The Minister for Heritage, Alun Ffred Jones, has welcomed a new Sport Wales campaign to inspire more people in Wales to take up coaching.
From gold medal-winning Olympians and Paralympians to Welsh rugby and football stars; eleven of Wales’ sporting heroes of the moment have thrown their weight behind Sport Wales’ latest campaign, Behind Every Star.
Whether on the sidelines of a Saturday morning five-a-side match or an FA Cup Final, Behind Every Star, is celebrating and recognising the hard work and dedication put into sport in Wales by coaches and volunteers all across the country.
In a bid to inspire the people of Wales to play their part in creating a nation of champions; esteemed photographer Terry Morris has turned his attention to the world of sport capturing the likes of Lions and Welsh rugby fullback Jamie Roberts, World and Paralympic Champion swimmer Liz Johnson, Cardiff City and Welsh International midfielder Joe Ledley and World Champion triathlete Helen Jenkins on film with one of their most influential coaches to date.
Minister for Heritage, Alun Ffred Jones, said:
“I am pleased to see this campaign recognise and celebrate the hard work of coaches and volunteers who are essential to the development of sport in Wales. I hope it will inspire more people to get involved in sport at the grassroots level and provide some small reward for those who give their time to help develop others.”
Last month, Mr Jones announced that the Welsh Assembly Government would be providing Sport Wales with an extra £1m a year to boost sports coaching in Wales.
The money will help provide 1,500 extra coaches and to increase the standard of coaching across Wales in communities, clubs and elite sport.
He added:
“The extra funding, together with the existing Sport Wales budget, will be invested to recruit, train and support more community coaches and to develop our talented coaches at the regional and national level.”
The Behind Every Star photo exhibition will be coming to a town near you in a whistle stop tour of Wales between now and October.
