Tuesday marks the start of the Get Out Get Active (GOGA) programme in Nottingham. The three year project has been developed to get some of the UK’s least active people moving more. GOGA will concentrate on fun and inclusive activities and supporting disabled and non-disabled people who don’t necessarily have regular access to sport and fitness activities. They are encouraged to enjoy being active together, improving not only their health, but happiness and mental wellbeing.
Spirit of 2012 is funding the £4.5 million initiative, which brings together 18 GOGA localities in the UK and Northern Ireland as well as numerous national partners. The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) is the lead GOGA partner.
Nottingham will launch GOGA at Harvey Hadden Sports Village on 25 October (10-1) with a Cycling for All session delivered with partners Ridewise. This will be a taster for activities which will begin in force in the New Year with regular learn to ride sessions as well as Paracycling. There will be a range of bikes to enable participants to build skills. Riders start with balance bikes and other adaptations and will quickly get the hang of pedals when they will have the skills and confidence to enjoy cycling at any time.
Nottingham has chosen six priority activities, of which four are Nottingham City’s core or supported sports; swimming, cycling, basketball, and tennis. They will also include activities as part of Coca Cola Parklives and the English Federation of Disability Sport’s Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI).
There are 3 areas of Nottingham where GOGA activity will take place.
Area 1 – North: Bilborough, Aspley and Bulwell, Area 2 – Central: St Ann’s and Dales, Area 3 – South: Clifton North and South.
Activity and training will be delivered by local partners including Ridewise, Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (CVS), YMCA, The FA, Nottingham City Homes, Nottingham Hoods Basketball Club, England Netball, Table Tennis England, Active Ace, Bilborough FC, and the Tennis Foundation. There will be partner sessions to discuss how best to reach those people the scheme aims to target.
Councillor Dave Trimble – Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture said: “GOGA is a great way to get people doing a little bit more to keep them fit and active. The aim is to break down the barriers for people taking part – this might be making sure disabled people can easily participate, training people to deliver sessions that include everybody; or by keeping costs down, and putting sessions in places where there are fewer opportunities. We will also work with partners to talk to people in the city and ask them which activities they would like to try and to try and help them with barriers that stop them getting involved. This isn’t a hunt for sporting champions or to be the best. Whether it is a leisure centre, running track or one of our many parks, we are hoping to start a habit of having fun and being active in our city in any setting.”
Keep an eye on the latest GOGA news in the city at www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/goga
GOGA
Spirit of 2012 is funding the £4.5 million initiative, which brings together 18 GOGA localities in England (including Nottingham), Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and numerous national partners.
Earlier this year, Spirit of 2012 – a funding charity, established with a £47m endowment from the Big Lottery Fund, awarded the programme to the UK wide consortium. Spirit fund partners across the UK that provide opportunities in sports, physical activity, arts and culture, volunteering and social action.
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) is the lead GOGA partner, teaming up with an extensive range of organisations to help us reach more people, who have the greatest need to get out and get active. These partners offer in-depth local knowledge and national expertise.
All home nation disability sport organisations are backing the programme as well as Volunteering Matters, Disability Rights UK, Women and Sport, Sporting Equals and Age UK. Additional partners include National Governing Bodies of sport and national charities. Recently, one hundred people involved in GOGA met in Manchester for the first group conference to start the programme’s journey.
Debbie Lye, Chief Executive for Spirit of 2012 said: “Get Out Get Active is a very ambitious initiative designed to increase physical and mental wellbeing by supporting physically inactive people around the UK to improve their health.
“We want to make getting active appealing, accessible, fun and inclusive for people of all ages and abilities. Spirit of 2012 is funding Get Out Get Active in response to overwhelming evidence that inactive people need encouragement and support to take those first steps into active, healthy lifestyles.”
Barry Horne, Chief Executive for EFDS said: “It is a powerful proposition- to get so many more people out and active and we are proud to be leading on such a major investment. The programme has the potential to change how we encourage, enable and engage more people through active recreation opportunities.
“For many of those we are trying to attract, these opportunities have been out of reach or unappealing. Changing people’s mindsets is not an overnight solution and that’s why we’ve called upon so many partners to help make it happen. Today marks the start of an exciting journey for all involved.”
Statistics continually show disabled people to be the least active population and two thirds of disabled people stated they wanted to take part with non-disabled people in EFDS’s Lifestyle Report 2013. Inclusion will be at the heart of the programme through activity and volunteering.
Working together, the partners aim to increase the number of people who are able to access and enjoy local opportunities. This could be through local authority or independent provision, sports clubs or perhaps volunteering. Providers want to motivate people by tapping into their values and the things that matter most to them. This includes building friendships, maintaining health, having fun and progressing in life.
Importantly, a large proportion of the investment is for monitoring and evaluation, assessing the impact and allowing for more organisations to learn from the outcomes.
For more information on Get Out and Get Active, visit www.efds.co.uk/GOGA
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Notes to editors:
Follow the conversation with #GetOutGetActive
For further information, please contact:
Kat Southwell, Get Out and Get Active Programme Manager, English Federation of Disability Sport. ksouthwell@efds.co.uk or call 07967 573343.
Sarah Marl, Marketing and Communications Manager, English Federation of Disability Sport smarl@efds.co.uk or call 07764 291671
Neil Rodger Head of Communications, Spirit of 2012 Neil.Rodger@spiritof2012trust.org.uk or call 0203 7017440/ 07833470985.
Additional information
- Almost one fifth of the UK’s population are disabled people, so should have every opportunity to be as active as non-disabled people, yet they are half as likely to be as active as non-disabled people. Physical activity can make a fundamental difference to everyone’s quality of life, increase independence and benefit the economy.
- Physical inactivity has unsustainable health, economic and social impacts on individuals, families, communities and local services in England including one in six deaths (equal to smoking) and an annual cost to society of £7.4 billion.
- Seven in ten disabled people want to be more active, representing a huge and ‘untapped’ market. Six in ten (64 per cent) of disabled people would prefer to take part in sport and physical activity with a mix of disabled and non-disabled people. (Source: EFDS lifestyle report 2013).
List of Get Out, Get Active locations:
England
- Bradford
- Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Rochdale, Greater Manchester
- Wigan, Greater Manchester
- Margate, Kent
- East Lindsey, Lincolnshire
- Lambeth, London
- Wandsworth, London
- Nottingham
- Stoke-on- Trent
Northern Ireland
- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon
- Derry City and Strabane
Scotland
- Fife
- Grampians (covering Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire Council and Moray Council)
- Forth Valley (covering Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling council areas)
Wales
- Pembrokeshire
- Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Wrexham
Consortium partners: English Federation of Disability Sport, Disability Sport Wales, Scottish Disability Sport, Disability Sport N.I and Volunteering Matters
National Delivery Partners: Sporting Equals, Disability Rights UK, Women in Sport, StreetGames, Parkrun, England Athletics, Youth Sport Trust, Amateur Swimming Association, Age UK, Play England
English local partners: Bradford Disability Sport and Leisure, City of Stoke on Trent, Greater Sport, Kent County Council, Kent Sport, Lincolnshire Sport, London Sport and Nottingham City Council.
Spirit of 2012
Spirit of 2012 is an independent trust, established with a £47m endowment from the Big Lottery Fund. We fund projects that empower people to get out, be involved and feel better. We fund partners that provide opportunities in sports, physical activity, arts and culture, volunteering and social action. https://www.spiritof2012trust.org.uk/