changingLIVES is an athlete role model scheme which brings some of Britain’s most successful world class athletes into schools across the country to motivate and engage young people.
Developed in partnership with BSkyB and UK Sport and supported by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF), changingLIVES adds value to some of the Youth Sport Trust's core programmes.
The largest programme currently supported by changingLIVES athlete mentors is the Sky Sports Living for Sport programme.
A team of ten athlete mentors with a host of Olympic, Paralympic, World and Commonwealth medals between them, bring the excitement of their sporting successes to the classroom. Each athlete mentor has been selected for their ability to engage with young people through their own contrasting stories of success and struggle. They highlight the challenges they had to overcome including bullying, dyslexia, exclusion and living with a disability.
The athlete mentors parallel the British Athletes’ Commissions “Six Keys to Success” with the lives of young people by instilling values of belief, determination, hard-work, belonging, people skills and time management.
All schools in their second year of Sky Sports Living for Sport are offered the opportunity to have an athlete mentor to support the programme. Each school involved is visited three times by the athlete mentors, which allows a relationship to develop between the athlete and the young people and staff. This ensures the scheme has a long-term impact.
Click here to download a programme information sheet
For more information regarding changingLIVES please contact info@youthsporttrust.org
The Athlete Mentor Team
Please click on the athlete’s name to view their profile.
World medallist and Olympic 800m runner Joanne Fenn
Commonwealth Gold medallist, Gymnast Craig Heap
World nr.1 Thai Boxer Rachael Mackenzie
World medallist orienteer Heather Monro
Paralympic medallist swimmer Fiona Neale
Paralympic Gold Medallist, 800m and 1500m runner, Tim Prendergast
World Champion adaptive rower Helene Raynsford
Olympic medallist canoeist Helen Reeves
England Hockey Player Kerry Williams
European and Commonwealth gold medallist swimmer, Adam Whitehead
Accessing athletes to visit your school
If you want to arrange for an athlete to visit your school and are not involved with Sky Sports Living for Sport you can do so for a small fee through athletesDIRECT. This is a programme designed to link elite athletes who are accomplished at visiting and speaking, directly to the schools that request visits. It is being run by the British Athletes Commission in conjunction with the Youth Sport Trust. Please contact: admin@britishathletes.org.
Related links:
Sky Sports Living for Sport
Department for Children, Schools and Families
UK Sport
athletesDIRECT