More people to Get Out Get Active as programme goes lives across UK
Today marks the start of the Get Out Get Active (GOGA) programme following January’s successful funding announcement. Spirit of 2012 is funding the £4.5 million initiative, which brings together 18 GOGA localities in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and numerous national partners. In the first of its kind on such a scale, GOGA will support disabled and non-disabled people to enjoy being active together. Developed to get some of the UK's least active people moving more, GOGA will concentrate on fun and inclusive activities delivered over three-years.
Earlier this year, Spirit of 2012 - a funding charity, established with a £47m endowment from the Big Lottery Fund, awarded the programme to the UK wide consortium. Spirit fund partners across the UK that provide opportunities in sports, physical activity, arts and culture, volunteering and social action.
The English Federation of Disability Sport (now Activity Alliance) is the lead GOGA partner, teaming up with an extensive range of organisations to help us reach more people, who have the greatest need to get out and get active. These partners offer in-depth local knowledge and national expertise.
All home nation disability sport organisations are backing the programme as well as Volunteering Matters, Disability Rights UK, Women and Sport, Sporting Equals and Age UK. Additional partners include National Governing Bodies of sport and national charities. Recently, one hundred people involved in GOGA met in Manchester for the first group conference to start the programme’s journey.
Debbie Lye, Chief Executive for Spirit of 2012 said:
“Get Out Get Active launches today after months of careful planning. It’s a very ambitious initiative designed to increase physical and mental wellbeing by supporting physically inactive people around the UK to improve their health.
“We want to make getting active appealing, accessible, fun and inclusive for people of all ages and abilities. Spirit of 2012 is funding Get Out Get Active in response to overwhelming evidence that inactive people need encouragement and support to take those first steps into active, healthy lifestyles.”
Barry Horne, Chief Executive for EFDS (EFDS is now known as Activity Alliance) said:
“It is a powerful proposition- to get so many more people out and active and we are proud to be leading on such a major investment. The programme has the potential to change how we encourage, enable and engage more people through active recreation opportunities.
“For many of those we are trying to attract, these opportunities have been out of reach or unappealing. Changing people’s mindsets is not an overnight solution and that’s why we’ve called upon so many partners to help make it happen. Today marks the start of an exciting journey for all involved.”
Statistics continually show disabled people to be the least active population and two thirds of disabled people stated they wanted to take part with non-disabled people in EFDS’s Lifestyle Report 2013. Inclusion will be at the heart of the programme through activity and volunteering.
Working together, the partners aim to increase the number of people who are able to access and enjoy local opportunities. This could be through local authority or independent provision, sports clubs or perhaps volunteering. Providers want to motivate people by tapping into their values and the things that matter most to them. This includes building friendships, maintaining health, having fun and progressing in life.
Importantly, a large proportion of the investment is for monitoring and evaluation, assessing the impact and allowing for more organisations to learn from the outcomes.
For more information on Get Out and Get Active, visit www.activityalliance.org.uk/GOGA
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Notes to editors:
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For further information, please contact:
Kat Southwell, Get Out and Get Active Programme Manager, English Federation of Disability Sport. ksouthwell@efds.co.uk or call 07967 573343.
Sarah Marl, Marketing and Communications Manager, English Federation of Disability Sport smarl@efds.co.uk or call 07764 291671
Neil Rodger Head of Communications, Spirit of 2012 Neil.Rodger@spiritof2012trust.org.uk or call 0203 7017440/ 07833470985.
Additional information
- Almost one fifth of the UK’s population are disabled people, so should have every opportunity to be as active as non-disabled people, yet they are half as likely to be as active as non-disabled people. Physical activity can make a fundamental difference to everyone’s quality of life, increase independence and benefit the economy.
- Physical inactivity has unsustainable health, economic and social impacts on individuals, families, communities and local services in England including one in six deaths (equal to smoking) and an annual cost to society of £7.4 billion.
- Seven in ten disabled people want to be more active, representing a huge and ‘untapped’ market. Six in ten (64 per cent) of disabled people would prefer to take part in sport and physical activity with a mix of disabled and non-disabled people. (Source: EFDS lifestyle report 2013).
List of Get Out, Get Active locations:
England
- Bradford
- Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Rochdale, Greater Manchester
- Wigan, Greater Manchester
- Margate, Kent
- East Lindsey, Lincolnshire
- Lambeth, London
- Wandsworth, London
- Nottingham
- Stoke-on- Trent
Northern Ireland
- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon
- Derry City and Strabane
Scotland
- Fife
- Grampians (covering Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire Council and Moray Council)
- Forth Valley (covering Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling council areas)
Wales
- Pembrokeshire
- Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Wrexham
Consortium partners: English Federation of Disability Sport, Disability Sport Wales, Scottish Disability Sport, Disability Sport N.I and Volunteering Matters
National Delivery Partners: Sporting Equals, Disability Rights UK, Women in Sport, StreetGames, Parkrun, England Athletics, Youth Sport Trust, Amateur Swimming Association, Age UK, Play England
English local partners: Bradford Disability Sport and Leisure, City of Stoke on Trent, Greater Sport, Kent County Council, Kent Sport, Lincolnshire Sport, London Sport and Nottingham City Council.
Spirit of 2012
Spirit of 2012 is an independent trust, established with a £47m endowment from the Big Lottery Fund. We fund projects that empower people to get out, be involved and feel better. We fund partners that provide opportunities in sports, physical activity, arts and culture, volunteering and social action. http://www.spiritof2012trust.org.uk/
