Latest news

June 30th is fast approaching, will your team reach Rio by then?

It's time to really go for it and see how far you can get!

Remember bonus sports give you double the miles.

We've got some great prizes up for grabs this week.

Nominate your team captain or upload team photos for your chance to be a winner.

Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter updates for spot prizes too!

Further details are available via www.reachingrio.org 

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Check out the latest health, fitness, sport and nutrition news from in and around Brighton & Hove.

The free magazine is jam packed full of special offers and discounts, Brighton Active Issue 13 has something for everyone!

This edition features the likes of Twisted Fitness, Paddle Round the Pier and Boulder Brighton.

Pick up your free copy from local community outlets, or download from here:

http://brightonactive.com/current-issue/

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The British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) new look Active Club pack - a resource to help plan and deliver fun and inclusive activity, is now available to order.

The Active Club pack has been updated to provide those delivering physical activities to children and young people with simple, straightforward advice and over 100 practical activity ideas for helping children and young people become more active.

Previously only accessible with training, this resource is now available to anyone working directly with children and young people, for example, teaching assistants, sports coaches, playworkers and volunteers. It is a user-friendly resource that provides an ideal starting point for those who may not have any previous experience of delivering physical activity.

The resource contains:

• practical activity cards offering ideas for day to day activities
• a handbook including information about planning and delivering activity sessions
• a CD ROM including electronic templates and certificates designed to assist with the planning and delivery of activity within your setting
• a useful information booklet to be used as a reference guide including key contacts and information on relevant resources, organisations and funding opportunities
• a copy of BHF’s Get Kids on the Go booklet for parents
• a copy of BHF’s Let’s Get Active Pocket Planner.

The Active Club pack is free to order, but as a charity the British Heart Foundation would appreciate a donation to cover their costs. To order your copy, phone the BHF orderline on 0870 600 6566 or email orderline@bhf.org.uk (quoting Ref G132).

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CIMSPA is the professional development body for anyone working in the sport and physical activity sector, from Lifeguards to Facility Managers, Personal Trainers to Sports Development Officers.

They wil be hosting the above event will be held on Thursday 4 July 2013, at Worthing Splashpoint; running from 9:30am–3:40pm

See further information on the event here.

The event is open to both members and non-members.

It is free of charge for CIMSPA members and £30 for non-members (concessions £18).

If you have any queries about the event, please feel free to contact CIMSPA

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With public places to the Brighton Half Marathon approaching a sell out, the organisers have issued a last call to anyone wishing to enter the race on 16 February 2014 - either as part of a corporate team or as an individual runner.

More than half of the 11,000 available places had been snapped in the first month alone following the opening of registration back in April, proving the ever growing popularity of this seafront half marathon.

The Brighton Half Marathon Corporate Challenge takes place as part of the Brighton Half Marathon and is designed as a team event to assist companies and organisations to build teamwork in the workplace and promote health and fitness, with the Corporate Challenge Trophy being presented to the team that has the lowest aggregate time of their first 3 runners.

The fastest team in the Brighton Half Marathon Corporate Challenge 2013 was L'Oréal, followed by runner up Transport for London and The Grand Brighton in 3^rd place.

Entry to the Corporate Challenge is integrated into the standard registration process, with entry fees of £30 for affiliated runners and £32 for non-affiliated runners including a goody bag and a medal at the finish. More details can be found here http://www.brightonhalfmarathon.com/corporate-charity-challenge .

Over 40 teams are signed up to the Brighton Half Marathon Corporate Challenge 2014 so far.

Go to www.brightonhalfmarathon.com for further race details and to secure your place now, join the Facebook page www.facebook.com/BrightonHalfMarathon and follow @BrightonHalf on Twitter.

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New research results have revealed that of all the school pupils who participated in National School Sports Week 2012, 1.8 million (49%) children have been inspired to join a new sports club or team.

The research, conducted by the Centre for Sport, Physical Education & Activity Research (SPEAR) at Canterbury Christ Church University and using a sample size of 2,944 pupils revealed that last year, more than 4.3 million young people across 11,000 schools in the UK participated in National School Week.

More than 3 million (79%) of the 3.8 million from England & Wales are now playing more sport than before, with 2.1 million (55%) joining a new club or team in school.

57% of pupils had joined a club outside of school because they had tried a sport and liked it while 42% joined a club because they wanted to win and 67% wanted to play for fun.

Since 2009, more than 21,000 schools and almost £9m across the UK have taken part in National School Sports Week. This year's event takes place 24-28 June.

For more information, click here: https://www.schoolsportweek.org/

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A new partnership between ASDA and Sports Leaders UK aims to improve the health and employment prospects of young people, supporting 150,000 annually to get qualifications in sports leadership.

The initiative has already received the 'Inspired by 2012' brand, launched by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in April.

During 2013, the scheme will see more than 400 free sports days being organised in primary schools across the UK, designed to help inspire the next generation of children to get active.

ASDA will be providing free healthy refreshments for all of the events and the Community Life Champions will be asked to support their local event on the day.

Linda Plowright, CEO of Sports Leaders and chair of The Compass Association, said: "Working with ASDA will help us deliver awards and qualifications that help young people gain skills for life, providing the opportunity to progress into further education and employment.
This is an exciting time for Sports Leaders UK to help get young people, and their families' get active after the success of London 2012".

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New figures released by Sport England today show that 15.3 million people are playing sport at least once a week, with good progress among young people.

The figures – covering the period to mid-April 2013, show that 1.4 million more men and women are playing sport every week than in 2005 - when London won the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and that most of the increase seen around the Games in 2012 has been retained.

When the figures were last published in December 2012 they showed 750,000 more people playing sport than the previous year. Six months on, despite the coldest March for 50 years, growth of 530,000 has been maintained. 

Sports such as football, golf and even cycling, one of the strongest performing sports of recent years, have all been affected. British Cycling Chief Executive Ian Drake said: “Our membership continues to feel the benefit of our successes in London 2012 and the ‘Wiggo effect’ with year-on-year growth for May hitting 54%, and the number of events growing strongly. We were expecting a dip in the harshest couple of months, but our own data shows rapid recovery in April and May.”

The number of young people aged 16-25 years playing sport regularly has reached 3.86 million. This is an increase of nearly 63,000 on the previous 12-months, with strong advances in sports such as basketball and swimming.

Among women, boosts in boxing and netball have helped to drive a year-on-year increase of 89,900 - further narrowing the gender gap in sport.

Although there is still an unacceptable gap between the number of disabled people and non-disabled people playing sport, the figures for disabled people have been rising steadily since 2005. The latest figures show an increase of 46,600 over the past year with Paralympic sports (like equestrianism and athletics) growing in popularity.

To review Sport England's 1 x 30 overall factsheet, click here

To review Sport England's 1 x 30 sport factsheet, click here

Chief Executive of Active Sussex, Sadie Mason, commented "We are pleased that the participation figures for Sussex have shown a 2.2% rise since the initial Active People Survey. In the last year, there have been significant increases noticed in Lewes (5.5%) and Wealden (5.0%); with the highest increase since APS1 being in Crawley (8.5%)".

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There are over 400 free or discounted events and activities taking place in Brighton & Hove between 22 June - 7 July 2013.

Growing as the largest celebration of community sport & physical activity in the country, TAKEPART is crammed full of great opportunities for you, your family and friends to have fun and get active together across the city.

You will find activities suitable for children, adults, older people or disabled children and adults.

For more details, please visit their website, or alternatively you can pick up a complimentary TAKEPART Festival Programme from public buildings in the locality.

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Get more people trying your sport with Have a Field Day

Have a Field Days are a great way for you to open your sport up to new audiences.

By getting involved with your local Have a Field Day you’ll be building the local legacy from the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and encouraging your local community to get active.

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Whether you are new to the game or love it already, go along to The FA Girls' Football Festival in Preston Park, Brighton on Saturday 22 June between 12-5pm and have a fun day with your friends and family, for FREE!

• Meet, chat and play with the stars of England and the FAWSL
• Kickabout with your friends in our inflatable pitch
• Learn Skills from our FA Coaches
• Learn how to warm up

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HMRC has launched a public consultation on the Community Amateur Sports Club scheme. The document can be found on the HMRC website and will run for ten weeks until 12 August 2013.

It’s the culmination of several years of advocacy work led by the Sport and Recreation Alliance, working with HMRC to try and iron out some of the technical issues hampering the scheme.

For some time the Alliance has been lobbying for improvements so that more sports clubs can be encouraged to register and receive benefits like business rate relief and the ability to claim Gift Aid.

The Alliance feels that sport should broadly welcome HMRC’s decision to revisit the CASC legislation and make the most of this opportunity to shape future CASC policy.

However, sport should also be aware of the possible negative implications of some of the Government’s new proposals.

The CASC consultation – what you need to know

- Proposals to allow more generous travel expenses and to formalise small payments to players are positive developments, as are those to allow Gift Aid on corporate donations and to increase the trading income threshold for corporation tax

- However, the consultation raises two key eligibility conditions that previously have not been a major consideration when allowing clubs in to the scheme

Further information is available via the gov.uk site

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Sport England will invest £1bn of lottery and exchequer money over the next five years and in return is expected not only to boost the number of adults exercising, something no previous Olympic host has managed to do, but reverse the ongoing decline in 14-25 year-olds playing sport.

Under a new strategy, two-thirds of its investment will be targeted purely at that age group. Around

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The Triangle, Burgess Hill will be awash with colour tomorrow (Wednesday 12 June 2013) as the Parallel Youth Games comes to town. 450 disabled children from across the county will come together to take part in a festival of sport organised by Inspire Leisure, Gold Tier Partners and leisure centre operators, Freedom Leisure; Active Sussex the Southern Disability Forum and Mid Sussex District Council.

To add to the excitement, six-time Paralympic GB swimmer Sascha Kindred will be in attendance to inspire athletes and teachers alike; and a number of local V.I.P’s will also be there to cheer the teams on.

Included in the five sports are three level 3 School Games events which have had area qualifiers arranged by School Games Organisers giving an even greater number of young disabled people the opportunity to take part in sporting activity.

The delivery of the event relies on the goodwill of a number of organisations and individuals, and is in fact part funded by the generous guests of the Sussex Sports Awards, who raised over £1,000 through the raffle and auction held as part of the awards evening in November. Further funding for the event comes through sponsorship from the Cooperative Group and Southern Water.

Active Sussex would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the athletes the best of luck and an enjoyable day; and also thank all of the partners and volunteers that keep the Parallel Youth Games running.

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Gillette has announced its ‘Great Start’ programme which celebrates the role of coaching and supports coaching excellence by offering coaching grants awarded through the scheme.

The announcement marks the second year of Gillette’s partnership with sports coach UK.

The grants are available to both aspiring and amateur coaches who wish to further their qualifications.

Applications for grants open from the 9 May 2013 via the brands Facebook page.

Gillette is also continuing to supporting the UK Coaching Awards hosted by sports coach UK which celebrate the role of coaching in encouraging participation, performance and excellence.

As part of the Great Start programme, Gillette is offering people the chance to nominate a coach who deserves recognition for their work for the UK Community Coach of the Year Award.

To find out more, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/GilletteUK

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Brighton Lesbian and Gay Sports Society will be hosting the third annual event on Saturday 29 June 2013.

The sessions at Stanley Deason Leisure Centre in Brighton run from 10:00am-5:00pm.

Why not go along and try out one of their many sports tasters:

* Badminton  * Beach volleyball  * Boxing  * Fencing  * Football  * Golf  * Ju-Jitsu  * Nordic Walking  * Petanque  
* Rock climbing  * Running * Softball  * Squash  * Table Tennis  * Tai Chi  * Trampolining  * Walking  * Yoga

Plus! the Bike Doctor will be on-site for repairs and advice from 2:00-4:00pm

Entry for the day is just a £2 donation and covers all activities.

Lockers, changing rooms and showers are available.

Please check www.blagss.org for further updates.

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Joanna Irving has been appointed to replace Paul Napthine.

She has been working in the Sports Development sector for the past 10 years - across various organisations, including a County Sports Partnership, Local Authority and three National Governing Bodies of Sport.

Over the last couple of years, she has been working as a Relationship Manager for the England Hockey Board, with a strong focus on community sport, safeguarding, funding and facility development.

She previously managed three large grant programmes in the Sussex, namely Sportivate, Sport Unlimited and the Community Sports Coach Scheme.
 
She is really excited to have taken on this role at sported.

Coming from a participation background, she is looking forward to working with sport for development organisations, exploring how sport can change the lives of young people.
 
Joanna can be contacted on 07900 928514 or via j.irving@sported.org.uk

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The English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) confirming that £96 million will be put in to funding community cricket, over the next four years.

The agreement with the ECB's Recreational Assembly was signed on 8 May during a day of meetings at the Kia Oval, which culminated in the ECB's Annual Meeting.

ECB chair Giles Clarke said: "During the winter the game has diligently worked up detailed four-year plans which resulted today in the completion of MOUs with the First Class and Recreational Game and the commitment to invest £96m into community cricket during that period."

He explained 2012 had been a challenging season, particularly due to the poor weather that severely damaged facilities and club cricket.

However, Clarke said: "I have been amazed and delighted at the number of clubs that could continue playing through such terrible conditions and, in the first class game, the amount of cricket that was staged is a testimony to the decision to invest in such effective drainage systems."

To read more, click here.

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Thousands of people who took part in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as volunteers have been recognised with a formal qualification created specifically for them.

The qualification for the 2012 Games Makers was created and funded by McDonald's to help prepare and recognise volunteers with quality training before, during and after the games.

Almost 3000 people have completed the level two City & Guilds award in the principles of customer service, directly resulting from their involvement in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In order to achieve the qualification, Games Makers completed an online learning module and sat an exam.

The British Olympic Association Chair, Lord Coe, said "The Games Makers showed Britain how the combination of high quality training, a strong work ethic and a desire to do the best job possible can lift British hospitality to a world-class standard,". "Following their show stealing performance during London 2012, it's fantastic to see thousands of Games Makers going a step further and formalising their skills with the national qualification that McDonald's created and funded."

Further details are available here: http://www.worldhost.uk.com

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The British Prime Minister has announced that local communities will be given £250m funding to help them buy a variety of amenities -  including village greens, playing fields and community centres.

Speaking at the Social Impact Investment Conference in London, David told his audience that: "Everyone knows how vital institutions in our towns and villages are.......and despite the best efforts of parish and local councils - these can face closure. I want our social investment funds to give people the opportunity to take them over and run them."

The new Community Assets Fund (CAF) will offer long-term loans to help communities save vital facilities.

The £50m CAF is part of a larger £250m development for community investment over the next 10 years put forward by the Big Society Capital and the Big Lottery Fund.

More information is available via http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/

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The Littlehampton Academy Table Tennis Club is running a Sussex Circuit Tournament on Saturday 22 June 2013, at Littlehampton Academy.

The event runs from 9:00am until 3:00pm.

All Abilities are welcome (players must be aged 18 or under).

The cost of the event is £6 and the entry deadline = 20.6.13

The tournament will be refereed by Peter Baldwin and Chris Newberry.

For more information, please contact the Tournament Organiser (Mateusz Sadlowski) on 07926 913014 or contact@littlehamptonttc.co.uk

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Ruth is a longstanding member at The Dolphin where she trains in the gym and uses the sauna and steam rooms to lose vital pounds ahead of weight-specific competitions.

Ruth has competed in Muay Thai for seven years. At 34 she often meets opponents up to 10 years younger but that hasn’t held her back. Currently Britain’s Number One ranked fighter at -52kg and 2 x World Ladies Champion, she has 35 fights and 25 wins to her name.  Ruth is also the WBC International Champion.

Her next competitive fight is at the Super Prestige International Fight Night on Saturday 22 June, at 6:00pm at the Copthorne Hotel, Effingham.

Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking moves and clinching techniques in combat. Aside from competing, it is a great way to get fit and lose weight with classes giving an all-over body toning workout. It improves co-ordination, stamina and endurance and teaches essential self-defence skills.

Ruth is passionate about the art of Muay Thai Boxing and has inspired many women to take up the sport for fitness, if not for competing.  She teaches her own lessons in Haywards Heath twice a week and also has classes at Crawley Martial Arts Academy, where she works full-time training others and trains with her own coach (John Jarvis).

“Ruth is phenomenally fit and a great ambassador for women taking part in martial arts,” says Andy Jones, Freedom Leisure Centre Manager at The Dolphin. “We have supported her for years and followed her rise to the very top of the sport. We are pleased to give her free access to The Dolphin facilities and to step up our support by sponsoring her upcoming fight in Effingham,” he continues.

“I really enjoy using The Dolphin facilities to complement my fight training,” says Ruth. “The Centre is close to home and very convenient when I need to top up my resistance training in the gym or lose a few pounds in the sauna and steam rooms ahead of a competition where my weight is a crucial factor,” she explains. “I’m very pleased to be sponsored by The Dolphin for the Super Prestige International Fight Night and will do my utmost to bring home a trophy to Haywards Heath.”

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Sport England’s funding programme, Protecting Playing Fields (PPF) is part of the 'Places People Play' Olympic legacy mass participation programme and £10 million of National Lottery funding is being invested in community sports projects over three years from 2011-14.

The programme is being delivered via five funding rounds, with around £2 million being awarded to projects in each round.

Round 5 will open on 10 June 2013 and close on 5 August 2013.  

Delivering a mass participation legacy for sport from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is a top priority for the Government and Sport England.

To help achieve this, PPF will focus on protecting and improving playing fields and developing community sport.

Through this programme, Sport England intend to fund up to 300 projects for playing field improvements that will contribute to both retaining and increasing participants in sport across England at the local level.

The programme will fund capital projects that create, develop and improve playing fields for sporting and community use and offer long term protection of the site for sport.

Projects are likely to involve the construction of new natural turf pitches or improvement of existing ones that need leveling or drainage works.

For further details, please visit: http://sportengland.org/funding/protecting_playing_fields.aspx

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...................on Women's Sports Network's #WonderWall - up-to-date and real time news.

If you 'mention' @Twing_IT when you tweet results your school, club or team might make #WonderWall (just like Jess Ennis, Casey Stoney and Laura Robson), so be sure to include a picture!

Furter details are available here: http://www.wsnet.co.uk/wonderwall/

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The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) has called for PE funding to be focused on swimming after a survey revealed that half of the UK's children aged 7-11 cannot swim the length of a standard pool.

The survey, conducted by the ASA with support from Kellogg's and the institute of Youth Sport at Loughborough University, collected data from more than 3,500 primary schools across England, and gathered opinions from more than 1,000 parents.

The government recommends 22 hours of swimming lessons per year, but only 2% of schools surveyed actually met that target with the report suggesting that children spend just 8.25 hours every year in school swimming lessons.

Around 40% of the parents of 10-11 year olds surveyed said that their child could not swim 25 metres.

The Department for Education is giving £150m directly to primary schools to spend on improving PE with each school receiving a minimum of £9,000.

The Department of Education have also invested £750,000 to develop an initial teacher-training pilot to improve primary PE standards, with the first 120 ready to join schools starting September 2013.

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Following a public meeting at Hove Town Hall with 350 residents, Mike Weatherley (the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade), was delighted by the response and huge turnout regarding the future of King Alfred Leisure Centre.

There was an obvious desire from residents (both who attend the meeting and those who contacted him beforehand), that sports should be the main focus of the site. It was also clear that there is overwhelming support for a 50m swimming pool. Keeping the seafront location was certainly considered important and another facility that proved popular was a large ice rink.

Commenting, Mike said: “It was great to see so many people attend the meeting and contribute with their views on how the King Alfred should be redeveloped. We’ve received a huge amount of input on what a future leisure facility should be like and I will be writing to Brighton & Hove City Council with a summary of the day.”

He added, “I want to thank all the speakers who took the time to take part in this discussion. I hope this meeting illustrates the need for progress to be made concerning the redevelopment of this important site. Quite frankly, everyone is fed up with delays that have meant that nothing has happened over the past 10-years. Residents know what they want – we just need it to be built".

To view a video of the meeting, please click here.

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Active Sussex has teamed up with Brighton & Hove's Healthy City Partnership to offer organisations in Sussex up to £500 seed money to start a healthy workplace scheme.

The fund gives businesses and organisations throughout Sussex the opportunity to trial programmes that improve the health and wellbeing of their staff.

"Our aim is to guide businesses through the process of creating a healthier workplace – and ultimately a healthier business," said Donna Imrie-Browne, who manages the grant scheme on behalf of Active Sussex.

In all 20 projects received grants in the last round of funding for a wide range of work-based activities, from yoga sessions to roller blade training.

Individual businesses can apply for funding up to a maximum of £500 to help run a scheme that meets the grant criteria. For more details, contact Donna Imrie on 07903 090999 or Donna@active-solutions.co.uk

Guidance notes and an application form available for download under Useful Documents on our Active & Healthy Workplace page.

Closing date for completed applications: Sunday 30 June 2013

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Extreme Ventures programmes and packages are designed to be flexible for each individual, family or organisation.

Across Sussex, Surrey, Kent and London they offer:

- Rock Climbing Courses

- Indoor Climbing Courses

- Abseiling Parties and Training

- High & Low Rope Adventures

- Mountain Biking

- Team Building

All prices include a CRB Checked, Fully Qualified & Experienced Instructor, Equipment and Entry/Hire fees.

All activities have been risk assessed and include Emergency Action and Operating Procedures.

Extreme Ventures fully complies with regulating bodies including Health and Safety, National Governing Bodies and Adventure Activity Licensing Authority.

For more information, please contact Brett Ashcroft (Director) on 01732 446252 / info@extremeventures.co.uk

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Women's sport gets about 2% of all sports media coverage in the UK – leaving it short-changed and creating a clear lack of healthy and active role models for ladies and girls.

You can follow your SportsHeroines, role models, matches, results, commentary, transfers, relegations, team selection and individual performances.

@Twing_IT offers improved access, awareness, ticketing & planning................to excite, promote and market Womens sport events.

If you are interested in finding out more, please follow @Twing_IT herehttps://twitter.com/Twing_IT

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On 1 December 2012, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) merged with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) to become the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

This is the new national organisation responsible for carrying out security checks on volunteers and others. The DBS was established under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and provides a joined up service to combine the criminal records and barring functions.

The DBS will soon make a number of important changes to its services; these will have significant implications for the way organisations manage DBS disclosures.

From 17th June 2013:

The DBS will only issue disclosures to the applicant; the Registered Body will no longer receive a copy

• The DBS online Update Service will go live
• The ‘Position Applied For’ field on the DBS application forms will need to be completed differently.

In responding to these developments it is important that organisations continue to ensure that safeguarding children and vulnerable adults remains their priority.

For the detail on all the changes see the Child Protection in Sport Unit here

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The British Olympic Association (BOA) has received a £5.3m bonus payment from London 2012 organisers LOCOG after they found their final accounts to have a £30m surplus.

In addition, £2.6m has been given to the British Paralympic Association, while £20m will be paid back to the Department for Culture, Media & Sport.

LOCOG said they had achieved revenues of £2.41bn through private sector revenue programmes over the company's eight-year life, with costs contained at £2.38bn.

The report and accounts actually show a cumulative operating loss of £53m, however deferred revenue which has not been accounted for stands at £78m. This combined with other revenue streams such as royalty income, will be sufficient to cover the noted losses.

The BOA was forced to cut costs and this year took out a £5m overdraft to cover costs. The bonus comes at a much-needed time as the association had been expected to announce a loss of £4m following the London 2012 Games.

LOCOG will now be placed into a solvent Members Voluntary Liquidation following the end of the Games in 2012.

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http://all-inclusivesports.com/ is a new website to bring together everyone throughout the world to collaborate on a shared resource that can be used to engage people and raise standards across the globe on inclusion within sport.

Throughout the coming months the site will keep changing to provide:

• Featured blog posts from National Goverening Bodies regarding inclusion
• Links to the shared #allinclusivesports youtube channel for anyone to add their videos
• Links to Dropbox accounts to enable a central place for collaboration amongst others
• Collaboration requests from anyone wishing to connect with other groups across the world on specific projects
• Ongoing physical education research, leading to increased theory informed practice
• Details on international, national and regional disability sport meets and events
• Twitter feed highlighting all the good blog posts

For further information, please contact Jacob Pryszlak via allinclusivesports@gmail.com

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The 'Hoof' initiative has been established by the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) to promote horse rising and increase participation.

To hear the interview about the huge success they are experiencing, please visit:

http://www.hoofride.co.uk

More information can be obtained from Kate Moore (BEF Marketing & Communications Officer) on 02476 698877 or via Kate.Moore@bef.co.uk

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It was sibling rivalry at its fiercest as Theo Moverley-Smith saw off his twin brother, Rupert, to clinch his place in a prestigious national grand final by claiming victory at the South East Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship Regional Final at Bewl Valley Sailing Club on Saturday 1 June.

Theo, 15, made the most of home advantage to triumph in the 13-16 years age-group and will now fly the flag for the South East when he goes head-to-head against the age-group victors from all 13 other regional deciders at the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship Final at the PSP Southampton Boat Show on Sunday 15 September.

Now in its 12th year, the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship is Britain’s leading programme introducing kids to powerboats and training them to be safe, proficient drivers and excellent boat handlers. RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats) are light, manoeuvrable craft and the boats driven in the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship can hit speeds of up to 25mph. The youngsters compete in time trials around sets of marks with the driver with the fastest time in each age-group qualifying for the national final.

Photograph credited to Mike Spurgin

More information is available from: Karenza Morton (RYA South East Regional Communicator) on 07837 707630 / press@tenpointstick.co.uk or via www.rya.org.uk/regions/southeast

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The National Get Britain Bouncing Day is taking place on Thursday 27 June 2013.

The organisation hopes to get 1 million people bouncing - nationwide.

It has been organised during the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s fundraising and awareness week, which runs 24-30 June.

People are encouraged to raise money on the day through a £1 donation from everyone taking part.

To find out more, please visit www.getbritainbouncing.org.uk

For any media enquiries, please don't hesitate to contact Ellie Clewlow at Porcupine PR, on 07711 356735.

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The British Heart Foundation have created a fact sheet to examine the physical activity patterns of children in England.

It brings together the latest information from a number of national surveys, to provide a picture of how active children and young people are.

The fact sheet looks at a range of elements of physical activity including:

• general trends
• travel to school
• provision of PE and sport in schools
• activities outside of school

For more information, please visit: http://www.bhfactive.org.uk

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CIMSPA is the professional development body for anyone working in the sport and physical activity sector, from Lifeguards to Facility Managers, Personal Trainers to Sports Development Officers.

They wil be hosting the above event will be held on Friday 28 June 2013, at Leatherhead Leisure Centre - in Surrey; running from 9:30am–12:00pm

See further information on the event here.

The event is open to both members and non-members.

It is free of charge for CIMSPA members and £25 (inc VAT) for non-members.

If you have any queries about the event, please feel free to contact CIMSPA

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Freedom Leisure has announced that their Managing Director for the past 11 years will be retiring from his post on the 30^th September 2013.

Jeff Hart, who has led the highly successful leisure trust since it’s formation , is stepping down after a period of unprecedented growth and success for the company.

From operating 4 sites for Wealden District Council in 2002, Jeff has led the team that has expanded the business to a 34 site, 12 contract, £40M  turnover operation in 2013.

Major and prestigious contract wins and acquisitions across the South East has seen total employee numbers grow from 250 to over 2500, and the trust has an enviable track record in reinvesting over £12M in facilities and services during that time.

“I leave a fantastic, talented team behind at freedom, and both a robust financial position and a strong reputation for the freedom brand” said Jeff. “I am certain the company will continue to go from strength to strength under new leadership”

Freedom Leisure Chairman, Alan Rutherford praised Jeff’s “inspirational leadership, industry knowledge, skills, and personal qualities, which had been instrumental in securing the company’s recognition as one of the top leisure trusts in the UK.”

“After a robust internal recruitment process, the Board have appointed Ivan Horsfall-Turner, currently Freedom Leisure’s Business Development Director, to the top job as Managing Director” he added, “Ivan has been a key member of the Executive Team over the past 11 years and is seen as the perfect successor to take the company forward.”

In a further structural change, Matt Hunt, current Group Operations Manager, is promoted to Operations Director and will join the revised Executive Team with immediate effect.

The Managing Director appointment comes into effect from 1^st July 2013 with a handover period in which Jeff will continue to advise, and support, both the Board, and Executive Team, until his official retirement on the 30^th September.

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The TV and radio star will be lending his support to the Bexhill Lions Triathlon & Duathlon, on Sunday 9 June 2013, at the De la Warr Pavilion.

Graham said: “I know the Bexhill-on-Sea Lions Club have raised a fantastic amount of money through their events in the last three years and I look forward to meeting everyone on the day and to handing out prizes to the winners.”

So whether you are taking part or not, why not go along and join in for the day. Entries will shortly be closing for the event, so make sure you secure your place and enter online **NOW**. 

There will be a Sprint Distance and a Standard Distance triathlon event, and new for 2013 Bexhill-on-Sea’s first ever Duathlon event - with a Challenge Distance and a Classic Distance event.

Triathlon Distances 

• Sprint Distance (750m sea swim, 20km road cycle, 5km promenade run)
• Standard Distance (1500m sea swim, 40km road cycle, 10km promenade run) 

Duathlon Distances 

• Taster Distance (5km promenade run, 10km road cycle, 2km promenade run)
• Classic Distance (10km promenade run, 40km road cycle, 4km promenade run) 

As usual, all events will be ParaTri inclusive and both the triathlon and duathlon have a Relay Team option, so head along and see if you can beat your time from last year, have some fun and help them raise some more money for charity!

Follow them on Facebook, via the following link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bexhill-Lions-Triathlon-Duathlon/139290932771775 

Chris Burstow (Race Director) looks forward to another great event!

For more information, please visit www.bexhill-triathlon.co.uk or www.bexhill-duathlon.co.uk

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The familiar crowd of cyclists, footballers, rollerbladers and keep fit fanatics on Hove Lawns’ iconic seafront will have a genteel addition of golf this Bank Holiday Sunday.

A whole selection of golfing tasters will be taking over Hove Lawns for the duration of Bank Holiday Sunday featuring nets for big hitting, putting greens and three tri golf holes featuring artificial trees, bunkers – even a lake!

Pro golfers will be there to provide top tips to anyone trying out the sport for the first time.

Sussex Golf Week launch event, Sunday 26 May, 10.30am-4.30pm. Hove Lawns, Hove Seafront. Free admission

http://www.sussexgolfpartnership.org/

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Calling all Sport Makers – Active Sussex has a pair of tickets up for grabs for the AEGON International Tennis Tournament in Eastbourne this June.

In partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association, Active Sussex is offering a lucky Sport Maker the opportunity to win two tickets to the AEGON International Tennis Tournament, which takes place 15-22 June.

To win the tickets we are asking you to complete 10 Sport Maker hours specifically through tennis. So dust off those racquets, don some shorts, if you dare, and enjoy the summer season of tennis!

You could head to your local park with your mates and have a game, or help out at your local tennis club. This is your opportunity to make tennis happen at any level, and you could be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize.

How to Enter

Email Gina Rogers at grogers@activesussex.org outlining what you have done to achieve your 10 Sport Maker hours through tennis. It may be that you have already completed a few hours and you need to top up the rest. This is absolutely fine – as long as you complete the full 10 hours you will be eligible to win. Please also include your contact details: full name, email address, postal address (suitable for receiving tickets) and a contact telephone number.

Pictures of you playing tennis are welcome and encouraged! Share your photos on our Sussex Sport Makers Facebook page

For further information on clubs and courts in your area please visit www.lta.org.uk/allplaytennis/ type in your postcode and away you go.

The closing date for the competition is Friday 31 May. You will need to be available on Monday 17 June to attend the tournament.

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People across the country are coming together in celebration of the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relay's one-year anniversary with a unique programme of events and celebrations retracing the journey of the Olympic flame.

Starting on May 19 in Land's End, the Community Games "shine a light" relay will follow the route of last year's Olympic and Paralympic torch relay route across England,

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Wakeboarder Lily Mcbride, who coached last year's Sportivate Wakeboarding for Girls at Hove Lagoon Watersports, funded by Active Sussex

Sport England has allocated £24m worth of funding to extend its Sportivate programme. 

The scheme, which will run until 2017, has been designed to help 14- to 25-year-olds to get involved in sports by offering discounted and free sessions in sports ranging from judo and tennis to wakeboarding. It is delivered by the network of 49 county sports partnerships, working with local clubs and providers.

It aims to give young people - who currently aren't playing sport in their own time - the chance to find a sport they like. The young people are then helped to find a club or venue where they can keep taking part. Research shows that most of the young people are sticking with sport three months after they've completed the Sportivate course.

New figures published today show almost 190,000 teenagers and young adults have so far benefitted from free or discounted six- to eight-week sport courses through Sportivate. Of these, 156,547 have successfully completed their coaching course, missing no more than one session.

Sport England chief executive Jennie Price, said: "Sportivate's success is built on listening to what young people want from sport and then giving them great opportunities to get involved.

"With dozens of traditional and non-traditional sports on offer, lots of young people are getting active and discovering a sport they really enjoy and want to keep playing."

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England Basketball's Miguel Tello chooses his top five places to play ball in Sussex.

1. Brighton Beach Seafront Court

Free to use and open year round, the court on Brighton's iconic seafront is the unofficial hub for street ball in Sussex.

Miguel says: " A fantastic location, with load of passers by, means this is busy all year round with a readymade audience to watch your skills."

Best

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The Senior Girls team won the English Schools team event, and the Foyston trophy

The Sussex schools squad had a fantastic day of running on an extremely muddy course at the English Schools Athletic Association cross country championships, Catton Hall, Derbyshire, on 16 March, with three of its six teams winning trophies.

First up for honours were the junior boys, who won the Lockhurst Lane trophy, awarded to the first team to get all eight of its runners home. Archie Davies (Patcham), leading the field for Sussex, came 12th overall.

The Senior girls won the team event and the Foyston trophy with Grace Baker (Rye) leading home her Sussex team mates in a brilliant fifth position, with Nicole Taylor (Beacon) 10th, Emma Dixon (BHASVIC) 24th, Maddy Smith (St. Bedes) 50th, Mylene Schuwey (Hailsham) 92nd and Megan Bradford (Varndean) 103rd making up the six scorers.

The Intermediate boys were the revelation of the day with Stephen Ferroni (BACA) coming in 10th to be the first Sussex scorer. The team won the Yorkshire cup, 67 points ahead of nearest rivals Kent. With Billy White (Patcham) in 13th, Josh Woods (Blatch Mill) in 17th, Jake Alger (Seaford Head) in 19th, Harry Leleu (Seaford Coll) in 32nd and Jack Witt (Brighton coll) in 38th, all six scorers finished in the top 40.

The Intermediate Boys team secured the Yorkshire Cup

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Sport England has announced 'favoured' areas for the latest round of its Inspired Facilities fund. In Sussex the areas are: Hastings, Adur, Eastbourne and Mid Sussex.

The latest round of Inspired Facilities is now open for applications and will close on 29 April. Billed as "an easier way to access facilities funding", 70 per cent of the fund is earmarked for community and voluntary organisations – including sports clubs – who can apply for grants worth between £20,000 and £50,000. Local authorities, statutory bodies and education establishments such as schools, can apply for grants between £20,000 and £150,000.

Due to the popularity of the programme, and based on experience from earlier rounds, Sport England has chosen to favour applications from certain areas and sports that have not received significant funds in the first three rounds. These two additional priorities will only come into effect when Sport England is considering a small number of projects on the cusp of being funded.

In Sussex, the four local authority areas to be 'favoured' are Hastings, Adur, Eastborune and Mid Sussex. 

Needless to say, this does not mean that if an application is received from one of these areas that it will automatically be successful. It still has to be a very good project and will be assessed in the same way as all other applications.

Further details on local authority areas yet to submit a successful application can be downloaded here: inspiredfacilities.sportengland.org

Read on and apply

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Primary schools across Sussex will each receive a cash boost worth £9,000 a year to spend on sport, the government announced on Saturday.

The ring-fenced money, totalling £150m nationally, will go directly into the hands of heads and teachers who will decide how the money is best spent. 

Sport England, the national agency for community sport, is committing £1.5m a year of lottery funding

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Project 500 is a new campaign to address the imbalance in the numbers of male to female coaches. Devised by the seven South East county sports partnerships, the project aims to recruit 500 women to coaching over the next two years.  

Launched on 8 March to mark International Women's Day, Project 500 is a pilot scheme, with plans to roll it out nationally after an initial trial period. Key to

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Competitors warm up at the inaugural Sussex School Games, K2 Crawley, July 2012

School sport in Sussex is set for a boost after Sport England announced additional National Lottery funding for Sainsbury's School Games Festivals.

The Sainsbury's School Games, which is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, is jointly managed in Sussex by Active Sussex and the local organising committee as the Sussex School Games.

Sadie Mason, chief executive of Active Sussex, said: "We are very pleased to acknowledge the extra investment from Sport England in the Sussex School Games. The Games are a chance for Sussex schools to come together for a day of competition and celebration.

"Building on the incredible debut event in 2012, which saw 1,200 school children take part at K2 Crawley, we are thrilled that this year we will host two events in Sussex – a winter and summer games. Active Sussex is particularly proud that the first of these is being hosted by Lancing College."

The local organising committees for School Games festivals in the South East, which include Sussex, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Kent, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, are each to receive at least £45,000 of Lottery funding from Sport England which will help make their events a real celebration of sport.

In 2012, 14,660 young people took part in Sainsbury's School Games festivals across the South East, inspired by the incredible year of sport that the country witnessed. The events in the South East were made possible by the hard work schools and 1,247 volunteers, most of whom were young people themselves.

Sport England's Director of Community Sport, Mike Diaper, said: "Young people can look forward to an inspirational sporting experience at their local Sainsbury's School Games Festival, thanks to this lottery funding. Last year's events were a huge success - something everyone involved should feel proud of – and they're set to be even better in 2013."

John Steele, Chief Executive Officer at the Youth Sport Trust, said: "The Sainsbury's School Games Festivals offer young people a fantastic opportunity to take part and compete across a range of sports against their peers. The funding for these festivals will help make the events an exciting and inspiring occasion for those taking part."

The Susssex School Games Winter Finals take place on Wednesday 6 March at Lancing College. Special guest is Team GB Olympic hockey star Alex Danson

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Representatives from across Sussex met at the University of Brighton on 13 July to discuss plans for the new School Games, which start next year.

"This is an opportunity to begin the task of ensuring all relevant groups are engaged with the School Games at an early stage, and that they are represented at the highest levels on the organising committee," said Active Sussex's Chief Executive Sadie Mason.

The School Games, a government backed Legacy initiative to raise the profile of competitive games in schools, is being piloted in nine regions and will launch nationally in Olympic year, 2012.

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Active Sussex hosted a coaches' breakfast on the last Friday of Brighton and Hove's TakePart festival, adding a vital networking element to the successful fortnight of sporting events.

Over 20 coaches made their way to the Yellowave Beach Cafe on Brighton seafront at 7:30am on 8 July for coffee and pastries, before an hour of networking and discussion.

"We wanted to see if the breakfast meeting format, already well-established in the business world, would transfer to the coaching community," said Active Sussex's Anthony Statham, who organised the event.

"Judging by the turnout and feedback, this is clearly something we would look to repeat elsewhere in the county, as well as here in Brighton."

For more information on coaches' network meetings, contact Anthony Statham on astatham@activesussex.org or 01273 644149.

See all the photos from the coaches' breakfast

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