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Fitness Manager Bev Whitney from Freedom Leisure Hailsham has been nominated for a national award for her contribution to the fitness industry.
 
Bev is one of six individuals shortlisted for the Future of Flame category, as part of the Fitness Industry Association’s annual Flame awards.  The Future Flame award rewards a person who has shown remarkable dedication and commitment.
 
Having made the shortlist, Bev is hoping Sussex residents will vote for her and help her bring home the award for Sussex.
 
Bev played a key part in transforming the life of one of her GP referral patients, Yvonne Connolly, who went from a wheelchair to walking the Great Wall of China. “Bev truly believes that exercise benefits everybody, whatever their age or ability,” said Yvonne.

To watch a video of Bev and register your vote, visit www.freedom-leisure.co.uk

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Wave Leisure has secured £50,000 of Olympic legacy funding from Sport England's Inspired Facilities Fund to redevelop its small multi-use studio in Seaford.

Work is due to start on the Downs Leisure centre extension on 20 June, following successful application for funds earlier this year. The new studio will feature a semi-sprung floor, mirrored wall for dance and exercise classes and additional storage.

The enlarged facility, designed by Stuart Radley Associates, will be of benefit to all sections of the community, with space for larger class sizes to meet demand and increased access for disability sports, particularly wheelchair users.

Sport England's Chair, Richard Lewis, said: "This investment will create a fantastic sporting legacy for Seaford.

"This fund has really hit the mark with sports clubs in the South East. It shows we're offering the legacy that people want for their local community."

The project is one of 350 local community sports groups who have been offered a total of £17.4 million in Olympic legacy funding through the Inspired Facilities Fund.

Every sports facility that receives funding will carry the London 2012 Inspire mark – celebrating the link to the Games.

The next round of Inspired Facilities Fund opens for applications on 23 July, a week before the start of the London Olympics. For more details, visit the Inspired Facilities website or call the Sport England Funding Line on 0845 8508 508

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Active Sussex is to add a premium service to its Coach Sussex Bursary, following the scheme's successful launch last year.

In addition to the standard bursary – which helps sports coaches become better qualified by meeting 75 per cent of the cost of their training – for its 2012 bursary Active Sussex will roll out a premium tier service across four sports: badminton, basketball, hockey and netball.

Premium bursaries will attract additional support, including a greater level of financial input, enhanced training and resources. Full details of the premium service will be announced in the next month, while applications for the standard bursary opened this week.

"The response to the first round of bursary funding last year was very encouraging, and proved what a fantastic opportunity the coach bursary is for both volunteer and paid coaches," said Anthony Statham, Active Sussex Coach Development Manager. "In the first round we had over 60 successful applicants from 12 different sports – 29 coaches at Level 1 and 32 at Level 2."

The standard Coach Sussex Bursary will fund 75 per cent of the cost of a training course, up to maximum of £150 for Level 1 and £200 for a Level 2 qualification. The scheme aims to provide financial support for 150 sports coaches over the next three years, as part of Sussex Legacy.

The bursary is open to coaches from any sport recognised by Sport England, the national organization for grassroots sports development.  A full list of sports recognized by Sport England is available on its website: http://www.sportengland.org/about_us/recognised_sports.aspx

Applications for the standard bursary are now open and are assessed on a case-by-case basis at the end of each month. To download an application from, FAQs and guidance notes, visit our funding page

For more details of the standard or premium bursary, contact Anthony Statham on 01273 644149 or astatham@activesussex.org

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Active Sussex has teamed up with Brighton & Hove's Healthy City Partnership to offer organisations in Sussex up to £500 seed money to start a healthy workplace scheme.

The fund gives businesses and organisations throughout Sussex the opportunity to trial programmes that improve the health and wellbeing of their staff.

"Our aim is to guide businesses through the process of creating a healthier workplace – and ultimately a healthier business," said Donna Imrie-Browne, who manages the grant scheme on behalf of Active Sussex.

In all 20 projects received grants in the last round of funding for a wide range of work-based activities, from yoga sessions to roller blade training.

Individual businesses can apply for funding up to a maximum of £500 to help run a scheme that meets the grant criteria. For more details, contact Donna Imrie on 07545 045 453 or Donna@active-solutions.co.uk

Guidance notes and an application form available for download under Useful Documents on our Active & Healthy Workplace page.

Closing date for completed applications: 8 June

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Brighton's Ben Quilter has had his place confirmed to compete for the ParalympicsGB judo team at London 2012. 

He was one of five judokai who were officially selected, along with 15 other members of the squad, on Wednesday 10 April.

Quilter said: "This is great news for me, even if a little expected. However, it is now official, and I am delighted to be a part of the team and cannot wait to get on the mat on 30 August."

As reigning European and World VI Judo Champion in the -60kg category, Quilter will be aiming to improve on his fifth place finish at the Beijing Games in 2008, with top honours on home soil a very real possibility.

"I have been training hard all year round and I do not expect any major changes to my programme at this late stage now that I have been officially selected. I will be focusing mainly on polishing off my techniques and making sure I am sharp on the day."

Quilter, 30, has been combining his preparation for London 2012 with studying for a masters degree in sport and exercise physiology at the University of Chichester.

Inspired to try judo? Look out for Active Sussex Sportivate Fighting Chance sessions, coming soon.

Watch interview with Ben at Sussex Sports Awards on Vimeo

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Victorious Wallands High Five netball squad

Wallands Primary School, Lewes, has secured its place at the Sussex School Games in July, representing South Downs Area in High Five Netball.

Wallands took two teams to the South Downs Area Finals in March, having gained both first and second place in the Lewes area competition. Six teams in total took part in the Area finals, held at The Eastbourne Academy.

High Five Netball is an adapted game for primary aged children in which players rotate into each position. Wallands won all of their matches, retaining the winner's trophy. Ocklynge Junior School, Eastbourne, gained second place.

Students from Lewes Priory School and Lewes Old Grammar School, who have recently completed their Young Umpires Award, officiated at the tournament.

Wallands Primary School team will now have the opportunity to attend the first Sussex School Games event on July 3 at K2 Crawley, where they will compete against the top teams from across the county.

The six teams from five schools took part were: Wallands Primary A and B teams,  Ocklynge Junior, Telscombe Community Primary, Blackboys Primary and Park Mead Primary.

Find out more about Sussex School Games

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Sport England has announced it will be investing £25m in further education sport, via its new Active Colleges initiative.

The funding will be used to create 150 full time sports development professionals working in the FE sector, called College Sport Makers, and an £8m 'activation fund' for revenue projects. Colleges can apply for awards of between £30,000 and £75,000 over three years.

Two pre-application workshops will take place to provide more detail about both funding streams in London on Friday 27 April, commencing 10:00am and 2:00pm. To attend either the morning or afternoon session, please email further.education@sportengland.org with the following details:

• your name
• organisation
• date of workshop
• time of workshop

For more information, visit the Sport England website or contact Katie Mitchell, Head of Higher and Further Education, on 020 7273 1653 or katie.mitchell@sportengland.org

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Active Sussex gold tier partner Freedom Leisure has launched a Talented Athlete Support Scheme, to provide 30 athletes with free access to its leisure centres.

Successful applicants will receive a year's membership giving free access to 28 centres in Sussex and six facilities in Kent and Surrey. The membership includes use of K2 Crawley, an official Olympic 2012 training venue with world class facilities.

Athletes wishing to apply must be aged between 14-25 (although applications from athletes outside this age range may be accepted in exceptional circumstances), hold a UK top ten ranking in a Sport England recognised sport and either live in a borough or district with a Freedom Leisure run facility or belong to a club based at a Freedom Leisure facility.

Applications for the Freedom Talented Athlete Support Scheme close on 23 April.

Read on and apply

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Active Sussex launched the first publication in its new Library of Sport series at the Sussex Coaching Fourm on 28 March.

Joint authors Anthony Statham, of Active Sussex, and Philippe Crisp of University of Chichester, presented a number of workshops and discussions drawn from the report, entitled Participation in Community Programmes.

The report that formed the basis of discussion, produced in conjunction with Active Sussex gold tier partner University of Chichester, started life as an academic research paper. "Our aim was to take heavy-duty academic research and make it applicable in a grassroots setting," said Anthony Statham. "With the addition of on-the-ground input from the coaching forum, we have brought together the two elements to produce what we hope is a useful research tool for coaches."

"The event was helpful to me as an NGB rep on a county and regional level," said Danny Williams, South East regional officer for the Angling Development Board. "I think a real cross-section of coaches would benefit from attending similar forums across the region."

Participation in Community Programmes is available to download as a PDF from our Knowledge Bank

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Shoreham's Gemma Spofforth has qualified and been selected to compete at London 2012, after she took gold in the 100m backstroke at the National Swimming Championships.

Her gold, which she secured in a time of 1:00:19 at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park, Stratford, means the former Littlehampton Swimming Club member will get the opportunity to better the fourth place position she took in the event at Beijing in 2008.

Less than a week earlier equestrian Tina Cook, who won the 2009 European Championship on her horse Miners Frolic, secured an Olympic qualification for horse and rider by coming third at the Goresbridge Go For Gold International Horse Trials in Ballindenisk, Ireland.

The Findon-based rider, 41, will still face the selectors in May, when the final decision will be made over which riders will compete for Team GB. Cook's team have been nursing Miners Frolic back to fitness after the horse suffered a bout of colitis last year that nearly killed him. Cook and Miners Frolic won bronze in individual and team events at Beijing in 2008.

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Bognor Rugby Football Club helped kick-start an exciting series of school sports qualifiers across the county when it played host to a year 8 rugby tournament in February.

Teams from four schools  – Bishop Luffa, St Philip Howard, The Regis School and Felpham Community College – took part in the School Games level 2 qualifier, with eventual winners St Philip Howard going forward to compete at the Sussex School Games finals event in July.

The Bognor tournament was organised by RFU Community Rugby Coach Mike Marsh and School Games Organiser Sean O'Connor, in conjunction with West Sussex West School Sport Partnership and Bognor Rugby Club.

The tournament provided an opportunity for young officials from The Regis School and Westergate Community School to test their skills, officiating matches throughout the day. This was the first time student umpires from the two schools had taken part in such a high profile event, and following a successful outing the young officials will now go on to take charge of matches at the county-wide Sussex School Games.

Sussex School Games takes place at K2 Crawley on 3 July. For more details visit the Sussex School Games page

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Sussex player Julian Cash, one of the rising stars of British tennis, secured victory in the U16 singles at the AEGON Winter National Tour Finals in Roehampton last month.

The 15-year-old West Sussex schoolboy took the title after he defeated Kyle Fellows 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in the final.

"It feels great to have played a tough final and I had some good wins through the weekend so I am really happy," he said after the tournament, which took place at the National Tennis Centre on 24-25 February.

Cash, who is supported by a 2012 SportsAid Award, trains at LTA high performance centre Virgin Active Brighton under the guidance of coach Rhys Hanger.

Currently ranked 671 in the Junior World ranking for U18s, Cash now has his sights set on Junior Wimbledon.

Read more on the Sussex LTA website

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Sports Coach UK's talent lead Stuart Armstrong hosted the breakfast

Leading coaches from across the South East gathered for the first talent coaches breakfast at K2 Crawley on 24 February.

Newly appointed Talent Lead at Sports Coach UK, Stuart Armstrong, introduced the session by raising a question mark over the tag 'talent'.

"Do we know what we mean when we say, 'talent' or identify a young person as 'talented'?" he asked.

From this starting point, the discussion that followed explored the age-old nature versus nurture debate in an even handed way, without polarising opinion.

Armstrong, a former full-time peformance coach for golf and hockey, drew out a number of hot topics for performance coaches, including a prescient debate on whether individuals should be selected on the basis of current form, or on potential.   

"The breakfast was an overwhelming success," said Active Sussex's Anthony Statham, who organised the event in partnership with sports coach UK. "We had a full house of high-level professionals, who all contributed to a fascinating discussion around contemporary coaching practice."

For those who missed this event, a repeat talent coaches breakfast will take place in Hampshire in the near future. For more details contact Anthony Statham on 01273 644149 or astatham@activesussex.org

To be kept up to date with all sports coaching developments in Sussex, including jobs, volunteering, funding and training opportunities, register with Coach Sussex

View all photos from the event on the Active Sussex Facebook page

Golf coach Neil Plimmer, Hampshire's coaching development manager CJ Lee and Nick Levett, the FA's National Development Manager for Youth Football

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Paul Cox of Worthing College said FE presented a great opportunity for sports engagement

Over 40 sports development delegates came together at the first Active Sussex Network meeting of 2012 for a series of briefings and discussions.

First on the agenda at the Triangle, Burgess Hill, was an FE perspective on engaging 16-24 year-olds in sport, presented by Paul Cox of Worthing College. Cox was keen to point out the advantages of working with FE colleges where, he said, a huge "captive audience for sport" was waiting.

"It's almost as simple as working out how to fit [sport] into their timetable," said Cox. "And be consistent. If you say you're running a session, make sure you run it – even if it snows."

Active Sussex trustee Rob Hardy followed with a discussion of sport for social change, based around his work with the London-based Nike-supported Sport For Social Change Network.

Diane Farmer of Football Foundation introduced the organisation's new online management system, UpShot, and Michelle Eldridge of Wealden District Council gave a local authority view on funding streams and advice.

"Our latest meeting showed just how vibrant and active the sports development network is in Sussex," said Active Sussex's Sally Harper. "The debates around engaging the 16-24 age group as well as the impact of localism and partnership working were extremely well received."

All the presentation materials from the event are available to download under Useful Documents on the Active Sussex Network page

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Sport Maker of the month Sasha Gendre, right, with AITC Apprenticeship Manager Matt Dorn

A young apprentice from Albion in the Community, who took up coaching after she injured her pelvis playing football, has won the first Active Sussex Sport Maker of the month competition.

Sasha Gendre, 18, received a £50 shopping voucher on completing the required 10 hours of volunteering, after she took part in the first ever Sport Makers workshop in Sussex last year. She was presented with her prize by Cllr Chris Dowling, Chair of East Sussex County Council, at a ceremony on 29 February.

Sport Makers is a national programme inspired by London 2012 to encourage more people to become involved in sport. As a successful Sport Maker Sasha will also have her name entered to win one of 2,000 pairs of tickets to the London 2012 Olympics this summer.

Sasha, from Southwick, joined the AITC apprenticeship scheme after she injured her pelvis playing for a local team in Hassocks. "I decided to take up coaching so I could teach others what I knew about the game," she said. "It's a great way for me to keep going in the sport and hopefully I can return to playing next season."

In the meantime, Sasha will continue to help out at Mile Oak Wanderers, where she completed her 10 hours of volunteering to become Sport Maker of the month. She coaches two of the youth teams – the girls under 10s and boys under 13s. "It's definitely a challenge working with different age groups," she said. "I really like working with younger children. I'm down there every Saturday now."

And what will she be spending the voucher on? "I was thinking putting it towards sports equipment for the kids I work with, but I'll be saving some of it to spend on myself, too."

Interested in becoming a Sport Maker? If you register, attend a workshop and complete 10 hours' sports volunteering by 20 May you too will be entered to win on of 2,000 pairs of tickets for the London 2012 Olympics. To register go to www.sportmakers.co.uk or email Roanna Simmons on rsimmons@activesussex.org for more details

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Former England rugby union international Alastair Hignell emphasised the need for a lasting Olympic legacy in his keynote speech at the Sussex Legacy programme launch on 29 February.

Hignell praised the work of the county sports partnership and the government's plan to create real opportunities for sport in Sussex and across the country after the 2012 Games. He said the country had drawn inspiration from previous high profile sporting events, particularly England's 2003 rugby World Cup victory.

"I'm glad to see we have learnt from the experience of the [rugby] World Cup. There was a very large increase in participation in the sport after England's win and this was in large part due to the development work that went on behind the scenes before and after New Zealand.

"The thinking about what happens after the Olympics this year in London has already taken place to ensure the games will be a participation event, and not simply a demonstration event."

Active Sussex chose the leap day, 29 February, to launch six strands of its sporting legacy plan for Sussex: Sportivate, Sport Makers, Sussex Sports Awards, School Games, Sussex Coaching Bursary and Active & Healthy Workplaces.

Sussex Legacy aims to capture the thrill of the London 2012 Games and increase the numbers of people taking part, coaching and running sport in Sussex. Introducing Sussex Legacy at the briefing at Sussex County Cricket Club, Active Sussex's Business Development Manager Geraldine Bloomfield said: "We hope to pass on the gift of a sporting habit for life through our programmes in Sussex and are proud to have Alastair support us here today." 

Hignell, who now lives in Brighton, had successful careers as a rugby union international, county cricket player and BBC commentator before retirement. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999 and was awarded a CBE for his sport and charity work in 2009. 

For more information about Sussex Legacy, visit the Active Sussex dedicated 2012 pages

View all the photos from the launch on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/activesussexcsp

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Runner up Scott Edwards congratulates David Hubbard, right, after the area final

David Hubbard has taken one step closer to regaining his national indoor bowls singles title.

In the area final at Adur Indoor Bowling Club in Southwick on 10 February, the 26 year-old from Lancing beat fellow Adur Club player Scott Edwards 21-13 to secure his place in the national finals.

Hubbard can now look forward to competing in the men's singles event in Nottingham later this month, where he hopes to reclaim his crown. In 2009 Hubbard became the youngest player ever to win the national title at the age of 22.

Men’s national singles, Nottingham Indoor Bowls Centre, 29-31 March. www.nottinghamindoorbowlscentre.co.uk

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Boccia England is hosting a talent day at Angmering School on Wednesday 7 March.

The skills testing session is open to new and existing Boccia players who are power chair players or cerebral palsy wheelchair athletes.

Boccia England scouts will be there on the day to identify the most talented athletes in the county, assessing players for acceptance onto the Boccia Paralympic pathway.

All participants will gain a provisional Boccia classification, and successful applicants will be paired to a local club for skills development, as well as being introduced into the regional talent group.

Sussex Playground to Podium CAAD talent day takes place at Angmering School on 7 March from 1:30-3:30pm.

For more details and to attend, contact Matt Kendrick on 0115 9678455 or mkendrick@bocciaengland.org.uk

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Sussex table tennis player Will Bayley is hoping to continue his world beating form, after being selected for the 10-strong squad to compete at the London 2012 Paralympics. 

The call-up comes after a phenomenally successful year for the 24-year-old Paralympian, who was confirmed as the World No.1 in his classification (Class 7) in January.

Bayley, who lives in Groombridge, was born with arthrogryposis, a rare congenital disorder that affects all four of his limbs. At the age of 12 he joined Byng Hall Table Tennis Club in Tunbridge Wells before moving on to represent Kent men's team of able-bodied players. After turning pro, Will has subsequently converted his early promise into success at senior level.

In October 2011 he returned from The European Championships in Split, Croatia, with a brace of medals – gold in the singles and silver in the team event. He finished the year by being voted the European Players Player of the Year 2011 and was subsequently announced as the World No.1 in January 2012.

The player, who competed at Beijing aged 20, must now be favourite to take gold at London 2012.

Visit Will Bayley's website

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Active Sussex's Rowana Simmons and her hearing dog Sammy watch AITC Sport Makers testing kwik cricket at Albion's Community Stadium

Apprentices from Albion in the Community (AITC), the community arm of Brighton & Hove FC, have joined thousands of organisations across the country helping more people play sport by joining Sport England's Sport Makers programme.

AITC held the first Sport Makers workshop in Sussex at the American Express Community Stadium in December, when 27 of its apprentices from AITC's Education and Disability departments joined AITC Staff for an inspiring workshop run by Sports Coach UK tutor John Robinson, who encouraged them to be great Sport Makers.

The AITC workshop, which was specifically tailored for its apprentices, helped provide the knowledge, information and connections to get better at making sport happen. AITC Apprenticeship Tutor Dwayne Clevett said: "This is a great way of helping [our apprentices] further develop their leadership skills and confidence. We're looking forward to supporting them in developing sporting opportunities in their communities in 2012."

Active Sussex is responsible for organising Sport Maker events and recruitment in Sussex, which is part of its Leap into Legacy programme.

Roanna Simmons, Sports Development Officer at Active Sussex, said: "Now the workshop is over, the fun starts where they go out and make a difference in sport activities. The Sport Makers will now have further opportunities to increase participation through Sportivate and the Coach Sussex Bursary projects. I have no doubt that all of them will quickly reach their target of 10 hours volunteering."

"When they reach their 10 hour target, Sport Makers are entered to a ballot to win a free Olympic tickets. After all, the entire programme was created to be a part of the Olympic movement." 

The next Sport Makers workshops open to the public take place in East Grinstead (16 Feb), Sussex County Cricket Club (23 Feb) and Triangle Burgess Hill (15 March).

To register as a Sport Maker and sign up to attend one of the forthcoming workshops in Sussex, go to www.sportmakers.co.uk

For more details on how to become a Sport Maker or if you're an organisation looking to recruit Sport Makers please contact Roanna on rsimmons@activesussex.org

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Up to £10m in Lottery funding has been made available by the government and Sport England in the latest round of its Olympic legacy funding programme.

Sports clubs and organisations are encouraged to bid for a portion of the Inspired Facilities fund. The money can be used on anything from new equipment to refurbishing existing buildings.

Inspired Facilities is focused on making it easier for local community and volunteer groups to improve and refurbish sports clubs or transform non-sporting venues into modern grassroots sport facilities.

Investment is available to breathe new life into tired facilities and equipment including:

• building modernisation
• outdoor sports lighting
• outdoor sports surfaces
• community club buildings
• sports equipment

To find out more and bid for funds, visit www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities

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An Eastbourne leisure centre is starting a weekly subsidised zumba class aimed specifically at teenage girls.

Thanks to funding from Active Sussex's Olympic Legacy programme Sportivate, the Hampden Park Leisure Centre will be offering its most popular keep fit class to teenage girls for just £1 per class.

Working closely with Eastbourne Academy, the leisure centre has timed the weekly classes to fit in with the end of the school day, to make it easy for students to attend.

"We found that boys tended to be more physically active, and much of the stuff already on offer in the area caters for boys," said Hampden Park's Development Manager Ellie Pike. "We suggested zumba to the girls at school because it's mainly women that go to our existing classes, and they said 'yeah, that would be brilliant!'"

Zumba, a high energy combination of latin dancing and traditional keep fit class, originated in Colombia in the 1990s when fitness instructor Alberto "Beto" Perez was forced to improvise a class using tapes of South American salsa and merengue, after he'd mistakenly left his keep-fit soundtrack at home.

"Everyone who takes part feels like they're dancing, having a party," said Ellie. "It doesn't even feel like keep-fit."

Sportivate Teenage Zumba commences week beginning 6 February at Hampden Park Leisure Centre, Eastbourne. Full event details

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Representatives from across Sussex met at the University of Brighton on 13 July to discuss plans for the new School Games, which start next year.

"This is an opportunity to begin the task of ensuring all relevant groups are engaged with the School Games at an early stage, and that they are represented at the highest levels on the organising committee," said Active Sussex's Chief Executive Sadie Mason.

The School Games, a government backed Legacy initiative to raise the profile of competitive games in schools, is being piloted in nine regions and will launch nationally in Olympic year, 2012.

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Active Sussex hosted a coaches' breakfast on the last Friday of Brighton and Hove's TakePart festival, adding a vital networking element to the successful fortnight of sporting events.

Over 20 coaches made their way to the Yellowave Beach Cafe on Brighton seafront at 7:30am on 8 July for coffee and pastries, before an hour of networking and discussion.

"We wanted to see if the breakfast meeting format, already well-established in the business world, would transfer to the coaching community," said Active Sussex's Anthony Statham, who organised the event.

"Judging by the turnout and feedback, this is clearly something we would look to repeat elsewhere in the county, as well as here in Brighton."

For more information on coaches' network meetings, contact Anthony Statham on astatham@activesussex.org or 01273 644149.

See all the photos from the coaches' breakfast

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