September 2009 £2.75Sport and fitness for today’s youth

By Louise Cordell

ONE in four children are not takingpart in any organised sport accordingto new research.

A poll by research agency Mori hasrevealed that despite government tar-gets to get young people exercising, 23per cent of five to 19 year olds are notdoing any organised activities.

The results showed that the problemis also getting worse as children getolder, with figures showing one in fiveof ten to 16 year olds opting out risingto three in five 16 to 18 year olds.

The activities the young people werequestioned on included sport, danceor any other physical pastimes whichwere organised and led by an instruc-tor, teacher or sports leader, includingany events or competitions.

They were asked how many timesthey had attended school or collegeduring the previous week and howmuch time they had spent participat-ing in organised activities in that time– both during the school day and out-side school.

Schools Minister Iain Wright hasclaimed that these results do not meanthat the PE and School Sport Strategyis not working and blamed other fac-tors for the findings.

He said: “Ipsos Mori questioned chil-

dren aged five and upwards about thespecific previous week, where therecould have been one off changes tothe timetable due to bad weather ordue to the pupils being absent or onschool holidays.

“Our focus is now on the more chal-lenging ambition of getting youngpeople to take up five hours’ PE andsport a week. So we are putting moreprofessional coaches in schools,upgrading school sport facilities andproviding more attractive sportingopportunities in the community toencourage pupils to take up sportbeyond the school timetable.”

The study found that boys were sig-nificantly more likely than girls to haveparticipated in three or more forms ofactivity, with 26 per cent of them get-ting involved, compared to 16 per centof girls. Girls were also more likely tobe completely inactive than boys, with52 per cent taking part in no organisedactivities at all.

Iain added: “This survey’s findingsgive us a good idea of what remains tobe done to get more children andyoung people taking up the five houroffer. We are putting £31m extrainvestment specifically into stimulat-ing competitive sport at all levels ofschool and youth sport.”

No organisedsport for onein four kids

Kids in theswim withnew poolA NEW temporarypool has been openedon the South Bank inLondon to provideswimming lessons for local school children.

Olympic goldmedallist RebeccaAdlington andLondon Mayor BorisJohnson launched thePools 4 Schools sum-mer camp, which hasbeen set up in part-nership with BritishGas.

The scheme hasbeen organised byOlympic swimmerSteve Parry and aimsto provide temporarypools and swimmingopportunities inareas where childrenand their familiesfind it difficult toaccess their localpools.

Mr Johnson said:“Pools 4 Schools is abrilliant idea.

“With three years togo to the Olympicand ParalympicGames, we must getLondoners young andold more active.”

Fitness expert Joanna Hall has called for an overhaulof exercise in schools. She told Future Fitness schoolsport has a vital role to play in the fight againstchildhood obesity and claims parents also need totake a more active role. She said: “We need to helpchildren learn to love to move and one of my con-cerns is that so many kids are now being driven toschool when they could walk.”Joanna, a celebrity personal trainer who used to beresident fitness expert on ITV’s This Morning, added:“I think what Jamie Oliver has done in terms of turn-ing around school dinners has been an amazing thingand I would like to see similar excitement aroundmovement and exercise.”

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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

By Louise Cordell

THE mother of Britain’s number onetennis player Andy Murray is acceler-ating plans to create a European stylecommunity tennis club in Scotland.

Judy Murray’s aim is to open up amodern community tennis club, withan integrated junior academy, whichis central to a comprehensive tennisdevelopment programme.

She said: “I am keen to develop atennis hub in central Scotland wherethe focus of the plan is to get morepeople, particularly juniors, compet-ing and playing tennis more regularlywithin a stimulating and fun environ-ment.

“We would aim to offer the right mixof facilities, coaches and activityresources to attract families and indi-viduals of all ages and levels.”

Judy has announced that she is nowactively seeking new developmentpartners to help take the scheme for-ward.

She added: “A number of initial siteshave been identified around Stirling,but we are keen to expand our searchfor potential sites and partnersthroughout the country.

“Securing an appropriate develop-ment partner is integral to the suc-cess of this initiative.”

Roger Draper, the Lawn TennisAssociation chief executive, hasalready pledged his support to thescheme and Judy is also workingclosely with other tennis and com-munity agencies in the area in orderto provide the best possible services.

Roger said: “The model Judy is driv-ing forward is undoubtedly the rightapproach to raise the profile and par-ticipation levels of tennis in Scotlandand is indeed one that could be repli-cated throughout Britain.

“There is surely no-one betterplaced and more able to harness andcapitalise on the energy and interestgenerated through the worldwidesuccess of her sons Andy and Jamie.”

The chief executive officer of TennisScotland, David Marshall, is alsobehind the initiative and said:“Scottish tennis certainly needs fur-ther ongoing investment and we arevery keen to help leverage Judy’svision and expertise to deliver bettertennis provision for all.”

Andy’s mumis planningtennis club

YORKSHIRE boxer Chris Saundershas set up a boxing academy inWakefield, in a bid to pass on hisskill to young people in the area.

He is running the boxing side ofthe Kepap and Boxing Academy –which also teaches self defenceclasses – and told Workout he ishoping to discover some champi-ons of the future.

He said: “I am going to channelall my boxing know-how into thisotherwise, having spent all my lifein boxing, I would be letting myexperience go to waste. I havemore time on my hands now thatI’m retired and it gives me thechance to do what I want to do.”

Chris has already sent some timeteaching pupils at a nearby sec-ondary school, which he said gavehim a great platform to build from.

“I want to teach kids, give them abit of confidence and hopefully Imight make a champion of a few.”

Chris used to train at BrendanIngle’s gym in Sheffield and toldWorkout that if he identifies sometalent, he will encourage them tostart training there too. He added:“If somebody who comes to mygym shows potential I will recom-mend them to Brendan. His stableis known throughout the worldand he has helped me a lot since Iretired.”

Chris looks around for champs

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By Louise Cordell

THE Cricket Foundation’s Chance toShine initiative has managed to getover 250,000 children taking part inthe game since its launch four yearsago.

The aim of the programme is toencourage more state schools toinclude competitive cricket in theircurriculum and to help improve chil-dren’s education through the game.

The scheme works by connecting agroup of schools to a local Chance toShine cricket club, providing fundingto get expert coaches into schools toshow kids and teachers how to getinvolved.

Once it is established in school, kidsare also encouraged to take up thesport long term and start playing at ahigher level with their local clubs.

Rosalie Birch, coaching ambassadorfor the Foundation, said: “It is a verysustainable programme because it isabout educating teachers as well asthe kids.

“Many primary school teachers arefemale and we find that a lot of themare not as confident as men at teach-ing cricket.

“But after spending time with ourcoaches they realise that it is fun andinteresting and so encourage thechildren too.”

The programme targets years fiveand six in primary schools and yearsseven and eight in secondary schools.

Recent research from the YouthSports Trust has shown that in aChance to Shine session the childrenare much more active than in a nor-mal PE session and the aim is that achance to experience something dif-

ferent will spark their enthusiasmand give them new opportunities.

Rosalie added: “The first challengeis to change people’s perceptions ofcricket.

“Many teachers and children haveseen it played on TV or on their localgreen and think that it doesn’t lookthat enticing – and teachers in partic-ular tend to think that it will neverengage a large group of over excitedten year olds.

“But our coaches show them varia-tions to the traditional game, but thatstill use the same skills and the kidslove it because they are alwaysactive.”

So far the Chance to Shine initiativehas worked with over 3,000 schoolsand organisers hope to be involvedwith one third of the state schools inthe country within another six years.

Rosalie points out that there aremany different benefits to pupilslearning more about the game, fromthe teamwork and many differentskills involved to the many differenttypes of people and culturesinvolved.

She added: “It opens new doors cul-turally because pupils can thinkabout different countries and nation-alities and their involvement in thesport’s history.

“The game itself also has manydimensions – there are many differ-ent elements which allows kids tosucceed in the areas they are best in,and learn to improve on others.

“Finally, the sport is based aroundthe ‘spirit of cricket’ and good sports-manship which I think is a is greatthing for kids to be a part of.”

Foundation bats on with initiative

Jenny Gunn coaching pupils and, top, pupils at a Kent school

England’s Danielle Hazel and pupils

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New home for table tennis clubTESTWOOD Sports College in Tottonhas become the hub site for the TableTennis Premier Club.

A redevelopment of the school’ssports hall means that it is nowrecognised as a regional developmentcentre for the sport – giving pupilsand the local community the chanceto get involved.

Rob Crocker, school developmentmanager, said: “Our school has beenpart of an ongoing community pro-gramme for the last three years andthe redevelopment was completedjust a few months ago.

“Before there were table tennisclubs based all over the area, but theyreally wanted somewhere they couldcall home.

“Now they can hold their training,competitions and premier leaguematches all in one place, and it ismuch better, and more encouragingfor the kids to come and join.”

Table tennis is now one of theschool’s most popular extra curricu-lar clubs and many pupils have goneon to join the Premier Club, becomesports leaders and help organise theschool’s table tennis festivals.

Rob added: “The new developmenthas made such a difference.

“We have a community club coachand the whole scheme is really starting to build momentum – we willbe holding the county games heresoon.

“It is great because it is not a main-stream sport, but this means that it

appeals to a wider variety of pupils. “We are also very accessible for

everyone in the area, which is veryhelpful.”

The project has also benefitted thecollege’s PE staff as the developmenthas resulted in larger office space forthem as well as a social area whereparents can come and watch their

kids taking part in activities. Rob added: “We are becoming more

of a community facility, which is real-ly the whole idea behind being asports college.

“We are not looking to make a lot ofmoney – just provide opportunities –and any money we do make goesback into the facilities.

“It is all part of a long term pro-gramme of development, and thishas been one of the lengthier sec-tions, but well worth it.

“There are always plenty of people around, enjoying the community facility and it is a muchmore appealing place for the kids tobe.”

The sports college is now a regional development centre for the sport

PUPILS at Glenbrook Primary Schoolin Lambeth have won a national chal-lenge to see which children couldwalk the furthest distance duringWalk to School Week.

The competition was organised byChange4Life and ten schools fromacross the country were chosen byThe National Healthy SchoolsProgramme (NHSP) and were provid-ed with pedometers.

30 pupils at Glenbrook School tookpart in the challenge and altogetherwalked 210 miles – over half a million

steps – winning £500 of new sportsequipment for their school.

Anthea Dalton, headteacher atGlenbrook Primary School, said: “Ourpupils are delighted to have won theWalk to School Week challenge.Walking is such an easy way to stayhealthy and it does not cost anything.

“The children found the challenge alot of fun and enjoyed filling out theirforms each day – hopefully this willinspire them to continue walking andenjoying the benefits of a healthierlifestyle for the future.”

Miles bring smilesfrom winning pupils

Glenbrook pupils celebrate winning the national challenge

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By Mary Ferguson

OLYMPIC hurdler Colin Jackson wasthe guest speaker at the Youth SportTrust’s inaugural dance conference,aiming to inspire PE teachers todevelop their dance skills.

Colin, star of the BBC’s StrictlyCome Dancing, was the main attrac-tion at the event, which was held atWalsall Football Club.

The conference, titled ‘InspiringDance Practice’, featured perform-ances by schools including youthdance group Free Fall, and dance

companies including StopGAP.Colin, along with Olympic bronze

medal winning swimmer and BBCpresenter Stephen Parry, also dis-cussed how they are using dance toengage young people within theirown ventures – The Great SportDance, for which Colin is ambassa-dor, and Stephen’s own Total Dance.

Speaking to Future Fitness from theevent, Colin said: “Most youngsterslearn to dance naturally as toddlersso we can harness this and – alongwith TV shows like Strictly ComeDancing – really help progress it. The

physicality of dancing ticks a lot ofboxes.”

Colin said that as well as StrictlyCome Dancing, the young dancestars of Britain’s Got Talent do a goodjob of inspiring young people – andespecially boys – to get involved withdancing.

“The media is massively changingthe perception that dance is just forgirls and seeing boys like GeorgeSampson do so well is really grabbingyoung male’s attention and helpingto change their attitudes.”

The conference focused on the

skills and techniques needed to moti-vate and inspire dance education andshowcased effective dance practicewhich supports the offer of giving allyoung people access to five hours ofsport a week by 2012.

Colin added: “An added benefit ofdance is that mastering moves androutines can provide a real boost toself esteem, helping pupils excel inother areas of school.

“I know that my success in sporthas really helped drive everythingelse I do in life.”

Colin with some of the youngsters at the conference

Colin puts his best foot forward

STUDENTS from Newcastle’s SchoolSport Partnership have been experi-encing what life is like in the Marines.

Pupils from schools across Tyne andWear competed in a ‘Meet theMarine’s Challenge’, taking part in ateam building assault course, matcircuit challenge, climbing walland a blindfolded team buildingexercise.

Steven Beharall, Newcastle CityCouncil sport development officer,said: “The young people were veryexcited about this event as they got torepresent their schools while takingpart in fun activities which chal-lenged them.

“Our main objective was for the stu-dents to learn teamwork skills, enjoyparticipating in high quality, compet-itive, physical activities and try theirbest whatever the final outcome, in asafe, controlled environment.”

The boys had just two hours tocomplete all tasks, collecting pointsfor each activity to decide on an over-all winner.

One teacher accompanying a groupfrom South Tyneside said: “This hasbeen an excellent event, the lads arevery tired but have thoroughlyenjoyed this experience which was anexciting alternative to PE withthought provoking challenges.”

A Newcastle school boy completing the assault course

Newcastle students ‘meetthe Marines’ challenge

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By Mary Ferguson

A GROUP of independent healthclubs are targeting the ‘Playstationgeneration’ by waiving their joiningfees for youngsters who bring in oldvideo games instead.

Bodytech Health Clubs, based atfour sites in Shrewsbury, Whitchurch,Market Drayton and Chester, are thendonating the games to local charityshops.

Company director Peter Metcalfesaid the scheme has been a big suc-cess, helping them attract youngmembers who may be new to fitness.

He told Workout: “We hear so muchabout overweight kids addicted totheir computers so we thought itwould be a good way of getting theminvolved in the gym. And as commu-nity-spirited clubs we always try anddo things for charity so it’s benefittingeveryone.”

Youngsters aged 15 or over are ableto use the facilities independentlyand children from 13 are able toattend with an adult. The offer has

been marketed through adverts in thelocal newspapers, through leafletdrops and posters around secondaryschools.

To promote the community spirit ofthe clubs, Peter organises charitydrives on a monthly basis. One of themost successful schemes was invitingmembers losing weight to donatetheir clothes that had become toobig, placing collection bins aroundthe gym floor.

“It was incredibly motivating forthem to get rid of their old clothesand see how far they had come. Andwe always let the local papers knowwhat we are doing, so it’s great PR forus too.”

Peter said that as well as generatingnew memberships, the video gameswap is getting people talking aboutthe gym.

He added: “It’s also a good way ofgetting the market early becausethese young people are joining nowand when they become adults, willhopefully return as they will remem-ber where they discovered fitness.”

Bid to pull in‘Playstationgeneration’

Peter with one of his personal trainers and some of the video games collected

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FOOTBALL CV was the brainchildof Peter and David Mallinger andGraham Stamer.

All three had been involved in thefootball industry for many yearsand were aware of the huge num-ber of applications that all clubsreceive from players asking for tri-als.

However, they also knew thatmost of those letters went unseenand unanswered and wonderedhow many star players were miss-ing their big chance.

So they came up with the idea ofFootball CV – a place for players toadvertise their own experience andability and be viewed by managers,coaches and scouts.

Scouts from local to premiershipclubs were then invited along fortrial days where players on thedatabase could take part in match-es and be in with a chance of beingspotted.

Martin Harris, Football CV acade-my manager, said: “Lots of seniorclubs look for players at a veryyoung age, because that way they

get more input into their trainingand development and they canwork with them for longer.

“We have even held a special trialday for six to 12 year olds and itwas inundated with scouts lookingfor players, and some boys evenhad clubs competing to sign them.

“Young lads that have been spot-ted at these days have gone on toplay for clubs including Chelsea,Northampton Town and Malta’snational team.

“Also important is the fact that wehave players working at lots of dif-ferent levels, so we get scouts infrom lots of different level clubs.

“We don’t judge players beforethe trial day, so everyone gets achance – it is about giving youngpeople opportunities.”

In 2007 the company decided toexpand its offering to include a pri-vate football academy that wouldallow talented 16 to 18 year olds togo to college as well as get profes-sional, full time football coaching.

It also now runs a residential trialcamp, where keen players can stay

for a week during school holidays,receive expert coaching and thenattend a special trial day at the endof the week to show off their skillsto scouts.

Organisers have also recently heldthe first of these camp for femalefootballers thanks to a big increasein demand from players and clubmanagers alike.

Martin added: “Unfortunatelythese days there are a lot more kidsplaying indoors on computers thanoutdoors in the street.

“But I think if they have the driveand have the right encouragementthey will put the time and effort into develop.

“We are trying to help this withthe camps by giving them access tothe highest quality coaches –because working with people whounderstand the game and canteach it well makes all the differ-ence.

“All players need to be challengedand have fun at the same time tokeep their interest and enthusi-asm.”

Young people at the camps aretaught by ex professional playersand coaches as well as nutritionistsand sports psychologists in orderto provide them with all the infor-mation needed to improve theirgame.

Every young footballplayer’s dream is to bespotted by a talentscout and turn theirhobby into a career.Football CV was setup to bring thatdream closer to reality– Future Fitness foundout more.

Ashely Young (Aston Villa and England player) opening the Football CV Academy surrounded by students

Helping budding starsachieve their goal

A Football CV trial day at St James Park

American reality show approaches Football CVFOOTBALL CV has also beenapproached to take part in thenext series of American reality TVshow Soccer Dreams.

In the last series the programmefilmed football trials around theUS and selected 40 players to visit

the Everton Football Academy.

The most talented footballerthen won a full-time place at theacademy to undergo further train-ing.

This year the show will be hold-ing the usual trials in America, but

also one in the UK – organised byFootball CV.

The winner of the UK trial will betaken to America to join the rest ofthe shortlisted players, before thisgroups is narrowed down to a final16.

These 16 will attend the UKFootball CV Academy for trainingsessions and be given the opportu-nity to play for Premiership clubscouts, before a winner is selectedto take up a two-year place at theAcademy.

Football CV Academy coach Danny Nicholls and players from the Academy

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BRITISH diver Tom Daley has led ayouth lobby campaign outside theTreasury to support the new MakeSpace for Health initiative.

Tom joined forces with Britain’sGot Talent dance troupe Nemesisand a group of young campaigners– handing out fruit to passers-by topromote a new report, calling onthe Government to take up thescheme nationwide.

Tom was Britain’s youngest com-petitor at the 2008 BeijingOlympics and recently becameBritain’s first individual world div-ing champion after taking gold inthe 10m platform event at theworld championships in Rome.

He said: “I am really hoping thatthe Government take the sugges-tions on board, because it is anexcellent scheme and I reallythink it could help to make a differ-ence.

“It is a great idea because it willgive young people more opportu-nities to try lots of different sports.

“I think getting access to thingsother than the traditional gameslike football and rugby will encour-age lots of kids to get involved, andhopefully find something that they

enjoy and that they are good at.”Tom believes that one of the main

barriers to young people gettinginvolved in sport is the lack of facil-ities, especially for the less main-stream activities.

He pointed out that while thereare a lot of football, rugby andcricket pitches, there are not manyclimbing walls or diving pools, andthis is something that should beaddressed.

He added: “My inspiration camefrom watching the Athens2004Olympics – seeing the divingteam made me realise what I couldpossibly achieve.

“But I think young people can getinspiration from anywhere, and ifthe support is available, they willthen want to go on to be the bestthat they can be.

“My advice to other young peopleis that, even if you don’t consideryourself to be a ‘sporty’ person itdoesn't mean that you can't getinvolved and get active.

“You don't have to do anythingstrenuous like go running, but justfind something fun that you enjoy -anything is better than nothing –and it will probably lead you on toother activities as well.” Tom Daley

Tom leads youth lobbyto support initiative

Sportingchance foryoungsters in DerbyshireDERBYSHIRE charity SportingFutures has been given fundingworth £377,000 to provide local kids with weekend sporting activities.

The charity has been given themoney to launch the county wideSTEP project (Sports TrainingEducation Programme) whichinvolves providing activities onFriday and Saturday evenings inBolsover, Chesterfield, Erewash andDerby City.

It will also encourage young peopleto become volunteers and sportsleaders in their local communitiesand provide sports education oppor-tunities to these youngsters.

Operations manager at SportingFutures Sarah Clarke said: “Thefunding for the STEP project willallow us to reach out to more youngpeople in Derbyshire, giving themnew opportunities to take part insports sessions within their localcommunities, delivered by qualifiedcoaches and volunteers.

“The project will also offer supportand guidance to young people inter-ested in becoming sports leaders andcoaches themselves.”

The project will run until the end ofMarch 2011.

SIR Bobby Charlton joined theUniversity of Brighton’s Football 4Peace (F4P) project for its latest visitto Israel to train young Jewish andArab footballers.

Now in its ninth year, F4P aims tobreak down barriers and bring com-munities together through the medi-um of football in Israel.

Established in 2001, with just onecamp for 60 children in one commu-nity, the project has grown signifi-cantly.

The latest visit to Israel broughttogether more than 750 youngstersaged 10-14 years old, who participat-ed in 11 football and multi-activity

camps across Israel. They were coached by over 80 uni-

versity student sports coaches fromthe University of Brighton and theGerman Sports University, Cologne,and Jewish and Arab sport profes-sionals from Israel.

Sir Bobby said: “Using football tobring different people together is anapproach that we endorse as part ofour community outreach atManchester United. I am delighted tobe extending this philosophy toIsrael. It is a privilege to be workingwith Arab and Jewish youngsters andto be a part of the Football 4 Peaceproject.”

Sir Bobby backs Football4 Peace project

Sir Bobby Charlton

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By Louise Cordell

A NEW £5 million CommunitySports Centre has been opened atthe City of Wolverhampton College.

The facility has been created forthe school’s students and is usedheavily by those completing sports,recreation and fitness courses dur-ing term time.

However, it is also open to thepublic and college staff during theevenings, weekends and holidays.

Gary Wong, college sports centremanager, said: “The old facilitieswere all at least 15 years old, so wewanted to provide something newto make sure the students hadaccess to the best possible equip-ment.”

“The centre site is also wheresports and leisure courses take

place, so it is important to givethose students as much support aspossible – and the best thing isthey can also gain practical workexperience and train in a real lifeenvironment.”

The development features a bad-minton court, sports hall and a 20station fitness suite equipped withcardiovascular and resistancemachines and dumbbells. Thereare also spa areas with three treat-ment rooms and wet area consist-ing of sauna, steam room and spapool and dance studio.

As the centre is part of the maincollege, there are also three teach-ing rooms and a coach educationroom which can be used by teach-ers and students and also hired outto the local fitness community.

Gary added: “We have had a fan-

tastic response from the students. “In the old gym we were lucky to

get ten students in each day, but inthe new suite we are getting 20 to30 in every lunch time.

“It has proved to be very popularwith the students generally, but isespecially good for the fitness stu-dents as they are getting to workout on the most up to date equip-ment, and having a knowledge ofthis will be particularly importantin their future careers.”

Students are also able to use thefacilities when they are open forpublic use, paying just £8 permonth for membership.

However, costs have also beenkept low for people in the commu-nity, to encourage a wide variety ofpeople to join up and see what thecollege has to offer.

Gary added:“We recognise thatthe college location is not in a par-ticularly affluent area and alsobecause of the time restrictions, wecouldn’t offer a traditional onpeak/off peak membership.

“We wanted to offer the bestvalue we could – so what we haveended up with is a peak time mem-bership at an off peak price –which is proving very popular.”

Plans have now also beenapproved for a third generation,floodlit, Astroturf pitch at the site,due to open in September.

When it is completed, the collegewill be teaming up withWolverhampton Wanderers FC -which will use the pitch as a train-ing facility for their women’s teamand also their girls’ centre of excel-lence.

Fantastic response to new£5m community sports centre

The college sports facilities are also open to the public and college staff in the evening, at weekends and holidays.

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By Christina Eccles

A NEW campaign has beenlaunched to encourage more youngpeople to take up Taekwondo as analternative to traditional schoolsports.

The British Taekwondo ControlBoard – the UK governing body forthe sport – decided to take thesport into schools after good per-formances in competitions and atthe last Olympics led to increasedinterest from people wanting totake part.

And Gary Hall – performancedirector of the British Olympicteam – said that Taekwondo is agood way for kids to keep fit as itcombines both physical exerciseand mental discipline.

He said: “There has been a defi-nite drive to develop Taekwondo inschools and there have alreadybeen successful pilots in theManchester and Hampshire areas,which involved someone from aclub going into local schools andintroducing the sport,

“It offers something different foryoung people, away from the nor-mal run of the mill school sportssuch as football and rugby.

“We won our first Olympic medalin 2008 which gave us major pub-licity and since then we have seenan increase in the quantity of peo-ple taking it up.”

The British Taekwondo teammoved to a new facility inManchester about six months ago

as they wanted somewhere withmore specialised equipment to fitthe needs of their Olympic levelathletes.

EXF supplied the equipment forthe new facility – which includesthree power racks with platforms,heavy duty flooring and multi pur-pose benches – and Gary addedthat having this new space to trainhas been a big help to the team.

The Olympic level athletes traintwice a day, six days a week andGary said that having excellentfacilities plus funding from bodiessuch as UK Sports Lottery is help-ing the athletes to work towardsmajor Taekwondo championshipsand hopefully medals at the 2012Olympics.

Gary with EXF’s Charles Burch

Drive to develop Taekwondo

Transplantathleteshead for OzEIGHT young transplant athletes havebeen given the chance to visitAustralia to compete in the 2009World Transplant Games.

The Games are the largest organdonor awareness event in the worldfeaturing nine days of sporting eventsand the trip has been funded by an£18,000 donation from BirminghamChildren’s Hospital Charities.

The UK team of 140 athletes will joinover 1000 others, from 55 countries,who have all undergone an organtransplant.

Lynne Holt, UK team manager, said:“We are delighted to have this level ofsupport for the young transplant ath-letes in the Birmingham area.

“The donation means that eachfamily will receive £2,250 towardstheir trip, which will make all the dif-ference and take these remarkableyoung people one step closer to theirdream of competing.

“These athletes are living examplesof the power of organ transplants, aswell as inspirational athletes, many ofthem winning gold medals at pastBritish Transplant Games.

“Many of the athletes are finding itvery difficult to get funding in today’schallenging economy, but it would bea tragedy if they couldn’t make it toAustralia.”

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PUPILS at Woodcote House School inSurrey play sport every day, so aseries of redevelopments is nowunderway to improve their facilties.

The Astroturf pitch at the family-owned prep school is due to bereplaced this summer and, as a wayof keeping waste to a minimum, theold pitch is being recycled to createhard cricket nets.

Andrew Monk, the school’s assistanthead, said: “The boys at our schoolare involved in everything from foot-ball, rugby, cricket, athletics andcross country to different individualsports like horse riding, judo andshooting.

“We like to push real sport ratherthan virtual sport but we know thatnot all pupils want to spend theirtime chasing a ball around a muddypitch.

“So what we aim to do is find some-thing that will spark their enthusiasm– and once we find it, we need to begeared up to help them as much aspossible.

“All our developments are aimedtowards giving the boys the best pos-sible environment to practice in andimprove.”

The school has two dedicated crick-et pitches and four rugby and footballpitches as well as a nine hole golf

course in the grounds – and it ishoped that the new pitch will beready for the new term in September.

Andrew added: “We had managedto make the old Astroturf pitch lastfor 15 years and so we felt the timewas right for refurbishment.

“Finding a way to recycle the oldAstroturf was a real bonus, and wehave been able to reuse it on some ofour under-used tennis courts to cre-ate cricket nets.

“We have also created a new cricketsquare so that we can use a battingcage – giving the pupils more oppor-tunities to get involved and improve.”

Cricket in choir robes

School’s recycling nets themnew cricketing area

Young disabledathletes showtheir skillsYOUNG disabled athletes inGloucestershire have been given theopportunity to show off their skills ata county assessment day.

Kids that attended the event, held tocelebrate International ParalympicDay, got the chance to talk to andwork with representatives from theirsports, and find out how to developtheir talent in order to compete athigher levels.

The day was organised by ActiveGloucestershire and the county coun-cil, who are working to develop a fullyinclusive disability sports programmeand become more involved in thePlayground to Podium talent identifi-cation programme.

The young athletes chosen to takepart had been identified at a series ofmulti sports days organised by schoolsports partnerships across the county.

Cllr Antonia Noble said: ““It is vitalthat everyone has the opportunity toparticipate in sport and that thosethat are talented are given everychance to progress from local com-munity clubs into a competitive envi-ronment.

“These sort of initiatives help toensure that everyone, regardless ofwhether they have a disability or not,can aspire to be the best in their cho-sen sport and that they are given thenecessary support to fulfil theirpotential.”

16 11/8/09 16:28 Page 1

news 17

By Louise Cordell

SPORTY children in Manchesterschools have been receiving advicefrom one of the country’s top nutri-tion experts.

Former national bodybuildingchampion Kerry Kayes has beenvisiting various specialist sportscolleges and schools to talk to thekids about the link between eatingwell and sporting excellence.

He said: “It is important for kidsto know that if they really want topursue a sport, make the most oftheir natural talent and fulfill theirpotential, that the right nutritionand training will help them to dothis. I found that most of theyoung people were fairly wellinformed about a lot of fitnessissues, but often listening to thiskind of thing from a teacher thatthey see every day doesn’t makemuch of an impression.

“However, coming from someonewith my background it gets theirattention and opens their mind tothe new information.”

Kerry talks the pupils through thebasic facts about nutrition which, he says, most people areaware of but rarely apply them toreal life.

He claims that the youngsters areoften surprised to learn that therehave been cases of morbidly obesepeople weighing over 50 stone, butstill suffering from malnutrition

thanks to a diet of empty calories.He added: “I tell them there are

two ways to go – eating too muchbut getting no nutrition or with theright foods, getting all the nutritionthe body needs, but with just a fewcalories.

“I use the example of a KFC meal,which can contain around 1400calories – over three quarters of agirl’s daily allowance – and thatseems to bring it home for them.”

Teachers also show the pupilspictures of Kerry with his formercelebrity clients including Ricky

Hatton, David Beckham and OscarDe La Hoya.

The aim was to show the kids thatalthough Kerry had started outfrom a deprived area of the city,just like many of them, sportingachievement can open many dif-ferent doors.

Kerry added: “Many young peoplehave a natural talent for sports andthey can rely on that gift up to acertain point – but if they want totake it to the next level then theyneed to make the extra effort – andcommitting to taking training and

nutrition seriously is a big part ofthat.

“I want them to know that if theylook after themselves they will beable to do whatever they choose tomuch better.

Natural talent isn’t enough for bigleague success – going the extramile to improve yourself couldmean the difference between getting signed by a Premier League team and being let go – andit is something that they are incontrol of – they just need to beinspired.”

Kerry serves up nutrition advice

Former national bodybuilding champion Kerry Kayes

17 13/8/09 09:12 Page 1

news18

Call for changesto ‘nonsensical’new curriculumTHE Association for PhysicalEducation is calling on governmentministers to make changes to ‘non-sensical’ areas of the new primarycurriculum.

The demands come at the end of aconsultation process following thepublication of the Rose Review earlierthis year.

AfPE, together with the Sports Trustand Sports Coach UK, believe thatthe review failed to recognise thevalue of physical education and havewritten to the Secretary of State tovoice their objections.

Their aim is to restore the subject toa central position within the curricu-lum and they claim they will contin-ue to protest until the final consulta-tion decisions are made.

AfPE has also announced that, if therequested changes are not made, itwill publish its own learning frame-work to help primary teachers pro-mote PE within the curriculum.

Professor Margaret Talbot, AfPEchief executive, said: “We have madeour objections very clear and havereceived a lot of support.

“We have had many responsespointing out that this move is illogi-cal, considering the funding that hasgone into promoting activity inschools and the rising obesity epi-demic in young people.

“It is an example of non joined upgovernance and a lack of strategicknowledge.”

The three month consultation,

being held by the Qualification andCurriculum Authority, has now closedand the feedback will be used by thegovernment to make the final deci-sions about the curriculum structure.

The current recommendationwould put physical education intothe learning area of ‘PhysicalDevelopment, Health and Wellbeing’- but AfPE’s aim is to have this titlechanged to ‘Physical Education,Health and Wellbeing’.

Margaret added: “We welcomebeing included with health and well-being, because PE can contribute alot to these areas. The problem is theway it is presented.

“If physical education isn’t in thetitle its visibility and importance willbe reduced.

“The phrase physical developmentis nonsensical - it does not evendescribe an area of learning.

“We know that in other countrieswhere physical education has beensubdued under another title it has allbut disappeared from the curriculumand it would be a disaster if the samething happened here.

“Rose has been adamant about thetitle remaining as it is, but physicaleducation shouldn’t be excluded forthe sake of tidiness.

“He doesn’t seem to have any empa-thy with the area at all, so we will justhave to hope that the governmentministers recognise what we are say-ing and take the necessary action.”

A TEENAGER from Newcastle haswon an award for her efforts in help-ing children enjoy sporting activities.

Beka High – a pupil at WhickhamComprehensive School – won thetitle of Young Apprentice of the Yearin the regional heats of the NationalApprenticeship Awards.

While studying for her YoungApprenticeship in SportsManagement, Leadership andCoaching, at Gateshead College’sAcademy for Sport, Beka completedmore than 70 days of work experi-ence and volunteering over the past

two years. She undertook a work placement at

Dunston Hill Primary School, whereshe helped lead and support PE les-son and at Gateshead Council, whereshe worked with children with dis-abilities, from different ethnic back-grounds and children with specialneeds. She said: “I have learned sucha lot through taking part in the YoungApprenticeship programme andwould recommend it to anyone. Ithas given me the push I needed tomake the decision to pursue this as acareer.”

Beka High

Beka’s winning ways

Movement project kicks offA NEW scheme to help get younggirls active has been launched byDerby County FC.

The ‘Movement’ project has beencreated after reseach within the cityshowed that 66 per cent of localyoung women did not achieve gov-ernment guidelines for being active.

It will give 7,000 girls aged 11 to 16,the chance to access a new‘Movement’ website containing activ-ity, dance, healthy and beauty ideas,the chance to win prizes and aMovement card which will entitlethem to discounts on activities acrossthe city. Another element of the ini-tiative is the Step Up 2 Dance pro-gramme and Rock Your Body StreetDance Challenge.

All 11 to 16 year olds will be able totake part and the best group willbecome The Movement Dance Crew,

win a trip to Nike Town in London todesign their own trainers and per-form at a Derby County home match.

Kymberlee Jay of Nike, who hasbeen training The Movement’s dancecoordinators, said: “Helping youngwomen to be physically active, confi-dent and strong-minded is a passionof mine. When I heard about TheMovement campaign in Derby, Ithought – yes, someone else whobelieves girls can have a healthy andsuccessful future through dance!

“I really wanted to get involved andnow I am, I hope to strengthen themessage and encourage girls todance. Through the Step Up 2 Danceand the Rock Your Body competition,we hope to get girls who’ve neverdanced before to give it a go and seenew talent emerge.”

Scottish kids join the golf clubA RECORD number of Scottish pri-mary school children have beenintroduced to golf for the first timefor a Government funded initiative.

So far this year, nearly 40,000youngsters have taken part in thegame through FirstClubGolf - ascheme which uses modified equip-ment to give children a taste of thesport in school.

First Minister Alex Salmond said:

“Scotland is undoubtedly the homeof golf. It is only right that we do allwe can to help introduce youngpeople to the great game andencourage greater participation.

“An increasing number of golf pro-fessionals are delivering the nation-al junior programme and they haveteamed up with a workforce ofqualified volunteer coaches thatnow numbers more than 1,500.”

18 11/8/09 17:32 Page 1

news 19

Children at Courtney Primary School get involved with Active for Life

A programme that helps pupils move more and wiseup about food is achieving success in schools inSouth Gloucestershire as children become moreaware of their health. Mary Ferguson reports.

By Mary Ferguson

OVER the past three years, SouthGloucestershire’s Active for Lifeprogramme, coordinated by thearea’s Healthy Schools team, hasbeen encouraging children andyoung people to be more activeand eat more healthily.

And as well as learning aboutbetter food choices in school, chil-dren have been actively looking atways in which they can keep mov-ing and reduce the amount of timethey spend in front of a TV or com-puter screen.

Active for Life lessons run in theschools include pupils keeping a‘fit check’ journal where they candraw and compare graphs showinghow much time they are active andinactive for during each day – andthey can then set goals and thinkabout the support they may needto achieve these targets, such asparental help walking to school.

Musical food groups is a popularlesson, where children jog roundthe school hall to music and gatherpictures of different foods intofood groups when the music stops.

Teachers are also encouraged touse language that helps children tothink in a positive way about a bal-anced diet, rather than referring to‘obesity’ or ‘good or bad’ foods.

An evaluation from theUniversity of Bristol showed that inthe first six months of Active forLife, there was clear evidence ofbehaviour change and a positiveresponse across the whole schoolcommunity, including childrenand young people, staff and par-ents.

For example, there was a five percent reduction in the amount oftime children watched TV or spentin front of a computer, throughoutthe week and also at weekends.

Emma Cookson, a teacher atCowley Language College, said:“Children initially found it reallydifficult to miss a TV programme,and they challenged me to do thesame! I think we all struggled tochange our family routines. Theeffects of these changes aren’talways immediately obvious, but Iknow I’ve also heard snippets ofconversations around schoolwhich make me think wow, it’s def-initely made a difference.”

South Gloucestershire wasawarded Beacon Status for itsinvolvement in Healthy Schoolsbut Sarah Atkins, Healthy Schoolscoordinator for SouthGloucestershire, said they will notbe resting on their laurels.

She added: “Just recently, we’vealso introduced homework whichinvolves discussions with parents –so these healthy lifestyle messagesare really being transferred fromschool to the home, providingwhole families with a platform totalk about these important issues.”

To keep up the momentum of theproject, the University of Bristol iscontinuing to evaluate Active forLife in Gloucestershire’s schools,by monitoring the height, weightand waist circumference of stu-dents, as well as through usingaccelerometers, sedentary activityquestionnaires and interviews.

Team keepskids on themove ...

Grassroots sport brings satisfactionNEW research published by SportEngland has revealed a high level ofsatisfaction amongst people takingpart in grassroots sport.

Regular participants from over 40sports gave an overall satisfaction rat-ing of over 80 per cent across tenareas – including coaching, exertionand fitness, officiating, facilities andvalue for money.

The sporting satisfaction survey is anew piece of study that aims to pro-vide useful insights to NGBs to helpthem sustain and improve participa-tion.

The results showed that the sportswith the highest overall ratings weretaekwondo, judo, golf and orienteer-ing.

Mihir Warty, Sport England directorof strategy and research, said: “Thisannual survey will help us to unlockthe DNA of sporting participation by

revealing what motivates people totake part, the issues they face, and the key drivers that will influence them to continue and domore.

“The more we can help nationalgoverning bodies of sport to understand what motivates and matters to people playing their sport,the more able they will be to respond to the needs of existing cus-tomers and encourage new partici-pants.”

The survey is now set to be repeatedannually with the same panel of peo-ple to help measure the progressmade by each sport in improving sat-isfaction.

More detailed results and analysisare also set to be published later inthe year, following workshops withthe national governing bodies of eachof the sports.

Sport Partnership to benefitDONCASTER School SportPartnership is to benefit from newequipment and activity programmesdesigned to help local children keepfit.

The Get Active School SportPartnership – based at Balby CarrCommunity Sports College – secured over £200,000 in fundingfrom NHS Doncaster to provide a

variety of new physical activity programmes harnessing the powerof technology.

These include dance mats,Actipeds and Nintendo Wii with WiiFit.

The equipment will be used toengage young people who currentlytake part in little physical activity orsport.

19 13/8/09 09:11 Page 1

sports tours20

EASINGTON Colliery School in CountyDurham is home to over 400 studentsaged four to 11.

It is committed to giving its pupils thebest new experiences and so far teach-ers have organised five skiing trips tothe Aosta Valley in Italy with anotherplanned for March 2010.

Ruth Wilkinson, year six teacher andextended schools leader, said: “I knew itwould be a challenge when I first cameup with idea – I know it is unusual for aprimary school to put on trips like thisbecause the children are so young.

“But my headteacher was a skier him-self, and was enthusiastic, and we feltthat it would be so beneficial for thekids we had to give it a try.”

Ruth organised some taster sessions atlocal dry ski slopes to get the pupilsinterested in the idea and also spoke tothe local school sports partnership andto other schools in the area who hadrun similar trips to see how they hadorganised things.

Parents were then brought into schoolfor a meeting with the trip organisersInterski, who explained the activities,costs and health and safety measures inplace to put their minds at rest.

Ruth added: “I think there were someinitial concerns because skiing is per-ceived as an expensive schools trip - butonce we had explained the costsinvolved to the parents and showedthem that it was actually fairly inexpen-sive compared to a normal skiing trip,

they were very enthusiastic and saw thesaving potential.

“We also make sure to plan the tripsfar in advance and have weekly ormonthly payment systems to make it aseasy as possible for the parents to pay.”

A combination of teachers, teachingassistants and parents accompany thechildren and Ruth has found that thetrip can be particularly beneficial forchildren with low self esteem, becauseevery child can excel regardless of theiracademic ability.

She also believes that it gives them theconfidence boost needed to getinvolved in other sporting activitieswhen the get back.

She added: “Skiing is a sport where theonly way to progress is to listen to theinstructor and follow their instructionscarefully – it is not something that youcan just get on with and pick up imme-diately. This means that those kids whohave a natural sporting ability back atschool don’t really have an advantageover the less active kids, they are allstarting off on a level playing field andcan work their way up from there.

“I would advise any other school con-sidering a ski trip to look into it thor-oughly and be under no illusions aboutthe fact that it is a lot of hard work and amassive responsibility - but it is alsocompletely and utterly worth it!”

Ski trips abroad are usually something saved for secondary school, but pupils fromEasington Colliery primary have been proving they are just as capable on the slopes.

WHEN Richard Grainger,Head of PE at BaverstockSports College recentlydecided it was time toorganise another schoolfootball tour, it was due inlarge part to the persistentrequests of his pupils.

A victim of his own suc-cess, the legacy of previoustrips to Spain and Italy,organised by Sports TravelInternational, were stillbeing talked about aroundschool.

Having experienced pro-fessional coaching with stafffrom AC Milan and Juventus,Richard is still contemplat-ing where to head to next.

A tour to the Spanish CostaBrava is favourite, withcoaching at RC Espanyol ortheir big city neighbours, FCBarcelona.

The excitement of theexperience is matched bythe rewards of learning newtechniques and tactics in aforeign environment.

The tours are also aimed ata broader educational expe-rience which can includecultural visits and stadiumtours as well as multi-sportsfestivals.

Wherenext forschool tour

Ski trips can give primary pupils sporting experience and a boost in self esteem

Heading for the nursery slopes

20 11/8/09 16:49 Page 1

news 21

Youngsters in the NorthWest have hit thejackpot thanks to theconstruction of an£83m sports complexon their doorstep.Future Fitness foundout more.

SCHOOLS in the Wigan boroughare being encouraged to use thenew sports village for their PE les-sons, sports days, after school clubsand presentations – at discountedrates and in some instances forfree.

The multi-use facility features a10,000 capacity stadium, third gen-eration floodlit grass and artificialpitches, multi-use games area, 400metre running track and coveredsprinting facility, full field athleticsfacilities, and a sports centre with agym, pool and sports hall.

Its owners are now looking toextend their links with educationfollowing a steady progression ofschools visiting the site.

Lesley McGreevy, PDM of LowtonHigh Specialist Sports College,

believes schools should grab theopportunity with both hands.

She said: “As a partnership wehave used Leigh Sports Village formany events but now we want theindividual schools to start using thefacility in their own right.

“Some of our schools do use thepool independently but there is somuch more on offer and we aredoing our bit to raise awareness.

“Although it is a local venue andlocal people should be filling itthere should be a wider perspectivetoo, and we are working together tohopefully get the GreaterManchester mini games and theGreater Manchester cross countrydown here.”

The village – which has achievedOlympic status for 2012 enabling it

to be used as a training camp – isthe biggest investment in sports,recreational and educational facili-ties in Wigan borough for manyyears.

Lesley says the site is ideal to setup, and maintain, school and clublinks, with an athletics club, ama-teur and professional rugby leagueclub, and a football club all basedon site.

She added: “It’s a natural progres-sion for those who enjoy theirsports to move on and become amember of a club – it’s a step for-ward and it helps us get moreyoungsters involved in after schoolclubs and help us to increase theiractivity levels.”

Joe Galvin, chairman of LeighHarriers Athletic Club which works

in partnership with LSV, says theyare now ready to push on and workwith more schools.

He added: “We want to get young-sters down here and training onOlympic standard facilities.

“Even those that are more intoteam sports can benefit from ath-letics as it is about all round physi-cal fitness which they can thenutilise in other sports.

“We can take them through everyathletic discipline including ham-mer, javelin and discus that theycan’t do at school because of healthand safety issues, and we are also inthe process of setting up a polevault school. It is about giving thema wide ranging experience andaccess to different sports.”

Village opens doors to lucky youngsters

21 11/8/09 16:15 Page 1

22-23 LIW 11/8/09 17:19 Page 1

22-23 LIW 11/8/09 17:19 Page 2

product news24

By Ian Cotgrave, Createability MD

SCHOOLS need to take action now todevelop a community-basedapproach to their health, fitness andsport offering.

It’s not just about children andyoung people; it’s about the wholecommunity, which includes parents,helpers and pupils too.

We need to support a healthiernation for the future by providingfacilities that encourage and enforcehealthy behaviours and work toreduce health inequalities across theboard.

Building Schools for the Future,focussed on the rebuilding of oldschool stock in deprived areas, is notaddressing these core issues and soschools need to invest now in order totackle obesity issues and relieve thealready struggling NHS.

By developing new community orientated sports facilities that can be used by the local neighbour-hood out of teaching hours, schoolscan create a revenue stream that canthen be reinvested elsewhere withinthe site.

Old and tired sports halls can bereplaced with new multi-purposefacilities and older schools with sur-plus land stock can also build newsports and leisure facilities.

All of these will help achieveNational Healthy Schools status andprovide much needed amenities forother local schools to tap into.

Using leisure specialists to look after the budget, marketing and day-to-day management of the facilitieswill ensure the focus remains onincreasing out of hour’s usage by thelocal community and maximising revenue, while freeing up teachers’time to concentrate on what they dobest.

Ian Cotgrave

Schoolscalled toaction

Aiming to raise awareness of healthy lifestylesHEALTH Matters Education sup-ports the idea of a flexible and cre-ative EYFS/Foundation Phase andcurriculum through its cross cur-ricular approach to health and fit-ness.

It aims to make links betweensubjects and areas of learning todeepen children’s understandingand make learning about health areal and exciting experience.

Catherine Utley, Healthy EarlyYears Co-ordinator, said: “In

Barnsley we are currently workingtowards the development of aHealthy Early Years Award that willdovetail into the Healthy Schoolsprogramme.

“Initial audits of early year set-tings locally identified a distinctlack of information and trainingaround health for pre school chil-dren but with a particular lack oftraining around physical activity.

“We have recently piloted BusyFeet training within our Children’s

Centres and the initial feedbackand evaluation has been over-whelming.

“I am positive that by utilisingand embedding Busy Feet andHealth Matters into daily use with-in settings and also developingcourses with parents and carerswithin the community, we will beable to raise awareness of healthylifestyles and ultimately worktowards reducing childhood obesi-ty rates locally.”

EXCELSIOR Academy in Newcastlehas created a new state-of-the-artgym for its pupils.

The academy is a new concept insecondary education featuring fiveschools built around a central court-yard, with facilities for 1,800 studentsaged 11 to 18.

The facility has been created to pro-vide a professional sports environ-ment with cardio and strength train-

ing products supplied by SportsArtFitness UK.

Peter Snowdon, the academy’s busi-ness manager said: “It was vitallyimportant that any new selected fit-ness equipment was user friendlyand fit for purpose, especially as thefacilities were to be in constant useby a wide age group, seven days aweek.

“The project was completed on

time, within budget and providesExcelsior Academy with a state-of-theart fitness suite to complement thePE curriculum.

“It also enables us to work with thelocal community to promote the benefits of health and fitness,encouraging community groups tocommit to using the new trainingequipment.”

Academy is a new concept

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‘Empowering customers to create their own kit’GYMPHLEX has created a new rangeof high performance professionalsportswear to appeal to the club andschool sports market.

GForce is cost effective and teams alarge range of technical fabrics witha selection of colours and contemporary designs.

In total 20 fabrics are availablewith different options available fordifferent sports including Aircooland Skinguard which protectsagainst UVA and UVB.

For swimming teams the GForcerange offers PBT, a chlorine resistantfabric, whereas those engaged inoutdoor winter sports can benefitfrom the warmth provided by fleeceor micro fleece.

Adrian Bleach, national sales manager, said: “We wanted toempower our customers to createtheir own kit by providing them withthe best materials and tools to do so.

“Our fabrics are some of the beston the market and customers can

easily put together a kit to meet thespecific image and performanceneeds of their team.”

The garments can be personalisedwith additional branding, for example adding college names andplayer names to polo shirts andrugby jerseys, and label customisation is also availablewhere labels and neck tapes can bepersonalised with a school or club’sown branding.

24 11/8/09 16:13 Page 1

news 25

‘Strenuous’ parentslead to more active childrenBy Louise Cordell

PARENTS who value strenuous team sports aremore likely to influence their children to exer-cise regularly and spend less time in front of theTV, according to new research.

After studying 680 parents of school age chil-dren, researchers from Baylor College ofMedicine and Duke University found that thosewho believed in the importance of high intensi-ty sports, and communicated that belief, hadmore active children.

Results showed that both the boys and girls inthe group watched less television as well asspent less time on their computers.

Cheryl Braselton Anderson, lead researcher,said: “The difference between activity levels inthe girls and boys had to do with the parents’attitudes towards the types of activities.

“Parents encouraged sons to partake in vigor-ous and moderate intensity team and individualsports, and vigorous intensity home chores –such as heavy garden work – more than theyencouraged these activities for their daughters.

“There still is gender bias on encouraging boysto participate in certain sports and strenuousactivities more than girls.”

The team sports that parents classed as ‘vigor-ous’ included basketball and football and ‘mod-erate’ sports included baseball and volleyball.

Intense individual sports included running,

cycling and swimming and walking and golfwere classed as moderate individual activities

The research found that parents’ attitudestoward household chores also had an unexpect-ed influences on children’s attitudes and activitylevels.

Cheryl added: “Cleaning the house and doingthe washing was associated with a decrease inboys’ sport team participation and more TVwatching.

“Right now we do not know why, but it couldbe that active boys spend less time inside andmore time outside, so staying indoors maydetract from outdoor activity with friends.

“Boys shared their parents’ attitude about theimportance of vigorous household activities,whereas girls did not.

“Instead, parents did not believe girls shoulddo these activities, but girls did not agree.”

Finally the study found that having more chil-dren in the family influenced whether the par-ents valued sports for girls – more children ledto more interest in the girls’ being active.

Cheryl added: “Playing team sports reallymakes a difference in decreasing both boys’ andgirls’ media use, making them more active.

“It is a good idea for parents to adopt a posi-tive attitude towards all types of vigorous physi-cal activities and to remember that girls can andwant to do them too.”

Sophie Austin, Alister O’Brien, Tim Byrne and Patrick O’Brien

ELLESMERE College students have been spending theirsummer holidays taking part in a series of multi activityweeks.

The courses are based at the school’s sports centre andhave been organised by sports centre manager ChrisRogers. Pupils are taking part in a range of activitiesincluding sports, swimming, arts and drama.

A group of 14 year olds have also been completing theirsports leadership level one award, which will enable themto lead sessions under supervision at school, clubs andholiday activity centres.

Chris said: “This is the first year we are running the sportsleadership course and the groups of pupils who are partici-pating have been taking the tuition on board and deliver-ing better and better sessions and the course progresses.”

Activity time at Ellesmere

25 13/8/09 11:29 Page 1

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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 Associations

Association 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 Walls

Freedom 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.com

Audio Equipment

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

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Future Fitness has launched its very own e-newsletter. The monthly letter will containbreaking news from the industry as well as information about forthcoming features and events.Like the magazine, the e-newsletter is completely free to receive. All we need you to do isregister your e-mail address by visiting our website, www.futurefitness.uk.net, calling 01226 734695 or complete the registration form that arrives with your copy of FutureFitness. Any companies wishing to take advantage of the sponsorship opportunities available onthe e-newsletter should contact 01226 734672 or e-mail sales@futurefitness.uk.net.

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