Tag: Sport

Unbeaten Spartans U-17s in league title success

Super Spartans: Played 26 Won 25 Drawn 1 Lost 0

Congratulations to Spartans Under 17s, who won the Lothian Buses Division 2 title – and went through their league season unbeaten.

The only blemish – if it can be called that – over the entire 26 games was a 2-2 draw with Cramond, a game coach Jim Bryson reckons Spartans should have won!

“To go undefeated over the entire league season is a remarkable achievement and something the squad should be very proud of”, he said. “Their attitude has been first class throughout the season and I think our final game exemplifies that. We were 4-1 down to Musselburgh Windsor with just ten minutes to go, but the heads didn;t go down – quite the opposite. We came back with four goals in the last ten minutes to win 5-4. It was a tremendous fightback, a perfect finale to the league and it summed up the spirit the team has shown this season.”

More ‘happy families’ pictures on our Facebook page!

Good sports: medals all round at Spartans mini-Olympics

More than 200 local primary school children took part in a 14-sport ‘Mini-Olympics’ at Spartans Community Football Academy’s Ainslie Park home yesterday. The pupils aged 10-12 enjoyed rugby, cycling, athletics, football, and relay races as part of a programme to help introduce young people to sport and the psychological and physiological benefits it brings. Continue reading Good sports: medals all round at Spartans mini-Olympics

Protecting children from abuse in sport: “Action needed NOW”

Scottish Football Association ‘asleep on the job’

A scheme intended to protect children from abuse in sport may not be working and needs to be rectified now, according to a Holyrood parliamentary report. The Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee says there is a compelling case for the current voluntary Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme (PVG) to be made mandatory for all sports organisations in Scotland. 

Whilst the report notes that Ministers plan to have new legislation in place by 2019, the Committee believes action needs to be taken now to strengthen the PVG scheme and to ensure ‘unsuitable people’ are prevented from doing regulated work.

The report also calls for a strengthening of the ‘Minimum Operating Requirements’ that sports governing bodies (SPGs) are required to meet in relation to child protection, recommending that future grants from SportScotland to SPGs “be conditional on adequate procedures not only being in place but being timeously adhered to”.

The committee’s inquiry into Child Protection in Sport followed allegations of historical child sexual abuse in football. The inquiry sought assurances that current safeguards in place across football and other sports clubs are such that child sex abuse in sport could not happen today.

On football, the report highlights concerns raised about a backlog of checks waiting to be carried out on coaches and officials working with young players.

MSPs say the Scottish Youth Football Association “misled government officials and the committee in relation to the levels of backlog being experienced since at least August 2016” and that the Scottish Football Association has been “asleep on the job” and complacent.

Neil Findlay MSP, Convener of the Health and Sport Committee, said: “Our evidence highlighted variations in how the PVG scheme operates in sports across Scotland. Ultimately, we believe the current system of PVG checks may not be preventing unsuitable people from doing regulated work with children.

“We’re talking about the safety of children – urgent action is needed now to strengthen the scheme as 2019 is too long to wait for new legislation.

“In relation to football, we have raised serious concerns about the ability of the SYFA to ensure PVG checks are carried out efficiently. We cannot even now be confident that the SYFA is being truthful in relation to the size of their backlog and consequently that as an organisation they are committed to undertaking the appropriate PVG checking expeditiously. We consider the SFA to have been asleep on the job and continuingly complacent in this area. Based on the information provided, we are left with concerns about the current protections being afforded to youth footballers in Scotland.”

The committee noted the relationship between the SFA and SYFA and the measures being adopted to ensure child protection policies are in place. However, the report goes on to say:

“A soft touch approach may have been previously warranted, however it is clear from the evidence we have received this is no longer applicable. The SFA have, whatever they claim, responsibilities. The current approach is simply not working effectively to protect children and young people in football and in our view the ultimate responsibility for this lies with the SFA as the governing body.”

The report also makes reference to concerns raised in evidence by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner about a “power imbalance” in the relationship between children and football agents acting on behalf of children, pointing out that agents are not covered by the need for child protection checks. The report calls for “this anomaly to be addressed and rectified immediately by the Scottish Government to prevent agents who have not been through the full disclosure procedure having access to and contact with children and young persons”

Ken gets his hands (gloves?) on Edinburgh Award!

Former undisputed world lightweight boxing champion Ken Buchanan has been presented with the prestigious Edinburgh Award 2016.

Edinburgh’s Lord Provost Donald Wilson proudly presented Ken Buchanan MBE with an inscribed Loving Cup in recognition of his impact on sport in the city at a ceremony in the City Chambers on Friday.

Continue reading Ken gets his hands (gloves?) on Edinburgh Award!

A sporting chance: Holyrood comes to North Edinburgh

The barriers to participation and the availability of sports facilities across the country were just some of the issues explored as members of the Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee visited facilities in North Edinburgh yesterday. Continue reading A sporting chance: Holyrood comes to North Edinburgh

Barriers to participation in sport: MSPs visit North Edinburgh today

The barriers to participation in sport and the availability of sports facilities across the country are just some of the issues to be explored as members of the Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee undertake a series of visits across Scotland this week. Continue reading Barriers to participation in sport: MSPs visit North Edinburgh today

Reach 2 Your Future with a career in sport

Edinburgh Leisure offers employment and training opportunities for young people  

Edinburgh Leisure is reaching out to young people aged 15-24 years, who have a passion for sport to register their interest for a forthcoming ‘2 Your Future Project’, which aims to give young people employment and training opportunities in sport.

Jack Martin, Positive Destinations Project Development Officer at Edinburgh Leisure explained: “The project is a fully funded opportunity that provides a combination of sports based activities and tailored employment support for your people not currently engaged in education, employment or training or young people at high risk of falling into this category.

“We’re looking for young people between 15-24 years, who have a passion for sport and who would be able to commit to the project for up to 16 hours per week over an eight-week project.”

The project will be delivered between March and April 2017 at Gracemount Leisure Centre, but city-wide travel to alternative Edinburgh Leisure venues will be expected over the programme.

‘2 Your Future’ provides a number of opportunities including: sports coaching experience in football and athletics; SCQF Level 4 in Sports Leadership qualifications; quality, structured sports coaching sessions and the opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity; the opportunity to volunteer and experience being part of a major sporting event; Active Start Multi-Skills training; Emergency First Aid at Work training; Positive Coaching Scotland training; advice and guidance on further education and training opportunities; and increased confidence and self-esteem.

One participant rebuilding their lives through ‘2 Your Future’ is Ryan Aird. Ryan suffered an unexplained cardiac arrest in 2012 whilst at Meadowbank Sports Centre and was saved by the quick response of the team at Edinburgh Leisure.

Although he started a Mechanical Engineering course at Heriot Watt University in 2013, he dropped out after a year in 2014, before finally starting a ‘2 Your Future’ course last summer. He is now employed as a freelance sports leaders course tutor, helping groups of young people learn new skills for the job market, using the power of sport.

“The confidence I have gained from participating in ‘2 Your Future’ has been immense,” said Ryan. “It’s given me a totally different career path than the one I originally embarked on when I started at university.  Through sport I have managed to transform my life and hope that I can go on to inspire and motivate others to personally develop and transform their lives too.”

Prospective candidates for the next ‘2 Your Future’ course are asked to register their interest by filling in the project’s registration form available on the Edinburgh Leisure website and return the form by Thursday 2nd March.

All those who register their interest will be invited to attend an Information Day on Friday, 3 March from 10am-2pm, where they will get a full project overview, meet the ‘2 Your Future’ tutors; and take part in a discussion with the tutors on their suitability to gain a place on the project.

For further information about the project, please contact: Jack Martin, Positive Destinations Project Development Officer – jackmartin@edinburghleisure.co.uk