London Sport’s ambition is to make London the most active city in the world. It is not about physical activity for physical activity’s sake – it is about London continuing to grow and prosper, through the health of its people.
To achieve its goals, London Sport has a two-pronged philosophy - firstly, to get those who are currently inactive in the capital to become more active; and, secondly, to give young people a physical activity habit for life.
Rudro Sen, Project Manager for Levelling the Playing Field, said: “We look forward to partnering with London Sport to make it the most active city in the world! With this Levelling the Playing Field partnership, we will provide opportunities to young people from minority backgrounds in London to become more active.”
Gary Palmer, a Special Advisor with the organisation, has a passion for using sport and physical activity for the development of others and has an outstanding track record in the sector and believes in developing and maintaining high quality provision.
Gary was kind enough to discuss London Sport’s involvement with the Levelling the Playing Field project:
LtPF: Why are you involved with Levelling the Playing Field?
GP: “London Sport is committed to ensuring that all young Londoners have the best opportunity to form a positive physical activity habit for life, irrespective of their circumstances, gender, ethnicity or disability.
“Levelling the Playing Field supports us in this mission by using participation in sport and physical activity as a way of tackling both the over-representation of BAME young people in the criminal justice system, and their under-representation within physical activity.
“The two organisations have similar core beliefs, and that is why we are delighted to be working with LtPF as a local strategic partner.”
LtPF: What are some of the current problems which need to be addressed?
GP: “Covid-19 has accentuated the inequalities that exist across London.
“A person’s gender, affluence, ethnicity, disability and age all have a huge impact on a person’s likelihood to be active, and the demographic groups and audiences we were focusing on prior to the pandemic are finding it harder than ever to be active.”
LtPF: What can be done to attack and mitigate these problems?
GP: “We need to work together to address the problems, that is why working with organisations such as Levelling the Playing Field is so important.
“We must engage with the young people themselves so that they are part of the solution and allow them to be part of our programme’s design.
“It’s important to find local solutions and local support networks to be there for the young people when they need us most.”
LtPF: What work you have done so far that you believe will help you in this project?
GP: “London Sport has been involved in some fantastic work helping to encourage more young people to be more active, more often.
“Whether in school, at home or in the community the message is always the same: sport and physical activity can add so much value to a person’s life physically, socially, emotionally and mentally.
“For us it is all about young Londoners feeling happier, healthier and more valued by society.
“In one such project we are working in partnership with London Youth and a number of community focused youth organisations (CFYO) across eight London Boroughs.
“This project is creating a series of local activity programmes for young people in their community who are less likely to be active (lower socio-economic groups, Black, Asian minority ethnic communities, young women and disabled young people), co-designed by young people, that encourage young people to remain active and enjoy the health benefits associated with leading an active lifestyle.”
LtPF: What are your goals when it comes to your involvement with the LtPF project?
GP: “For me it's about the young people. Helping them to turn their lives around.
“Hearing the stories of where they’ve come from and where they are now and seeing the difference this project has had on their lives and hoping that because of this, sport and physical activity will remain in their lives which is one of the ultimate goals for our organisation.”