What's Sport Unlimited
Sport Unlimited- What is It?
Sport Unlimited is boosting participation among those aged between 10 and 19 by giving them the freedom to choose the sports on offer. Thousands of high-quality activities have already been delivered across a wide range of traditional and less well-known sports including football, climbing, beach sports and lifeguarding.
The £36 million programme is aimed at youngsters who aren’t naturally attracted to sport, and are not yet playing regular sport in the community.
Over three years, it aims to inspire and help 900,000 young people nationally to do more sport – playing a key role in delivering a lasting participation legacy from London 2012.
Sport England launched the programme nationally in autumn 2008, after a successful trial in 12 areas. Early indications suggest that a third of the young people who took part in Sport Unlimited have gone on to join local sports clubs or continue their participation.
Richard Lewis, Sport England’s Chairman, said:
“Finding your sport and developing a love for it at a young age is an important step towards continuing participation into adulthood. Sport Unlimited is providing high-quality and exciting new sporting opportunities to hundreds of thousands of young people and is showing that sport really has something for everyone.”
Sport Unlimited is making a major contribution to the Government’s pledge to give every young person the opportunity to take part in five hours of quality sport each week.
Key Aims of the Programme
Sport Unlimited’s key aims are:
- 900,000 young people choosing from a vast range of activities including traditional and less well known sports and successfully attending a 10-week course
- 300,000 of them going on to join a club
- Young person driven – they determine which sports are provided
- Making a major contribution to the Government’s 5 hour sports offer for young people.
The first year of Sport Unlimited included a one term trial phase in 12 areas (Summer 2008), the start up term for the remaining 37 areas (Autumn 2008) and a full term for all 49 areas (Spring).
The 3-year Exchequer funding for the programme breaks down as follows:
- 2008/09 - £10.5 million
- 2009/10 - £11.5 million
- 2010/11 - £14.0 million.
Management of Programme
Sport Unlimited is co-ordinated by the 49 county sports partnerships which cover England. Participants complete their Sport Unlimited courses by attending least 6 out of the ten weeks.
Sport England invests National Lottery and Exchequer funding in organisations and projects that will grow and sustain participation in grassroots sport and create opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport.
Sport England is committed to creating a world-leading community sport system, and has set specific and measurable targets to achieve by 2012/13:
- One million people doing more sport
- A 25% reduction in the number of 16- to 18-year-olds who drop out of at least five key sports
- Improved talent development systems in at least 25 sports
- A measurable increase in people’s satisfaction with their experience of sport
- A major contribution to the delivery of the five hour sports offer for children and young people.
