Ross encourages new sports ambassadors
Pupils from Arran High and North Ayrshire’s other secondary schools attended a special young ambassadors conference last week which was led by Olympic snowboarder Jenny Jones and delivered by sportscotland, the national agency for sport.
As part of the National Lottery-funded programme, each year sportscotland host six regional young ambassadors’ conferences across the country and two pupils from each secondary school in Scotland are invited to attend.
New Arran High young ambassadors Ellie Wood and Eildh Hamill joined more than 150 pupils from secondary schools across the west of Scotland attending the third young ambassadors conference of 2017 which took place at Hampden Park.
They were joined by current Arran young ambassdor Ross Dobson who was one of the delivery team at the two-day event, passing on his knowledge after a year to the new ambassadors. In January this year Ross was named the first young ambassador of the month for Scotland. Active Schools co-ordinator Archie McNicol was also overseeing at the event.
Afterwards Ross said: ‘It was a fantastic to be part of the conference team and I really enjoyed the whole experience. Meeting some of the athletes was a real inspiration.’
Along with Eilidh Macpherson, Ross and the two new members of the team will work with Archie to deliver the young ambassadors programme on Arran in the coming months.
Back in Glasgow, the conference was led by Jenny Jones, a former British professional snowboarder who became the first Briton to win an Olympic medal in a snow event, and the pupils gained an invaluable insight into the world of sport through the eyes of one of our leading athletes.
Jenny said: ‘I’m honoured to host the Glasgow leg of sportscotland’s young ambassadors conferences. The children here today are so passionate about making their voices heard, and for that I really admire them. Not only are the kids eager to learn, but they recognise that sport is an awesome way to express yourself and encourages them to channel their efforts into something positive.’
The young ambassadors took part in a range of workshops with a team of Scottish athletes and sport development professionals, including former Scottish Rugby 7s captain Colin Gregor, British former swimmer Caitlin McClatchey, former professional paralympic athlete Stefan Hoggan and international football goalkeeper Gemma Fay.
The athletes provided the pupils with support and advice to help them gain the skills, knowledge and understanding required to undertake their pivotal role within schools and wider communities as role models and leaders of other young people.
Stewart Harris, chief executive at sportscotland, said: ‘Our young ambassadors conferences provide an excellent opportunity for pupils across the country who are passionate about sport to collaboratively make a difference. With the chance to meet skilled athletes and leading sport professionals, the pupils gain invaluable first-hand knowledge which will help them in their sporting journeys.
‘Becoming a young ambassador is a fantastic role. Not only is it a great way to develop new skills, build confidence and meet like-minded people in sport, but the programme helps youngsters develop as sporting leaders by influencing and reflecting the views of other young people.
‘We encourage our young ambassadors to motivate and inspire others to get into sport, helping shape decisions to ensure youngsters have the best possible sporting experience across Scotland.’