Swim England Youth Advisory Panel part of exciting new multi-sport project

On International Youth Day, the Swim England Youth Advisory Panel has explained its latest project alongside two other significant National Governing Bodies (NGBs).

The panel is currently working on a multi-sport project in collaboration with England Netball and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

This new project has been created by the three sports, which are at different stages in the Youth Voice journey – and it has led to the creation of a Cross-Sport Leadership Team, which consists of young leaders from the sports.

The team will work collectively on projects to present to senior staff and governance of the three NGBs.

Their current focus is to put forward recommendations to promote and encourage the participation in governance and volunteering, as well as empowering young leaders.

The team has identified four key sites for focus and development:

• Establishing Youth Panels in Tennis and Netball
• Encouragement of current volunteers
• Framework for growth of volunteering
• Mapping a tailored pathway for volunteers throughout their journey.

Project will be a huge success

Chair of the Swim England Youth Advisory Panel, Ben Gregory, said: “This is a fantastic project as it shows a real commitment to not only supporting young volunteers but also allowing them to create their own paths within sport.

“The key focuses identified allow for the development of new and existing volunteers whilst ensuring that they have access to resources designed to remove potential stumbling blocks.

“The members of the Cross-Sport Leadership Team are all enthusiastic young people with a real passion for volunteering within their respective sports.

“The attitude of the team is fantastic and I am excited to see where we can take this project. The early ideas have real promise and if we can execute these, the project will be a huge success.

“It’s nice to get an insight into how other NGBs operate and how they work with volunteers so that we can help others in our sport.”

Earlier this year, the youth panel were finalists at the Sport and Recreation Alliance Awards for Volunteering and the future continues to look bright with more exciting projects on the horizon.