School sport: Search on for young leaders of tomorrow

Published on Monday 24 January 2011 17:11

AN inspiring programme has been launched which is aimed at developing the leadership skills and harnessing the enthusiasm of young people in the build-up to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Set up by Sportscotland and the Youth Sport Trust, in association with Glasgow 2014, Lead 2014 was launched at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow and schools are to be at the forefront of the initiative, which hopes to unearth "the next generation of leaders and volunteers in sport".

Lead 2014 invites every secondary school in Scotland to send a selection of young people to take part in one of six free conferences in universities across the country including St Andrews, Edinburgh, Strathclyde, Stirling, West of Scotland and Robert Gordon's.

Targeted at young people aged 14 and over and taking place during March and April, the day-long conferences will see university students lead workshops on event management to inspire the younger students to subsequently organise and deliver Commonwealth Games-themed sports festivals within their own school community.

Closely linked to existing leadership work in schools, Lead 2014 will encourage Scottish support for the Games while giving young people the opportunity to develop and enhance their leadership skills. Parallel workshops will also be run for teachers highlighting the ways in which they can support teams comprising young leaders.

Steve Grainger, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said: "Creating the next generation of leaders and volunteers in sport is a vital part of the Youth Sport Trust's work.

"Lead 2014 represents a fantastic opportunity to ensure that, through sport and the exciting opportunity of Glasgow 2014, young people can learn and develop skills which are vital throughout life such as teamwork, financial management and communication."

Louise Martin CBE, chair of Sportscotland, said: "With the Commonwealth Games on the horizon, Sportscotland, working in partnership with Youth Sport Trust and Glasgow 2014, recognise the importance of harnessing and nurturing the enthusiasm of thousands of young Scots.

"Through Lead 2014, Scotland's younger generation will be given the tools and endless encouragement to use their own initiative to host events across the country and play an active part in celebrating the coming of the Games."

Glasgow 2014 chief executive John Scott said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for more young people to become involved with Glasgow 2014 and to benefit from the Commonwealth Games being hosted in Scotland.

"The Commonwealth Games is about Glasgow having a responsibility to deliver a large multi-sport event on a world stage.Lead 2014 aims to extend these lessons to young people across Scotland, and I am sure they will rise to the challenge and we look forward to working with everyone in the build-up to Glasgow 2014."

Confirmed conference venues/dates:

University of St Andrews - Tuesday 8 March;

University of Strathclyde - Friday 11 March;

University of Stirling - Thursday 17 March;

University of Edinburgh - Friday 25 March;

University of West of Scotland - Thursday 30 March; Robert Gordon's, Aberdeen - Thursday 28 April.