Greater Manchester & Cheshire
Summertime Sports Day comes to Hattersley
Onward recently partnered with Active Tameside’s Everyone’s Game project, UK Military Mentors & Community Matters, to host our first community sports day for residents at the Ken Ward Centre in Hattersley on Wednesday 17th August.
Everyone’s Game is an exciting initiative to help more people get active through football-themed exercise and activities in Hattersley. UK Military Mentors’ staff are veteran service men and women of the British Armed Forces who work with schools and private organisations to develop inspiring environments for young people designed to boost their academic achievement.
Participants had the opportunity to take part in a Boot Camp Challenge and Observation Skills Challenge, battle against each other on the foot golf course, practice their cycle skills and beat the goalie. Over 80 residents attended the event, along with local councillors and a range of community organisations.
Samantha Powers, Social Investment Specialist at Onward, said:
“Onward partnered with Active Tameside on this project as we spotted an opportunity to offer something different to local people during the summer holidays. This is a fantastic project designed to get residents active, which we know is so important to health and wellbeing.
“We are committed to working with our local partners to make a positive difference in our communities and hope to make this event even bigger next year.”
Ciaran Muir, Director of UK Military Mentors at UK Military Mentors, added:
“This has been a great opportunity to get out and do things in this community. It gets us in a position to talk to people and to let them know what we are offering. I have especially enjoyed the opportunity to speak to the kids that aren’t really engaged as that is where our speciality is, we want to give them a chance to get involved.”
A local resident stated:
“It’s really nice to have something local to bring the kids to, the music event they had a couple of weeks ago and now a sports event for the kids is great, it gives them something to look forward to over the summer.”
Finally, Catherine Hall, Active Tameside’s Active Through Football Project Manager, said:
“We were delighted to partner with Onward Homes and UK Military Mentors to host the Community Matters Sports Day at Active Ken Ward and it was brilliant to see so many families getting involved – it really brought the community together.
“Everyone’s Game is a five-year project supporting people to be more active and this event was a fantastic way to show how fun and enjoyable physical activity can be. We run weekly activities including Men’s Football on a Monday night, Walking Football on a Wednesday afternoon – both at Active Ken Ward – and two indoor fitness classes that are baby-friendly on a Monday and Thursday morning at community venues around Hattersley and everyone is welcome.”
About Everyone’s Game
Everyone’s Game is funded by the National Lottery and Sport England and managed by Active Tameside. More information about Everyone’s Game can be viewed here: Everyone’s Game | Active Tameside