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Active Choices participant set to represent England

Marek Hyde, a participant from Derby County Community Trust’s Active Choices programme has been chosen to represent his country in the upcoming Street Football World Cup.

The tournament takes place in Oslo between the 28th August – 6th September,seeing 64 teams, representing 52 countries, come together to celebrate and highlight the life changing work of the Street Football Partner Network.

Following his involvement in the Active Choices programme, Marek, aged 26, from Spondon will be one of 500 players at the competition, each with their own individual story.

Active Choices is a healthy lifestyle and behavioral change programme which helps people who have struggled with substance misuse issues. It has now helped over 500 people with drug and alcohol problems to turn their lives around, giving them the opportunity to receive one-to-one support and take part in worthwhile activities at a critical point in their recovery.

Marek joined the programme back in April 2016 following a referral from Jericho House, a residential addiction recovery project which works closely with Derby County Community Trust, supporting service users in achieving the highest quality of life and in realising their full potential.

Since joining, Marek has become fitter, more active and has stopped smoking. The support and exit routes have even allowed him to find full time employment and complete a Sports Leadership qualification in partnership with the Street Football Association, which led to the England call-up.

Following the news, Marek said:

 “I feel brilliant, it’s such an honor which I thought would never happen to me. It’s something I didn’t think would happen because it’s so unrealistic to think of playing for my country. It’s given me time to reflect on my achievements in recovery.

 “I’m really looking forward to getting out there, meeting my teammates and pulling on the shirt to represent England.”

 On the involvement of the Derby County Community Trust and the Active Choices programme he said:

“They have been there for guidance and support on my exercise and nutrition. The programme has helped me make new friends, given me the opportunity to play at professional football grounds and gain a sport leader qualification, helping me to further myself.”

Marek’s call-up comes following a long line of successes between the Active Choices programme and the Street Football Association. Over the past three years nine participants have made trips to Scotland, Chile, Portugal and Holland for the tournament.

Adam Rowley from Derby County Community Trust said:

“We are delighted for Marek. The opportunity is a reward for his engagement in the programme and the positive lifestyle changes that he has made. We have no doubts that he will do DCCT, Jericho House and his country proud throughout the tournament in August.’’

 

To find out more about Derby County Community Trust’s Active Choices programme visit – http://www.derbycountycommunitytrust.com/programmes/health/active-choices/

Rotherham’s ‘Back Into Sport’ project shortlisted for award

Rotherham United Community Sports Trust’s (RUCST) ‘Back Into Sport’ project has been shortlisted for a 2017 National Lottery Award.

The project funded by Sport England and launched 12 months ago, reaches out to members of the black and ethnic minority community to encourage them to take up sport and physical activities.

‘Back Into Sport’ has increased levels of physical activity and sport among black and ethnic minority (BME) people at high risk of health-related issues. It has also worked with local schools, mosques and community groups to recruit participants and volunteers to help set up sports lessons and arrange matches.

Over half of Rotherham’s adult population do not take part in physical activity, according to a local authority survey. BME adults also face a number of barriers including hate crime, poor local facilities for sport, language and cultural barriers.

The project runs three netball sessions a week and has supported women from a local school to go on and set up a netball team to play competitive games. It also works with a local mosque to increase sport participation among male congregation.

Winners of the 2017 National Lottery Award will receive a £3,000 prize for their project and star in a BBC One television show.

Zanib Rasool from Back into Sport says: “We’re absolutely delighted to have made it through to the finals of The National Lottery Awards.  It’s wonderful for everyone involved in our work that our achievements with National Lottery funding have been recognised.   We hope all our supporters will vote for us so we can enjoy national recognition on BBC One later in the year.”

Inclusion officer Trudi Race said: “Rotherham is a town with a beautifully diverse mixture of culture and races. “Many of these people face barriers when it comes to accessing sport, particularly women. This project enables us to work with the participants to build trust and to make sport more accessible. The first year has seen an incredible increase in BME women accessing sport which is a proud achievement.”

To vote please click here: http://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/project/back-sport