AN exciting new initiative will be launched in Burnley this week to encourage more youngsters to take up sport.

The Lancashire Sport Partnership scheme, which aims to increase sporting opportunities for children aged five to 19-years-old, will be officially unveiled at the St Peter’s Centre on Wednesday.

The Lancashire PE and Sport Framework for Young People — also known as Five Hour Sports Offer — has been produced in consultation with a range of partners from across the county.

Wednesday’s event will also showcase the Sport Unlimited programme designed to ‘kick start’ more children and young people to participate in sports that interest them most outside of school.

TURN TO PAGE 18>> FROM PAGE XX The three year programme, managed by Lancashire Sport Partnership, funded by Sport England and supported by Youth Sport Trust, will see over £900,000 worth of investment in to Lancashire. This money will be used to offer young people 10-week taster sessions in sports, with the ambition to retain them in regular sport activities.

Chairman of Burnley’s Sport & Physical Activity Alliance (SPAA), Terry Hephrun, said: “Increasing sporting opportunities for young people is a priority for Burnley Action Partnership and the SPAA. A coordinated approach to delivering the five hour offer is presented in the Lancashire PE and Sport Framework for Young People and is something that we can replicate locally.

“The SPAA are proud to have led the establishment of the Wednesday Sport Unlimited programme in Burnley to try and engage more young people from the area in sport and physical activity.”

In the first year, the Sport Unlimited programme will consist of 36 different activities across the County; ranging from innovation sports such as climbing, trampolining, cheerleading, skateboarding, street dance, ultimate frisbee to more traditional sports such as athletics, football, hockey and volleyball and adaptations derived for these traditional sports such as sports hall athletics, futsal and extreme golf.

The activities will be delivered by a variety of agencies, from freelance/ independent practitioners; Local Authority sports development staff and community coaches; club coaches, youth & community workers and voluntary sector organisations.

Primarily, all activities will take place on school sites and in leisure centres, although club settings, youth clubs and private sector facilities are being used in some circumstances and some areas are also utilising the natural environment to deliver activities such as beaches, parks and forests.

Joanne Moss, Partnership Manager for Lancashire Sport added: “We hope that through the Lancashire PE & Sport Framework and programmes like Sport Unlimited that more young people will be turned on by sport and take part in five hours of sport per week if not more!

“We want to ensure that the sports activities offered across the county are attractive to young people and will keep them active well into their adult lives whether this is for fun or competitive reasons.”

The launch itself is being planned and delivered by young people from Burnley, on the site of one of the County’s most innovative projects. As part of the district’s Building Schools for the Future initiative, Wednesday afternoons have been devoted to Sport, with classes finishing early allowing young people to access a multitude of sporting activities from table tennis to trampolining.

Sporting Champion and England Footballer Sue Smith will be on hand to support the launch and lead a coaching session with some of the young people involved.

For more information about the Lancashire PE & Sport Framework and the Sport Unlimited Programme, please visit the Lancashire Sport website www.lancashiresport.org.uk/sports-networks/sport-unlimited