Olympic Gold Medallist Jessica Ennis an Ambassador of Sky Sports Living for Sport
Sky today announced that Olympic Gold Medallist Jessica Ennis has become an Ambassador of Sky Sports Living for Sport.
The UK-wide initiative uses professional athletes and sport skills to improve the lives of thousands of young people across the UK. The free initiative, which is open to all secondary schools, is run in partnership with the charity Youth Sport Trust.
As a national sporting hero, Jessica will be a crucial role model and inspiration to young people and schools that take part in Sky Sports Living for Sport. She will also champion the work of the 50 other professional athletes who use their life changing stories and sports skills to motivate students in schools to be more engaged, learn new skills, team work and achieve better grades.
Olympic Gold Medallist and Sky Sports Living for Sport Ambassador Jessica Ennis said: “I want to use the momentum we all gained from the Team GB’s performance at the Olympic Games to show that sport really can make a difference to young people’s lives in so many ways. Sport has the power to help build confidence, self-respect and improve behaviour. Sky Sports Living for Sport is using sport to do just that and that’s why I am really excited to have teamed up with them to get more schools all over the UK to join up.
Over the next few months I am looking forward to getting out there and engaging with lots of schools and young people to encourage them to give different sports a try – I can’t wait!”
This academic year, a third of all secondary schools in the UK will get involved in Sky Sports Living for Sport and since the initiative launched in 2003 over 50,000 young people have benefitted by using sport to improve their lives. The key areas of focus for the initiative are: attainment and achievement, health and wellbeing, self-esteem and encouraging pupils to reach their full potential. This has resulted in significant positive changes in the young people involved, including:
- 96% showing improvements in self-confidence
- 96% showing improvements in attitudes to learning
- 90% showing increases in health and wellbeing
- 51% pupils inspired to join a sports team
- 48% inspired to mentor another young person
Jessica joins Olympic gold medal winning sprinter, Darren Campbell MBE and an elite group of 50 past and current athletes from former BMX World Champion Mike Mullen to those who recently competed at London 2012 Olympic/Paralympic Games; Bronze Medal Winner Alex Danson a member of Team GB hockey team, Silver Medal Winner in the Paralympics in Archery, Mel Clarke Female Boxer Natasha Jonas, Captain of the England women’s Team GB Football Casey Stoney, diver, Tom Daley's Diving partner Peter Waterfield and Wheelchair Rugby Player Steve Brown.
On Saturday 15 December, Jessica will appear in an advert on Sky Sports with students who have taken part in the initiative. To watch Jessica in action and find out more about Sky Sports Living for Sport, please visit www.skysports.com/livingforsport
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Victoria Etaghene – Consumer PR Manager at Sky
0207 032 0675
NOTES TO EDITORS:
About Sky Sports Living for Sport
In 2003 we teamed up with the Youth Sport Trust to develop Sky Sports Living for Sport which uses sport stars and sport skills to improve the lives of thousands of young people in secondary schools across the UK.
Since then, over 2700 schools have joined Sky Sports Living for Sport forms part of Sky's wider commitment to the community through The Bigger Picture. To find out more about Sky’s The Bigger Picture initiatives visit: www.sky.com/thebiggerpicture
The Youth Sport Trust: Sport Changes Lives
Youth Sport Trust is passionate about helping all young people to achieve their full potential by delivering high quality physical education and sport.
Youth Sport Trust work to:
- give every child a sporting start in life through high quality PE and sport in primary schools.
- ensure all young people have a sporting chance by developing opportunities for those with special educational needs and disabilities.
- support all young people to achieve their sporting best in school and their personal best in life.
To find out more visit: www.youthsporttrust.org
