New role made at Bexley College to get more women playing sport (From News Shopper)

New role made at Bexley College to get more women playing sport

11:53am Monday 29th October 2012 in News By George Sargent

A NEW specialist member of staff will be appointed to Bexley College with the hope of getting more of the college’s women playing sport.

The full-time college sport maker role is sponsored by Sport England, which has used £17m of National Lottery funding to motivate more women to get active.

Sport participation at a college level is lower among women than men.

Over five years Sport England will create 150 of these jobs in Britain and 16 in London.

It is also hoped college sport makers will make sport more attractive to college students in general.

They will also provide links between colleges and sports clubs, run leagues, sports groups and do coaching.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Maria Miller, said: “I am determined to keep up the momentum of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and get more people playing sport.

“Raising participation levels among young people is absolutely crucial. This £20 million investment from the National Lottery will help do exactly that.

“It will get more students in colleges up and down the country involved in sport. “These college sport makers will make a real difference in helping young people develop a sporting habit for life."

Chair of Sport England, Richard Lewis, said: “Too many teenagers drop out of sport when they leave school, as it gets squeezed by competing demands like studying, work and relationships.

“We want college sport makers to remind young people how much fun sport is and to help them build it into their schedules so they develop a sporting habit for life.”

Head of sport policy at the Association of Colleges, Clare Howard, said: “There has always been a strong tradition of sport in colleges but this new funding brings much needed extra capacity.

“This will allow us to really build on the momentum created by London 2012 and provide new, and different sporting opportunities for a greater number of college students.

“We are delighted about the funding from Sport England to create new sports development posts in colleges and hopefully inspire a new generation of athletes.”