Vote for Sport England funded projects in The National Lottery awards!

The final round of public voting for The National Lottery Awards has now begun.

Four Sport England funded projects are in with a chance of winning in the Best Health and Best Sports projects categories.

Twenty-one Lottery funded projects in all are now battling it out to win a National Lottery Award, a £2000 cash prize and the chance to appear on UK national television. The other categories are the arts, education, environment, heritage and charity/volunteers.  

You have until 31 August to register your vote at www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards.

The Sport England funded Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) is up against two other initiatives in the Best Health category.

Thanks to £6 million of National Lottery investment from Sport England, the Inclusive Fitness Initiative has changed the face of the leisure industry. It has done this by making gym and sports facilities more accessible to tens of thousands of disabled people, so helping to secure a year on year increase in the number of disabled people participating in leisure activities.

Sport England National Lottery funding has been used to create 184 Inclusive Fitness Initiative accredited facilities, which are accessible to disabled and non-disabled people alike. Funding has supported the installation of fitness equipment that is accessible to all, in addition to a range of training for staff that helps disabled people receive a safe and cost-effective service when they attend their local leisure facility. To find out more about the initiative, go to www.inclusivefitness.org

The Best Sports category is made up entirely of Sport England funded projects. They are:

• Fit@Sixty, which has received £87,500 of National Lottery funding from Sport England. Fit@Sixty aims to encourage older people in Bedford, East of England to participate in leisure activities on a weekly basis, improving their health and well-being.

• Litherland Sports Park, which has received £1.9 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England and The Big Lottery Fund. The facility in the North West of England began as a project to improve school sports facilities and a home for an athletics track. It is now used by over 30 schools and 25 sports clubs, and features remarkable facilities for a wide range of sports.
  
• Sport 4 NRG, which has received £155,000 of National Lottery funding from Sport England. The project in Margate, South East of England was set up to provide opportunities for young offenders, or those in danger of offending, to undertake physical activities. Lottery funding has been spent on employing qualified sports coaches for football, basketball, tennis, cricket, boxercise, rock climbing, golf and surfing.   

For more information on the awards, visit The National Lottery Good Causes website: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards

To find out more about Sport England funded projects, please contact Chris Rolfe, Press and PR Officer at Sport England, on 020 7273 1593 or email chris.rolfe@sportengland.org.