The Olympic legacy will live on in Barnsley after several key organisations joined together to promote sport in the town.
The ‘Your Sport Your Town’ initiative has been launched by Barnsley Council, Barnsley College, Barnsley Football Club, Team Activ,
Active Barnsley and Barnsley Premier Leisure.
Throughout July and August – a year after the Olympics and Paralympics were held in London – facilities throughout Barnsley will
be made available free of charge to sports clubs and organisations in the hope that more people will become more involved in sport.
Your Sport Your Town has already received the support of Paralympic table tennis star Sue Gilroy and Olympic swimmer James Curtain, while a website featuring information about the project and the town’s facilities will be launched next month.
Dave Redfern, of Barnsley Premier Leisure, said: “The recent Active People survey shows there has been a decline in sport across the nation since the Olympics and Paralympics, which is sad when we consider how amazing both events were.
“In my view, the likes of Lord Coe have done their bit and it’s now in the hands of volunteers up and down the country to carry on this Olympic legacy. Barnsley has its problems from a health perspective and in terms of sports participation but we really believe that Your Sport Your Town can change this.”
Dave said he hoped sports clubs throughout the town would take advantage of the scheme to increase their membership.
“You might get a karate or judo club that is based in a church hall somewhere but they might come to the Metrodome’s main arena and have a ‘come and try it’ event free of charge for people. They could use those facilities as a platform to attract new members.
“This town has some great facilities available and we want to see people from all over the borough using them. We also hope that this won’t just be something that we do for a couple of months but that it can go on for years and be a useful tool for the people of Barnsley.”
Dave can be contacted at Barnsley Premier Leisure for more information and the Your Sport Your Town website will be launched shortly.
