Your weekly physical activity bulletin

05 November 2024

We are working towards improving the health and wellbeing of the nation through sport, exercise and physical activity. For more information on our work visit our website or follow us on X @NCSEM_PAnews

Loughborough University launches new Para and Disability Sport Strategy

Loughborough University has officially launched its new Para and Disability Sport Strategy – with opportunity sitting at its core.

The vision is that Loughborough University becomes the world leaders in Para and Disability sport, providing its students, staff and partners with an unrivalled ecosystem.

The new strategy is a refresh of the 2019 strategy which set a fantastic foundation. Moving ahead there is a central theme of opportunity for disabled students to achieve at the highest level or to be active and enjoy participating in sport. 

Delivered following extensive consultation with students, staff members from across the University, and input from external partners, the mission is to ensure that every disabled student, or prospective student, sees that sport and physical activity in Loughborough is for everyone.

Majority of women change behaviour getting active outdoors in winter

Almost three-quarters (72%) of women in the UK change their outdoor activity routines during winter, according to data Sport England have released.

The new research, commissioned by Sport England's This Girl Can campaign, highlights the precautions women are taking to stay safe when getting active outdoors after the clocks have gone back.

One in four (24%) ensure to take well-lit routes, almost a quarter (23%) avoid certain areas altogether and one in five (20%) glance behind them to ensure they’re not being followed.

Support to unite sector in place-based work

Sport England is rolling out £25 million across England to help Active Partnerships create the conditions for change and to support different parts of the sector to work together, so that everyone can be physically active.

These resources will also help partners evaluate the impact they're having in their most important communities.

This investment is a key aspect of Sport England's approach to Place, whereby £250 million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding is being invested into local communities across England in the next five years, to ensure those in greatest need are able to get active.

Occupational Therapy Week 2024

'The power of occupational therapy – transforming health and social care' is the title of the campaign that started on 4 November, the first day of OT Week 2024, and will continue for the next 12 months. 

Connected to the Royal College of Occupational Therapists' (RCOT) Workforce Strategy, its role in health and social care and how the occupational therapy workforce needs to be positioned in the future.

RCOT is building on the 2023 campaign where it created a better understanding of occupations, in the context of occupational therapy, what they are and why they matter.  

ukactive and CIMSPA to develop support for physical activity sector in its approach to GLP-1

On 15 October, the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, announced the rollout of GLP-1 to help get people back into work as a measure to address the severest forms of obesity across the UK. GLP-1 is a weight loss drug that helps to suppress appetite. The “eligible population” amounts to millions, and though not everyone will be offered the drug, it is expected to be taken up by a large number of the population.

As part of the announcement, the Health Secretary spoke of the importance of exercise as part of this solution, to which ukactive and CIMSPA responded with the central message that these drugs can only be successful if they are utilised in a holistic and sustainable way alongside a good diet and physical activity.

As with any new medication coming onto the market, there is more to learn about its impact, and the physical activity sector can have a significant role to play in helping to build and deliver a safe and sustainable approach to health that continues to support the population, working alongside and complimentary to GLP-1 and other pharmaceutical solutions.

Be Active Wales Fund re-opens for applications

Using National Lottery money, the Be Active Wales Fund offers grants between £300 and £50,000 which enable sports clubs and organisations to buy equipment, enhance their facilities and support the development of volunteers and coaches so that so that they can support more people to become active. 

Sport Wales has been inundated with funding applications this year, so the Be Active Wales Fund was temporarily paused to new applications in mid-September so that applications already in the system could be processed.  

The Be Active Wales Fund is now re-opening with £1m worth of funding remaining.   

The fund will be open for 10 weeks from Monday 4 November, with all applications needing to be fully completed by 10am on Monday 13 January. The fund will then pause again so that applications can be processed before the end of the financial year. 

The weekly physical activity bulletin in a summary of news stories that appear across the physical activity sector. The National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine is not responsible for the content of external sites.

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