Youth Sport Trust promotional image for National School Sport Week 2020National School Sport Week at Home: Goalball UK backs campaign to ensure no child misses out!

Goalball UK is preparing to join the Youth Sport Trust and Sky Sports to help young people and families up and down the country engage in a week of virtual sporting challenges.

With young people set to miss out on a school sport day this summer, the Youth Sport Trust’s annual National School Sport Week campaign is this year being opened up to parents and families and reinvented as National School Sport Week at Home.

Taking place from 20 to 26 June, the UK-wide campaign will give families, communities, schools and sports clubs the chance to capture the enjoyment, competition and camaraderie they have been missing out on during weeks of school closures and social distancing.

Goalball UK will be taking part in the week by sharing a range of content on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) designed to inspire young people to keep active throughout the current lockdown period.

Goalball UK CEO, Mark Winder, said: “We are very excited for National School Sport Week at Home. Getting young people active and harnessing the social power of sport is at the heart of our organisation.

“Over the past few years at Goalball UK we have introducing hundreds of schools and thousands of visually impaired and sighted young people across the country to our sport. While it is disappointing that this programme has been paused while these necessary measures are in place, this week is a fantastic opportunity to use our experience from this work to engage with young people virtually at home.

“Our social media channels will host a number of exciting goalball themed challenges, exercises and content that we hope the goalball family and the wider community will give a go and enjoy.”

In previous years National School Sport Week has seen thousands of schools join in a week-long celebration of school sport and Physical Education, and their important role enhancing young people’s wellbeing.

This year, Sky Sports has teamed up with the Youth Sport Trust to supercharge the campaign, helping to inspire families across the country to take part. This builds on a long-term relationship between the broadcaster and charity.

Youth Sport Trust Chief Executive Ali Oliver said:

“The Youth Sport Trust is thrilled to see supporters like Goalball UK backing National School Sport Week at Home to ensure no child misses out on their school sports day this summer.

“Right now, young people are missing their friends and missing the sense of connection they get through sport. Sport has such a crucial role to play in promoting young people’s wellbeing and this has never been more apparent than it is now.

After weeks of isolation we hope that YST National School Sport Week at Home 2020 can help bring families, communities, schools and sports clubs back together.”

Anyone can register to take part and will receive videos and activity cards to help them plan a series of challenges across the week for their families, neighbours, friends or colleagues.

For more information and to sign up to take part in this summer’s National School Sport Week at Home CLICK HERE.