Young Ambassador Seb explains his role

KS4 sports leaders from across the town came together recently at the School Sport Partnership’s annual Leadership Conference. The conference was opened with a talk

Multiskills

about where sports leadership could take them. Young Ambassadors from Priestley college explained some of the work they had been involved in and how much they had got out of it. The leaders were also asked to think forward to the possibility of volunteering at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games when they will be 18-20 years old.

The conference, which was run by teachers and students from all the 6th form facilities in Warrington, helped the KS4 leaders consider how they could support young people to get active through volunteering in schools, and gave them some practical ideas to take away and try out. As well as the active sessions, which included multi-skills, warm ups, principles of officiating and coaching practices, the students took part in a classroom based session in which they considered a particular aspect of festival volunteering, such as administration, publicity or safety.

During the day, the Mayor of Warrington visited the event and was impressed by the confidence being demonstrated by the leaders. Professor Kevin Sykes from Chester University closed the event with a talk about the importance of getting young people active. He explained that poor diet and inactivity meant that serious health problems are now starting in children as young as 8. The leaders were left in no doubt as to the importance of their sports volunteering activity.

Many thanks to everyone who made the event possible, and good luck to the 100+ sports leaders who attended as they begin to undertake their volunteering work.