Sports Partnerships - shaping the delivery of sport

Friday 24 November 2006

sportscotland has been trialling a new innovative approach to the delivery of sport at a local level through the Sports Partnership programme in Central and Tayside & Fife and is pleased to announce investment of £705,064 for these partnerships.

Sports Partnerships are a network of organisations that work together to plan, co-ordinate and make decisions to develop sport at a local and regional level, in line with national strategy.

“Sports Partnerships is an extremely important initiative that we hope will lead to the more effective co-ordination and delivery of sport at a regional and local level.

The investment, of which £405,064 is from the sportscotland Lottery fund, will go towards the development and implementation of the partnerships.

Following consultation with key partners a clear need was identified to strengthen the infrastructure of Scottish sport with the rationale of integrating national strategy and local delivery, as well as improving communication between sports agencies.

Sports partnerships provide a pathway for continuing participation in sport, with the aim of leading to lifelong involvement. It will also improve the standard of those athletes and coaches entering Area Institute/national performance level through a regional academy programme.

The partnerships will also focus on supporting clubs, officials, volunteers and partners, while also offering assistance in developing facilities and access to resources.

Each partnership will concentrate on five core sports, athletics, gymnastics, swimming, golf and rugby as well as two optional sports. Development managers have been appointed to co-ordinate activity between all members of the partnership, including local authorities, sports clubs and sports governing bodies.

Announcing the funding, Julia Bracewell OBE, Chair of sportscotland said: “Sports Partnerships is an extremely important initiative that we hope will lead to the more effective co-ordination and delivery of sport at a regional and local level.

“Our investment aims to ensure that more people have a life-long involvement in sport, as well as supporting athletes with the talent and desire to perform on the national stage.”

• SportCentral was awarded £357,000 with £207,000 coming from the sportscotland Lotttery Fund. Additional sports for SportCentral are Cricket and Disability Sports.
• SportTayside & Fife was awarded £348,064 with £198,064 coming from the sportscotland Lotttery Fund. Additional sports for SportTayside & Fife are Basketball and Hockey.