The Youth Sport Trust runs a number of programmes and initiatives for young people. You can find out more about these on our programme pages or by clicking on the links for some of our key programmes below:
Leadership and volunteering:
Step into Sport
Sport relies on 1.5 million volunteer officials, coaches, administrators and managers and the Youth Sport Trust plays a major role in supporting their development.
Step into Sport focuses on young people aged 14 to 19, giving them opportunities to become involved in sports leadership and volunteering and encouraging them to continue this into later life.
Young Ambassadors
Each year until 2012, School Sport Partnerships across England will recruit two young people to take on the role of Young Ambassador for two years. In their first year, they work in their local communities championing sport and the ethos and values of the Olympic and Paralympic movement. In the second year they take on a mentoring role with the new Young Ambassador intake.
Event Volunteering
The Youth Sport Trust are working alongside the major events team at UK Sport and five major host cities to build a project which aims to identify, train and deploy teams of young people as ‘event crews’ at a number of major sporting events which will take place from 2008 through to 2011 and beyond.
Young Officials Project
Our Young Officials project is designed to provide new ways for young people in England to engage as volunteers and leaders in sport. This will revolutionise the age profile of technical sports officials and promote rapid growth in the competitive sports opportunities available to young people throughout England. This is all of course against the background of the newly established annual UK School Games and London 2012.
Gifted and talented:
Gifted and Talented
A programme designed to help elite young athletes realise their potential. The Youth Sport Trust creates opportunities for gifted and talented young people in PE and sport to develop their potential and improve their skills and performance.
I eXcel Card
This is a scheme to help high performers still at school excel in their sport and their study. It aims to improve the quality of support to elite athletes in the education sector, whilst raising the profile of the unique needs of these young people. It will also improve the communication and co-operation between the young person, parent/carer, schools, teachers and coaches, and assist National Governing Bodies of Sport in managing sporting excellence in relation to their academic pathway.
Athlete mentor schemes:
ChangingLIVES
ChangingLIVES is an Athlete Mentor scheme which brings world class sports performers into schools across the country to motivate and engage young people. With a host of Olympic, Paralympic, World and Commonwealth medals between them, the Athlete Mentors bring the excitement of their sporting successes to the classroom.
You can view information on all Youth Sport Trust programmes and initiatives via the Our Programmes page.