West Sussex organisation People’s Partnership1 has teamed up with national charity Activity Alliance2 and will sponsor the National Junior Athletics Championships 2023.
The annual event will take place in Coventry, West Midlands, on 1-2 July with more than 200 disabled junior athletes expected to compete.
For decades this Championships has led the way in finding future stars. This new partnership with one of the UK’s biggest workplace pension providers, means more talented juniors can take part in a full track and field programme.
Seven-time Paralympic gold medallist Hannah Cockcroft, triple Paralympic silver medallist Kare Adenegan and triple Paralympic gold medallist Aled Davies all started their careers at the junior competition.
The support of the Crawley-based, not-for-profit People’s Partnership will ensure Activity Alliance can deliver a fantastic two-day event, where many young disabled people from across the country can compete.
Patrick Heath-Lay, Chief Executive of People’s Partnership, which provides The People’s Pension to more than six million people across the UK, said:
“As an organisation that was founded for social good and is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion, we are incredibly proud to be sponsoring the National Junior Athletics Championships. The games have a long and rich history of both empowering young athletes to fulfil their potential as well as unearthing sporting stars of tomorrow and this resonates strongly with our purpose and values as a company to make a difference for people. We hope our involvement will help this success to continue.”
Adam Blaze, Activity Alliance Chief Executive said:
“We are delighted to welcome People’s Partnership as the new headline sponsors for this year’s Championships. We hear time and time again how important this Championships is for the young athletes, for competition experience, to meet their peers from other regions and most of all, what fun it is too! We also know from their coaches, teachers, and parents how important this type of event is and how vital it is to keep it going every year. We will again be supported by a passionate Lions Club International volunteer team.
“The event and its impact epitomise Activity Alliance’s vision to see fairness for disabled people in sport and activity. Therefore, we are so thankful for the support of People’s Partnership for the first time at such an important annual event.”
The organisers ensure that there is something for juniors with every impairment to take part in. The athletes compete for medals and top trophies, in a central top class sporting venue. Everyone is welcome to enter, from beginners to established athletes, starting from under 9 to 20 years old.
Athletes like Michael Jenkins, from Haverfordwest, who won three gold medals at last year’s event:
“This event is important as it helps everybody be included in competitions. It gives lots of disabled people a chance to compete and have fun.”
To find out more or to enter the event, please contact Jannine Walker, National Events Manager, jannine@activityalliance.org.uk
More on Activity Alliance, www.activityalliance.org.uk.
Notes for editors:
- People’s Partnership is a profit-for-people organisation. It provides The People’s Pension, a leading workplace pension scheme, serving more than six million pension savers across the UK and manages £20bn in assets. As a business without shareholders, it reinvests its profits with the aim to help customers and achieve better financial outcomes for everyone.
- About Activity Alliance
The national charity and leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity. We work with partners and members to reduce the fairness gap between disabled and non-disabled people’s activity levels. Established in September 1998, Activity Alliance’s vision is fairness for disabled people in sport and activity.
Among our work and successes, we:
- Work towards two core goals to change attitudes towards disabled people and embed inclusive practices in sport and activity.
- Increase awareness of the barriers disabled people face and the learning from organisations through robust research, insight and evaluation.
- Develop and deliver programmes to tackle inequalities such as Get Out Get Active and the Inclusive Activity Programme.
- Provide a team of Advisors across English regions. They improve connections with a range of partners in various sectors, so more disabled people can access more opportunities to be active. These partners include National Governing Bodies of sport, Active Partnerships and National Disability Sports Organisations. We also actively engage with leisure providers, Disabled People’s Organisations, local authorities and third sector organisations.
- Promote the importance and benefits from inclusive and accessible communications.
- Create opportunities for disabled people to take part in through an events programme.
- Act as consultants for a range of projects to embed our expertise, knowledge and experience.
- Fundraise to provide more opportunities through Activity Alliance and attracting additional funds to sport for disabled people.
- Activity Alliance receives funding from Sport England as a system partner.
- [SBF1]
Charity Registration Number: 1075180