Education, Training & Research


Skills life


As head of sport and active leisure at Plymouth University, Lesley Coulton knows about the diffi culty of getting students active. Here, she reports on a new initiative at the university


S


port England opened a funding round last year of £10m of National Lottery money aimed at getting university students active. Based on Sport England research the main challenges and barriers facing student participation were identifi ed as: Capacity constraints: insuffi cient coaches,


volunteers/co-ordinators and lack of owned facilities; Existing higher education (HE) sport does not work


for many students and needs to be more attractive. Sports compete with work and fi nancial pressures; Sporting provision within HE is too structured and


infl exible to cater for all students. HE has traditionally focused on teams, competition and rankings; and Demand outweighs supply. Sport England has identifi ed the factors necessary


to run a successful project, which will address the challenges to increasing student participation. A successful project needed to: Ensure at least 80 per cent of participants were


higher education students; Be accessible to all groups including women, black,


minority and ethnic groups (BME) and disability; Be aff ordable and sustainable after the funding ends; Involve partnerships with local deliverers outside


the HE sector, including community clubs; Have a clear rationale for activities delivered with


evidence of how they will meet demand; Ensure appropriate workforce, including training; Demonstrate suffi cient capacity to deliver the


project; and Include evaluation of the project. T e projects need to be student-led and activities should be designed to address the issues raised by


16« May 2011 Sportphysical activity &


the Sport England consultation regarding existing inactivity levels.


FINDING A SOLUTION T e University of Plymouth, via Active Leisure Services, submitted a project – Motivate, Activate, Generate. T is was successful and, as a result, the university was awarded just over £300,000 towards the overall project costs of £567,359. Funding will be spread across a three-year period. Matched funding has been achieved through a


number of partners including sport governing bodies, county sports partnerships and local partnerships, enabling the project costs to be totally covered. Along with 33 other projects, Motivate, Activate,


Generate is being backed by Sport England’s £10m Active Universities campaign. T e scheme at Plymouth will encourage students to participate in 10 sports, including swimming, rowing, athletics and cycling, with taster sessions and intramural activities.


About the author: Lesley Coulton FIMSPA is head of Sport and Active Leisure at Plymouth University


www.imspa.co.uk


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