and ParalympicGames said: “Go Boccia! is encour-aging young disabled people inDerbyshire to fulfil their potential.

“I am proud that with the help ofpartners such as Derbyshire Sportwe are delivering on our vision touse the power of the OlympicGames and Paralympic Games toboost participation in disabilitysport.”

Pictured right:Tom Daley andleft: Tom withdiving competitionentrants

World champ Tom drops into encourage young diversWORLD champion diver, Tom Daley and two-time Olympic goldmedallist, James Cracknell, wereamong the first visitors at the re-opened Everyone Active LeisureCentre in Poole.

Tom attended to judge a pupils’ div-ing competition with entrants from arange of local schools and also com-pleted a diving display for the crowdfrom the 5m platform.

He said: “It’s fantastic that divingfacilities like this exist in a localleisure centre.

“The kids who took part in the div-

ing competition were really enthusi-astic and I hope that this means thatmore of them will look at taking thisup as a serious sport.”

James hosted a rowing challenge,competing head to head with thecentre manager, and also set off thecorporate swim challenge.

He said: “It has become really clearto me since leaving professional sportthat being active is really important.

“For me it is just a natural thing todo but I can’t stress enough how vitalit is that everyone makes activity partof their every day lives.”

‘One in five dislike the way they look’OUR increasingly ‘superficial society’has made children unhappier abouttheir appearance than anything elsein their lives, a study has found.

Research by the Children’s Societyreveals that almost one in five chil-dren aged ten to 15 dislike the waythey look and that girls are twice aslikely to worry about their bodiesthan boys.

It also showed that children becomemore worried as they grow older, with28 per cent of 15-year-old girls sayingthat they are dissatisfied with theirappearance and that young blackAfrican/Caribbean andPakistani/Bangladeshi children weresignificantly happier with theirappearance than white children.

In the two-year study, a team ofresearchers put around 100 questionsto just under 7,000 children aged tento 15, including just over 4,700 fromsecondary schools.

They were asked to rate how happythey were on a scale from 0 to 10 withmany aspects of their lives.

Bob Reitemeier, chief executive ofThe Children’s Society, said: “Thisgroundbreaking study is a major stepforward in our efforts to understandand enhance the well-being of youngpeople. It shows the vast majority ofour children are happy, but it is amajor concern that two children inevery classroom are unhappy, andthat so many are insecure about theirappearance and confidence.”

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The best andworst of sportrole modelsBy Louise Cordell

A NEW survey has revealed the bestand worst sporting role models foryoung people.

Looking at their behaviour over2009, public opinion has been usedto put together a list of which athletesare looked up to and which are disap-proved of.

David Beckham was placed at thetop of the league for the best rolemodels and, unsurprisingly, TigerWoods was named as the worst.

The survey was commissioned bySkillsActive, which has recently ledthe development of a new Diploma inSports and Active Leisure, whichincludes a module on teaching youngpeople how to be good sporting rolemodels.

The research also looked at the pub-lic’s view on how we think our sport-ing heroes should behave.

Fair play was considered the mostimportant factor, mentioned by 58per cent of all respondent.

In second place, with 19 per cent,was ‘winning’ and charitable work

came in third. Just two per cent of people question

stated that being involved in a kissand tell made a sports personality abad role model.

Stephen Studd, SkillsActive chiefexecutive, said: “Whether they like itor not, successful sports people arerole models to young people aroundthe world. Sadly there will always bethose who abuse their high profileposition, but on the whole we believeit is entirely possible to teach youngsports people with bright futures howto be a good role model.”

In the top ten, following DavidBeckham were Chris Hoy, LewisHamilton, Roger Federer and JensonButton. The next five places weretaken by Ellen MacArthur, PaulaRadcliffe, Usain Bolt, LanceArmstrong and Tim Henman.

Tiger Woods, Ashley Cole andCristiano Ronaldo took the top threespots in the ‘worst role models’ cate-gory, followed by Joey Barton, DwainChambers, Marlon King, DavidBeckham, Ronnie O’Sullivan, FreddieFlintoff and Serena Williams.

Two members of staff at Ellesmere College have been allocated places in this year’sLondon Marathon. Helen Coney, arts centre manager, and Jayne Griffiths, academic secre-tary, have now started a daily fitness routine at lunchtime in the school’s gym to improvetheir fitness levels in time for the race in April. Ian Williams, director of sport at theCollege, said: “Jayne and Helen will receive every support from the PE team to keep themmotivated as the prepare themselves for the marathon and we all wish them well overthe coming months.”

BRITAIN’S ramblers are using Twitterand Facebook in a bid to get youngpeople walking. As part of the group’s75th anniversary celebration, theRamblers are starting branches forkids and their parents as part of acampaign to get families off the

couch. More than 900 people havejoined a new branch for Londoners intheir 20s and below, and every newmember will get computer links totheir nearest group and its events.Plans are being put in place for around-Britain chain of baton walks.

Why ramblers are turning to Twitter

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AN event designed to introduceyoung people with disabilities to avariety of physical activities has beenheld at Shobnall Sports Hall.

Organised by Burton College sportsstudents, the Anyone Can Day pro-vided the opportunity for thoseattending to try their hand at a rangeof different sporting activities includ-ing basketball, football, orienteeringand giant Jenga.

Angelo Nel, the college’s furthereducation sports co-ordinator, said:“As part of their course the studentshave to organise an event coveringeverything from the initial creativeidea to finance, promotion and work-ing with business organisations.

“Many of the group are activelyinvolved with coaching young peopleand so are passionate and enthusias-tic about inspiring others to getinvolved in sport.

“Having a disability is no barrier tobeing able to take part in sport, butsome young people with disabilitiesmay feel embarrassed or shy to try.

“Being physically active is not onlyof benefit to physical health, it canalso help people to achieve at schoolthrough improved concentration,

self-confidence and opportunities tobuild friendships and form strongbonds.

“The Anyone Can Day showed howenjoyable participating in sportingactivities can be.”

Burton College runs a variety ofcourses for those wishing to pursue acareer in the Sports industry.

For further information contact the SixthForm, Sport and Professional Studies Area

of Learning on 01283 494400 or visit thewebsite at www.burton-college.ac.uk

College students, from left, back row:Stephen Cooke, Paul Steeden and MatthewRyan; front row: Lewis Garner, DanielBlood, Jason Baker and Melanie Burns

Anyone Can Day provides opportunitiesfor young people with disabilities

National awardfor young sportleader MatthewBy Louise Cordell

A YOUNG leader from BirminghamSchool Sport Partnership has beengiven a national award.

Matthew de Redman, a year tenpupil at Bishop Challoner CatholicCollege received the Diana Award forhis contribution to the local commu-nity. He was nominated by theschool, his peers and also those whohave benefitted from his volunteeringand leadership.

Matthew coaches primary schoolchildren in the evenings as part of the ‘Playing For Success’ initiativeand he also helps PE staff with theorganisation and leadership of sport-ing activities including rugby andfootball. He has also helped to trainyounger children how to becomeleaders and is one of the studentsinvolved in Bishop Challoner’sLeadership Academy.

Derek McDermott, PDM at BishopChalloner, said: “Matthew has a realpassion for sport and PE and hasmatured into a very talented coachand leader.

“What makes Matthew’s achieve-

ments and successes even moreinspiring is the fact that he has over-come a serious heart condition andsubsequent operation that couldquite easily have stopped his interestand involvement in sport.

“However, it has acted as a catalystand since his treatment, Matthew hasconcentrated his efforts into volun-teering and having a positive influ-ence on others as well as still partici-pating as a performer.”

In addition to the Diana Award,Matthew has also achieved the ‘Stepinto Sport Bronze Award’ for commu-nity volunteering, and has recentlytrained as an anti-bullying mentorwith the aim of working with theHead of Year 8 and younger pupils inthe school community.

‘Matthew has a realpassion for sport and PE and has matured into a very talented coach and leader’

YOUNG people in Somerset havebeen provided with a new place toget active, with the launch of thenew Z3 Fitness Zone.

The activity centre, at ToneLeisure’s Wellington Sports Centre,has been funded by over £200,000from the Big Lottery’s YoungPeople’s Fund, and was set upafter consultation with a speciallyestablished young people’s com-mittee.

Local kids chose how the Zonewould look as well as decidingwhich pieces of equipment shouldbe installed to appeal to ten to 16year olds.

The centre now has dance mats,interactive sports walls, activecomputer games and a range ofother fitness equipment from sup-plier ZigZag.

Joel Chapman, Tone Leisure’scommercial director, said: “We arepassionate about encouragingpeople of all ages to find waysthey enjoy of keeping fit.

“With the help of The Big LotteryFund we’re delighted to be able toprovide local young people with asafe, welcoming place to meettheir friends.

“Rather than sitting at home onthe sofa playing console gamesthey can come to Z3, still playthose types of games and somenew ones, and get active at thesame time.”

New fitness zone opens

10 9/2/10 12:47 Page 1

Brett teaching Reece Martin some body positioning drills

Brett goes back to schoolwith Multiskills classesBy Louise Cordell

AN ESSEX gym owner is taking anew type of fitness class intoschools to teach kids basic sportsskills.

Brett Sizeland is a personal train-er and strength conditioning coachwho believes that multiskills les-sons can help to teach the ‘build-ing block’ skills of physical activity.

The classes are used to teachbasic, but essential, athletic skillsthrough non standard games anddrills and can be particularlyappealing to pupils who are put offPE by traditional games lessons.

Brett said: “Multiskills is a greatway to improve children’s perform-ance in all areas of physical activityand provides something that theydon’t get in the usual PE lesson.

“It is about teaching them athlet-ic skills that they can utilise in anysport, rather than the more narrowfocus of just playing football ornetball for example.”

After discussion with the localSchool Sport Partnership, Brett isnow getting ready to teach an eightweek multiskills course atDavenant Foundation school.

He hopes that this pilot will leadto the sessions being rolled out inmore schools in the area, and alsoprovide data to illustrate theimprovements that pupils are ableto make through the classes.

Brett added: “I want to help themimprove their performance in thesports they are already good at bybuilding up their basic skills.

“There is a competitive elementbut it mainly helps the pupils chal-lenge themselves and this moti-vates them to work harder.

“The lessons also work really wellas a signposting exercise – allowingthem to find talents that they did-n’t know they had and taking theminto other sports they might nothave considered otherwise.

“The aim is to open up newdoors for as many kids as possible

and improve athletic performanceaccross the board.”

Brett has also been working withstaff in the PE department atCheltenham College to help themdevelop lessons in multiskills andstrength and conditioning.

They have found that the sameprinciples apply even to the highlevel athletes they are workingwith and are now including thesessions in their classes to providepupils with the tools they need toimprove their performance.

Brett added: “I think that PEteachers to a fantasic job and welike to see ourselves as a supportnetwork to help them achieve evenmore. We like to work closely withthe teachers at the schools we goto and just provide a more spe-cialised approach.

“Hopefully we can be an aid tothem providing the best physicaleducation possible, which wouldreally give kids the best chance tosucceed.”

‘A Tale of Two ObesCities’ studyA NEW report tackling childhoodobesity in both London and NewYork has been praised by LondonMayor Boris Johnson.

The study, ‘A Tale of TwoObesCities’ was compiled by the London Metropolitan Universityand the City University of New York.

It was commissioned as in bothcities childhood obesity rates arehigher than in their respective coun-tries as a whole – and both face simi-lar challenges including highlymobile populations, child povertyand overcrowding.

The report found that nearly 23 percent of London’s four year olds areobese, rising to 36 per cent by theage of 11.

In New York 40 per cent of kids of asimilar age are obese but in bothcities obesity rates are higher in boysthan in girls.

Results also revealed that the high-est rates of obesity are found in thepoorest children and that both citiesare characterised by high levels ofincome inequality.

Eileen O’Keefe, professor of publichealth at London MetropolitanUniversity, said: “London and New

York face common challenges andthe report demonstrates that the twocities’ approaches towards tacklingthese issues are different, and sothey could benefit from collabora-tion and learning from each other’sexperiences.”

Recommendations made by the report include promoting activities like walking and cycling,encouraging urban agriculture anduse of green spaces, building activedesign principles into housingstrategies and implements a universal free nutritional schoolmeal programme.

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What can be done to engage youngpeople in exercise from an earlyage and what part, if any, shouldschools play in this?There is a huge amount of pro-grammes to get children and youngpeople into exercise. In particularwe encourage and promote play,PE, sports, games and active travelfor children in schools.

Nine out of ten children are nowdoing two hours a week of sport atschool and our ambition is forthem to be able to have five hours aweek of PE and sport inside andoutside the curriculum. There aregreat links that have already beenforged between schools and fitnessfacilities through schemes such asAdopt a School.

We are also investing £30m innine “Healthy Towns” across thecountry, which are leading the wayin changing their communities tosupport people to become moreactive and promote healthy eating.For example Tewkesbury inGloucestershire has organisedcooking clubs for mums, dads andkids and Sheffield has a free fruitand veg scheme for year sevenpupils.

A great deal has been made of the2012 legacy and its impact on the

levels on participation in sport andphysical activity. How realistic is itthat the games will have a positiveimpact on participation levels andto what extent? One of the reasons we won theOlympic bid was because we had avision for the long-term benefitsthat we can get across the countryby hosting the Olympic andParalympic Games. We set a newtarget to get two million moreadults physically active by 2012 bydoing three or more sessions of atleast 30 minutes exercise per week.

The target encompasses sport andeveryday physical activity such aswalking, cycling, gardening anddance. Too often in the past, gov-ernments have expected majorevents to bring automatic windfallbenefits. However, nothing is guar-anteed without careful planningfrom the outset as well as workingclosely with partners. The Olympicand Paralympic Games is a fantas-tic opportunity to inspire people;along with Change4Life and otherinitiatives, we want to capitalise onthe games to engage with every-body to be more active.

What are you doing to keep those

who have left school active?Activity levels fall dramatically afterthe age of 16 so, in partnership withthe Fitness Industry Associationand local authorities, we are pilot-ing an incentive scheme to offer5,000 16-22 year olds subsidisedgym memberships.

By reducing the membershipcosts of leisure clubs and providingan incentive to go regularly, weexpect to see an increase in exer-cise levels. The pilot is targeted atthose who are at risk of inactivelifestyles and living in less well offareas. This work supports ourambition to get two million morepeople active by 2012.

In a new series, fitness industry stalwart Andree Deane will be interviewing top-level politicians on behalf of Future Fitnessand our sister title, Workout. This month Andy Burnham, secretary of state for health, comes under the spotlight.

Encouraging and promoting exercise

Andy Burnham

Andree with Andy and his son

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www.aresson.co.uk info@aresson.co.uk 0845 367 0406

Sportfor all

One per cent oflunch boxes meetnutrition standardsBy Louise Cordell

99 PER CENT of school lunchboxes do not meet the nutri-tional standards set for schoolmeals.

New research from theUniversity of Leeds has foundthat out of the 5.5bn packedlunches eaten by British chil-dren each year, just one percent are made up of healthyfood and drink.

The team, commissioned bythe Food Standards Agency,found that 82 per cent of lunchboxes contained foods high insaturated fat, salt and sugar -including items such as crisps,sweets and biscuits.

Only one in five meals con-tained any vegetables or saladand only half included an itemof fruit - meaning that the over-whelming majority fell wellbelow the standards demandedof school dinners.

Charlotte Evans, leadresearcher at the Leeds Institute

of Genetics, Health andTherapeutics, said: “The lack ofequivalent food standards forpacked lunches gives cause forconcern that they will continueto lag behind the nutritionalquality of school meals.

“Our research has shown thatsome small steps in the rightdirection would make a big dif-ference. Even if schools had apolicy to provide water for chil-dren eating packed lunches, thiswould significantly reduce theirsugar intake from sweeteneddrinks.”

Charlotte believes it is impor-tant that schools support healthpromotion programmes andthat strategies are in place tohelp parents meet nutritionalstandards by encouraging themto include healthy foods.

She added: “Simply concen-trating on restricting the junkcontent of lunch boxes can becounter-productive – childrenat schools where crisps arerestricted, for example, end up

with lunch boxes containingcontaining more confectionery.”

School meal standards wereintroduced in 2006 due to grow-ing evidence linking poor healthin adults with obesity or poordiet in childhood.

They limit the amount offoods high in salt, sugars andfats which can be served andstipulate that school mealsmust provide a third of the dailyrequirement of every nutrientfor health.

Professor Janet Cade, head ofthe university’s NutritionalEpidemiology Group, said:“While we absolutely under-stand that many children preferto take packed lunches toschool, it is clear that they arenot getting the same benefitfrom their midday meal as theirclassmates on school dinners.

“The poor quality of thesemeals could have serious impli-cations for levels of childhoodobesity and its long term conse-quences.”

Triathlete Bella Bayliss is supporting the promotion

ISOTONIC sports drink Gatorade has launched a pro-motion that will benefit schools, universities andsports clubs.

‘Gatorade Gives Back’ will run throughout 2010, giv-ing Gatorade athletes the opportunity to redeem overa £1,000,000 in rewards including top sports equip-ment, music downloads, money can’t buy experiencesand sporting holidays.

Adam Draper, Gatorade brand manager said; “Weare delighted to have the opportunity to put some-thing back into sport and reward athletes at all levelswith the programme. We hope to get as many peopleinvolved as possible and I hope that schools, clubsand athletes will take advantage of the fantasticrewards that are available.”

To get involved, individuals will need to collectcodes from each bottle of Gatorade that correspondsto a nominal points value. Codes can then be bankedonline and via text and used to cash in on a widerange of sports-related rewards.

Gatorade rewardsschools in promotion

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A new sport and activity centre for chil-dren has been opened at David LloydRaynes Park.A launch event transformed the club into acircus and local families attended to tryout a range of new fitness activities includ-ing the new kids bowling alley. Othertaster sessions included mini soccer andmini dance, gymnastics,active sessions and

a family disco.The club will also be running a DLKids chil-dren’s programme which offers activitiesfor families with children aged under 11.Charles Jude, general manager, said; “Wehope the new facilities will help familiesmake the right start to the year, by gettingactive and having fun together in a safeand modern environment.”

Denise advisesschool’s eliteyoung athletesOLYMPIC gold medallist DeniseLewis has visited a Middlesexschool where a house group hasbeen named in her honour.

The Youth Sport Trust SchoolSport Ambassador attended anassembly at Harefield Academy tospeak about her career and pas-sion for sport.

She told the school’s elite young athletes about the chal-lenges of her own sporting journey and reminded them thatperseverance is an importantquality when encountering diffi-culties.

The Academy operates an EliteSports Programme alongsidedevelopment and grassrootssquad and aims to provide youngathletes with the flexibility need-ed for them to achieve in theirtraining and competition pro-gramme as well as their educa-tion.

Denise said: “The sporting jour-ney for many Olympians beginsat school and it is a crucial timefor any young athlete’s develop-ment as they learn to balance

training and competition with theother pressures associated withteenage life.

“I faced many challenges duringmy sporting career and the sup-port of others was vital in helpingme realise my dream. I ampleased to see young people atThe Harefield Academy succeed-ing in an environment that strivesto bring out the best in them,whatever their goals are.”

Denise Lewis

Support for ‘Activities Access’THE West Sussex County Council’sChildren’s Fund ‘Activities Access’voucher scheme is now being sup-ported by Freedom Leisure.

The funded project is specificallydesigned to help improve the lives ofvulnerable children aged betweenfive and 16 years and FreedomLeisure sites will now be offeringthem activities including swimming,trampolining, holiday clubs, daycamps and children’s fitness classes.

Children chosen to participate inthe scheme receive £50 worth of

vouchers each school term and £75during the summer term which canbe redeemed for free or reduced priceaccess to a range of activities acrossthe county.

Simon Adby of Freedom Leisure,said: “We’re really pleased to be partof the Access Activities VoucherScheme.

“We’re always keen to help childrenbecome more active and this is agreat way to involve those that mayotherwise not have regular access toleisure facilities.”

Doncaster children offeredfree help to lose weightHUNDREDS of children as young asfour are being offered free places atclubs to help them lose weight.

NHS Doncaster has invested£500,000 in the scheme, after govern-ment figures revealed that almost onein four of the town’s reception chil-dren are overweight or obese.

The clubs, which are being run byCarnegie Weight Management, willencourage children to eat well andexercise regularly with three and ahalf hour sessions every Saturday for12 weeks.

The initiative is part of a three-yearplan, funded by NHS Doncaster, totackle obesity by reaching out to 500adults and 200 young people in thearea. The sessions are divided intotwo age groups, four to ten year oldsand 11 to 17 year olds, and the fami-lies that attend will be able to takepart in sports and games and learn

how to make healthy food choices.After completing the course, they

will also receive extra support to takepart in sports and activities locally.

Professor Paul Gately, director ofCarnegie Weight Management, said:“We are delighted to launch the newCarnegie Clubs programme inDoncaster for children aged four toten to compliment the existing suc-cessful programme for 11 to 17 yearolds. This new service enables fami-lies to make changes earlier on intheir child's life in a supportive andfun environment, enabling a fitter,healthier future for the whole family.”

Families that have received referralsfrom health practitioners as well asself referrals are being encouragedand the doctors of the children takingpart are being contacted by sessionorganisers so they can confirm theireligibility.

Grant boost for Crawley athletesTHE GLL Sport Foundation hasannounced that training grants arenow available for young athletes inthe Crawley area.

The organisation will be providingfinancial support and free access tosports facilities to reduce the finan-cial burden of training and competi-tion on talented young sports people.

Grants of up to £1,750 per success-ful application will be available tohelp the athletes achieve their sport-

ing ambitions. All successful applicants will be

given free access to local FreedomLeisure Centres for 12 months andothers will also be given cash grantsto assist with specific training needincluding equipment, travel andaccommodation.

Sally Gunnell, Foundation patron,said: “I know how essential this kindof support can be to the realisation ofsporting ambitions.”

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YOUNG people from across theNorth East are getting ready tostage a dance festival, showcasingtheir choreography talents.

‘Youth Moves’, set to take place atthe Sage, Gateshead, is a danceplatform where performances indifferent styles will be completedby talented pupils from schools,colleges, private dance schools andyouth groups.

The performers will be aged from11 to 24 and as well as choreo-graphing the dance sets them-selves, they are also creating theirown costume designs.

The themes for the show includeslavery, metamorphoses, the Haka,a Billy Elliot solo, urban streetdance and hip hop, plus contem-porary and musical theatre.

The event will also include two

dances which have been selectedfor the National Youth DanceFestival in Birmingham, which isset to take place in July.

‘Youth Moves’ has been organisedby the Newcastle School SportPartnership and the North EastYouth Dance Network and is beingpromoted by U.Dance, a nationalorganisation which aims to stimu-late dance performances acrossEngland.

Karin Smurthwaite, NSSP schoolsport coordinator, said: “YouthMoves takes the performance andaudience one step further in thatthe performers come from acrossthe NE and not just the City ofNewcastle.

“This is the first regional danceplatform – a chance for everyone toget together and see what everyone

is doing as well as a chance to net-work. There are plenty of opportu-nities in sport for regional compe-titions and the ‘Youth Moves’ danceplatform is the dance equivalentand will show off the finestdancers in the North East.

“On the same day we are alsoholding our Annual Dance Festival,

‘Dancin’ at the Sage’, which lastyear attracted over 600 performers,aged five to 18, from Newcastleschools.

“I often prefer watching youthdancers to watching many profes-sional companies – there is somuch creativity and raw talent onshow.”

Dancers performing at last year’s Young Moves event

Best foot forward for young dancers

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DANCE is becoming an increasinglypopular activity for young people inthe UK and thousands of schoolsand academies have opened up toprovide classes and training.

Recent Arts Council England fig-ures have revealed that the numberof school pupils choosing to takepart has risen by 83 per cent in thepast four years and that a third ofthose taking part are boys.

In response to this interest, theCouncil for Dance Education andTraining has been looking into howthe parents of young people canensure that their children arereceiving quality teaching in a pro-fessional and safe environment.

The CDET is the national stan-dards body of the professionaldance industry and has previouslybeen involved in the accreditationof professional training pro-grammes in vocational dance andmusical theatre schools.

It has now launched the‘Recognised Schools Mark’ – whichis set to become a national bench-mark of dance training.

The award has been developed inassociation with Dancing Timesand The Stage, and is designed to

help parents choose safe, goodquality dance training for their chil-dren.

The RS Mark will ensure thatyoung people receive lessons fromqualified teachers and staff whohave been properly vetted throughthe Criminal Records Bureauenhanced disclosure procedure,that classes take place in environ-ments which meet Health andSafety standards and that theschool has insurance to coverpupils in case of accidents.

Sean Williams, director of CDETsaid: “A school holding the RS markwill offer much more assurance asto the quality of its service than onewithout it and we shall be activelyencouraging students, parents andcarers to ask at the time of enroll-ment if a school holds the mark andif not, why not.

“RS is the first stage in the devel-

Award helps parentschoose safe, goodquality training

Picture: Brian Slater

opment of a national standard upon which students can rely andto which all pre-vocational danceand musical theatre schools canaspire.”

The award can be achieved by

meeting the nine basic requirements set out by TheCouncil for Dance Education andTraining, completing a short appli-cation process, and paying anannual fee.

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PLAN and deliver a high-qualitydance experience with this must-have, user-friendly resource.

Filled with comprehensive schemesof work and tried and tested unitswritten for Key Stage 3, A PracticalGuide to Teaching Dance will com-plement your physical educationarmoury of skills.

It will help you recognise the fea-tures of good practice in dance teach-ing and will give you the confidenceto deliver high-quality dance classes.

The supporting DVD contains:� Filmed phases of movement toobserve and learn from.� Teacher prompts and pupil work-sheets.� Suggestions for music to accompa-ny your lesson.� Useful references and contacts for

furtherinspiration.

Endorsedby theNationalDanceTeachersAssociation(NDTA),thisresourcewill ensureyou chal-lenge yourpupils, andthat their learning is progressive andmost importantly, enjoyable.

Orders can be placed online atwww.1st4sport.com, by phone on 0113-201

5555 or by faxing an official purchaseorder to 0113-231 9606.

Guide to teaching dance

Pupils given dance matsPRIMARY school pupils inGainsborough are being given dancemats to help them get active.

The area’s Extended School Serviceshas teamed up with FitnessGaming tohelp provide the children with engag-ing and exciting PE lessons.

Amber Treece of the GainsboroughESS, said: “We introduced the dancemats to engage those pupils who donot currently enjoy other physicalactivities. In order to engage ouryoung people in Gainsborough andget them to join in with after schoolclubs, we needed a physical activitythat would appeal to their out-of-school interests.

“This type of activity is perfect

because it crosses all ages and gen-ders so all pupils can play againsteach other regardless of their abili-ties.

“This way, they get fit and healthywithout even thinking about it.”

Duncan Black, director atFitnessGaming, said: “A key part ofinvolving all young people in sportand PE is engaging with those who donot currently want to take part in tra-ditional physical activities, such ascross-country, hockey or netball.

“Sport needs to move with the timesand embrace activities that are moresuited to today’s youth, making sportand fitness something they enjoy andnot something to be avoided.”

‘I Love to Dance’campaign aimedat young peopleBy Louise Cordell

AN interactive campaign to get youngpeople around the country celebrat-ing dance has been launched byYouth Dance England.

The national organisation has start-ed up a social networking campaigncalled ‘I Love To Dance’ to boost chil-dren’s participation in different typesof dance activities, and aims to turn14 February each year into an ‘I LoveTo Dance’ day.

The scheme is being driven throughsocial networking site, Facebook, andhas kicked off with a viral teaser thatfeatures leading figures from thedance world including Youth DanceEngland patrons Arlene Phillips,Carlos Acosta and Kymberlee Jay,alongside a diverse group of youngpeople.

Linda Jasper, YDE director, said: “Wewant ‘I Love to Dance’ to be a veryorganic campaign by putting it firmlyin the hands of young people so theycan create their own dance activity,large or small, wherever they want,and using any dance style they want.

“We don’t want to preach to youngpeople, we want to empower them.”

The viral aims to spread the cam-paign message with a call to get chil-

dren active and involved in dance. Young people are being encouraged

to promote their own dance activity or event on the ‘I Love ToDance’ Facebook fan page andupload films of their dance activitywith a message about why they loveto dance.

All the films will automatically beentered into a competition, and fivewinners will be selected by a panel ofYDE National Young DanceAmbassadors.

As part of the campaign, YDE willalso be creating its own big danceevent to take place somewhere inLondon, with the full details to beannounced to fans on the Facebookpage.

Richard Alston, YDE chair and cho-reographer, said: “I always did love todance, right from a very young age,and continue to be inspired by seeingthe benefits that dance can bring toyoung people – a greater sense ofpurpose, wellbeing and confidence,these are just some of the endlesspositives dance can help to develop.”

Youth Dance England is collaborat-ing with organisations includingDance UK and Dance Champions onthe campaign.

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WHERE highly technical and special-ist dance, sport and exercise floorsare needed, Junckers prefinishedsolid hardwood flooring systems arethe product of choice.

Their silk matt lacquered BeechHarmony flooring has been used fornine series of the hit US tv show‘Dancing with the Stars’ and, here inthe UK, Junckers floors are frequentlyspecified in premier dance venues.

At London’s Central School ofSpeech and Drama, their BeechSylvaSport Club floors were chosenfor nine separate studios and at ThePlace, the pioneering centre for con-temporary dance in London’s Euston,the studios (shown) were fitted withBeech SylvaSport Premium flooringon the Junckers New Era UnoBat cra-

dle system which provides easy level-ing support to the highest levels ofshock absorption and resilience, all ofwhich respond beautifully to thedancers’ every step.

Without a doubt, the dance worldhas voted with its feet for Junckershigh-performance floors.

For more information visit:www.junckers.co.uk or call: 01376 534700.

The product of choice ...

Chester school expandsits dance facilitiesTHE Hammond School in Chester isexpanding its dance facilities thanksto a new installation from the BalletBarre Company.

The school’s four studios featuremirrored walls, double ballet barres and floor-mounted barres infront of floor to ceiling windowedwalls.

Customised ballet barre floor plateswere designed and manufactured tofit between existing underfloor heat-ing pipes and top quality materialswere used to ensure the studios couldwithstand the rigorous demands of

regular dance classes. The company also offers a curtain

installation to cover the mirrors whennot in use, and this is particularlyuseful in multi purpose areas whereexams or lectures take place and theunwanted distraction of mirrors canbe eliminated.

The ActiSprung Dance Floor Systemcombines performance and safety tocreate a permanently installed, fullyfloating dance floor – providing a uni-form level of 'spring' and shockabsorption making it ideally suitedfor all styles of dance.

PUPILS throughout Hampshire arebeing given the opportunity to usethe latest interactive fitness technolo-gy thanks to Sport Unlimited funding.

Partnership Development Managersfrom four School Sports Partnerships- Basingstoke and Deane, Fareham,Toynbee and Southampton – haveinvested in a range of interactive fit-ness equipment from ZigZag worthmore than £75,000.

Five schools and two colleges withinthe Basingstoke and Deane partner-ship will share one of the two dancemat systems, while the area’s localleisure centre, the Aquadrome, bene-fits from the other set.

The school set is used for some cur-riculum work, but mainly lunch timeand after school sessions to generateinterest.

The students are then signposted tothe mats at The Aquadrome, wheredance teachers run sessions in theevenings and at weekends.

As an added incentive, students willbe given free membership for thewhole of the leisure centre when theytake part in more than eight dancemat classes.

As part of the PE and Sport Strategyfor Young People, the mats will alsobe used in the community and withlocal primary schools.

£75k equipment installed

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By Dominic Musgrave

BRITAIN’S Got Talent winnersDiversity are joining forces with theDepartment of Health to launch aGovernment campaign to get kidsdancing for a healthier future.

The ‘Let’s Dance withChange4Life’ campaign will seechildren from around the countrygetting involved in free tasterdance classes in various styles fromhip hop to ball room.

Kids will also have the chance to

win a dance workshop withDiversity as part of the first evernational ‘Weekend of Dance’ inMarch, sponsored by the FitnessIndustry Association. Five to 12year olds are being asked to recre-ate one of three dance routineschoreographed by the street dancegroup and film and upload theirperformance to enter.

Perry, 13-year-old Diversity mem-ber, said: “I absolutely love todance. I think it is a really fun way

to keep active and has helped memake lots of friends. ‘Let’s Dancewith Change4Life’ is a really greatway for kids to have a go at some ofour moves.”

Diversity will choose theirfavourite entry who will join themfor an exclusive dance workshopand win tickets to their tour.

Tickets and merchandise are alsoup for grabs for runners up and thebest videos will be showcased onthe Change4Life YouTube channel,

www.youtube.com/letsdance.Gillian Merron, Public Health

Minister, said: “Dancing is one ofthe most enjoyable ways for fami-lies to get active and stay healthy.

“It’s great that the ‘Let’s Dancewith Change4Life’ campaign hasteamed up with Diversity to findtheir favourite Change4Life dancerand that every family will get thechance to try a new type of danceduring our free weekend of dancein March.”

Diversity steps up to get kids dancing

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Schools mustuse quality musicto capture pupils’imaginationsBy Louise Cordell

THE Sound Moves Music Company is nowin its tenth year of delivering musicresources for dance and drama in educa-tion.

Andrew Kristy, composer and musicaldirector, was nominated for BritishEducation Composer of the Year 2009 for his work on a Lottery and Arts Council funded project called‘Wrosne’.

The 18-month project involved 60 ‘at risk’ young people from Dudley dancingand acting in the limestone cavernsbeneath the Black Country in the WestMidlands.

Andrew composed all the music for theshow, using ideas from the participants, alocal youth choir, pro orchestra and tech-nology.

To date he has composed 28 CDs of wide-ly contrasting music for all types of dance,from Indian to hip-hop to jazz and classi-cal, for young children through to those

taking A-levels.

Andrew said: “Young people have such adiverse and high quality diet of musicthese days.

“You only have to listen to the soundtrackof a Disney or Pixar movie to realise thatchildren listen to music of the highestquality and diversity, often fusing or juxta-posing music styles in complicated butimmensely entertaining ways to match thefilmic action.

“Why then should we dumb down themusic used for movement classes inschool?

“To engage boys especially, we need togive them quality music which capturestheir imaginations and engages their phys-icality.

“To get the best out of teacher and pupil, the resources should be easy for to use; be inspirational for both teacher and pupil alike; be musically well-structured, but not be patronisinglysimple.”

WEEKEND dance workshopsfrom PGL are becomingincreasingly popular as interestin street dance grows.

The workshops aim to delivercontemporary street dance in afun atmosphere, led by profes-sional, specialist instructors.

They are also especially moti-vational for students who havebeen less interested in more tra-ditional forms of PE and physi-cal exercise.

Students start by learning

basic steps and then practicevarious styles to build up shortroutines. They then go on todevelop more complex routinesand the workshop culminates ina performance.

The courses are run at PGL’soutdoor education centres,meaning that alongside thedance workshops, pupils havethe chance to try out otherphysical activities including zipwires, high ropes, climbing andabseiling.

Delivering contemporarystreet dance and fun

The growing interest in street dance has led to increased popularity in danceworkshops

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AS health and fitness developmentmanager, it’s Nick Wilson’s job tomake sure S10 makes money along-side promoting healthy studentlifestyles.

Of its 6,000 members 85 per centare students but Nick said theyneed to make sure they cater foreverybody.

“It’s always a dilemma for us thatwe want to be open to everyonebut we are primarily a student facil-ity, even though we operate as abusiness in our own right. So everybit of membership we get, whoeverit comes from, is as important to usand it would be to any commercialclub. The balancing act betweenstudent and public members canbe a challenge though.”

An off peak membership for a stu-dent costs £160 a year or £240 peak,and as the academic year goes on,special offers are introduced.Towards the summer, monthlymembership is offered for £28 andmembers of the public pay £37 amonth, with only peak member-ship available.

“The gym was redeveloped nine

years ago and we became one ofthe first universities to go down thecommercial route. It was a hugechange and we got a lot of stickfrom the uni paper for raisingprices but it turned out to be a bigsuccess and we proved that stu-dents are prepared to pay for quali-ty. And once other universities sawit could be done, they followedsuit.”

Most of the equipment is set up inrows facing big TV screens and Nicksaid they have deliberately keptthings simple because people liketo come in, work out and leave,without any fuss.

A spinning area sits in the middleof the gym floor and there is a largefree weights area at one end, whichis hugely popular.

There is a beauty therapist andphysio onsite, and a 33m swim-ming pool with sauna and steamroom, replacing a diving area thathad to be taken out due to newsafety regulations.

Posters on the gym wall advisepeople on where to go for help ifthey are addicted to exercise or

think they may have an eating dis-order.

“We wanted to make peopleaware of these issues as they aremost common in the 18-24 agegroup. Every couple of months weput up a big display and the univer-sity eating disorders programme

does regular training with the gymstaff on the signs to look out forand how to approach people whomay have a problem. We feel as auniversity facility that we have aduty of care that goes beyond justmaking sure people are safe on thepremises.”

Sheffield Universitystudents keep theirbeer bellies at bay atonsite gym S10, whichis also open to thecommunity. MaryFerguson found outhow the club balancesbusiness with integrity– inspiring otheruniversities along theway.

NICK said one of the difficulties of runninga university gym is the disparity betweenbusy and quiet times.

“At the start of the academic year we areabsolutely packed but then we get vacationperiods when things are dead.

“During the summer it’s very quiet andwe can concentrate on non-student mem-bers, but between the end of Septemberand beginning of November we inductaround 2,000 people and that’s a massivechallenge, even though we try and con-dense them into group inductions. It’s backto back and the staff really earn their wagesduring those six weeks.”

Because of the volume of inductions thathave to be done, one of each machine is

kept in a separate area dedicated to thepurpose.

Although they don’t measure it, Nick saidthe gym likes to think most members staythroughout their academic study, but everythree years they lose a big chunk upongraduation.

And Nick said a big problem they face isthat many people in the community don’tknow that it is open to them as well as stu-dents.

He added: “You also get those people thatdon’t want to train alongside studentsbecause they have preconceived ideas, but Ialways try and get them down, show themthe facilities, and prove there’s no need tofeel intimidated.”

Students working out

Making money is still aweighty issue for S10

A member of staff gives a student some encouragement

Nick Wilson

Quiet summer days but hecticSeptembers for Nick and his team

23 9/2/10 12:55 Page 1

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PE and sports teachers are beinginvited as VIP guests to a master classby a well-known UK fitness company.

Boxercise, the company behind theworkout of the same name, are invit-ing professionals connected with PEand school sports to attend a one-daymaster class event to be held atBrunel University.

The invite will give teachers thechance to witness the workout firsthand and speak to instructors aboutthe benefits available for young peo-ple.

Andy Wake, Boxercise founder, said:“Boxercise was designed as a way of

developing the key skills used in box-ing without the full contact.

“It’s been well documented thatboxing encourages discipline andconcentration as well as the obviousbenefits to health and fitness.

“Many PE teachers have alreadyfound this to be extremely beneficial,so we want to offer more of them thechance to see Boxercise in action.”

A similar event last year saw over200 instructors from around the UKparticipate, with more expected thisyear and invites are available free ofcharge to PDMs, SSCOs, PE teachersand other related professionals.

Master class invitation to teachers

Pupils sign upfor lessons withkickbox champBy Louise Cordell

A GROUP of school pupils fromAldershot are getting ready to start alife-changing kickboxing scholarshipscheme.

A £5,000 grant from RushmoorSchools Plus has allowed 30 youngpeople to sign up for lessons withWorld Kickboxing champion, PaulBernard, which will aim to teachthem discipline, focus and respect.

All the students will take place insessions at the Precision Martial ArtsAcademy across six weeks, when themost promising will be selected forscholarships to train for their blackbelts.

Rushmoor Schools Plus is a partner-ship between local schools andorganisations which works toimprove the opportunities of childrenand families in the area.

Master Bernard said: “This fundingallows us to extend our black beltscholarship scheme to help morechildren in the area.

“Lads who started the scholarshipsix months ago have come along inleaps and bounds and the change intheir attitude to life, the discipline

and respect they show at home,school and to fellow students at theacademy has been amazing.”

Last autumn, Ross Clynes, AidenNisbet and Paul Linsell successfullycompleted the six week induction atto win scholarships to continue train-ing for their black belts.

Following the course, family, friendsand youth workers reported positivechanges in all three boys at home andschool and confirmed that they hadgained confidence, discipline, respectand had improved in controlling theiranger at home and in school.

Liane Brazier, case worker fromRushmoor Youth Inclusion andSupport Panel, said: “We were soimpressed by how effectivePrecision’s scholarship scheme wasfor the last three boys that took partthat we were keen to keep it going.

“We are delighted RushmoorSchools Plus has come forward withthe funding for the project.

“Some of the 30 children trainingwith Master Bernard are from YISPand the rest are youngsters from theregion who we believe would benefitfrom martial arts.”

OLYMPIC triple jump gold medallistJonathan Edwards has praisednational charity StreetGames for itscontribution to grassroots sportsdevelopment.

In just three years the charity hasestablished a network of over 100sport projects which have generatedover a million attendances by youngpeople living in disadvantaged com-munities.

Jonathan, who is an official ambas-sador for the London 2012 Olympicand Paralympic Games, presented a

certificate and medal to the charity’smillionth attendee at an official cele-bration held at the House ofCommons.

He said: “What StreetGames hasachieved in three years is incredible.

“Sport is notoriously difficult toaccess in areas of significant deprivation and StreetGames com-bats these obstacles by taking sportto the doorsteps of those young peo-ple who need it most and delivering itin a way which appeals – it clearlyworks!”

Jonathan’s praise fornational sports charity

Pictured, from left, Jonathan Edwards, Joe Smith – StreetGames’ millionth attendee andAndy Reed MP for Loughborough

Chill factor sparks new activitiesINSPIRED by the coldest winter for30 years and the forthcoming WinterOlympics, Durham City School SportPartnership has come up with a newway to keep pupils fit.

It has come up with a SchoolsWinter Olympics Challenge with thehelp of Durham Winter Ice Rink andis introducing the kids to a host ofnew skills.

Pupils from first Bearpark PrimarySchool – the first school to getinvolved – have already taken part insix activities, including sliding curlingstones, speed skating, ice hockeydribbling, shooting penalties with apuck, gliding and a snowball relay.

Paul Donaghy, School SportCoordinator for Durham City, said: “Acolleague of ours, Emily Sarsfield isactually competing in Vancouver inthe Ski Cross downhill event and wewanted to promote a bit of interest in

the Winter Olympics as well as givingpupils the opportunity to try out anew sport.

“Pupils of all ages can come and tryout the challenges and we are hopingto have an Ice Festival day in Marchwhen some of the British NationalCurling team are coming to visit anddo some coaching.”

Every challenge is scored and eachschool’s results will be entered ontothe Partnership’s website, allowingpupils to compare their performanc-es to others in the area, on a regularlyupdated leader board.

Carol Armston, Bearpark PrimarySchool’s PE coordinator, said: “Noneof the pupils had been on the icebefore so as well as learning to skatethey have set the standard for theOlympic Challenges. We are hopingto come down again and see if we canimprove on our scores.”

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Elite coaching‘chosen twelve’are unveiledUK SPORT has announced the 12 emerginghigh-performance coaches who will form thefirst intake of their new Elite CoachingApprenticeship Programme.

Following the success of UK Sport’s Fast-track Practitioner Programme and EliteCoach, the two-year acceleratedApprenticeship Programme will build on theknowledge and experience gained so far.

It provides a bespoke development pathwaytowards coaching excellence for each partici-pant, based on the needs of each coach andtheir sport.

The 12 apprentices will benefit from ‘on thejob’ training by working alongside a ‘MasterCoach’ from within their sport while alsohaving access to a mentor.

This will be complemented by a workshopprogramme, delivered by experts in coaching,non-technical coaching skills, sport scienceand sports medicine.

Peter Keen, UK Sport’s director of perform-ance, said: “It would be difficult to overstatethe pivotal role that coaching plays in deter-mining success in elite sport.

“From instructing simple movement tech-nique through to sharing complex insightsfrom the Olympic and Paralympic Games,coaches hold the key to the transfer and

development of knowledge and practice insport.

“We wish these inaugural Apprentices everysuccess and look forward to seeing themdevelop both while on the Programme andinto the future.”

Elite Coach has accelerated the develop-ment of over 30 established high perform-ance coaches since it began in 2004.

However, the new Elite CoachingApprenticeship Programme is geared towardscoaches emerging on the world-class land-scape, with the longer-term future of theBritish elite system, and specifically coachdevelopment, in mind.

David Faulkner, performance director of GBHockey, has seen several of his coaches bene-fit from Elite Coach and another coach, CraigParnham, will now take part in the EliteCoaching Apprenticeship Programme.

He said: “The Elite Coach ApprenticeshipProgramme provides Olympic sports with theopportunity to support and develop thosecoaches identified within their sports whohave the potential to lead their Olympic pro-grammes. Exposure to and working withcoaches from other sports will ensure sharingof best practice and ultimately push up theperformance bar.”

Local children at The Lawn play area

YOUNG people in Lincolnhave been getting fit in thecity’s park thanks to theinstallation of a new i.playunit.

Kids and their families haveclocked up 35,000 games onthe Playdale equipment,which combines traditionalphysical activity with technol-ogy, since it was installed inthe Lawn play area in October2008.

The council has released theresults following new govern-ment research which revealedthat more than one in fivechildren in the UK are start-ing school overweight, withthe figure stretching to almosta third of pupils in year six

classes. Antony Angus, team leader

for recreation services atLincoln Council, said: “Thetotal of 35,000 games, some ofwhich will be multi-player,has far exceeded our expecta-tions.

“Even more important is theexcellent feedback we contin-ue to get from families andyoung people using theequipment.

“Many people and familieshave informed us that theypurposely go to The Lawn touse the i.play. As well asencouraging physical activity,it is great fun and accessiblefor all ages and abilities,including wheelchair users.”

Getting fit in the park

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Big SportsDay 2010THE Big Sports Day 2010 has beenlaunched by Macmillan CancerSupport.

The event aims to give school pupilsfrom around the country the chanceto take part in fun, sporting activitieswhile raising funds to help people liv-ing with cancer. The charity is askingschools to hold their sports days asusual, or set aside a separate lunch-time and incorporate a fund-raisingchallenge. Pupils can take part in asponsored star-jump race in anattempt to break the world record of51 jumps in one minute or try out oneof a range of other challenges suggest-ed on the charity’s website.

A NEW inter-school SportsCompetition Programme hasbeen launched by Motive8 atMarshgate Primary School inRichmond.

The scheme was intro-duced following requestsfrom primary schools toincrease the number ofopportunities for young peo-ple to take part in competi-tive sport.

The first event involved 72young people from eightteams representing five dif-ferent schools: Marshgate,Kew Riverside, St. Mary’sJuniors, Sheen Mount and

Collis. Young Leaders fromMarshgate School, who weretrained by Motive8 coachesin 2008/2009 as part of theSports Leaders UK accredit-ed course, also helped withthe organisation of theevent. The SportsCompetition Programme will

include a different sportingdiscipline each half term,including football, tag rugby,gymnastics, cheerleading,basketball, tennis and athlet-ics. The competition yearwill culminate with a Festivalof Sport at the end of thesummer term.

Motiv8 responds to competition request

Club La Santa in Lanzarote aims to make fitness fun for kids and families.The resort has more than 25 different sports available on site from wind-surfing and cycling to football and dance. It also offers good qualitycoaching, catering fro all levels from beginners to experts in every sport.There is a daily playtime group for the very young, from three years old,and older children are able to take part in special classes and groupinstruction to learn new skills like badminton, tennis and swimming.

WICKSTEED Playscapes haslaunched its 2010 Product Book, covering playscape design from landscape-led play concepts and case studies to a showcase of fitnessand agility product ranges for chil-dren.

Wicksteed has designed and devel-oped an extensive range of gymequipment to be used and enjoyedoutdoors.

The individual units provide a vari-ety of different ways to stretch, toneand strengthen the muscles whilstalso keeping the heart and lungsactive.

To keep youngsters active outdoors,Wicksteed’s Multi-Use Games Areasaim to provide plenty of opportunity

for football, netball, hockey, cricketand basketball to be competitivelyplayed in schools and public areas.

The Fun ‘n’ Fitness range isdesigned to encourage physicaldevelopment in a fun and challenging way with timber highand low level trails for kids to tra-verse.

The new Rockscapes range is madeup of realistic stone mountain facesto challenge aspiring climbers.

Particularly popular in schools isthe Fantasy Funrun which provides amodular fitness trail for all ages, pro-moting fitness and active play acrossa wide ability range.

2010 product book launched

26 9/2/10 12:58 Page 1

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If you would like to advertise inthis directory please contact

James on 01226 734 672

Training & QualificationsYMCA FIT111 Great Russell StLondonWC1B 3NPT: 0207 343 1855W: www.ymcafit.org.ukE: info@ymcafit.org.uk

Central YMCA Qualifications111 Great Russell StLondonWC1B 3NPT: 0207 343 1800W: www.cyq.org.ukE: info@cyq.org.uk

Jump Rope Uk Ltd16 Riverside ParkWimborneDorsetBH21 1QUtel: 01202 840590fax: 01202 840577jumpropes@ntjr.co.ukwww.ntjr.co.uk

National Extension CollegeThe Michael Young CentrePurbeck RoadCambridgeCB2 8HNT: 0800 389 2839 W: www.nec.ac.ukE: info@nec.ac.uk

Sports FacilityDevelopmentSports Solutions GBSuite OneCopse FarmSouth Marston ParkSwindonSN3 4UQT: 01793 833456W: www.sportssolutionsgb.co.ukE: chris.bevan@sports-solutionsgb.co.uk

Training EquipmentCrazy CatchWall Tree House FarmSteaneBrackleyNN13 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 ParkPadihamLancsBB12 7NGT: 01282 779234W: www.sportsartfitness.comE: mark.turner@sportsartfitness.com

Hexa Sports LtdNew Bond StreetBirminghamB9 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 AssociationsAssociation for Physical EducationBuilding 25London RoadReadingBerkshireRG1 5AQT: 0118 378 2440W: www.afpe.org.ukE: enquiries@afpe.org.uk

British Colleges Sport2/3 North Street WorkshopsNorth StStoke-Sub-HamdonSomersetTA14 6QRT: 01935 823444W: www.britishcollegessport.orgE: kate.paul@britishcollegessport.org

Climbing WallsFreedom 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 Dynamics51 Bridge StBelperDerbyshireDE56 1AYT: 01773 828486F: 01773 828475W: www.sound-dynamics.co.ukE: support@sound-dynamics.co.uk

Sports ClothingKitking9, Upper George StreetLeicester, LE1 3LP0116 262 7332E: sales@kitking.co.ukstrskitking@aol.com

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