Hockey, netball and more on menu for Chichester youngsters

More than 80 children from primary schools across the Chichester district came together at Westgate Leisure to take part in a gifted and talented programme, Future Fliers.
Alex DansonAlex Danson
Alex Danson

The scheme, run by Everyone Active and West Sussex West School Sports Partnership, sees children who have shown a flair for sports and activity given the opportunity to develop their skills further through a day of professional coaching. There are lots of opportunities on offer to help them find a sport they love and progress into local clubs.

The event came ahead of the Easter break, when Everyone Active is hosting two new activity camps in partnership with an Olympic champion and top-tier sports team. It is aiming to give more children the opportunity to be active and provide clear pathways into elite sports.

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Children aged seven to 13 will have the opportunity to take part in the Alex Danson Hockey Academy on Friday, April 13 from 10am to 3pm at the University of Chichester. The Academy has been set up by Everyone Active and the Olympic gold medal-winner to inspire more children to pick up a stick and give the game a try.

A netball camp run in partnership with Vitality Netball Superleague club benecos Mavericks will run at the University of Chichester on Wednesday, April 11.

Both camps aim to get more children active from a younger age by offering them access to exciting sports opportunities and expert coaching.

Danson and Mavericks have been involved in designing the activity programmes, which will be delivered by specially-trained coaches from Everyone Active.

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Danson was part of Team GB’s Olympic gold medal-winning hockey team at Rio 2016. She said: “I am delighted to have teamed up with Everyone Active to give more young people the opportunity to play hockey.

“Research shows the importance of engaging young people in physical activity before the age of 11 to increase their chances of staying active into later life. The Easter camps are designed to do this, and offer young people a fun and exciting way of staying active during the school holidays.”

Everyone Active’s sport and physical activity development manager Amy Chamberlain said “It is fantastic to be hosting both the Alex Danson Hockey Academy and Mavericks Netball Easter camps. We firmly believe in the benefits of playing sport at a young age and want to offer as many opportunities as possible for children to get active.

“The partnerships forms part of our major drive towards increasing sports participation among younger people. I would encourage anyone looking for fun and enjoyable ways of keeping their children active over Easter to get in touch.”

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For more information about the camps, or to book a place, email [email protected].

Multi-sport activity camps will also run at Bourne Leisure Centre from 10am to 3pm on April 10 and 12 and at The Grange Community & Leisure Centre on April 11. To find out more, call Bourne on 0333 005 0397 or the Grange on 0333 005 0398.