by Daniel Cope
MORE youngsters are volunteering in sport across Wales, due in large part to the Young Ambassadors programme.
The programme aims to ’empower and inspire young people to become leaders through sport and to help encourage their inactive peers to become hooked on sport’.
It has helped create thousands of sports leaders across Wales in the last three years with volunteers undertaking over 368,000 hours of work in sport.
Richard Dando from Sport Wales and Aled Davies of the Young Ambassadors Volunteering Programme presented the findings at a seminar at the Sport Wales National Centre.
Talking to various academics and practitioners at the seminar, Dando and Davies explained how the total number of Young Ambassadors was 4,205 in Wales in 2017. Those numbers were expected to have increased in 2018.
They also showed that the programme, which was piloted in Wales in 2009, had created approximately 15,000 young ambassadors across Wales in total.
@AledDavies97, Development Coordinator @YouthSportTrust, says there were 4,205 Young Ambassadors across in Wales in 2017, 52% of whom were females. #Volunteering #Research @svrnUK @SportsJournoUSW pic.twitter.com/dMBFJlodHn
— Callum Ellis (@CallumJEllis) 17 October 2018
Dando went on to further highlight how the programme is not aimed at young males, as statistics show that 52% of those Young Ambassadors are female.
Dando and Davies presented a survey the programme undertook in March which showed the positive impact being a Young Ambassador (YA) had on young people.
The survey highlighted that 96% of people had improved their confidence and 60% of people enjoyed the chance to meet new people. 93% of respondents also felt that their aspirations had been raised by being a YA and the skills they learned from being a YA will help when leaving school.
Aled Davies, a former Silver Young Ambassador praised the programme for the opportunities it provides and positive impact it had on him: “Knowing I was part of something unique filled me with joy.
“Local opportunities turned into national opportunities because I found these connections and positive experiences”
Finally, Davies added: “The big things I take away from the experience is the empowerment and aspirations it gave me.”
