ATS Young People’s Forum celebrate an exciting first year

Saturday 31st December 2022

‘Save the Date’ for ATS Young People’s Forum conference

The Athletics Trust Scotland Young People’s Forum (ATS YPF) has been up and running now for just over a year . . . and what a year it has been!

Led by Erin Gillen (Springburn Harriers), 15 members representing more than 10 different clubs met for the first time (virtually) in December 2021 and subsequently then gathered in Glasgow for their first face-to-face meeting in January 2022 to start putting together their two-year Action Plan.

Fast forward a year, and it has been great to watch how each one of the young people has grown and developed both as individuals as together as a team.

Meetings have been both educational (with sessions delivered on both mental health and leadership skills) and fun-filled with team-building games and icebreakers.

The YPF have been working on projects as a group and individually at their own clubs, with the two main areas of focus being mental health and the retention of young people in athletics.

Members of the Forum are also provided with the opportunity for personal development by getting involved with volunteering at our events and learning about other areas of the organisation.

Athletics Trust Scotland backs our Young People’s Forum

In October 2021, Athletics Trust Scotland announced their sponsorship support for the Forum. ATS will support the YPF and contribute to costs associated with the ongoing running of the Forum including the first National Young People’s Forum Conference (taking place on Saturday 11 March).

It has been a busy first year with the young people being involved in several initiatives including:

• Volunteering at Track and Field Events, including shadowing the Start Team
• Writing articles and producing vlogs on their volunteering experiences at events/competitions
• Attending the scottishathletics National Club Conference, delivering their own workshop. They also took part in round table discussions.
• Being part of a focus group for the re-branding of the scottishathletics Run, Jump, Throw, Push initiative.
• Engaging in a workshop by Robert Nesbitt from SAMH around mental health with further sessions planned to develop resources
• Engaging in a workshop by Guy Richardson from Eiger Performance on Leadership with Impact, aimed to get the young people reflecting on what a good leader should be and what type of leader…