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Sport and fitness for today’s youth July/August 2010 £2.75
‘Britain needs a Michelle Obama to fight obesity’ By Louise Cordell THE UK’s response to the worsening obesity crisis has been slammed by industry expert Tam Fry at a national conference. The honorary chairman of the Child Growth Foundation called the country’s approach to fighting childhood obesity a ‘national disgrace’. He said: “We deserve the problems we are facing now because we failed to observe and tackle the issue in its earliest stages.” Speaking at the Childhood Health: Fit for the Future conference, he called on the government to use Michelle Obama’s recently launched American health scheme as inspiration – claiming that following their example is the only way out of the current crisis. Tam pointed out that within a week of the US scheme’s launch, the country’s processed food and soda industries had pledged to remove a trillion calories from their products and agreed to a formal audit to guarantee results. He compared this with the UK’s attempts to encourage self regulation within the food industry, which he described as ‘less than effective’.
Under the American scheme, 60 minutes of physical activity per day will be a must and it will be a fundamental part of the school schedule – structured around and integrated into lessons. Lunchtimes will also be about educating kids on healthy eating and cooking, as well as just feeding them, with the government insisting that all young people have easy access to healty foods – not just in schools, but also in restaurants and areas like parks, to create a continuity of good food provision. Tam added: “There is a lot we can learn from this new scheme, but until we have someone as charismatic as Michelle Obama to lead the initiative we will flounder. “Unfortunately, where that person is, I don’t know. “MPs are good at producing rules, but they rarely inspire in the way that is needed, and whoever is to take up the reins of this cause needs real energy and drive – we need to find them, and fast. “It will take an obesity champion for the whole of the UK if we are ever going to make real change happen.”
Poll reveals lack of parental support
The Britain’s Got Talent finalists Strike have teamed up with ZigZag to launch a new martial arts programme for children and young adults. The duo, who reached the finals in the 2008 TV show, will link with ZigZag sites across the UK to roll out the programme, which combines martial arts, dance and gymnastics choreographed to music. Liam Richards and Danny Ball will train health club and leisure centre instructors to deliver the ten week programme, which is designed to target total martial arts beginners and to complement the training of more experienced martial arts and dance students. Full story, Page 9
A NEW poll has found that one in five children aged six to 11 do not get any support from their parents to play sport outside school. Half of boys and 15 per cent of girls say they would play more sport if their mums and dads were prepared to drive them to sports clubs. However, the David Lloyd Leisure poll found that a third of parents believe their children should be playing more sport. Sarah Hobbs, head of family and programming at David Lloyd Leisure, said: “The results reveal that while parents feel their children should be more active, their behaviour is not supporting this belief. If we don’t nurture these skills when they are young, children will find it difficult to perform well in sporting scenarios as they grow up and there is a danger that they will become reluctant to participate.”
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Pupils blow the whistle on cheating By Louise Cordell A POLL of school pupils in the UK has revealed that cheating and unfair play is rife on the country’s sports fields. A survey carried out by the Cricket Foundation found that over 50 per cent of kids questioned saw bad sportsmanship in every single school sports match they played – with incidents including faking injuries, elbowing in the face, arguing with the umpire and head butting. To help combat the problem, the Cricket Foundation are now expanding their scheme to encourage fair play in schools. Launched last year, the initiative will bring lessons in ‘fair play’ to children in 4,000 state schools throughout the summer term. The sessions will cover areas including respecting teammates, opponents and officials. John Stephenson, MCC head of cricket, said: “We passionately believe that sport should be played to win, but not at all costs. “Our coaches instill the message to play hard, play fair and have fun, which is something we feel can be of benefit to children of all ages and abilities, no matter what sport they take part in.”
The survey also revealed: Fourteen is the age when bad sportsmanship is most common with 63 per cent of teenagers of this age regularly seeing cheating in games. Leeds is the place where children see most unfair play, but neighbouring Sheffield sees the least. Unfair play occurs overwhelmingly more in team sports (72 per cent) than in individual sports (six per cent). Half of parents admit that their children’s bad behaviour on the playing field is their responsibility; followed by the coach’s. Results so far have been good, with a like-for-like survey showing that after taking part in the scheme, the number of children who witness unfair play drops to 37 per cent and those who say they ‘hardly ever’ or ‘never’ see unfair play rises to 41 per cent. Wasim Khan, Cricket Foundation chief executive, said: “Fair play is something that should be taught at an early age. “Independent research by Loughborough University found that cricket can help provide young people with key life skills such as how to win and to lose graciously. “It’s all part of our campaign to educate children through cricket.”
£200k netball investment ENGLAND Netball is to invest £200,000 in Plymouth’s new £46m Life Centre, to help more young people progress in the sport. The organisation is providing the financial support as part of its four year capital investment programme for the Life Centre to further its potential as a Regional and County Netball Centre. Paul Clark, England Netball chief executive, said: “Buying into major projects makes very good sense for
Contacts Group editor: Andrew Harrod – ah@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734639 Reporters: Louise Cordell – lcordell@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734694 Christina Eccles – ce@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734463 Dominic Musgrave – dm@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734407 Sales and marketing director: Tony Barry Assistants sales and product manager: Rachel Collins rc@whpl.net Tel: 01226 734709
netball – the Plymouth Life Centre supports Sport England and England Netball’s strategic objectives. “It’s about increasing the number of people playing netball, and significantly improving the experience of people playing netball in this area. “Our aspiration is to provide a highquality netball centre within the Life Centre servicing all levels of our game – regionally, across the county and in the community.”
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Jason and Max
Max meets ‘Bath Bullet’ OLYMPIC gold medallist Jason Gardener joined Devon’s School Sports Coordinators at their annual conference. The event, which took place in Tiverton was opened by Young Ambassador, Max Oliver, who received a one-to-one motivational session with the ‘Bath Bullet’ before addressing the 60-strong audience. Jason gave a keynote speech and question and answer session. Geoff Palmer, regional development officer for Bristol and Western
Counties, Sports Leaders UK said: “It is events like this that identify the opportunities and achievements that are possible through Sports Leaders UK qualifications and awards. “Through the skills and experience Max has gained, he has progressed to Young Ambassador and is now able to confidently address an audience of 60 delegates. This event has enabled Max to meet one of his sporting heroes and I’m sure that it will fuel even more motivation to succeed in his sporting ambitions in the future.”
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Prize draw bid to attract youngsters MERSEYSIDE Sports Partnership is running a prize draw to encourage participation in the Sport Unlimited programme. Sport Unlimited involves eight to ten week blocks of sport and physical activity delivered in school and in the community for young people as part of the Government’s Five-Hour Offer. To encourage commitment to the full programme of activity, Merseyside Sports Partnership is offering participants the chance to enter a draw, with prizes including T-shirts, hats, water bottles and sports bags. Briony Seymour, Sport Unlimited development officer, said: “This programme offers young people across Merseyside opportunities to try new sports and activities, within school and the community, so that they might be encouraged to join a local club or leisure centre. “Sport Unlimited is a great way to increase participation and we hope that this extra incentive will encourage our young people to give each activity a chance. “Our hope is that they find a sport or activity they enjoy and continue taking part.”
Ace rewards SPORTS students at a Sheffield college are being rewarded for their achievements with free tennis sessions in the run up to Wimbledon. Westfield Sports Centre is offering tennis vouchers to its pupils who achieve gold medal status. This is part of the college’s gold, silver and bronze medal award system, which rewards and encourages students who continually achieve high standards in attendance, punctuality, behaviour, uniform and equipment. Steve Culf, Westfield Sports Centre manager, said: “We are thrilled to be offering committed students the chance to test out and hone their tennis skills ahead of the sport’s biggest tournament last month. “The tennis prizes have been introduced as an incentive for students to continually perform to their best ability and will also help them train and keep fit out of college hours.”
Sporty primary sees pupils getting healthier By Louise Cordell A COVENTRY primary school is on the way to becoming one of the sportiest in the city. This year, Finham Primary School has been able to offer its pupils the chance to take part in a wide range of sports, including nine through a partnership with Coventry Sports Foundation. This collaboration means that the foundation’s sports development team visit the school four times a week to offer classes including rugby, football, street dance and cricket. More than 250 pupils at the school, from reception to Year 6, have taken part in the classes during and after school and headteacher Kay Brown, believes there will be ‘huge’ benefits as a result. She said: “By making sure our pupils have the chance to take part in a wide variety of sports we are ensuring they have opportunities to take part in a great choice of activities while making sure they receive important exercise. “Along with the mainstream sports such as football and rugby, we also have multi-skills and soccatots for our youngest children. “It’s a way to introduce sports they may not have tried before while ensuring pupils receive the
required amount of P.E. “The school and the children have embraced the sports and as a result we’re seeing kids get healthier and get more enjoyment from taking part in the various games.” The scheme has already been rolled out to 36 other schools in Coventry and Wendy Jackson, the sports development manager for Coventry Sports Foundation, also believes that it will play a key role in keeping young people engaged and inspired by sport. She said: “We hear a lot in the media about how childhood obesity is on the increase and children
are less active – but this is proof that children want to be engaged in sporting activity. “Finham Primary is also a great example of offering opportunities after school from reception and hopefully these children will have a positive experience and continue throughout primary school participating in these clubs. “The response we’ve had from the children at Finham has been fantastic, with many taking up new sports. But most importantly it engages and excites them to try new activities and makes sure we develop an active generation.
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Sam teaches benefits of boxing By Louise Cordell STUDENTS at Merrill College in Derbyshire are being given an introduction into the world of boxing thanks to local PE instructor and county champion, Sam Godfrey. The college has brought in a Sports Leaders qualification which helps pupils learn how to lead their own structured training sessions and work out with a variety of equipment. Sam said: “Boxing is a lot more than two people getting in the ring and hitting each other. “All my classes are non-contact and are about getting fit, kids enjoying themselves and learning new skills. “If the student really gets into boxing and wants to go further down the line to actual sparring and competing itself, then great; but that’s only a very small part of their journey.” He believes that the sport can help a wide range of children improve themselves by providing a positive focus in their life – even if before they have not been interested in physical activity. He added: “In team sports, for example, you’ll find some pupils are left standing in the cold when they don’t get picked for the team. “Others get disillusioned when their skill levels don’t match up to their expectations and they drift out of sport. “In the boxing gym, everyone is equal and everyone can achieve
Sam training at Merrill College something.” As well as basic fitness regimes such as skipping and working with pads, through the boxing classes, the students are also taught the benefits of a more structured way of life, including things like a healthy diet, self-discipline and respect for themselves and
others. Through the course, pupils learned to design and teach their own miniclasses and those who showed real enthusiasm and commitment have become paid assistants at Sam’s local boxing school. Others have even gone on to
become accredited boxing coaches themselves. Sam added: “I have seen the benefits that boxing can bring through my boxing school in Derby over the years, and I knew they could help some of the pupils at Merrill College as well.”
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Former primary school teacher Mike McGreal wanted to do more to get young people active and so decided to set up alone, launching Healthy Heroes – Future Fitness found out more.
Mike’s Healthy Heroes bids to give kids all-round skills MIKE McGreal set up Healthy Heroes in Cheshire in 2007 after taking a sports science degree, coaching qualifications and then working as a primary school teacher for over four years. He said: “As the only male in the primary school I was working in, I ended up doing a lot of PE lessons
and I realised that it was an area I really wanted to specialise in. “When setting up Healthy Heroes it was very important to me that it was different from other coaching companies out there – we are more focussed on an all-round approach of health, fitness and fundamental movement skills, rather than boxing kids into
one particular sport. “We also cover topics including character development, team building and nutrition.” The lessons are targeted at primary school age children, but Mike has also now started up a sister club, Little Heroes, which works on introducing three and four years olds to sport. He delivers the programme in a variety of settings, from during school lessons to after school and breakfast clubs and through community work with local Cub and Brownie groups. Mike also makes the most of the scheme’s wider approach to help target disengaged and less confident children, making lessons flexible and inclusive to cater for everyone from SEN pupils to the gifted and talented. He added: “I think that our approach works really well, for younger children in particular, as many programmes are too sports specific for them. “Many will just focus on one thing, for example football, but this leaves a lot of kids lacking in the basic skills they need to be able to excel in all sports.” In order to focus on the basic building blocks of sport, the Healthy Heroes lessons include multi skill drills and multi sports like dodgeball, handball and boxercise. The idea is to ensure that young people have the technical ability they need to go on and take part in sports in secondary schools successfully. The classes do this by avoiding
laborious drills and instead concentrating on games to make sure the children are having fun. The lessons they learn are then embedded by introducing them into cross curricular activities, for example PHSE and biology, so that they develop a well rounded knowledge of sport and fitness. Mike added: “This is very important because if kids go off to secondary schools without the full range of motor skills, they will become disengaged, because they will not be able to improve and will not want to take part. So if you can re-engage them, then you will set them up for staying involved throughout their teenage years too, and hopefully further.” Mike believes that it will soon become the norm for specialist teachers to be brought into schools to provide sports education, especially in primary schools. However, until this happens he advises schools to focus on a tailored approach, dealing with mixed abilities by splitting pupils into groups with specially chosen activities that allow everyone to progress at their own pace. He added: “I know from experience that primary teachers have a lot to do and PE can tend to take a back seat. “It is hard to find the time, but this is not the school’s fault and so outside help can be very useful. “But any coaching that is brought in must be chosen carefully to make sure that the kids are getting what they need to develop and take sports further.”
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Lunch success school served up as example By Louise Cordell A PRIMARY school in Newton-leWillows is being held up as an example to others after boosting school lunch uptake with some cheap but creative ideas. St Peter’s C.E. Primary School is being promoted as a national case study after successfully making small changes to help increase the number of pupils eating a healthy lunch. It is being promoted by the School Food Trust after seeing a ten per cent increase in take up of lunches since it started encouraging more children to give them a try. Lesley Cairns, the Trust’s delivery manager, said: “St Peter’s experiences show how schools can make even very small changes to their lunchtime set up to get more pupils involved. “We now want to share the school’s tip with others as they are prime examples of the little things that can make a big difference.” One of the school’s ideas is a ‘Rainbow Table’, which gives kids who are buying lunches the chance to sit at a specially decorated table in the middle of the dining room if they have behaved well, helped other pupils or tried new foods during the week.
The prize also comes with a pass to jump to the front of the lunch queue and get the first choice of fresh fruit and salad. The initiative prompted interest from pupils bringing packed lunches, who began to ask if they could sit at the ‘Rainbow Table’ too. The school subsequently noted an increase in take-up of school lunches, and 50 per cent of pupils are now choosing school meals – with the number continuing to rise. Karen Dearden, head cook, said: “The children loved this because it makes them feel quite important. “One little girl said she felt like she was in a posh restaurant.” Other ideas being planned by St. Peter’s include a reorganisation of the seating area to reduce queuing time and the introduction of daily menus in each classroom. Barbara Flitcroft, head teacher, said: “I have been amazed that such little changes could have such a big impact. “We’re really excited about the Rainbow Table initiative as a way of increasing school food take-up and we’re already looking at other small things we can do in the dining room to keep the momentum going.”
A Dagenham pupil has won a competition to receive free healthy school meals for a year. Five-year-old Georgia Tomlin, pictured above, from Five Elms Primary is being treated to her daily school meal by the School Food Trust after being picked as one of 50 winners in a country wide competition. Georgia’s parents entered the draw when they received their copy of ‘The Little Book of Goodness’, a booklet about new school lunch menus distributed by the Trust to 750,000 parents of primary school children across England. Mrs Tomlin, Georgia’s mother, said: “I am really happy that Georgia will enjoy free school meals for the next year. We try really hard as a family to make sure that Georgia and her brother and sister eat healthy food and giving them school meals is a great way to do that.”
Denise Lewis with Round Oak School pupils
Denise helps school celebrate new status ROUND Oak School in Warwick has been celebrating its new status as a Sports College with a visit from Olympian heptathlete Denise Lewis. She gave a talk to the school’s students, who all have disabilities and learning difficulties, about her work as an ambassador for the Youth Sport Trust and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
Sue Backhouse, the school’s director of specialism, said: “Round Oak has long recognised the enormous benefits that sport brings to our pupils. “Through sport, students gain more than just fitness and skills as their self esteem, confidence, interpersonal skills and independence are all enhanced.
“This impacts positively on all areas of their development, stimulating both their physical and mental attributes.” Since becoming a Sports College, the school has introduced a new team of specialist PE teachers and a coach, ordered new equipment, set up more lunchtime clubs and is developing strong links with partner schools in the area.
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National School Sport Week launch
Olympic excitement already having an effect By Louise Cordell EXCITEMENT about the 2012 Olympic Games is already encouraging school children to take up new sports, according to a new study. A survey carried out by Lloyds TSB for the launch of National School Sport Week found that eight out of ten kids are looking forward to the Games, six out of ten have been inspired to take part in more sport and 87 per cent of school children particularly want to try out an Olympic or Paralympic sport. However, despite this enthusiasm, 40 per cent of Olympic sports have
never been experienced by 93 per cent of the children surveyed. It is hoped that National School Sport Week will change this, with Lloyds TSB teaming up with the Youth Sport Trust and the London 2012 Get Set education programme to provide over four million kids with the chance to try out a new sport. It is also hoped that the week will raise awareness amongst British children about different Olympic and Paralympic sports, after the research showed that even established sports like taekwondo, fencing and triathlon are less well known amongst young people.
Olympic gold medallist, Jason Gardener, who attended the launch, said: “Hosting the London 2012 Games provides us with all sorts of opportunities to introduce young people to sports that they may not have previously encountered. “At the moment our children tend to take part in the sports that we as a nation do well in. “By giving more children the opportunity to try a much wider variety of sports like those tried here today we will be able to increase participation levels, widen the talent pool and help young people lead a healthier, more active lifestyle.”
Primary and secondary schools can get involved with this year’s National School Sport week by registering at www.schoolsportsweek.org and ordering a free teacher planning and activity pack. Sebastian Coe, LOCOG chair, said: “This research confirms what we witness every time we travel around the UK – that children are excited about the London 2012 Games. “We want to inspire children to take up sport and ensure that they benefit from the Games coming to the UK, so I would encourage all schools to register for National School Sport Week to help us deliver a lasting legacy.”
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Strike teams up with ZigZag for new scheme MARTIAL arts duo Strike are launching a new fun fitness programme for children and young adults. The Britain’s Got Talent finalists have teamed up with ZigZag to roll out the scheme across the UK, putting on sessions which combine martial arts, gymnastics and dance, all choreographed to music. Instructors from health clubs and leisure centres will be trained up by the young team, Liam Richards and Danny Ball, then go on to deliver the ten-week programme. The lessons have been specially designed to target total martial arts beginners, as well as complementing the training of more experienced martial arts and dance students and the course offers a belt system to give participants something to work towards. Danny said: “A mini grading session will take place at the end of each term where the children will be tested on their moves and a short routine, and will be awarded with a new coloured belt.” Life skills also form an important part of the programme and each hour-long lesson includes a ‘Strike chat’, where the children are given
the chance to discuss topics such as confidence, respect, courtesy, modesty, perseverance and focus. Liam added: “We believe that teaching life skills is just as important as martial arts. The programme inspires and motivates students to achieve in other areas of life and the classes give them the confidence and determination to do so. We use the ‘Strike chat’ time to let the children discuss their thoughts and feelings on key issues affecting them.” Liam and Danny are also working with the NHS in Hull to bring their talent to local schools, raising pupils’ aspirations and getting children fitter and healthier. Fergus Ahern, ZigZag MD, said: “The Strike programme is totally unique and fits perfectly with our ethos of providing fun and exciting opportunities to exercise. “However, it’s important that health clubs and leisure centres only put forward instructors that really want to work with children for the training, as their enthusiasm, or lack of it, will come across in their delivery of the programme, and it’s imperative that the kids have fun and go away and tell their friends.”
Adventure on bootcamp menu A FITNESS bootcamp designed to appeal to children’s adventurous side has been launched by celebrity fitness guru Michael Pellegrino. The ‘Be Fit Outside’ scheme abandons adult-style gym workouts and instead focuses on fun activites, like rolling tractor tyres and pulling cars, to keep kids engaged. Michael said: “I wanted to find a way to get kids and teens fit while they were having fun outside, not stuck in a gym somewhere away from their friends. “We do the sort of stuff that they
would get up to with their mates, except it is in a controlled environment and part of a plan that runs right through the summer holidays. “They will go back to school or college super fit, and it will all have happened while they are having a laugh – and maybe even keeping out of mischief.” Michael has previously worked with ITV’s Philippa Tomson and Ian Payne to get them fit for the Great North Run and was responsible for getting former Newcastle Falcon Tom May fit for England.
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10 news Most schoolboys dream of becoming a professional footballer, but unfortunately the chances of them ever being offered a professional contract are slim. However the industry still needs their talent, and this is where League Football Education comes in – providing young people with the opportunity to both build a professional career and channel their skills elsewhere. Future Fitness spoke to project manager Dan Jolley to find out more.
Scheme looks out for young players with big dreams EVERY year, hundreds of young players progress from being talented schoolboys to being full-time apprentices at League Football Education – all hoping to reach the professional ranks. However, while the apprenticeship scheme is designed to give the best opportunity to maintain a footballing career, research has shown that up to 60 per cent of players will not be offered a contract. The LFE’s Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence programme aims to tackle this, by putting its pupils through four separate elements of training during a two year, full time programme. Firstly an NVQ, which is training covering the tactics, strength, conditioning and psychological training needed for the sport, then a BTEC, which covers the theory behind the NVQ training. Pupils also take a level two football coaching qualification and, if they have joined the programme without A-C grades in GCSE maths and English, they complete key skills courses in literacy an numeracy. Only when they achieve all four of these are they able to officially complete their apprenticeship. Dan said: “We take on around 600 apprentices each year, who are assessed after taking their GCSEs to see if they will be offered a place.
“The issue is that only 35 to 40 per cent of these will receive a professional contract at the end of the course, so we have a moral obligation to make sure that the others also go on to a positive destination. “The main alternative options are employment, further education, further training or into another elite sport and we have built activities into our programme to make sure that our apprentices can go down any of these routes.” Some LFE pupils are taken on by semi-professional clubs, which still gives them the opportunity to play at a high level while also pursuing other areas like coaching, and others are spotted by university and college scouts from around the UK and the USA. The programme has also acquired funding from the Leonardo Da Vinci programme which allows it to send apprentices on 16 week placements to football clubs in Europe. The LFE also works in partnership with employers and training providers who exhibit at a specially organised career fair – Competitive Edge Live – to let apprentices know about the opportunities available to them. Finally, course tutors carry out detailed exit interviews with students and continue with tracking and monitoring after they leave the course, to ensure they stay on the right track. Dan added: “This strategy is
important, because it is not only applicable to footballers, but to any young people who are trying to succeed in elite sports, in rugby or tennis, to swimming and golf. “We want to focus on this fact in the future and bring together all of these apprentices in joint events – attracting more potential employers and increasing the chance of our students finding the right career for them. “I think that there is a massive desire in the sporting world to help our people achieve what they want
to do next and we want to help our pupils by playing our part in that.”
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Junior football statistics ‘truly mind-boggling’ By Louise Cordell GRASS roots junior football teams in England are struggling to find the average of £2,000 every year they need just to keep running. A new survey from Grass Roots Football Live has revealed that, with over 55,000 junior teams in the country, over £110m has to be raised each year by volunteers. Bob Rosen, Grass Roots Football Live MD, said: “The statistics we have found here are truly mind boggling. "For our junior teams to be responsible for a contribution to our national economy of £110m every year is amazing. "In the current financial recession, for the vast majority of clubs to balance the books is testimony to their commitment, energy and dedication. "It truly is a tremendous achievement and one of which all our clubs should be proud." In some cases, clubs can run upwards of 40 teams across a wide range of age groups from under six to under 18 and every year costs increase. Apart from the main expenditure on things like kits, equipment and pitch hire, there also are a wide range of other expenses.
These include league and competition fees, coaching course fees, training venue hire, training aids and insurance. In order to balance the books, clubs need to raise funds through a variety of different methods and addition to weekly subs, more are turning to sponsorship, fund-raising events and donations. Only a very small proportion of clubs receive grant aid and local authority support – despite the exceptional amount of work they contribute to the community. Bob added: “Undoubtedly, there is a huge commitment made by our clubs to raise these huge sums of money. “Our survey shows the incredible amount of fund-raising works undertaken by volunteers. “Despite these increasing costs, the numbers of our junior teams continue to rise and most are over-subscribed. Unlike professional clubs, running up debt is not an option, but our survey has shown that a great number of clubs rely on subsidies and donations from key members to keep them going. “Our worry in the longer term would be if clubs can continue to raise the funds required to cover all their costs.”
Partnership pupils put best foot forward in dance world record attempt PUPILS from Blackpool’s School Sport Partnership have taken part in a dance sequence world record attempt. Children from 17 local primary schools teamed up to try and beat the greatest number of backing dancers performing with a singer at a single venue. More than 400 kids took part in a two minute dance sequence to Robbie Williams’ Rock DJ – sung by local performer Tim Harding – at the
Blackpool Tower Ballroom, beating the previous record of just 251 dancers. The Partnership, which organised the challenge, now faces a wait for the attempt to be verified by Guinness bosses. Local dance teacher Jo Cleasby said: “It was so nice to see so many children getting active and enjoying dance, especially the boys, and the atmosphere was sensational.”
Boys and girls from Ellesmere College’s Tennis Academy have made an excellent start to the summer season of competitions. Academy director, Nikki Hoy, said: “This is a great indication of the growing strength in depth in the Academy, which has seen seven teams qualify for national finals over the last 12 months in various age groups. The atmosphere and camaraderie amongst the players at the moment is fantastic – I really believe that this could be our year.”
Delight at £150k makeover THE Princess Diana Park in Banbury has been given a £150,000 makeover by Playdale Playgrounds. The new play area has been developed as part of Oxfordshire’s Playbuilder Scheme and was officially opened by the town mayor. Ann Sewell, the council’s events and projects officer, said: “These amenities have been a long time coming and everyone is delighted this popular park now has first
class play facilities. We hope the children and youths benefit and learn through play for years to come.” The new playground offers landscaping and natural play elements; comprising logs, boulders and mounds, alongside traditional play equipment including a jukebox climbing unit, an adventure trail, a team swing and a large freeform climbing structure.
12 & 13 Powerhouse DPS
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How Dave has passed on his passion for sport By Emma Spencer DAVE Webster was too young to join up at the outbreak of the Second World War so decided to get involved in wrestling and boxing clubs instead. During his stint of National Service he had taken up the two sports and when he couldn’t go away to war joined his local regiment the Gordon Highlanders. Dave started his own wrestling and boxing clubs and as teenager trained at the Spartan Club alongside fellow Scot Sean Connery who was getting in shape for his role in South Pacific. From there Dave went on to become a PE teacher and one of his pupils was a young Denis Law who famously went on to play for Manchester United. He may be turning 83 this year but could still teach people a tenth of his age thing or two. In 1954 Dave became the World Champion strength puller – a feat no-one had managed before. After retiring from strength training he joined the Scottish Sports Council of Physical Recreation where he introduced new sports such as gliding, canoeing and trampolining – later to become an Olympic sport. Dave also opened National Centres of Excellence across
Scotland and coached many successful weightlifters including Olympic medallist Louis Martin in the 1960’s. He also came across a 19-year-old by the name of Arnold Schwarznegger who went on to become a professional bodybuilder. By this time Dave had also become a film maker recording world championship events using the videos as training aids for his athletes. He was also a technical official with the International Weightlifting Federation at events in Rome, Mexico and the UK but in 1968 he had become dissatisfied with the politics involved. Involvement with the Olympics was also to come to an abrupt end with the tragedy in Munich,1972, when members of the Israeli team were taken hostage and murdered by militants. Dave turned his attention to the Common wealth games championing home grown weight lifting talent and was one of the first people to lead campaigns against the use of drugs in sport. In 1991 he was made chair of the Commonwealth Games council for Scotland, four years later was team manager of the Scotland squad and awarded an OBE for his efforts in 1995. He was 70 when he took part in
Dave with Arnold Schwarznegger his last competition before moving into media work. All the time he was running his business Powerhouse Fitness which he set up in 1980. In the early days it sold products to sports clubs and gyms and the first store opened in Glasgow in 1987. There are now 11 throughout Britain and Powerhouse has become one of the leading suppli-
ers of fitness equipment including sports nutrition, treadmills, cycles, free-weights and benches, heart rate monitors and clothing. Powerhouse is now run by Dave Webster’s sons David and Nigel. David said: “He has had a very full and colourful life you could say. “He is probably the most widely known historian in strength games alive today.”
Keynote speakers confirmed for AfPE conference THIS year’s AfPE National Conference is set to take place July 7-9 at the Cotswold Water Park Hotel. The event attracts over 300 delegates nationally, with local authority PE advisers, lecturers, consultants, partnership development managers, school sport coordinators, teachers and coaches attending. Keynote speakers confirmed so far:
Lady Marie Stubbs, the former head mistress and best selling author who is an expert on transformational leadership after turning around St George's Roman Catholic Secondary School. Phil Parker, who has been programme manager for the PE and Sport Strategy for Young People since September 2008.
Phil Beadle, who starred in Channel 4's The Unteachables and was nominated for a Broadcast Award for his role as literacy mentor on Channel 4's Can't Read, Can't Write. Steve Kibble, adviser for Physical Education and PEDPASS Strategy Manager for Devon Learning and Development Partnership. Professor Stuart Biddle, Professor
of Exercise and Sport Psychology at Loughborough University, UK. Chris Holmes, Britain's most successful Paralympic swimmer ever. There will also be over 30 workshops on the strands of leadership, pedagogy, health and research for delegates to choose from. For more information visit: www.afpe.org.uk.
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news 15
Non-traditional gym opened by student Mohamed By Louise Cordell A UNIVERSITY student, Mohamed Yacoobali, has opened up his own gym which looks at strength and conditioning in a new, innovative way. His ideas include the use of unusual equipment and equal emphasis on indoor and outdoor training and he is already winning client approval. Mohamed, who is studying for a Strength and Conditioning MSc at the University of Bolton, said: “We need to think again about fitness regimes and change the way we train the body. “I set up my non-traditional gym last May and it is focussed entirely on strength and conditioning and really looks at how the body is supposed to be used and challenged.” The club uses equipment including anchors, chains, sandbags, logs, truck tyres and even a cricket ground roller.
On top of this, when Mohamed cannot find a suitable piece of kit for the exercises he has in mind, he designs and builds bespoke equipment specially for the club. He added: “The programmes I have put together use the best evidence available. “Too often gym regimes are repetitive and this greatly reduces the effectiveness of the training on the body and gym users get bored. “My programmes involved constant change and use scientific principles, which dictate that you need different workouts for speed than for force and strength.” Mohamed has travelled to America to research his strength and conditioning training and has worked with elite strongman Louie Simmonds who has competed for over 40 years. He is now putting this experience to use with clients ranging from dance teachers and
surgeons to a young tennis champion who is only eight years old. He has also won the endorsement of a local GP who now refers people to the club if they need to improve their strength and overall fitness. Mohamed added: “I believe in encouragement – before starting my study at Bolton I worked in sport and coaching, and worked with young offenders, so my coaching skills are very important. “I believe that with functional fitness classes and access to a programme that works I can significantly improve someone's strength and conditioning, whatever their fitness level. “I am always learning, always looking for new innovations based on scientific evidence because this subject is my passion. “Postgraduate study is hard work but it has been worth it in Mohamed Yacoobali every way.”
Leeds University opens UK’s biggest gym THE University of Leeds has opened the biggest gym in the UK. The Edge gym at the University will also be a London 2012 Olympic training camp venue. Open to students, staff and public, The Edge features a 25m eight lane pool, sauna and steam room and 200 station gym featuring state of the
art equipment. Each piece of equipment comes with TV link connecting users to a full range of terrestrial and satellite stations, including Sky Sports, radio and even their own iPod. There will also be 125 fitness classes every week from body attack and aqua aerobics, to hula aerobics.
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16 news
Concern as walk to school numbers fall to all-time low By Louise Cordell
Two South Yorkshire teenagers are to take part in the World Kickboxing Championships in Edinburgh. Jordan Brittain, 14 and Luke Parkinson, 16, will be in the England team competing between October 28 and 30. They qualified after reaching the finals of the British Junior Championships in Birmingham this month. Jordan and Luke are members of a kickboxing club run by former champion Arthur O’Loughlin.
PARENTS worry more about their children being murdered than much more widespread health problems such as obesity, according to a new survey. Of the parents questioned, 30 per cent said they most feared that their child would be abducted or killed by a stranger, while a further 30 per cent worried that they would be hurt in a road traffic accident. However, only one in 20 said they were concerned about poor health in later life due to the child's levels of physical activity. The study, which has been carried out for charities Parentline Plus and Living Streets is being published as part of a campaign to get more children walking to school. Both charities claim that parents can increase activity levels by using simple measures like walking to school instead of using a car. Tony Armstrong, Living Streets chief executive, said: “We are deeply concerned that the number of children walking to school has dropped to an all time low. “It’s certainly not wrong for parents to fear road accidents or abduction, but it is wrong that fear for children’s health is put on the backburner especially when the statistics show that there is more chance that
their children will suffer long-term health problems from obesity. “Taking small steps such as increasing activity levels through walking to school is one way of reducing this risk. In the schools we work with we have seen an increase in walking levels.” The two charities are now calling on Government to make sure that interventions like traffic calming measures are put in place to encourage parents to walk to school with their children. They are recommending that 20mph is made the default speed limit wherever people live, work or play, that local authorities invest in safe and walkable route to schools and that children are taught road safety skills before their transition to secondary school. Jeremy Todd, Parentline Plus chief executive, added: “We know that parents and carers face increasing demands on their time as they try to balance work and family life. “But whatever the barriers, we encourage parents and schools to look into alternatives to driving which may work for them, such as park and stride, walking buses or informal walking arrangements with friends, neighbours and older siblings.”
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news 17
Tigers stage tournament THE Leicester Tigers have staged their first corporate rugby Sevens Tournament, where teams from companies including Lucozade, Jaguar, HSBC and Caterpillar battled to win the trophy. It was the first event of its kind to be held in the Midlands and the first corporate Sevens Tournament to be hosted by a premiership rugby club. The teams wore kit from the new GForce range from Gymphlex, a local Leicester company. Matt Poole, director at Tigers Events, said: “We were very pleased to work with an established and respected local manufacturer. “We were proud to kit out our teams in such fantastic looking kit for the first ever National Corporate Sevens tournament at Welford Road.”
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18 news
School invests Desert in new dance island tales mat system inspire pupils to be more active THE Robert Ogden School in Barnsley is the largest school for autistic young people in Europe and has invested in a dance mat system to help get its pupils active. The school takes the physical development of its students seriously and is always looking for new ways of inspiring the pupils with exciting new activities. It has bought in a Just for Schools dance mat system from Fitness Gaming, which uses the Nintendo Wii or any other major games console to deliver the dance activities. Duncan Black, Fitness Gaming director, said: “The students at Robert Ogden School have many problems to overcome and ensuring they are undertaking an adequate level of physical activity can be difficult. “It is great to see their reaction to the dance mats – the school has some talented players and now they can reach their full potential. “The staff have also grasped the potential of the system and are intending to use it to help develop numeracy and literacy skills in addition to the exercise benefits.”
A PE teacher and rugby coach is encouraging his pupils to be more active and adventurous by telling them about his time living on a desert island. Richard Demain-Griffiths has now completed his first year of teaching at Bishop Wordsworth School in Salisbury, but before that he spent time on the island of Vorovoro in Fiji, with the TribeWanted project. This scheme is a unique community tourism project which has created a constantly evolving island community. Online, the project has over 10,000 members and anyone can visit the island and spend time living with other tribe members and the Fijian community.
Richard said: “My main aim as a teacher is to make sure that the pupils know about all the opportunities out there for them and encourage them to make the most of it. “Although I am a PE teacher, I also want the non sporty kids to know that there are other ways that they can be active for life, and work as part of a team. “I recommend TribeWanted to everyone I meet - because the whole experience is just non stop activity, but with a peaceful side to it as well. “For example, while I was out there we built a gym in the jungle from scratch! “I especially focus on the gap year students I teach and tell them that to have a year out and not spend some
time with the Tribe would mean them missing out massively. “Some head out to do it straight away and others build the experience into their other plans – like our rugby players who are on the way out to Australia or New Zealand to complete scholarships, or others use it to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Awards - there is something for everyone.” TribeWanted has now launched a second project in Sierra Leone, working with the local government and charities to help support the local community. Any schools or colleges interested in getting their pupils involved can visit: www.tribewanted.com for more information.
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news 19
Dance suits pupils to a tea! TEN schools from the Hamble School Sport Partnership are getting their pupils involved in ballroom dancing, thanks to a training programme from Essentially Dance. The schools have all provided two teachers, if possible one male and one female, who are taking part in three days’ training over the year to complete the beginners, intermediate and advanced sessions. Some are PE teachers, but not dance specialists and none have any experience in ballroom dancing. Mandy Quill, the SSP’s partnership development manager, said: “The feedback so far has been very encouraging and extremely positive – all the delegates have been looking forward to their training and have many tales of success about the clubs they have started in their own schools.” One male head of PE has started up an extra curricular club where the
students invited local senior citizens to attend a ‘tea dance’, which was a big success. Another primary school has introduced ballroom dance into the curriculum across the school, as well as setting up an after school club linked to the extended schools after school care club. Mandy added: “Another male PE teacher has found that the training has completely changed his perception of dance and he has gone from ‘dreading’ attending the first session to now attending dance classes independently with his wife to practice his skills so that he can support the dance department when they start up a ballroom dance club. “He said that the hardest thing was going back to the PE department following the training and actually admitting to his colleagues that he enjoyed it!”
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20 wet, wet, wet ...
New software to cut down on swim school organisation LEISURE trust, Tone Leisure, has developed a new piece of software designed to cut down on organisation and administration time spent operating swim schools. CoursePro is the first programme of its kind and has been introduced after a £10,000 investment from Tone. The software helps to organise everything from scheduling lessons to updating the progress of each child and producing detailed reports. Swim instructors are able to feed up to the minute data into the system via iPod Touches at the side of the pool – cutting out the need for follow up paperwork. Parents can also log in remotely to check their child’s progress and pay for new lessons online, eliminating long queues at the leisure centres. CoursePro is now set to go national after trials in the region showed that the software saved 70 staff hours a week on average across four swimschools. Joel Chapman, Tone Leisure commercial director, said: “It had become clear that organising and administering swimming lessons was an area that could be improved vastly with some inventive thinking. “The key aim was to cut down on the number of hours swimming instructors have to spend registering attendance, ticking off levels, printing out reports and giving detailed feedback to hundreds of parents. “This is all now done online, allowing swim schools to free up a significant number of extra hours of staff time, as well as attract greater numbers of participants with the continuous assessment scheme.”
Bringing out best in pupils
CoursePro cuts down on organisation and administration time spent operating swim schools
TAKING part in a high quality watersports course encourages higher attainment and better motivation and so supports every aspect of the curriculum.
PGL offers award courses from both the RYA and the BCU (Royal Yachting Association and British Canoe Union respectively).
In the short term it can be an effective pathway to encouraging more young people to take part in five hours of sport a week, while in the longer term improved confidence, enthusiasm for learning and positive attitudes translate into more motivated, better achieving students.
These courses challenge and bring out the best in your students, enable them to learn new skills, improve their self-reliance and help them to recognise the benefits and dynamics of working as a team.
In addition watersports courses can offer students the prospect of obtaining qualifications in National Governing Body awards which may be used towards GCSE / BTEC coursework.
But none of this should detract from the fact that a watersports trip is all about enjoying an adrenalinfuelled week of superb activities, based in one of PGL’s market-leading centres and supported by their enthusiastic and fullytrained instructors and support staff.
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More kids staying safe in water MORE children are being taught how to stay safe in the water thanks to an increase in the number of instructors on the Royal Life Saving Society’s water safety programme. There are now 2,500 rookie lifesguards providing lessons for eight to 12 year olds on essential water safety skills to keep themselves safe and protect others in and around water. Christine Cullen from Erdington Swimming Pool, Birmingham, has over 22 years of lifesaving and swimming teaching experience and has been announced as the 2,500th Rookie Instructor. She said: “The programme is an excellent way to introduce young people to water safety, personal survival and rescue techniques in a fun but realistic way. “I know the children really enjoy learning the new skills and techniques and equally I enjoy teaching them.” Rookie Lifeguard is now in its third year and is run in swimming pools, lifesaving clubs, schools and leisure centres across the UK.
School opts for state-of-the-art system THE Granta School in Cambridge has chosen to replace its existing Ozone system with a state-of-the-art ATG UV technology ultraviolet water treatment system for its on campus special needs hydrotherapy rehabilitation facility. Granta school operators took the decision to replace its Ozone system
with UV technology due to the high capital running costs, several operational issues and required level of technical expertise associated with its complex operation. In comparison UV treatment is a simple, fully automatic process that cannot be overdosed, is lower in capital costs and performs the same oxi-
dation and disinfection tasks at a fraction of ozone’s running costs. Joanna Clarke, site manager, said: “The UV system has had a tremendous impact on our water quality. “What’s most impressive is how easy UV systems are to operate and their low running and maintenance costs.”
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22 product news
Unique concept being used by primaries POCKETFIT is a unique concept, new on the market and is currently being used by primary schools, school sport partnerships and Primary Care Trusts to aid in MEND programmes, Active Lifestyle, Fitter Family and Fitter Schools Programmes. It is a resource created to support teachers and others to deliver safe exercise programmes and has been designed for both curricular based PE lessons and as an extra-curricular activity. Pocketfit have created a range of physical education programmes designed on playing cards with teacher’s guides and the option to have training in the direct delivery of the resource. The range targets all ages from four to 16 and is a new way to inspire children and young people to be active and ‘put the fun back into fitness’.
Our Lady and St John Catholic College and, pictured from left, Richard Lambert, David Dunn, David Bulcock
Footballer opens new college gym THE Fitness Warehouse have worked with a large number of education establishments throughout the UK and Ireland. Our tailor-made packages coupled with the ability to meet all the necessary customer requirements ensure that each project is managed effectively in-house. The recent install at Our Lady and St John Catholic College in Blackburn included a number Gym Gear cardiovascular and resistance equipment stations.
The facility was officially opened by premiership footballer David Dunn who plays for the local team Blackburn Rovers Football Club. The equipment had been recommended based upon the courses that will be offered by the college alongside the ancillary services the Fitness Warehouse are able to provide. Examples of these services involve: wall Mirrors, sound systems, gym flooring and visual solutions.
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365 directory 23 Training & Qualifications YMCA FIT 111 Great Russell St London, WC1B 3NP T: 0207 343 1855 W: www.ymcafit.org.uk E: info@ymcafit.org.uk
SportsArt Fitness 2 Dean Court Unit 10 Shuttleworth Mead Bus Park Padiham, Lancs BB12 7NG T: 01282 779234 W: www.sportsartfitness.com E: mark.turner@sportsartfitness.com
Central YMCA Qualifications 111 Great Russell St London, WC1B 3NP T: 0207 343 1800 W: www.cyq.org.uk E: info@cyq.org.uk
Mark Harrod Unit 1 Tilla Court Beccles Business Park Worlingham NR34 7BF T: 01502 476882 W: www.markharrod.com
Jump Rope Uk Ltd 16 Riverside Park Wimborne Dorset, BH21 1QU tel: 01202 840590 fax: 01202 840577 jumpropes@ntjr.co.uk www.ntjr.co.uk
Hexa Sports Ltd New Bond Street Birmingham, B9 4EJ tel: 0121 7720724 sales@hexasports.co.uk www.hexasports.co.uk
National Extension College The Michael Young Centre Purbeck Road Cambridge, CB2 8HN T: 0800 389 2839 W: www.nec.ac.uk E: info@nec.ac.uk
Sports Facility Development Sports Solutions GB Suite One Copse Farm South Marston Park Swindon, SN3 4UQ T: 01793 833456 W: www.sportssolutionsgb.co.uk E: chris.bevan@sports-solutionsgb.co.uk
Training Equipment Crazy Catch Wall Tree House Farm Steane Brackley, NN13 5NS T: 01295 816765 W: www.flicx.com E: ricx@flicx.com
Interactive Equipment/ Dance Mats Pulse Dance Machine The Bromley Centre Bromley Rd Congleton Cheshire CW12 1PT T: 01260 294600 W: www.pulsefitness.com E: info@pulsefitness.com Cyber Coach Unit 1a Britannia Business Park Union Rd The Valley Bolton BL2 2HP T: 0845 869 2848 W: www.cyber-coach.co.uk E: info@cyber-coach.co.uk
Fitness Equipment Pulse Fitness The Bromley Centre Bromley Rd Congleton Cheshire CW12 1PT T: 01260 294600 W: www.pulsefitness.com E: info@pulsefitness.com
Design & Build Pulse Select The Bromley Centre Bromley Rd Congleton Cheshire CW12 1PT T: 01260 294600 W: www.pulsefitness.com E: info@pulsefitness.com
Football Facility Build Goals Soccer Centres plc Orbital House Peel Park East Kilbride G74 5PR T: 01355 234800 W: www.goalsfootball.co.uk E: keithm@goalsfootball.co.uk Pulse Soccer Centres The Bromley Centre Bromley Rd Congleton Cheshire CW12 1PT T: 01260 294600 W: www.pulsefitness.com E: info@pulsefitness.com
Professional Associations Association for Physical Education Building 25 London Road Reading Berkshire RG1 5AQ T: 0118 378 2440 W: www.afpe.org.uk E: enquiries@afpe.org.uk
British Colleges Sport 2/3 North Street Workshops North St Stoke-Sub-Hamdon Somerset TA14 6QR T: 01935 823444 W: www.britishcollegessport.org E: kate.paul@britishcollegessport.org
Climbing Walls Freedom Climber Cherry Cottage Guildford Rd Cranleigh Surrey GU6 8LS T: 07554 016220 W: www.revolutionaryproducts.co.uk E: andrew@revolutionary-products.co.uk Entre Prises Eden Works Colne Rd Kelbrook Lancs BB18 6SH T: 01282 444800 W: www.ep-uk.com E: info@ep-uk.
Audio Equipment Sound Dynamics 51 Bridge St Belper Derbyshire DE56 1AY T: 01773 828486 F: 01773 828475 W: www.sound-dynamics.co.uk E: support@sound-dynamics.co.uk
Sports Clothing Kitking 9, Upper George Street Leicester, LE1 3LP T: 0116 262 7332 E: sales@kitking.co.ukst rskitking@aol.com
Installation & Repairs Renovate Contracts Limited Unit 8 12 Moat Way Barwell Leicester LE9 8EY T: 01455 851900 E: duncan@renovatecontracts.– wanadoo.co.uk W: www.renovatecontracts.com
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