Competition Managers
“A world class system of competitive school sport for West Yorkshire”…that is the main aim of the newly appointed team of Competition Managers across the county.
Nine Competition Managers and one Senior Competition Manager have been deployed around West Yorkshire to work with schools, local authorities, governing bodies of sport and other sports agencies to deliver the National Competition Framework for Young People to increase the amount of young people participating in inter-school sports competitions.
Currently, 35% of young people in our county aged between 4 – 16 compete for their school and we plan to increase this by 5% per year, which is vital if we are to develop the wealth of talent that exists in the county.
More young people will be given the opportunity to participate in a wider variety of activities within their school environment but crucially, this will be linked into a wider competition structure so that talented pupils are spotted and given the chance to progress.
Quick on the heels of the success of the 2008 West Yorkshire Youth Games, the Competition Managers are already working with School Sport Partnerships to plan the events that will build up to 2009’s event, with plans to increase the number of sports and children involved.
Local events will also lead into other high profile events, such as the Carnegie Champion Schools Rugby League Competition at which the finalists compete at Wembley and the Asda Kwik Cricket Competition whose finals are played out at Headingley, Lords and other top cricket grounds.
This is a once in a lifetime experience for the children that make the finals and the Competition Managers job will be to run accessible local events to enable every child to take part and follow their dream of making it onto that top sporting stage.
- In Leeds, three Competition Managers will be working across the five School Sport Partnerships in the district – Chrisi Nicholson (Leeds South and Carr Manor), Natalie Mallinson (St Mary’s Menston and Boston Spa) and Rachel Enevoldson (Priesthorpe).
- In Bradford, three Competition Managers will be working across the five School Sport Partnerships in the district – Kym Hammond (West Bradford and East Bradford), Chris Smith (Oakbank and Beckfoot) and Rachel Enevoldson (South Bradford).
- In Calderdale, Colin Crowther will be working across both School Sport Partnerships in the district, Hipperholme and Lightcliffe and Brooksbank.
- In Wakefield, Angela Daniel will be working across both School Sport Partnerships in the district, Outwood Grange and Five Towns.
- In Kirklees, two Competition Managers will be working across the four School Sport Partnerships in the district – Mick Troop (Spen Valley and St John Fisher) and Martyn Lord (Pennine & Newsome).
Gillian Brown, Senior Competition Manager is hosted by the West Yorkshire Sport and has the job of overseeing the work of the team to ensure consistency and quality, and will also be working closely with county and regional sports organisations to maximise the opportunities for young people.
She says “competitive sport brings so many benefits – developing life skills, learning to win and lose graciously, developing team and leadership skills and building self-esteem – and it is the job of the competition manager team to ensure that all children, no matter where they live or where they go to school have the opportunity to participate”.
The Competition Managers come from a variety of backgrounds – coaching, sports development, teaching – so have broad range of knowledge and experience, and are all rearing to go for the challenge that lay ahead.
If you would like to know more or would like more information, Gillian Brown can be contacted on 01484 234087.