UK to host NBA game in 2010?

Following the third staging of an annual exhibition game at The O2 Arena, the NBA has revealed that it could stage a competitive regular-season match in London from as early as next season.

The O2 Arena in Docklands hosted a pre-season match earlier this month between Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz and NBA chiefs want to use the venue again but this time for a competitive fixture.

More fun and games

Anthony Dowson’s 2005 book, Fun and Games, was a big hit with teachers, coaches and all activity leaders who work with children.

In this new book he continues to promote the premise of the original, that children’s physical activity games need to be fun and creative as well as developmentally sound.

But it doesn’t stop there. For each of the 100 new games there is a pop-out box that highlights the skills and fitness components the game will help develop.

The games are easy to set up, require minimal equipment and come with suggestions for adapting the games to suit not only the size of the group but also its skill level.

By developing the technical skills they need in order to succeed in sports, children will also develop greater self-confidence and enjoy their sport participation all the more.

Price £32.00 I €35.20
Read more >>

Take time for Take Six

Mini-baskeball is a school sport played by millions of primary PE pupils across the world and was introduced internationally in 1964 with the objective of introducing young people to the world of sport in a spirit of friendship and understanding.

Take Six Mini-Basketball provides a simplified game format that can be used in all primary schools and mini-basketball clubs. Unlike the 5 versus 5 on court basketball game, Take Six Mini-Basketball is a 3 a side game which allows children with different abilities to develop their skills and tactical awareness and is far more appropriate for most children.

Ball games ‘can keep bones healthy for 40 years’

Researchers claim playing ball games as a teenager can help keep bones healthy for more than 40 years. Weight-bearing exercise such as tennis, volleyball, basketball, handball and softball, as well as sprinting, strengthen bones into older age, according to the study on sport played between the ages of 12 and 18.

During these activities you are supporting your weight and your bones react to the forces exerted on them by becoming stronger.

Japanese researchers questioned 46 women aged 52 to 73 who had gone through the menopause, after which bone loss occurs naturally.
They were grouped according to whether they had done weight-bearing exercise as adolescents, non weight-bearing, including swimming, or none.

Team GB funding plans announced

Basketball, synchronised swimming, taekwondo, boxing, archery and hockey are the big winners in UK Sport’s Olympic 2012 funding programme. All six have received sizeable increases in their budgets ahead of London, with basketball getting a huge 136% increase, up from £3.7m to £8.7m. Rowing is now Britain’s best funded Olympic sport, getting £27.5m of the £304m pot available. The big losers include shooting, table tennis, handball and fencing.

UK Sport insists the level of funding builds on the £265m that was provided ahead of the Beijing Games and enables Britain to target a top-four finish in the medals table in London. But its £550m budget is £50m below the £600m that had been pledged and has meant that some sports, like handball, have lost out. “We are gutted,” Paul Goodwin, general manager of British Handball, “I don’t know how we are going to afford our coaches.”

Take to the court with a mental edge

The best basketball players and coaches are known not only for their success in the sport but for the manner in which they manifest their knowledge and abilities in playing, coaching and teaching the game.

Players like Michael Jordan, Steve Nash and Diana Taurasi share a special grasp of what is needed in every game situation.

Teams coached by John Wooden, Phil Jackson, Pat Summitt and Mike Krzyzewski won many championships because of their coaches’ amazing ability to teach, motivate, discipline and unite players to perform to their potential both individually and as a group. In Court Sense, John Giannini highlights the qualities that make players and teams great and provides practical ways to improve any area that might be lacking.

The first half of the book covers all the basics a player must have in place, on and off the court, in order to excel.

The second half features the six Cs that are crucial to on-court performance:

• coachability
• communication
• cohesion
• capacity to lead
• competitiveness
• concentration

Giannini brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the subject as a former collegiate player and veteran coach who has earned a PhD in sport psychology. His insights and advice are combined with real-life examples and supported by stories shared by top coaches such as John Beilein, Tony Bennett, Tom Crean, Jamie Dixon, Steve Donahue, Joanne P. McCallie, Sean Miller, Oliver Purnell, Bo Ryan, Tubby Smith, Sharon Versyp and Jay Wright.

Playing like a winner first requires preparing like one. Use Court Sense to your advantage and you’ll be one step closer to cutting down the nets.

Court Sense
John Giannini
ISBN: 978 0 7360 4423 3
PRICE: £13.99 (18.20 Euros)

Find out more

UKPE News November 2008

 

Dear Colleague,

Welcome to the November issue of the UKPE newsletter!

Although the Winter is almost upon us and the weather is wet and miserable it is still a great time of the year for all manner of sporting activities, both indoors and out.

Thanks to an improvement in indoor sporting facilities over the past two decades, traditional winter sports such as football, rugby and skiing are no longer the only options available.

So when the pitches are frozen or waterlogged, why not try an alternative sport indoors?

A trawl through the Resources Section of the UKPE website reveals an enormous range of books on a wide variety of games and sports that you could introduce to your pupils.

As you are aware, not all children are keen on sport and the prospect of shivering on some windswept playing field must be a far from appealing prospect for many.

For them the intoduction of a new sport or game, where everyone starts at the same level, could be just the opportunity they need to become more actively involved.

In the UKPE Newsletter this month…
	Product of the month… The Teenage Obesity Timebomb Exercise and Diet the Key to Healthy Children Not every child loves sport Popular Teaching Guide Goes into 3rd Edition Who Says It’s Not Cricket? Coaching Basketball’s winning moves Dates for Your Diary

Product of the month…

You can find many books that build the motor skills that children need to succeed in a variety of physical activities and sports. But not many books open their eyes to the cultures and traditions of other countries, providing them with a greater appreciation for and understanding of the world around them at the same time.International Games: Building Skills Through Multicultural Play features 65 games from 32 countries. The games build players’ physical skills while increasing their cultural awareness. They focus on the similarities between people no matter where they come from.The games make teaching simple and effective. Most require little in the way of equipment and in many cases where equipment is needed, it can be made at little cost. Each game Is presented in an easy-to-use format Includes interesting information on the origin of the game Is clearly illustrated, showing pertinent parts of the game International Games is ideal for either a physical education class or for an interdisciplinary multicultural unit when taught in conjunction with other subjects, such as citizenship, PSHCE or geography. To facilitate its use as an interdisciplinary tool, the book includes end-of-unit quizzes. The book can be used to work progressively by skill or alternatively to teach the games on a regional basis. The book includes a game finder so you can easily find the game you want whether you teach by skill or by region. Activities within the book are arranged so that each one builds on skills learned in the previous one. However you choose to use the games in this book, International Games provides a wealth of ideas for teaching children about the world while they build their motor skills. Price: £10.50 (14.20 Euros) Read more about the book

The Teenage Obesity Timebomb

In the past 20 years, the number of children who have a BMI of more than 30 and who are thus considered to be clinically obese has tripled. In real terms, that translates to one in ten six-year-olds and one in six 15-year-olds. Add in those who are overweight (with a BMI of 25 to 30) and it means that a third of British secondary school children weigh more than they should. Unsurprisingly, figures complied by the International Association for the Study of Obesity, from government and scientific studies earlier this year, showed teenagers here are among the fattest in Europe: English boys are ranked sixth, girls fourth. In the long-term, the obese will suffer severe ill- health, their life expectancy shortened by nine years on average. Today, the annual cost to the NHS of treating obesity-related illness stands at almost £3 billion. But if current trends continue, that figure will hit £50billion by the year 2050. Put simply, today’s teenagers are at a real risk of dying at a younger age than their parents. Given such warnings, it is hardly surprising that politicians are waking up to the scale of the problem facing Britain. But what about the role of the individual in all this? Surely they have a responsibility for their own health? There is a growing belief that the buck lies with them and the family unit. Forget the softly-softly approach currently being employed (the Department of Health recently ruled that the word obese should be avoided in its literature as it was ’stigmatising’), some believe the time for tough talking has arrived. The philosophy behind this approach was highlighted recently in a speech given by Andrew Lansley, the Conservative spokesman on health. In it he said that excusing obesity by blaming genetics and the environment offered people too easy an excuse for their condition. Mr Lansley said that a secure background, loving parents, a caring family, good friends, a close community and a supportive school was key to helping youngsters with their self-esteem. ‘Every child needs as many of these as we can possibly give them. You can get on without one or two of these, but it’s very hard to do so without any.’ Source: Daily Mail Read the full article

 

Exercise and Diet the Key to Healthy Children

To add to the problem of obese teenagers, those same children face greater risks of developing type 2 diabetes, elevated cholesterol levels and heart disease. They’re also more likely to experience depression, anxiety, social isolation and decreased attendance at school. In order to combat this problem, many schools are turning to co-ordinated school health models to develop healthier students and that’s precisely where Physical Activity and Nutrition for Health comes in. This combined book and CD-ROM package will help promote fitness and nutrition among students and staff and its nutrition services tools will help garner support from parents and community members to enhance student success. The lessons are easy to understand and ready to go. In integrating fitness and nutrition concepts as part of a healthy lifestyle, the lessons will help students improve in all components of health-related fitness from the outset, while establishing healthy behaviours for the rest of their lives. Physical Activity and Nutrition for Health will help you plan and implement physical education and nutrition education programmes that significantly improve health and reinforce standards in health, physical education, mathematics and science. PRICE: £21.00 (28.35 Euros) Read more about this book

Not every child loves sport

Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary, has recently joined Gordon Brown in calling for more competitive school sports, and pledged to spend £3m on promoting inter-school leagues. But these ministers are pushing on an open door. School team sports have been growing in popularity for a while now, and we are a long way from the days when even egg-and-spoon races were banned lest any child should feel a loser. More than four million pupils now play competitive school sport, and schools routinely offer a wide choice of games and activities. However, school sports policies, like most things in education, swing too wildly from one pole to another. With the Olympics coming up, the emphasis is all on the confidence and fitness that playing to win tends to encourage. But schools must also remember those – very many – pupils who actually hate team games. If charging up and down a netball court or hockey pitch is not something a child is good at, it is vital that they and others like them, are encouraged to exercise through more appealing programmes of dance, aerobics, circuits or even just plain power-walking. Competitive team sports can build a powerful school ethos that is great for those on the inside, but needs careful management if it is not to tip over into an elitist PE culture. As games teachers can all too easily become caught up in this themselves, it is something that a school’s head teacher needs to keep an eye on and that parents should speak up about if they see it developing. Source: The Independent Read the full article

Popular Teaching Guide Goes into 3rd Edition

In this fully updated edition, George Graham, PhD, presents a concise, practical, user-friendly view of what it takes to become a teacher of children’s physical education. The book is contemporary and easy to apply in real-world teaching situations. Dr. Graham knows children – and certainly knows the challenges of teaching them. Teaching Children Physical Education, Third Edition, is valuable to both aspiring and veteran teachers alike. All readers will learn the skills and techniques that successful teachers use to make their classes vibrant, fun and developmentally appropriate.   The author, a university professor and school PE instructor, deftly weaves research-based information with first hand experience in a conversational tone. The result is an easy-to-read book rich with practical advice based on what really works in today’s gymnasiums and playgrounds. Bound into every copy of the book is a DVD featuring video clips showing teachers in real-life situations as well as easy-to-print worksheets from the book. The video clips illustrate key techniques and strategies from the book. Those techniques and strategies include how to: Motivate children to practice Build positive feelings Minimize off-task behaviour and discipline problems Create an atmosphere of learning Maximize learning Develop lesson content Use a problem-solving approach Observe and analyse Provide feedback Assess children’s and your own progress Supplementary Instructional Materials This new edition is also backed by easily downloadable ancillaries for course instructors, including an instructor guide and test and presentation packages. All ancillaries will be FREE to course adopters and can be found at: http://www.humankinetics.com/T eachingChildrenPhysicalEducation/ Price: £27.50 (37.15 Euros) Read more about the book

Who Says It’s Not Cricket?

The Phrase “It’s not cricket” is reverberating again around state school classrooms. Good old-fashioned cricketing values have prompted an improvement in behaviour in schools, according to the evaluation of a project to promote the sport in schools. The “Chance to Shine” scheme, designed to promote cricket in state schools by sending in club coaches to teach the game, has had a spin off beyond PE lessons. According to researchers at Loughborough University, schools which have taken part in the scheme report improved behaviour in school generally as a result of participating in it. The organisers of “Chance to Shine” are in no doubt that the club coaches who supervise cricket sessions in state schools have instilled the traditional values of the game in the pupils. “With cricket there is very much a code of conduct and code of behaviour such as clapping if somebody gets a six even with the other side,” said one teacher involved in the scheme. “It brings in very positive conduct and a restrained way of behaving compared to other sports that are usually quite negative – such as football where the pupils get easily upset or argue over decisions. With cricket, it is very much gentlemanly conduct.” The evaluation also says it has helped with the integration of different ethnic groups whose first language is not English. “A lot of our children have academic difficulties and we do find in sporting activities they may have a hidden talent,” one school told researchers. “A lot of our Bengali children may have English as an additional language but if you get them on a cricket pitch they are up there with their peers or even ahead … It gives them a sense of self worth that they are good at something which certainly helps raise their self-esteem.” The report says it has also helped cut truancy amongst disaffected pupils – with one school organising after-school cricket sessions for boys who had played truant in the past. “The teacher provided these sessions as a reward for good behaviour and attendance in school,” it says. At present the scheme is operating in 1,200 state schools. The Cricket Foundation, which runs the scheme, aims to extend it to 5,200 primary and 1,500 secondary schools by 2015. Source: The Independent Read the full article Coaching Youth Cricket This popular title gives you the tools you need to become a successful coach, even in your first season. This complete guide combines the basics of coaching and cricket in one concise resource. It is essential reading for non-specialists who wish to teach the fundamentals to 6- to 14-year-olds. Price: £9.99 (13.50 Euros) Read more about this book

Coaching Basketball’s winning moves

As a Basketball Coach of some experience have you ever wondered what it is that sets some professional teams and players above the rest? Have you watched how the likes of The Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash shines in running the break, and wondered how his teammates know where to go to get open to receive his passes? You recognise that Orlando’s Dwight Howard is a tremendous talent in the post, but have you thought how has he improved and added new dimensions to his game? Or how do you think that Utah’s Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer run the screen-and-roll as smoothly as Jazz legends John Stockton and Karl Malone did years before? Well the answer is quite simply down to just one thing – Coaching. Even in a league loaded with superior athletic talent, the teaching, tactical manoeuvres, and strategies provided by NBA coaches are second to none. As younger, sometimes less mature and less experienced players from all over the world have entered the NBA, those coaching skills are more diverse and better honed than ever before. Now NBA Coaches Playbook takes you into the practice sessions and sideline huddles with detailed Xs and Os and more from the game’s best at maximizing performance on the court. Let the likes of Phil Jackson, Mike D’Antoni, Avery Johnson, Stan Van Gundy, George Karl, Eddie Jordan, Mike Dunleavy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and many other Head and Assistant Coaches provide you with new insights to benefit your own team and individual players. The Editor, Giorgio Gandolfi is well known throughout Europe having served as a European consultant for the NBCA and as a member of the Italian Basketball Federation Coaches Association since 1974. NBA Coaches Playbook is packed full of the kind of expert advice, hints and plays necessary to turn losing teams into winners and winning teams into unbeatables. But don’t just tale our word for it – see what the experts say about NBA Coaches Playbook “NBA Coaches Playbook is exceptional! It covers every facet of basketball, from individual and team drills to strategy and coaching philosophy. I recommend it to basketball coaches at all levels.” Steve Smith Head Basketball Coach, Oak Hill Academy “The basketball knowledge and experience available in this book are outstanding! You’ll use this fundamental basketball information throughout the season, year after year.” Van Chancellor Women’s Basketball Head Coach, Louisiana State University “Technical instruction, practice tips, drills, offensive attacks, special plays and defensive tactics, all from great basketball minds that know what does and doesn’t work. NBA Coaches’ Playbook is a must-have in any serious coach’s library.” Rick Pitino Men’s Basketball Head Coach, University of Louisville Price £12.99 (17.55 Euros) Read more about this book

Dates for Your Diary

International Coaching Conference Expert coaches – Expert Systems 18th – 20th November Twickenham Stadium, LondonAimed at coaches working at the highest level in sport and system builders, working within components of the coaching system. A mixture of keynote speakers and workshops, including the formation of working groups, will make up the programme with plenty of opportunities to network with international colleagues and delegates from around the UK to share best practice and inform latest thinking.Further Information Physical Education Conference Inclusion 21st November Lilleshall National Sports Centre, Newport, Shropshire The Conference takes as its theme ‘Inclusion’ and is open to Headteachers, PE Subject Leaders and Teachers from Primary and Secondary phase schools. For further information contact: eileen.hail@shropshire-cc.gov.uk tenniscoachUK Annual Conference Coaching in the Era of the Modern Game 24th – 25th November Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre The schedule for this year’s Annual Conference has a total of eight training sessions over the two days, plus keynote speaker Brett Hobden and sessions with Steve Green and Mike Walker. Further Information

All prices in this email are valid until 30/04/09 and include VAT where applicable. Postage & Packing within UK – add £2.75 for first item and 75p per additional item. Rest of Europe – add £4 (6 Euros) for first item and £1.50 (2.25 Euros) for each additional item.

 

UKPE News October 2008

 

Dear Colleague,

Welcome to the October issue of the UKPE newsletter!

The start of the new academic year is now thankfully behind you and with it those difficult first few days back when educating almost seems to take a back seat.

Now, free from such distractions as dealing with a fresh intake of pupils, adjusting to new timetables or even getting to know your way round a new school, it is now possible to once again concentrate fully on with the job at hand – teaching.

But for some of you it will have been the start of more than just a new term.

To those newly qualified teachers just starting out, Human Kinetics extends a warm welcome to what we hope will prove to be a long, rewarding, enjoyable and above all, truly satisfying career.

In the UKPE Newsletter this month…
	Product of the month… Well you did volunteer Tennis Coaching Course now on DVD Study shows health related exercise in secondary schools is overlooked UK Sport chair awarded peerage BBC Sports Unsung Hero 2008 School and Sport Partnerships’ Conference Online Football Coaching from Sport IQ Dates for your diary

Product of the month…

Games for Motor Learning contains details of 110 enjoyable games, each one of which has been field-tested for over 10 years by experienced teacher and coach Ron Dienstmann. These games integrate the ’schema theory’ of discrete motor skill learning, co-operative learning and brain research on emotions and learning, into a unified teaching concept. In short you get a range of games that are so much fun that pupils don’t even get so much as a hint that they are actually learning and developing the motor skills essential to their future lives. While students are having a ball playing these games, they will unwittingly be improving their balance, manipulative, locomotor and social skills at the same time. With 110 to choose from it is easy to find games suitable for your situation and incorporate them into your curriculum. Each one engages childrens’ minds, keeps them active and moving and can be used at various skill and age levels. Guided and shaped by research in multiple areas that affect this development, these games will help students develop motor learning as well as cooperative and social skills. While pupils are busy playing, Games for Motor Learning will help them develop motor skills based around a sound theoretical model. Children might not care about the theory, but their laughter and excitement in playing the games will parallel their skill development. That makes Games for Motor Learning a win-win proposition for students and teachers alike. Price: £11.00 (14.85 Euros) Read more about the book

Well you did volunteer

So you volunteered to coach the basketball team, but are you really ready? How will you teach the fundamental skills, run effective practices and harness the energy of your young team? Fear not: Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Basketball has the answers. In Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Basketball, coaches Keith Miniscalco and Greg Kot share their vast experience and provide advice you can rely on from first practice to final game. From evaluating players’ skills and establishing realistic goals to in-game coaching tips, it’s all here – the drills, the plays and above all, the fun. This new publication will help even the most inexperienced coach develop their team’s dribbling, passing, shooting and rebounding skills by utilising its collection of the game’s best youth drills. For plays and sets that young teams can actually run, consult the Survival Guide’s offensive and defensive playbook, or to get the most out of every practice, follow the ready-to-use practice plans. Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Basketball has everything you need for a rewarding and productive season. PRICE: £8.99 ( 12.15 Euros) Read more about the book

Tennis Coaching Course now on DVD

Originally released on video, this hugely popular series of tennis coaching films by leading US coach, Nick Bollettieri is now available on DVD. Nick Bollettieri has coached many of the Tennis World’s leading players including Maria Sharapova, Venus and Serena Williams, Tommy Haas, Jelena Jankovic, Andre Agassi, Martina Hingis, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, Anna Kournikova, Marcelo Rios and Boris Becker. His teaching techniques and effective coaching methods have formed the foundation for these DVDs, allowing anyone to access his respected coaching knowledge. From tactics to practice and forehands to drop shots, these DVDs bring Bollettieri’s teaching to life. The ten DVD series is divided into two main areas. ‘Shot Selection’ Consists of 6 DVDs and covers the techniques necessary to develop: A Killer Forehand A ‘Bollistic’ Backhand A Sonic Service Tenacious Net Play Deadly Drop Shots and Lobs ‘Game Development’ Consists of 4 DVDs and covers: Shot Selection and Court Positioning Building Points and Tactics Competitive Club Doubles Practice With Purpose  These superbly produced DVDs offer what is possibly the nearest thing to a one-to-one personal coaching session with Bollettieri with the advantage of being able to repeat the experience at the touch of a button whenever you want . Find out more

Study shows health related exercise in secondary schools is overlooked

A number of PE teachers do not appear to be effectively promoting health and physical activity in secondary schools, according to a Loughborough University study. Researchers in the University’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences (SSES) have discovered that despite being a compulsory part of the curriculum, health related exercise (HRE) is often marginalised or poorly delivered in many secondary schools across England. HRE was introduced as a statutory component of the National Curriculum in 1992 and is designed to encourage a healthy lifestyle among young people through a variety of sports and physical activities. Researchers surveyed 112 secondary school PE teachers from different local authorities and conducted additional detailed interviews with 12 of the respondents. They found that, whilst most teachers appreciate the importance of HRE, many receive inadequate training in this area, which can lead to poor delivery and coverage of HRE within the physical education curriculum. The study identified a lack of formal guidance on the delivery of HRE and confusion around what HRE constitutes. The research underlines the importance of engaging teachers in appropriate continuous professional development (CPD) so they have the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to help pupils improve their health. “The limited experiences that many teachers had of health related exercise in their initial teacher training may be a key contributor to the narrow views and limited understanding that many had,” said lead researcher Laura Ward. “Many PE teachers come from competitive sports backgrounds. A lack of further training in health related areas means teachers aren’t really aware of the full range of activities that can achieve the aims of HRE. “For a number of them health and life-long physical activity were areas which were absent from their CPD profiles and as such, they seem to be relying on their own personal philosophies to guide their practices. “Even the £18m National PE and School Sport CPD programme which contains modules for teachers on health-based physical education, appears to have limited impact. Of the teachers we surveyed, only 7% had accessed the national CPD programme, and less than half knew about it, which points to a lack of awareness of all training opportunities.” Miss Ward is presented her research at the annual British Educational Research Association at its annual conference in Edinburgh on Friday September 5th.

UK Sport chair awarded peerage

Sue Campbell CBE, Chair of UK Sport and Youth Sport Trust, has been appointed to the House of Lords and will serve as a Crossbench Peer. The accolade is in recognition of her major sporting contribution to the UK. Campbell has served sport with high distinction over several decades in a number of high profile and influential roles. A former netball and athletics international player and coach, she lectured at Loughborough University and was a sport development officer before spending 11 years as head of the National Coaching Foundation. She moved to become CEO of the Youth Sport Trust in 1995, becoming its Chair in 2005. She became Chair of UK Sport in 2003, initially in an interim position before being confirmed in post in 2005. John Steele, Chief Executive, UK Sport, said: “On behalf of everyone at UK Sport, I am delighted for Sue and congratulate her on her appointment to the Lords. After a lifetime of service, passionate commitment and huge achievement in sport, there is no one more deserving or better qualified than her to play such a new and important role. I am sure she will do a fantastic job and will be looking forward to many years as a cross-bencher representing what she believes in and furthering the role of sport in society.” Sue Campbell’s appointment was also welcomed by Peers from across the House of Lords. Lord Coe, Chair of London 2012, said: “Sue will be a wonderful addition to the House. I have seen Sue’s dedication to sport first hand in the 30 years I have known her, and I’m delighted that her outstanding achievements in the world of sport have been recognised in this way. She will be a great supporter and champion of the inspirational power of sport, and I know the whole House will benefit from her intimate understanding of sporting issues. “ Rt Hon Lord Kinnock, Chair of the British Council, said: “I am delighted that Sue’s vision and relentless focus on sport’s potential to change individuals’ lives in the UK and throughout the world continues to be recognised by her introduction to the House of Lords. Over the last few years we have worked together to improve community leadership and health outcomes for hundreds of thousands of young people and, in the run up to 2012, we will pursue the UK’s international sporting legacy by reaching 12 million young people through our joint programme International Inspiration.” Source: UK Sport

BBC Sports Unsung Hero 2008

Do you know someone in your school or area who goes an extra mile to change the lives of others through sport and deserves recognition? The BBC is once again inviting nominations for the nation’s Sports Unsung Hero Now in its sixth year, the award is given to a volunteer who has made a difference to their community through sport. You can nominate people who, on a voluntary basis, prepare facilities, roll the pitch, coach the juniors, run local sports leagues or work behind the scenes so that sport can be played and enjoyed throughout the UK. Fifteen local winners are chosen by each BBC English region as well as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They will then join a star-studded guest list at the Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on 14 December. The overall winner is then decided by a judging panel including representatives from the BBC’s Nations and Regions, plus previous Unsung Hero winners. Bursaries of up to £2,500 are also available to the winners of each regional award to help them with their work in sport. A local BBC panel of judges will choose a shortlist of regional nominees and the winner will be announced at a regional BBC Sports Awards event. Find out more

School and Sport Partnerships’ Conference

“Playing your Part in the Team” The conference this year will focus on the incredible team work it takes to provide PE and sport for young people. We will be exploring these essential team roles through the five themes of Curriculum; Leading, Volunteering and Coaching; School to Community; Competition and Infrastructure. The themes will be explored through keynote speeches, mini-keynotes, workshops and networking. Delegates will also have the opportunity to be updated on all Youth Sport Trust programmes and visit an exhibition featuring the latest innovations in PE and Sport. Exhibition Running alongside the two day conference is an exhibition and Human Kinetics will be in attendance on Stand 308 where you can see our latest titles. Our staff will also be able to answer any queries you may have and advise you of any forthcoming publications. In addition you will receive a substantial 25% discount on all purchases so we look forward to meeting as many of you as possible. The exhibition is a key focus for the conference with ample time allocated for delegates to move around the stands, which feature displays from NGB’s, national delivery partners and selected Business Honours Club members. Other areas included in the exhibition are the Gallery of Practice, PESSYP Area and UK School Games Competition Zone. For more information

Online Football Coaching from Sport IQ

Sport IQ Magazine has just launched a free soccer coaching magazine featuring animated drills and games for all ages. Issue one features Shooting with coaching ideas suitable for all age groups from six year olds up to adults. For more information

Dates for your diary

Inspiring Dreams: Creating Opportunities. Monday 1st – Tuesday 2nd December at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham Online registration is now open for the Special Schools PE and Sport Conference 2008 – Inspiring Dreams: Creating Opportunities. Find out more High Quality Physical Education and School Sport: effective approaches to inclusion. Lilleshall National Sports Centre, 21st November 2008 The conference will inform and provide opportunities to address issues of effective leadership for inclusion and personalisation as well as pedagogy and differentiation to challenge pupils appropriately. For more information please contact Eileen Hail, Conference Administrator on 01743 254567 or email: eileen.hail@shropshire.gov.uk

All prices in this email are valid until 30/04/09 and include VAT where applicable. Postage & Packing within UK – add £2.75 for first item and 75p per additional item. Rest of Europe – add £4 (6 Euros) for first item and £1.50 (2.25 Euros) for each additional item.   email: ukpe@hkeurope.com phone: +44 (0)113 2555665 web: http://www.ukpe.humankinetics.com