PRESS RELEASE

PR11/10 - 19 MAY 2010

CAMPAIGN PUTS COACHES AND VOLUNTEERS IN FOCUS

From gold medal-winning Olympians and Paralympians to Welsh rugby and football stars; eleven of Wales’ sporting heroes of the moment have thrown their weight behind Sport Wales’ latest campaign, Behind Every Star.

Whether on the sidelines of a Saturday morning five-a-side match or an FA Cup Final, Behind Every Star, is celebrating and recognising the hard work and dedication put into sport in Wales by coaches and volunteers all across the country.

In a bid to inspire the people of Wales to play their part in creating a nation of champions; esteemed photographer Terry Morris has turned his attention to the world of sport capturing the likes of Lions and Welsh rugby fullback Jamie Roberts, World and Paralympic Champion swimmer Liz Johnson, Cardiff City and Welsh International midfielder Joe Ledley and World Champion triathlete Helen Jenkins on film with one of their most influential coaches to date.

Welsh and Cardiff Blues rugby star Jamie Roberts comments on the importance of the campaign and why he wanted to be involved:

“When you’re young and first getting into sport it’s all about learning the basics so it’s essential at that level to have a dedicated and passionate coach. The impact that coaches and volunteers have in grassroots sport is often underestimated but the reality is without people like my first coach, Dai Williams, athletes like myself may not have made it to where we are today. I think it’s great that Sport Wales are highlighting the input that coaches and volunteers have into sport in Wales and hopefully their campaign will inspire people to get involved in their communities.”

Coach to eight of Wales’ medal-winning Paralympians, Billy Pye comments on the campaign;

“Sport Wales’ Behind Every Star campaign is a campaign to prove to people that we can all make a difference if we are prepared to give up a bit of our valuable time. I believe we have to all reach out and encourage as many volunteers as possible to provide all children with the opportunity to excel as much as they can, whether that just be participating in sport and getting fit and a healthy lifestyle, or making it to the top at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Professor Laura McAllister, Chair of Sport Wales, said:

“Coaches and volunteers are the lifeblood of Welsh sport and we need to ensure that through our work with national governing bodies of sport and local authorities, we lead and support a coaching system whereby all participants in Wales, especially children and young people, have access to an appropriately qualified and quality coach.

“Behind Every Star will see those already doing it and doing it well swapping the sidelines for the spotlight, in the hope that people in Wales will feel inspired to play their part in a creating a prosperous sporting nation. The campaign will also help Sport Wales reach our goal of creating more and better coaches, in a Wales where we recognise and support our greatest assets – our people.”

Minister for Heritage, Alun Ffred Jones, said: “I am pleased to see this campaign recognise and celebrate the hard work of coaches and volunteers who are essential to the development of sport in Wales. I hope it will inspire more people to get involved in sport at the grassroots level and provide some small reward for those who give their time to help develop others.”

Behind Every Star has also received strong support from the UK’s leading coaching organisations, sports coach UK; Wales’s voice of the voluntary sector, the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) and youth charity, the Prince’s Trust Cymru. All local authorities in Wales and 23 governing bodies of sport have also signed up.

The Behind Every Star photo exhibition will be coming to a town near you in a whistle stop tour of Wales over the coming months. Between now and October you’ll get the chance to see the photos of our sporting stars and their coaches in Cardiff, Talbot Green in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea, Newtown, Aberystwyth, Wrexham and Ebbw Vale.

You can register your interest in coaching or volunteering by visiting www.behindeverystar.org.uk or for more information on the Behind Every Star campaign and the dates and venues of the photo exhibition visit the website or www.sportwales.org.uk

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For more information please contact Sarah Mogford on 029 2033 8273 / sarah.mogford@sportwales.org.uk

Notes to editors

The photos will exhibited at the following venues and times:

·         24^th-29^th May, St David’s Shopping Centre, Cardiff

·         4^th and 5^th June, Talbot Green Shopping Centre, Rhondda Cynon Taff

·         18^th and 19^th June, Fforest Fach Shopping Centre, Swansea

·         9^th July, Bear Lane Shopping Centre, Newtown

·         10^th July, Morrisons, Aberystwyth

·         14^th and 15^th July, S4C Wales Ladies Championship of Europe, Conwy Golf Club

·         13^th and 14^th September, Plas Menai National Watersport Centre

·         24^th and 25^th September, Eagles Meadow Shopping Complex, Wrexham

·         29^th and 30^th October, Festival Park Shopping Centre, Blaenau Gwent

The athletes and coaches involved in the exhibition are:

·         Lions and Welsh rugby star Jamie Roberts with school coach Dai Williams

·         Gold-medal winning Paralympic swimmer Liz Johnson with former coach Billy Pye

·         Gold-medal winning Olympic rower Tom James with school coach Neville Orme

·         Paralympic Archer Pippa Britton with current coach Tim Hazell

·         Bronze-medal World Championship swimmer Jazmin Carlin with current coach Bud McAllister

·         World Champion triathlete Helen Jenkins with first coach Chris Goulden

·         World Champion silver-medallist Dai Greene with former coach Darrell Maynard

·         World Champion multi-junior medallist Hannah Mills with former coach Ollie Green

·         European Tour golfer Rhys Davies with former coach David Llewellyn

·         Wales and Cardiff City footballer Joe Ledley with current Cardiff City coach Dave Jones

Sports coach UK is a charitable organisation and is the agency tasked to lead, develop and support the implementation of a world-leading coaching system in the United Kingdom. The UK Coaching Framework – developed following an extensive consultation process led by sports Coach UK – provides the blueprint to achieve this.

The Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) is the voice of the voluntary sector in Wales. It represents and campaigns for voluntary organisations, volunteers and communities.

The Prince’s Trust Cymru helps change young lives. It gives practical and financial support, developing key workplace skills such as confidence and motivation. It works with 14 to 30 year-olds who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law. The Prince of Wales’ charity has helped more than 600,000 young people since 1976 and supports over 100 more each working day.