New initiative set to boost Nottinghamshire sport

The County Council’s Sports Service Team has now merged with the County Sports Partnership Team at Sport Nottinghamshire to provide a one-stop shop for everyone who wants to become more active and for all organisations involved in planning and delivering sport and physical activity.

The two teams have worked closely together for many years, at both a strategic level and in the delivery of many sports programmes such as the County School Games, the Nottinghamshire Leadership Academy and supporting Talented Coaches across the County.

Cllr John Knight, chair of the Culture Committee at Nottinghamshire County Council stated: “I am delighted that we have been able to broker this partnership with Sport Nottinghamshire that will help to develop a cohesive and co-ordinated sporting offer for our communities.

“The County Council’s commitment to sport stretches back 40 years and this progressive partnership signals a new era at a time when sport has a huge profile nationally and there’s a growing need to get the population more actively engaged.”

The joint Team will operate under the Sport Nottinghamshire banner and will be hosted at Nottingham Trent University on its Clifton Campus.

Their work, funded in the main by Sport England, will be focused on supporting clubs, coaches and volunteers to make sport in Nottinghamshire accessible to all.

The sporting offer will be an inclusive one with every effort being made to target sections of the community that don’t currently participate.

Mal Cowgill, chair of Sport Nottinghamshire and Principal at Central College, Nottingham is also extremely pleased that the merger with the County Council Team has happened.

He said: “Sport in Nottinghamshire has always been well served by the work of the local authorities, our universities, colleges and schools with strong support provided by national governing bodies of sport and our excellent professional clubs.

“When you add in the many iconic venues such as the National Water Sports Centre, the National Ice Centre, Trent Bridge, the Nottingham Tennis Centre and our two football grounds one can see why Nottinghamshire has been called the sporting county.

“This partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council will add real value to all the work that already takes place and with key partners on board we will shortly be setting out the vision for Sport in Nottinghamshire for the next five years.”

The new Team have started off delivering Nottinghamshire Workplace Challenge, part of national campaign, aimed at getting businesses across the county involved in encouraging their employees to log their physical activity, their sports participation and any active commuting they might do.

The aim is to create a healthy and driven workforce who are happier and more productive at the same time as trying to halt the rise in obesity.

For those who want to get a head start, go to www.workplacechallenge.org.uk/sportnottinghamshire.