Our Sports

The Tony Blair Sports Foundation aims to improve access to sport for young people in the North East by increasing the number of volunteer coaches and officials in grassroots sport.

To do this we have identified six sports that we currently concentrate on. Having started with Athletics, Football, Rowing, and Tennis, we expanded in 2009 to include Basketball and Cycling.

Athletics

Athletics is in the blood of the North East. We’re well known for producing champions in many sports but, in particular, athletics.

Getting young people into athletics is only possible because volunteers support the club system by helping to nurture young athletes to develop their potential and provide an outlet for children to experience the fun and enjoyment athletics offers.

And that's just what TBSF member John Renney has been doing since qualifying as an Athletics Coach – inspiring more young people! Read more

Basketball

Basketball is a fun and intensely active game and is one of two new sports that the Foundation added to its portfolio in 2009.

Its free flowing rules make for a fast paced game where being able to complete fundamental skills quickly and correctly is essential to becoming a good coach or official. 

We work closely with the Newcastle Eagles Community Foundation, the Durham Wildcats and other clubs across the region to recruit more trained coaches and officials in this rapidly growing sport so that the phenomenal growth and popularity can be sustained at a grassroots level.

To see how we helped The Eagles Community foundation. Watch here.

Cycling

After world renowned success of Team GB at the Beijing Olympics, we soon recognised that as a region we weren’t maximising the existing opportunities already provided to us and it was then that like Basketball, we introduced Cycling to our programme to help deliver a coaching structure that was sustainable for its new fan base.

The Level 1 entry level award provides new coaches with the ability to deliver cycling activity in environments such as playing fields, tennis courts and large indoor gymnasiums meaning that more young people are provided with access to cycling at an entry level.

In 2010, we developed a recruitment programme with local charity Daisy Chain and you can read more about this successful partnership here.

Football

Passion and football go hand in hand in the North East and this made it a natural choice for the Foundation to get involved with. Although many of the regions football clubs provide excellent community foundation projects we initially felt the need to focus on the encouragement of more women and girls into the game.

Through our partnership working, we were consistently being told that due to the high turnover of trained parents (they tend to leave the club once their child moves on or when they are no longer interested in playing the game) that clubs were then in a position that they couldn’t afford to retrain the new parents and indeed didn’t know how to recruit them. 

Indoor Rowing

Indoor rowing offers people of all ages and abilities the chance to adopt a healthy, active, lifestyle. It can also provide a focus for community activity and by working with local community centres, local groups and schools we can increase participation by targeting those who do not take part in traditional sports.

The Foundation has worked with Competition Managers, British Rowing, Sports Universities North East England, Concept2 and the local Strategic Health Authority to organise and support the first ever North East school indoor rowing competition, now into its 4^th year - Get Going Get Rowing.

Amy McCarthy is one of the young people that has benefited from the Get Going, Get Rowing programme in more ways than one and you can read her story here.

Tennis

We work closely with the Lawn Tennis Association to develop tennis in the North East and to develop a joint programme to encourage more people to train as coaching assistants and help them become fully accredited licensed coaches.

One of the most lucrative strategies to increasing participation has been to increase the number of competitions for young players and in 2007 we launched the inaugural Tony Blair Sports Foundation Tennis Challenge Cup. Inevitably, this has meant that as more young people have access to tennis, more coaches and coaching assistants are needed to support the growing infrastructure.

If you have been inspired to become a coach or official and want to become a member of the foundation, sign up online today.