GIRLS GET MOVING ON GOVERNMENT CRIME AGENDA

LOCSP Press Release: Monday 14 September 2009

GIRLS GET MOVING ON GOVERNMENT CRIME AGENDA
Free sports taster sessions success at SCORE

Leyton, London – Last week saw girls across the country join together to and get involved with sports, arts and leisure activities as part of Positive Futures’ National Girls Get Moving Week.

Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme (LOCSP) Positive Futures held a free multi-sports taster event for girls aged 8-21 years old at SCORE on Friday with a range of activities available including football, basketball, handball, volleyball and badminton.

Over 20 girls attended from across Waltham Forest to participate in the week, with many of those present having an interest in sport but not necessarily the access to facilities or coaches to become involved.

Hajan, 14, from Leyton said:
“I like playing sports especially handball and football. Handball was a really fun activity today.

“Sometimes girls just play the more ‘traditional’ girls sports like netball because they know that they are only played by girls and they feel they shouldn’t play any other games, but I think boys and girls should play everything.”

Kana, 14, Walthamstow said:
“At school we have a girl’s netball, football, athletic and aerobic team so I am used to playing sport, but today has shown me other sports. If I wasn’t here today I probably would be at home or with my friends.”

Dohar, 17, Walthamstow said:
“Events like this are important because it is about equal opportunities. Girls shouldn’t feel restricted and think that ‘boys only play sport’ or they can’t play because they think ‘I am the only girl playing’.”

Aisha, 14, Walthamstow said:
“There are some people in some places who provide opportunities for girls but in most places there isn’t. However, I do Kung Fu at school, but we don’t really have much for just girls-only like this.”

Nadia, 19, Leytonstone said:
“I had a lot of fun today and there were a lot of opportunities to play different sports I hadn’t played here before. There were lots of girls of all ages here today participating and I’ll definitely come back, but will be bringing my friends.”

Shamajul Motin, LOCSP Community Development Officer said:
“Today was a fantastic opportunity to display and showcase the various sporting activities LOCSP can offer girls and it was really pleasing to see such enthusiasm and commitment from the participants here.

“The feedback we got was great as the group wanted to continue the sports on offer here back at their various youth clubs and schools which is exactly the message we want to hear.

“At first, when explaining the different types of sports they would be playing such as Handball and Volleyball, some girls were not very keen as they have never played the sport before. However, after trying each sport, Handball was their favourite sport by some distance and they were all very keen to continue playing it.

“A lot of the time sports are offered to young people without really any consultation in what they actually want, however, after today we will now look at delivering Handball to these participants at their clubs and schools and hopefully attract more girls to participate in sports and physical activity.”

To find out about Positive Futures and LOCSP projects in east London call Shamajul Motin, LOCSP Community Development Officer on 020 8556 5973 or email shamajul.motin@locsp.org.

GIRLS GET MOVING ON GOVERNMENT CRIME AGENDA

LOCSP Press Release: Tuesday 1 September 2009

GIRLS GET MOVING ON GOVERNMENT CRIME AGENDA
Free sports taster sessions for girls aged 8-21 at SCORE

Leyton, London - Up and down the country this week girls will be joining together to get moving and get involved in sports, arts and leisure activities as part of leading social inclusion programme, Positive Futures’ National Girls Get Moving Week (31 Aug – 6 Sep).

Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme (LOCSP) Positive Futures will be holding a FREE multi-sports taster event for girls aged 8-21 years old at SCORE, 100 Oliver Road, Leyton this FRIDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER, 4.30PM – 6.30PM with a range of activities including football, basketball, streetdance and handball.

The event is expected to be attended by girls from Hackney, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Redbridge and Barking & Dagenham.

The week, the first of its kind, includes summer camps, beach sports days, yoga, ice skating and knife awareness workshops. It aims to inspire more girls into physical activity, increase participation levels of young girls on the programme and help support the Government’s drive to tackle youth crime, particularly the rise in girl-related underage drinking which can lead to crime, disorder and nuisance.

Youth crime is being tackled through the Government’s Youth Crime Action Plan, a three-year programme targeting intensive activity in priority areas, and this initiative as part of the Positive Futures programme specifically supports a focus on girls who might be drawn into crime.

The week also supports the Government’s Open Drive, which seeks to make full use of the government’s investment in positive activities to increase provision and participation on a Friday and Saturday night, particularly of those young people who are most at risk of getting involved in anti-social behaviour.

The Positive Futures programme, managed by young people’s charity Catch22 and funded by the Home Office, has 118 projects working with young people aged 9 -19 in some of the most deprived areas of the country. LOCSP currently work on five of these projects across east London.

Joyce Moseley, Chief Executive, Catch22 said:
“Positive Futures projects are fantastically successful in engaging girls in activities that are fun and exciting, and this is clear when you look at the diverse range of activities on offer for Girls Get Moving Week. When our project workers can build relationships of trust and respect with girls, they open up new opportunities for achieving, education and employment.”

LOCSP are working with Positive Futures to encourage girls across the country to get involved by either joining in with activities on offer or creating their own.

If you would like to get involved and to find out about a Positive Futures projects in east London then call Shamajul Motin, LOCSP Community Development Officer on 020 8556 5973 or email shamajul.motin@locsp.org.