Bridgend County Borough Council

The main aim of the Active Young People Department (AYPD) is to increase the opportunity for residents of Bridgend County Borough to take part in sport and physical activity. Our work with local sports clubs, schools, coaches, volunteers and community groups encourages wider participation in sport.

The AYPD is working towards the vision of being recognised as a leading sports and activity service in Wales. We aim to achieve this by inspiring children, young people and families to be more active more often. There are many areas in which the AYPD has a positive impact on individuals and the local community.

Priority areas / categories

Active schools

The AYPD has an active and visible presence within the schools of Bridgend at both a primary and secondary level. The aim of our involvement is to continually increase participation opportunities through enhanced curriculum support and extra curricular intervention.

Some of the programmes that feature in the active schools programme are:

Dragon Sport

Dragon Sport aims to give everyone between the ages of 7-11 years the chance to take part in a variety of sports. Dragon Sport clubs can run at schools during lunch times or after-school, at local sports clubs or in play schemes and community centres.

5 x 60

5 x 60 highlights that you should aim to be active on five days of the week for at least one hour (60mins).
This is designed to help young people lead a healthy lifestyle and to start them on the road to becoming a great athlete or simply enjoying themselves by having active fun with friends!
Regular exercise can involve a number of activities such as cheerleading, dance, basketball and football.

Healthy Schools programme

Healthy Schools is a project that tries to get everyone in our schools to become healthier. It’s not just about eating healthier – although that is an important part. The programme also aims to develop a healthy environment in schools, issues such as smoking, sex education, alcohol and drug misuse, fear of bullying and physical or mental abuse are all tackled. Some schools are getting healthier by achieving the Government’s National Healthy School Award and many others have established health promoting practices outside this programme.

In the zone

Play time may never be the same again now that In the Zone has arrived at Bridgend’s schools. A Sports Council for Wales programme it divides school playgrounds into different areas, such as a sporting area, a games area and a chill out area. As part of the session’s year 5 and 6 pupils become active play monitors, taking part in a fun training course to learn new, enjoyable games. Pupils are also encouraged to make up their own games to make playtime more fun.

Festivals and events

AYPD organises lots of festivals and events for young people to take part in. Every year there is the county 5 x 60 games that attract schools from throughout the borough. Dragon Sport festivals take place at several sites throughout the spring and summer. There are sports workshops, volunteer events and even mini Olympics.

Active sport

Active sport focuses on increasing community participation opportunities; this involves the development of clubs, coaching and leadership. It also includes the promotion and support of local festivals, completions and initiatives.

Examples of these are:

Dance extra

One of the fastest growing activities in Bridgend County Borough has been dance, particularly street dance. Almost every secondary school now has after school dance classes and a number of community dance clubs have developed. Bridgend County Youth Service continues to organise classes and competitions that lead through to national championships. The Active Young People Department will once again be holding their inter schools dance event, an event which is always well attended and highly competitive.

Development centres

Bridgend County Borough has a strong school sport network and over 200 community clubs that cover a broad range of sports and activities. As part of the talent development process some clubs have strategic sporting importance. There are also development centres for young people with the potential to go further in their chosen sport. Some of the opportunities that exist in Bridgend are as follows:-
Bridgend Athletics Club • Bridgend Hockey Club • Bridgend Swim Squad • Bridgend and District Rugby Union Bridgend County Football Development Centre • Bridgend Badminton Development Centre.

Olympic and Paralympic focus

The four year build up to London 2012 has commenced and the cultural Olympiad will see investment in a range of sporting and arts based programmes. The Active Young People Department believe that the local legacy of the Olympics should see an increase in the numbers of people taking part in sport or helping to organise sporting activities. A range of special events will be organised to raise awareness of potential Olympic and Paralympics athletes that have an attachment to Bridgend County Borough. There will also be great opportunities for primary and secondary schools to include specially created teaching resources within schools activities.

Performance Training scheme

Bridgend County Borough Council is keen to support our talented athletes in achieving their potential. The Performance Training or PT scheme provides support for athletes who have received national honours. The scheme provides a free Bridge Card to members, allowing them to use fitness suites, swimming pools and other sports facilities as a means of supporting training. Application forms can be requested from the AYPD Team.

Sports coaching

Many young people have shown an interest in organising sports and activities for others or even providing coaching. It may be that they want to give something back to sport or develop experience as a volunteer prior to university. The Active Young People Department can help by providing them with the information they need and possibly linking them up with the right training course. Leadership training takes place throughout the year but we can also identify special coaching courses in specific sports such as football, rugby or netball. There are regular opportunities for volunteers to support after school sports and activities. Sometimes we are able to support the costs of the training courses. Recently there has been an increase in the costs of coach education courses with the introduction of what is called UKCC qualifications.

Active sports

This covers the whole range of traditional sports and other, fast-growing, physical activities. We will encourage young people to tell us the physical activity they would like to see developed and we’ll also offer help and guidance to athletes who are dedicated to achieving success in their particular sporting field. With the London Olympics set to take the sporting world by storm we are looking to encourage our own potential Olympians and ensure the benefits of London 2012 are seen across Bridgend.

Active 4 life

Active 4 life provides information to promote health and well being. This information encourages local communities to live positive lifestyles by engaging in sport and physical activity initiatives.

Some of the initiatives included are:

Active play

Opportunities for young people to play are very important particularly for those people who do not want to join a sports club or follow a particular sport. Freely chosen play is critical to the healthy development of all children and young people. Play Wales state that all children are entitled to quality play provision within their communities. There are many places across the county borough that support active play.

Active 4 all

The Active Young People Department are keen to ensure that there are opportunities for everyone to take part in sport, activities or exercise. We also know that there are some groups of people that may need more support than others. Some of our priorities include:
Children and young people in communities where levels of activities are lower. Our aim is to support people to create more activities in these areas.

Girls traditionally have shown lower levels of activity than boys and we are keen to address this by introducing more relevant activities such as dance, fitness, martial arts etc.

Children and young people with physical and learning difficulties or disabilities. We work to increase the number of opportunities to be active.

Active 4 life

AYPD wants everyone in Bridgend County Borough to be physically active. No matter what age we believe that every person can be 'active 4 life'. You are never too young or too old to start being physically active. So whether its activities, sport or exercise we are here to help and support you.

MEND programme

MEND is a free, fun programme for kids to become healthier, fitter and happier. Do you have children aged 7 to 13? Are you worried that they might be an unhealthy weight? Call us and join the MEND programme. The Mend Programme can get kids healthy and fit in only 10 weeks – and helps them stay that way. The MEND Programme takes place after school twice a week for 10 weeks. A limited number of places are available. These are valued at up to £400 but are completely free of charge thanks to Welsh Assembly funding.

Sports aid – funding and support for local clubs

The AYPD also provides a significant amount of support to local clubs & organisations by assisting with funding opportunities. Whether you are a junior section looking to expand, an established club looking to improve facilities and equipment, or a club who want to improve and educate local coaches, the AYPD has the ability and knowledge to support you. Sources of funding include:

Community chest – up to £1,000 available for community sport and physical recreation.

Development grant – up to £25,000 available to develop activity in your community.

Sportsmatch cymru - encourages more business to back sport by matching commercial sponsorship.

More information can be found at www.sportswales.org.uk/funding--support or by contacting the AYP Department on 01656 815222.

The team is now based at the Sony UK. Technology Park.

Contact us by email aypd@bridgend.gov.uk or phone 01656 815224