Golden girls aiming for a sportier Vale

 

Published 20 December 2011

 

As preparations for the London 2012 Games enter the home straight in the New Year, two teenage girls from Penarth will be working hard to ensure that the Olympics and Paralympics help to create a legacy of local youngsters having a life-long love of sport.

 

St Cyres student Rhoslyn Frugniet (left) and Stanwell pupil Danielle Lane (right) have been appointed by the Vale of Glamorgan Council as sporting ambassadors.

St Cyres student Rhoslyn Frugniet and Stanwell pupil Danielle Lane have been appointed by the Vale of Glamorgan Council as new ‘Gold Ambassadors’ to act as role models to their peers and they’ll be using the London 2012 Games as a catalyst to motivate others to take part in more school sport, get down their local leisure centre, join a sports club, or do whatever they can to lead a healthier lifestyle.

 

It’s all part of the national ‘Young Ambassadors’ initiative created by organisations including Sport Wales, Youth Sport Trust and Adidas, and supported locally by the Vale Council’s sports and play development team and education department.

 

Rhoslyn and Danielle, who are both year 13 pupils, were selected to join the ranks of the elite sporting ambassadors in Wales for the excellent example they have set by volunteering their time to help out with coaching and leading sports sessions.

 

They have shown excellent potential to be sports organisers and facilitators, and be able to speak to fellow pupils about their sporting needs and relay them to teachers and their schools’ 5x60 sports officers.

 

Both girls have embraced the challenge of encouraging their schoolmates to become more active, and will be giving presentations in school assemblies about the Young Ambassador Scheme in the New Year.

 

They will also be inviting students to apply to become ‘Adistars’ to support the Gold Ambassadors’ efforts to spread the sporty message. The new Adistars will join those who were enlisted last year and Rhoslyn and Danielle will then look to create ‘sports councils’ within their schools, giving pupils a voice to generate ideas for how their schools can get involved in Olympic-related activities.

 

The school sports councils will also explore ways of increasing participation in sport both in the run up to the London 2012 games and long after the sporting extravaganza has left these shores.

 

All Gold Ambassadors and Adistars in the Vale of Glamorgan are also signed up to the Vale Council’s own Young Sports Leaders programme, giving them additional training and qualifications to help them in their development as sports leaders and coaches in exchange for volunteering in their schools and local communities.

 

The Vale of Glamorgan’s only other Gold Ambassador is Jess Richards, a sixth former at Llantwit Major Comprehensive School who was recruited last year and along with former Cowbridge Comprehensive pupil Will Thomas set the standard for Rhoslyn and Danielle to follow.

 

Jess is a huge advocate for the Young Ambassadors initiative, crediting her role as a Gold Ambassador for teaching her a range of new skills, increasing her confidence and being one of the main reasons why she has since been made head girl at Llantwit Major Comprehensive School.

 

“I cannot emphasise how much my self-esteem has increased through this role,” Jess said, adding: “I never would have thought I would feel comfortable delivering a presentation and speaking publicly, but being a Gold Ambassador has given me the confidence to go for every opportunity available to me.

 

“To be a representative involved with the Olympics is quite extraordinary. I feel part of something special, and for the effort that I have put in I have been equally rewarded. It makes me feel so happy to see others develop and progress through sport.”

 

Commending the scheme, the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure and Tourism Cllr Anthony Ernest said: “Both Rhoslyn and Danielle clearly have bounds of enthusiasm for sport and I hope that this rubs off on their fellow pupils. The Young Ambassadors scheme is one of the initiatives set up to help ensure that the London 2012 Games make an excellent positive impact on young people in Great Britain. In addition to encouraging sport and physical activity, the Young Ambassador scheme is also helping to recruit our sports leaders of the future and is teaching them vital life skills.”