Stoke-on-Trent City Council are recognised for their outstanding work with Sport Leaders UK

Sport Leaders UK is a National charity designed to inspire people and communities into leadership through the medium of sport. Sport Leaders UK (SLUK) is as popular and beneficial as ever with over 130,000 new leaders accredited every year, with the aim to achieve 1 million leaders nationwide over the next 5 years.  As an accredited training centre for Sports Leaders UK Stoke-On-Trent’s Sport Development Team have been have over the last three years trained 153 people in SLUK’s nationally recognised awards.  This has contributed to improving participants motivation, confidence, communication, fitness, and leadership skills through sport and physical activity. 

Staff at the City Councils Sport Development Team are proud to be an Approved Assessment Centre and one of a small number of successful Community Delivery Partners, boasting real life examples of creating career opportunities for young and older people in the community. Ben Gibson, began as a volunteer in sport, progressed through the Sport Leaders UK programmes becoming accredited as a level 2 Community Sports Leader and into coaching. Ben is now thoroughly enjoying a career in sports development as one of the closing the Gap programmes  Programme Champions (a sport inclusion project). Similarly, Kate Beer also began as a volunteer in the community through Sport Leaders UK and has now progressed on to gain employment in the city as an Assistant Sport Development Officer.

Pictured above: Amy Smith delivering Sports Leaders UK Dance Leaders Course

In recognition for the City Council's successful work with Sport Leaders UK, the charity selected several sessions to film sports leaders at work as part of producing a new national promotional DVD that will be used to promote sport leaders UK’s work and as an integral element in the training of new leaders and tutors.

Among those selected to feature in the DVD is our oldest Level 2 Sports Leader Les Bisson, who has now been involved with projects within the community for over a year and has set up his own weekly sport session for children, Les has also become one of a growing band of paid sports coach’s working for the City Council.  Also featuring is one of the Closing the Gap Programme’s Senior Programme Champions David Hardwick, who has worked closely with Sport Leaders UK and delivered nearly 20 courses accrediting over 100 people. Sport Development are continuing to increase the number of Sport Leaders working in Stoke-on-Trent and have even trained more than 50 people to become course leaders with the aim of influencing more and more people to become involved in Sport Leaders UK’s programmes and go on to make a real difference in the community.

Pictured above: David Hardwick with young leaders from IFS in Longton

For more information about sports leadership training or becoming a sports volunteer in Stoke-on-Trent please contact the Sports Development Team on 01782 235001.