23 September 2008
Olympic silver medal-winning sailor Joe Glanfield is in Oxford on Tuesday 23 September to support a nationwide scheme which celebrates Britain’s hosting of the 2012 Games.
Glanfield, 28, who along with Nick Rogers won silver in the 470 class in Beijing, will speak at a Young Ambassador conference at Oxford United Football Club, The Kassam Stadium.
The Young Ambassador programme, managed by the Youth Sport Trust, will see more than 5,500 14-19 year olds working as role models in schools and local communities in the run up to 2012.
The scheme, now in its third year, has been granted the London 2012 Inspire Mark by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).
Each Young Ambassador will help build on the excitement created by the 2012 Games by championing the Olympic and Paralympic values, sport, PE and a healthy lifestyle to other youngsters.
Steve Grainger, Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said: “The Young Ambassador programme embodies the promise made when London won the right to host the 2012 Games to use the Olympic and Paralympic Games to inspire young people to choose sport. It’s an initiative which empowers youngsters here in Oxford and around the country to inspire their friends and peers and will form a key part of the London 2012 activities in schools in the run up to the Games.”
Joe Glanfield said: “I am delighted to be supporting the Youth Sport Trust’s Young Ambassador Conference here in Oxford and wish all the young people involved in the initiative every success. I was inspired during my sporting career by many people and as Young Ambassadors, these youngsters have the opportunity, talent and passion to help inspire others and, who knows, help us create the next generation of Olympic and Paralympic medalists.”
This academic year’s record intake of 1,000 Young Ambassadors will attend one of six Young Ambassador conferences in York, Oxford, Manchester, Derby, Exeter and London to help give them the skills to, for example, lead school assemblies, mentor other youngsters and get more young people participating in sport.
In Oxford, around 60 Young Ambassadors, many of whom will be local to the area, will be joined by Joe Glanfield and a host of Olympic and Paralympic athletes and spend the day planning for their two-year role.
Each Young Ambassador has been specially selected by the 450 School Sport Partnerships in England, either because of their strong sporting talent or through their commitment to sports leadership and volunteering
Launched in 2006, the Young Ambassador programme is managed by the Youth Sport Trust on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Children, Schools and Families.