Sporting Champions is a
Sport England initiative bringing world-class athletes face-to-face
with young people to inspire and motivate them.
Over 50 current and retired elite athletes have been recruited
based on their ability to work with young people with the
aspiration of raising participation in sport.
Click on the pictures to find out more about the champions.
Our Sporting Champions
-
Swimming
"Aim for the stars, if you fall short you'll still reach for the
moon."
-
Football freestyle
"Laugh at the
impossible and then make the impossible, possible!"
-
Hockey
"You don’t stop playing
because you get old, you get old because you stop
playing."
-
Weightlifting
"Believe in yourself that
you have no limits."
-
Wheelchair Tennis
"Appreciate
yourself more."
-
Boxing
"If you can’t go around the wall because it’s too long and you
can’t climb over it because it is too high, just go through
it."
-
Gymnastics
"Who we become is the greatest reward for achieving our dreams, not
what we get."
-
Rugby union
"To succeed, you need to find something to hold on to, something to
motivate you, something to inspire you."
-
Basketball
"If you want it bad enough you’ll work for it."
-
"Table tennis
‘Can do rather than can’t do."
-
Fencing
"It does not matter what the
challenge is, if you have faith in yourself and your own abilities
you can do it."
-
Extreme inline skating
"Set your goals
high, and don’t stop until you get there."
-
200m / 400m runner
"Always believe that you can achieve and be the best that you can
be."
-
Thai-boxing
‘Attitude rather than aptitude is the key to success’
-
Football
"Regardless of your goals you
should always aim high and work hard to achieve them."
-
800m / 1500m runner
"It's easy to have faith and discipline when you're winning. What
you need is faith and discipline when you're not."
-
Hurdler
"Give it your all and follow
your heart to success."
-
Rowing
"Give it a go, usually you’ll surprise yourself and enjoy it."
-
Rugby union
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear
is that we are powerful beyond measure."
-
Runner
"Make your dreams more than a
vision."
-
60m / 100m runner
"Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but rising every
time we fall."
The scheme is aligned to Sportivate and will also support County
level School Games competitions in 2012, offering all county sports
partnerships (CSPs) the ability to tap into a variety of packaged
visits designed to support both programmes’ delivery by increasing
the likelihood of growing the participation base, retaining the
young people in Sportivate sessions and successfully moving them
into sustainable club sport.
What do the champions do?
The champions’ involvement with Sportivate is based on their
individual skills and the needs of the local area.
They attend as many sessions as requested by activity
deliverers, engaging with the young people and inspiring them to
continue taking part in sport.
Their involvement could be as simple as delivering motivational
speeches, leading the session warm-up, or tackling more complex
issues such as working with the CSP, the people organising the
activity, or parents to understand and overcome the barriers to
participation.
CSPs may also use their champions to work with local communities
or schools to raise levels of interest in the Sportivate
programmes, or in the club settings after the 6-8 week programme is
complete to encourage young people to keep taking part in
sport.
Please contact your local
County Sports Partnership to find out how to secure a Sporting
Champion to support your Sportivate delivery.
Who is the target audience?
Sporting Champions is linked to Sportivate,
and is therefore primarily aimed at semi-sporty young people. These
are young people who may have some interest in sport, but are not
particularly engaged with community or club sport.
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