International Day of Sport for Development and Peace and BTEC Sport
Today is International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, a day which celebrates the positive role sport and physical activity play in communities and in people’s lives across the globe.
We have spoken to three members of Bristol Sport Foundation, to find out how sport has had an impact on their local community and how the BTEC in Sport course they studied helped them on their career journeys, amplifying the power of sport and physical activity and BTEC’s position in providing a pathway to opportunity and betterment for the sector.
Bristol Sport Foundation
Bristol Sport Foundation (BSF) is a charity that aims to increase participation of children and young people in physical activity, by breaking down barriers and creating the opportunity to fall in love with sport, whoever you are and wherever you come from. The coaches deliver a range of inspiring programmes that get children physically active, learning in new and creative ways and teaching them and their families the tools they need to lead Active, Healthy and Happy lives. BSF understands the power of sport to change the world for the better. As well as sports delivery in the community, the charity offers career progression for coaches to develop their skills in other areas of the organisation.
Maickel English
Could you tell us a bit about our current role at Bristol Sport Foundation?
My current role at BSF is Community Delivery Manager. I am responsible for all our community programmes and holiday camps across Greater Bristol. We currently run nine different community programmes which allow children to access sports such as basketball, netball and badminton. So far this academic year, we have run a total of 82 holiday camp days. Delivered at a range of locations around the city and beyond, they include our Forever Sport Camps (multi-sport), sport-specific camps such as the Bristol Flyers Basketball Camps and Government funded Holiday, Activity and Food camps.
How important would you say sport is to your local community?
Sport is vital in the community, not only does it allow children to stay active, but it also allows individuals to develop a broader range of skills, such as social skills and problem solving. The importance of our holiday camps is clear to see, they provide children with the opportunity to stay active with their friends during the school break in a safe, fun and inclusive environment. Our community programmes offer something a little different a place to develop skills further and enable children to take the next step on the performance pathway. Fundamentally the purpose of anything we offer in the community is to allow children to engage in sport outside of schools, providing them with another avenue to be active, feel the benefits and continue their journey of falling in love with sport.
Do you have any examples of how sport has benefited your community?
Working in community sport in the charity sector means there are so many amazing stories I could share. However, a particular one that comes to mind is a story from our Bristol Flyers Project Take Off programme. This basketball programme is designed to allow children to access our basketball provision, who may not be able to access it otherwise. Through Project Take Off we have helped many children engage in basketball and develop their skills.
What BTEC did you study and what skills did you learn that are relevant for the role you are in now?
There are lots of skills from the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport Performance Excellence that you can transfer into the workplace. I believe the main key skill from my diploma that has helped me is how to work effectively as part of a team. Throughout the course you develop this by completing group tasks and assessments. I have found this skill to be imperative in the workplace, especially at BSF where we deliver across many schools and communities, ensuring our programmes are successful and to the highest standards.
Lara Short
Could you tell us a bit about our current role at Bristol Sport Foundation?
I am the People and Culture Lead for Bristol Sport Foundation. This encapsulates a passion of mine within the organisation to strive to build an environment where people love what they do and are highly invested in the charity’s wider vision.
Outside of my role, I am also a Head Coach for three of our 52 partner schools. This entails an oversight and management of the direct relationship between BSF and the school. I facilitate all programme delivery, including lunchtime clubs, curriculum and after school clubs. I lead and oversee the BSF gymnastics delivery. We have a team of three fantastic gymnastic coaches that I am incredibly proud of, who provide our outstanding standard of gymnastics.
How important would you say sport is to your local community?
Sport is an integral part of creating opportunities for individuals and groups of people to develop for the better. It is a tool that can engage and inspire, and I have seen first-hand the direct positive impact it can have on people's lives. As a female working in sport, in a typically male dominated industry, I am passionate about young girls having role models within the space. It is incredibly important to me to help to transform the negative perceptions of sport within certain school settings and local communities and empower young girls to believe they can have a go at any sport and be successful in whatever they choose to do.
Do you have any examples of how sport has benefited your local community?
I am so proud to have been involved with the BSF programme Forever Champions that was in collaboration with the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. This entailed BSF coaches going into the hospital and providing boccia, dance, gymnastics, soft tennis, basketball, and balloon related activities to patients and their families. As one of the leading BSF staff members on Forever Champions, during COVID - when we could not have a physical presence with the children, myself and some of the team created video content that was distributed around the wards and allowed the patients and their families to continue to engage in physical activity.
What BTEC did you study and what skills did you learn that are relevant for the role you are in now?
I studied a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport. Going through the BTEC qualification provided me with a toolkit to thrive in the sport industry. Three of the key learnings I can reflect on are teamwork, leadership, and organisation. These skills have absolutely supported the work I do at BSF. I am a part of the Programmes Management Team who support and facilitate delivery of all our programmes. I manage a team of five coaches and ensure the maintenance of our first-class coaching. I have several deadlines to meet throughout the year and I lead the planning of presentations we deliver to our wider team of over 35 BSF coaches.
Kristoff Young
Could you tell us a bit about our current role at Bristol Sport Foundation?
My current role with BSF is Head Coach and Event Co-ordinator. As Head Coach, I am responsible for overseeing the delivery in three of our partner schools. This responsibility has me being the point of contact between BSF and the school itself, whilst ensuring their curriculum delivery and organising any after school clubs. In my role as Event Co-ordinator I oversee the organisation, planning and delivery of inter-school events that we run throughout the academic year, as well as corporate fundraiser with business partners. This combination of events ranges from school sports festivals, gymnastics, basketball, netball, football, rugby, golf and our big end of year fundraiser Break The Cycle. The money raised from our corporate events goes back to supporting our community delivery, allowing children and families from lower socio-economic backgrounds to access our community hubs.
How important would you say sport is to your local community?
Sport is hugely important within the community as it gives children, young people, and adults the chance to engage and socialise with people who share a similar passion. It gets people more active, leading to better health and hopefully to increased levels of happiness from feeling the benefits sport has to offer. At our corporate events, sport gives companies the opportunity to prioritise the health and well-being of their staff, have fun, network and re-connect, whilst raising money to support fantastic causes including the work of BSF in the community and the work of our fellow partner charities at Bristol Sport.
Do you have any examples of how sport has benefitted your local community?
During the last academic year, I was a part of the team who organised and delivered our Forever Sport: Celebration of Sport event. As this was still during COVID restrictions we couldn’t run Celebration of Sport to the usual scale, so we decided to run a Jailbreak Cup Festival. Jailbreak is an inclusive invasion game similar to ‘capture the flag,’ but with an increased tactical element. It is extremely adaptable for different sports including rugby, football, cricket, and netball. We invited 12 of our partner schools to participate in an awesome festival held at Ashton Gate Stadium, the home of Bristol Bears and Bristol City FC. All the schools who attended absolutely loved it and we had some amazing feedback from teachers.
What BTEC did you study and what skills did you learn that are relevant for the role you are in now?
During my time at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College I undertook the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport. I took away a lot of relevant skills from this course that I currently use within my job at Bristol Sport Foundation. Being able to work within a team environment, I had to work as a group for practical tasks and assessments throughout the course. Becoming more organised and using my time effectively to complete tasks efficiently within the set time schedule. And confidence in how to present myself in a professional manner whilst coaching/delivering. My time at college is also where I found my passion to organise, plan and run events. During my second year, we got the chance to help organise the Nando’s Cup with Bristol Bears Community Foundation and it’s where I started to fall in love with the world of sports events.
Thank you to Maickel, Lara, Kristoff and Bristol Sport Foundation for sharing a snapshot of their roles and stories of the positive impact sport has in the local community, and demonstrating how some of the transferable skills learnt on BTEC courses helped empower them in their careers.
Find out more about International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
Find out more about Bristol Sport Foundation.
Find out more about BTEC sport qualifications and Apprenticeship Standards.