Laurie Hull, director of the Active Norfolk county sports
partnership behind the Norfolk Village Games, believes the link
between London 2012 and their project has encouraged villages to
sign up and take part.
The London 2012 Inspire Programme, which aims
to bring the benefits of the 2012 Games to every part of the UK,
has recognised a growing number of innovative community sports
projects – and is looking for more.
The Inspire Mark is awarded to non-commercial
organisations who can demonstrate that their project or event is
accessible, inspiring and stimulating, encouraging more people to
take part in sport, culture, education, the environment,
volunteering and business skills.
The sport strand of the programme has two aims
– to increase participation in grassroots sport, sport competition
and physical activity; and to improve Olympic and Paralympic medal
table performance.
Sports projects to receive the Inspire Mark
include:
- Norfolk Village Games, which
pits village against village in a range of popular sports including
softball, tennis, netball, badminton, tug-of-war and archery.
Learn more about Norfolk Village Games
- Bristol Festival of School, Sport and
Culture, which gives young people who aren’t on their
school team the chance to take part in a city-wide event featuring
traditional sports such as cycling, judo and rowing, as well as
newer activities such as ultimate Frisbee, xtreme golf and flag
football.
Read more about the Bristol Festival of School, Sport and
Culture
- City Masters, a new series
of sports clubs for adults aged 45 living or working in the City of
London. The clubs provide free weekly training sessions with fully
qualified coaches in fencing, short mat bowls, swimming, table
tennis and tennis.
Discover more about City Masters
- StreetGames Legacy Leaders
programme, which aims to build, develop and sustain a
network of grassroots projects in disadvantaged communities,
creating more opportunities for young people to take part in sport
on their doorstep.
Learn
more about Street Games Legacy Leaders programme
Laurie Hull is director of the Active Norfolk
county sports partnership which is behind the Norfolk Village
Games. He believes the link between London 2012 and the project has
encouraged villages to sign up and take part.
"We will be promoting the Games heavily at the
Royal Norfolk Show at the end of June and using the Inspire Mark to
generate more interest,” said Laurie. “The Village Games 2012 will
be the major Olympic-focused sport event in Norfolk and we hope to
use the Inspire Mark to strengthen the link between our activities
and those down in Stratford."
Funded with a £578,701 grant from Sport
England’s Rural Communities Themed Funding Round, the Norfolk
Village Games will build momentum over the next three years with
over 100 villages taking part by 2012. It will also generate 1,000
new sports club members and 140 new coaches.
"Following the launch of the marketing
campaign in June interest in the Village Games has shot up. The
target for villages participating in the first year was 30 and
already 35 have registered. Support with team development will be
made available over the summer." added Laurie.
To find out more about the London 2012 Inspire
Mark and how to apply
go to their website.