VIY and Skateboard GB Partner up to deliver grassroots legacy projects as part of the broader Sport England campaign

3 years ago

A team of young volunteers and professional tradespeople are working together to refurbish and improve the LS-Ten skate park in Leeds as part of the Volunteer It Yourself (VIY) programme. The project is the first of a series of skate park grassroots ‘legacy’ projects to be delivered by VIY UK-wide in 2021 in partnership with Sport England and Skateboard GB to build on skateboarding’s inclusion in this year's Tokyo Olympics.

Many of the young people involved in the project are not in mainstream education or training and will be learning new vocational trade skills ‘on the job’, supported by their trade mentors. They will also have the chance to work towards and achieve a City & Guilds Entry Level carpentry accreditation and progress to further training and employment opportunities beyond the end of the project.

http://bit.ly/VIYandSBGB

Over £2m of Sport England funding is being invested in VIY, a social enterprise which combines volunteering and DIY/construction by challenging young people aged 14-24 to learn trade and construction skills whilst helping to improve local community sports facilities and venues such as LS-Ten.

Over 750,000 people participate in skateboarding across the UK and in the last year there has been a huge growth in the sport, particularly with younger age groups and females picking up a board for the first time.

Skateboarding will make its Olympic debut later this this year in Tokyo and grassroots participation is expected to grow by up to 10% over the year.

Sport England and VIY Campaign

The LS-Ten project is part of a broader campaign to boost community and grassroots sports facilities led by Sport England and VIY, but also supported by VIY partners such as Travis Perkins, Dulux and GAP Hire Solutions, whose funding and donation of equipment and materials helps enable projects to go ahead and maximise the available budgets.

The partnership between Sport England and VIY will cover the delivery of 200+ VIY projects with clubs, facilities and active spaces in need over 2020-23, at the same time as involving and benefitting 4,500 young people who are NEET (not in employment, education or training) or at high risk of becoming NEET.

More than 60% of the projects will be located in local communities among the 20% most deprived nationally, according to national Indices of Multiple Deprivation. Sport England’s support includes the provision of match funding, in conjunction with the National Lottery Community Fund, for each project to be enabled.

Projects, like LS-Ten, are being nominated, match-funded and delivered in collaboration with national sports governing bodies such as Skateboard GB as well as with local authorities and youth work organisations.

Volunteer It Yourself Chief Executive Tim Reading:

“It is really exciting to be working with Skateboard GB and LS-Ten on what is our first skate park improvement project. Our work with Sport England is all about helping make community sports facilities and active spaces more accessible and sustainable, whilst also providing opportunities for young people to gain vocational employment skills. At the same time, LS-Ten is a great example of how young people can be brilliantly motivated to help improve a space that is really important to them for their broader well-being and social development, especially given the challenges of the past year due to Covid.

LS-Ten, Community manager, Denham Hill:

“We're incredibly grateful for the support offered by VIY and for the opportunity to work together. The skatepark was in such desperate need of renovation and as a new charity, acquiring the funds to undertake such a project has been very challenging, especially bearing in mind the impact of the Covid pandemic. The support and funding offered by VIY has allowed us to bring our vision into reality, and to engage the skatepark community in a unique way, offering young people the opportunity to have an active role in the development of a facility that many cite as being essential to their physical and mental well-being.”

Skateboard GB CEO, James Hope-Gill:

“The partnership between Skateboard GB and VIY is really exciting, with skateparks directly benefitting from improvements and helping young people who can gain valuable skills in the process. It is great to see the first project planning to be completed for when skateparks can re-open on the 12th April, which will mark the grand re-opening of skateparks for the first time this year, because of the Government restrictions.”

Sport England Director of Sport, Phil Smith:

“Local community sports venues have never been more important when it comes to helping the nation engage with sport and physical activity while bringing communities together. This partnership between Sport England and Volunteer It Yourself will play a significant role in in both helping facilities receive urgent works and attention, while also upskilling the many brilliant young people involved in the projects themselves.”

For more information, including how to apply to participate as a sports club or active space, please contact: Stu Richmond – stu@teamviy.com / 07761666020.

For further information and interview opportunities please contact: media.team@sportengland.org or Jamie Harding on 07786 524080

Notes to Editors

About Volunteer It Yourself
Volunteer It Yourself combines volunteering and construction by challenging young people aged 14-24 to help repair and refurbish youth and community facilities, whilst learning vocational trade skills on the job. We also deliver ‘early intervention’ construction sector employability skills and careers training for 10-14 year olds in schools.
VIY participants are mentored by local professional tradespeople and can work towards and gain Entry Level City & Guilds construction trade skills accreditations, and the majority of young people who take part are disengaged or excluded (or at risk of disengagement/exclusion) from mainstream education and training, and/or unemployed.
Since 2011, 12,000 young people have volunteered at 600 VIY projects UK-wide, supported by more than 1,000 trade skills mentors. Outcomes include 40% of all participants achieving the Entry Level 3 City & Guilds construction skills qualification and 30% of NEET participants aged 16+ progressing to further training or employment. 65% of participants also report increased confidence levels across seven key personal skills linked to employability.

About Skateboard GB
Skateboard GB is the National Governing Body for Skateboarding in England and the home of Olympic Skateboarding in Great Britain. The organisation was created to improve, support and develop skateboarding for everyone.

About LS-Ten
LS-TEN is a new Charity aiming to create a safe, engaging and inclusive environment, raising aspirations and reducing inequality through wheeled sports and education. LS-TEN is home to an indoor Skatepark and Alternative Provision for those struggling to access mainstream education, alongside a Community department that delivers coaching projects across Leeds in areas of deprivation. LS-TEN strives to break down barriers to participation, and ensure wheeled sports and active lifestyles are accessible to all

About Sport England
Sport England is a public body and invests up to £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport. It wants everyone in England, regardless of age, background, or level of ability, to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. That’s why a lot of its work is specifically focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active - like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.

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