Colin Montgomerie gets youngsters in the swing with Sporting Champions scheme
Monday 31 May 2004
Twenty Girvan Academy pupils were given to opportunity of a lifetime today when they met up with Scotland’s top golfer, Colin Montgomerie, at his golf academy in Turnberry. On the agenda was expert coaching and a chance to find out what inspired Montgomerie to become a professional sportsmen.
The visit was organised by sportscotland as part of the Sporting Champions Scheme, is an element of the Active Schools programme, developed as part of the Scottish Executive's Physical Activity Strategy. Sporting Champions uses sports stars and emerging talent to inspire and motivate young people to become and remain involved in sport as part of an active, healthy lifestyle.
Although the scheme uses prominent personalities, who have been successful in their sport, it does not focus on sporting excellence among the young but on encouraging sports participation at whatever level.
Colin Montgomerie first expressed an interest in the scheme in February last year when he joined forces with First Minister Jack McConnell to launch Clubgolf - Scotland’s national junior golf strategy, which aims to give thousand’s of youngsters the opportunity to play golf.
Keen to share his passion for golf with the young people, Colin Montgomerie said, “I am delighted to make this visit to encourage young people to take part in sport and give them the opportunity to perhaps experience a sport which has not been accessible to them before. I hope many of them will go on to fulfil their potential and make golf a permanent part of an active lifestyle.”
Welcoming the opportunity to take part in the Sporting Champions Scheme, Dave Butcher, Principal Teacher of PE at Girvan Academy said: “We see sport as an important part of school life and meeting sports superstars such as Colin Montgomerie will help to inspire even those pupils who traditionally have shown little interest in sport. All the pupils are very excited at the chance to meet one of the world’s top players and hopefully will pick up some tips to improve their game.”
Ian Robson, Chief Executive of sportscotland said: “School children are the future of sport in Scotland and a key target for sportscotland is to widen the opportunities for participation amongst young people.
Ian Robson, Chief Executive of sportscotland said: “School children are the future of sport in Scotland and a key target for sportscotland is to widen the opportunities for participation amongst young people.
“Sporting Champions is just one way in which we are promoting the benefits of sport and physical activity to young people. We want to show that it does not matter whether you want to pursue sport at the highest level or just take up physical activity for fun – it has significant benefits for everyone. I am sure that this visit today by one of Scotland’s greatest sportsmen will inspire many more youngsters to get active and perhaps in a sport that has traditionally been seen as the preserve of the middle aged.”
- sportscotland is the national body for sport in Scotland and our goal is to make more people more active more often. We are dedicated to increasing participation in sport by all, from primary school children trying sport for the first time to elite athletes seeking success on the world stage.
- In March 2003 the Scottish Executive made £1.65m available to sportscotland from End of Year Funding to enhance the Active Schools project. From that investment, £100k has been allocated to develop the Sporting Ambassadors principle by extending the Sporting Champions programme successfully developed by Sport England.