Volunteer student sports leaders

A joint venture has been launched between the Youth Sport Trust (YST) and Nestlé UK, to train students as volunteer sports leaders.

The new project, Team Nestlé, has attracted 15 higher education institutions (HEI), involving an initial 250 students from across England and Northern Ireland. Volunteer sports leaders will develop skills such as team building, planning and event management.

When I was at university I would have loved to have been involved with a scheme like this, said Tanni Grey-Thompson, who launched the project as YSP Sporting Patron. The initiative builds on another YST programme, TOP Link, which trains secondary school pupils to work with primary school children.

Team Nestlé leaders will work with up to 3,000 TOP Link leaders, who in turn will organise festivals of sport, timed to coincide with the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002. The YST says the programme has the potential to reach 75,000 primary school children.