Sport England Media centre

County festivals of sport gets £4 million of National Lottery funding

Hundreds of thousands of young athletes will have the chance to come together and take part in festivals of sport after Sport England invested £4 million of National Lottery funding into the organising of the multi-sport events.

 Part of the School Games, a new approach to competitive school sport, these annual county festivals of sport are the third level of the School Games structure and are a culmination of the ongoing programme of intra-school and inter-school competition.

The funding will be invested in 46 Local Organising Committees, who will be responsible for organising and delivering the festivals, with each committee made up of representatives from local schools, County Sports Partnerships, young people, and national and local sports providers. The Committees will also be supported by the Youth Sport Trust who has been commissioned by Sport England to develop and deliver elements of the School Games until 2013.

 Sport England’s Youth and Communities Director, Mike Diaper, said:

“The School Games will help inspire a generation of young people to take part in sport.  The Local Organising Committees will showcase and deliver the finals of the all-year-round inter school competition across 30 sports.

 “Alongside our Olympic legacy programme, Places People Play, this will ensure we build a lasting sporting legacy beyond next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

 Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, said:

 “I’m delighted to hear this money has been approved by Sport England. I’m sure it will go towards ensuring the School Games competition is great fun and hugely rewarding for everyone involved.”

 Last July, Greater Manchester School Games was one of nine regions chosen to pilot these events.  More than 1,500 young people from 200 primary, secondary and special schools competed in 11 different sports at some of Manchester’s most prestigious 2002 Commonwealth Games venues.  The event was supported by more than 250 student volunteers, who formed the School Games crew helping run and promote the event.

 Richard Saunders, Greater Manchester Sport’s Chief Executive, said:

“The Greater Manchester School Games were an outstanding success bringing together so many volunteers and competitors in some of the country’s best World Class sports facilities.”

 With at least 60 festivals taking place, involving more than 100,000 competitors and nearly 14,000 young volunteers, the county festivals of sport are a key part of the School Games and will help ensure a lasting sporting legacy for young people beyond London 2012.

 ENDS

Notes to Editors

School Games

 The School Games is a new exciting four level – intra school, inter school, county festivals and national finals – competition for school children in England.

 It is being delivered through a partnership between the Youth Sport Trust, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department of Education, Department of Health, Sport England and the British Paralympic Association.   

Over £128m of Lottery and Government funding is being invested to support the School Games. This includes: up to £35.5m Lottery funding from Sport England between 2010-15; £28.4m exchequer funding from the Department of Health and Sport England to fund 450 School Games Organisers and Change 4 Life Clubs; £65m exchequer funding from the Department for Education to release a PE teacher for one day a week in all secondary schools.

Sport England is focused on the delivery of a mass participation legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We invest National Lottery and Exchequer funding in organisations and projects that will grow and sustain participation in grassroots sport and create opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport.

 Places People Play is the £135 million legacy programme that is bringing the inspiration and magic of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games into the heart of local communities, encouraging more people to get involved in sport.

 Places

• Inspired Facilities will see up to a thousand local sports clubs and facilities upgraded
• Through Iconic Facilities we are investing multi-sport facilities that set the standards for future facilities development
• Through Protecting Playing Fields we are protecting an improving hundreds of playing fields across the country

People

• We are recruiting and deploying 40,000 Sport Makers to organise and lead grassroots sporting activities and put the Olympic and Paralympic into action

Play

• Sportivate is providing opportunities for teenagers and young adults to receive six weeks of coaching in the sport of their choice and guiding them into regular participation within their community
• Gold Challenge is motivating adults to test themselves in multiple Olympic and Paralympic sports, while raising money for charity.

Tags: #legacy / #schoolgames