News
BALFOUR BEATTY BOOST FOR GRASS ROOTS SPORT
11th June 2015

Nearly £25,000
has been distributed across 12 London boroughs courtesy of the Balfour Beatty
Sport Development Grants, helping local authorities to nurture grass roots
community sport.
The 2015 grants (recipient details below), funded by the London Youth
Games’ title sponsor, Balfour Beatty, will go towards free coaching sessions
and creating new community clubs for thousands of London’s disadvantaged young
people.
The sports to directly benefit are angling, archery, athletics, BMX,
cycling, fencing, football, handball, judo, kayaking, netball, rowing, sailing,
swimming, table tennis, trampoline and weightlifting from a total funding of
£23,600.
Since the grants were launched in 2007, over £420,000 has been invested
directly into community projects across London. Recent successes have included
the development of Frenford Falcons Wheelchair Basketball Club in Redbridge and
the growth of BMX in Ealing via schools coaching.
Southwark’s Peckham Pride basketball club were born in 2007 with the
assistance of the grants and have gone on to be National under 15s champions
and London Youth Games champions.
Paul Toyne, Balfour Beatty Group Head of Sustainability said:
“Since Balfour Beatty began supporting the London Youth Games in 2007, we have
been committed to helping building a legacy for London from the 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games.
“As well as playing a leading role in the transformation of the Olympic
Park into a fantastic community facility, we have helped encourage thousands of
young Londoners into competitive sport through the London Youth Games.
“Through nearly £25,000 worth of funding this year, the 2015 Balfour
Beatty Sport Development Grants will help introduce thousands of young people
from across London to a more healthy, active lifestyle.”
2015 BALFOUR BEATTY SPORT DEVELOPMENT GRANT RECIPIENTS
City of
London
Fusion Lifestyle will host weekly coached handball sessions at the City of
London Academy in Southwark. These will be open to young people at the school
and young people from outside the school who reside in the square mile area.
The aim is to take male and female handball teams to the Balfour Beatty London
Youth Games finals at the Olympic Park in June. Throughout the funded weekly
sessions, PE staff will be upskilled in handball coaching to encourage
sustainability for the sport. Fusion Lifestyle with also work with Sir John
Cass Primary School as a feeder school to begin building the pathway. For
further information: Gemma Carrrick, gemma.carrick@fusion-lifestyle.com
Ealing
Building on the 2014 grant to educate new coaches in sports where Ealing
has traditionally had low participation, Ealing Council will support these new
coaches in their continued development of angling, archery and road cycling.
This will include trials and 6-8 weeks of coached sessions in each sport to
ensure Ealing is represented in all three sports at this year’s London Youth
Games. For further information: Jo Valks, valksj@ealing.gov.uk
Greenwich
GLL has indentified the potential for debvelopement of table tennis in
Greenwich. Since the arrival of new table tennis tables at schools in the
borough, interest and participation has risen significantly. GLL will deliver
structured coaching sessions to channel the enthusiasm towards Greenwich male
and female teams at the London Youth Games. The schools set to benefit are
Eltham Hill, Thomas Tallis and St Ursula & St Paul's Academy. Participants
in the ‘Ping Pong Crazy’ programme will also get one month’s free membership of
Yong’s Table Tennis Club in Abbey Wood, who, until now had no junior section. For
further information: Augustus Peters, augustus.peters@gll.org
Hackney
Hackney Council are set to regnite weightlifting in the borough by
utilising Cardinal Pole School’s weightlifting facility. The borough was the
strongest in London, winning gold at the 2011 London Youth Games, but since the
coach left in 2013, participation has dwindled. By partnering with a club in
Tower Hamlets, the school will gain access to qualified coaching again with 21
weeks worth of curriculum and after-school sessions open to the community. For
further information: Lynn Humphrey, lynn.humphrey@hackney.gov.uk
Hammersmith
& Fulham
A new club has been formed with the intent to teach young people from the
borough with no previous experience to row - an unprecedented development in
the borough. The Fulham Reach Boat Club are set to host 16 weeks of sessions
for visiting schools and open community sessions to establish borough teams to
represent Hammersmith & Fulham at both the indoor and outdoor rowing
competitions at this year’s London Youth Games. For further information: Steve
O’Connor, steve@fulhamreachboatclub.com
Haringey
In 2014 Haringey competed in every London Youth Games sport and had the
largest number of borough participants in its history. But Haringey Sports
Development recognises low participation in three sports. To redress this,
coached sessions in ParaGames Swimming, Trampoline and Indoor Rowing will be
hosted in partnership with borough schools, clubs Haringey Aquatics,
Northumberland Park School Trampoline Club and clubs from nearby Hackney and
Islington. By delivering quality sessions, Haringey Sports Development aims to
create full borough teams and maintain a sustainable model with school-club
links. For further Information: Burk Gravis, mail@haringeysportsdevelopment.co.uk
Hounslow
Fusion Lifestyle will host taster days in sports outside of the club
environment that can sometimes be daunting for new, young participants. The
opportunity to try Archery, Athletics, Handball, Indoor Rowing, Judo, Kayaking,
Netball, Sailing, Table Tennis and Trampolining will all be made available.
Local clubs will attend the events for any young person who wishes to take the
activity further. For further information: Rebecca Townsend, rebecca.townsend@fusion-lifestyle.com
Newham
activeNewham are set to bolster the borough’s participation in Table
Tennis, ParaGames Swimming and Female ParaGames Football, all sports in which
the sport has traditionally struggled to generate activity. This will see a
series of free coached sessions across all sports with the assistance of nearby
Lister Table Tennis Club and Newham Swimming Club. The borough aims to compete
at the London Youth Games in all three sports. For further information:
Lisa Brivati, lisa.brivati@activenewham.org.uk
Redbridge
Vision Redbridge Culture & Leisure are set to create the first ever BMX
club in the borough to capitalise on the number of young people utilising the
new Olympic Park trail and the facility at Redbridge Cycle Centre. Funds will
be used to train existing cycle coaches in BMX to guide the 150 young
people who use the centre each week. For further information:
Elisya Barrick, Elysia.Barrick@visionrcl.org.uk
Richmond
In partnership with St Mary’s College, Richmond Council are set to
establishing a Junior Weightlifting Club. To kick start the club, young people
will have access to paid elite coaching at the new strength and conditioning
suite used by some the UK’s most prominent athletes towards preparing a borough
team for this summer’s London Youth Games finals. For further information: Elaine
Cahill, elaine.cahill@richmond.gov.uk
Tower
Hamlets
In partnership with well-established and successful East London club Newham
Swords, Tower Hamlets Youth Sports Foundation will create a satellite club for
the sport of fencing. Six primary schools and six secondary schools will
receive extra-curricular coaching with the long-term goal of creating Tower
Hamlets Community Fencing Club. For further information: Richard Arlett,
richard.arlett@thysf.org