13-year-old Zara* lives with her mum and younger sister in the East End of Glasgow.
She attends the free community athletics sessions that Athletics Trust Scotland delivers in partnership with Scottish Athletics and the charity Scottish Sport Futures, walking along to the Emirates Arena each week to take part in athletics with 50-60 other local children and young people.
Here, Zara tells us about her enjoyment of the sessions and the impact they have had on her life:
“I’d tried some athletics in school but didn’t get into it properly until Scottish Athletics and Athletics Trust Scotland started coming along to our Monday night session.
One of the things I like most about the sessions is the social aspect. I’ve made lots of friends here and I’ve become a lot more confident, so much so that I decided to join my local club. I’ve been going down to club training for a while now and I’m determined to keep improving. Sometimes I’ll even come into the Emirates outside of scheduled training to practice on my own or with friends I’ve made at the club.
I enjoy chatting away to the staff and volunteers as well. They’re all very helpful and approachable. I get on well with (Local Community Impact Leader) Kebba – we have a laugh and a joke and sometimes if I see him out and about I’ll stop him for a chat.
Competing makes me happy, even though I can get nervous! I’ve been to competitions like the Scottish Cross Country Championships in Falkirk, the Young Athletes Road Race Championships in Greenock and school races. My favourite events have been the javelin and any of the jumps. The cross country was hard but it has made me more confident to try new things though and show myself I can do more than I sometimes think.
I’ve noticed that lots of girls at school don’t do any sport and I think that’s a shame. My advice to other girls my age would be ‘just be yourself, be brave and get involved – you won’t regret it!”
Zara’s story is a brilliant example of how collaborative working between Athletics Trust Scotland, Scottish Athletics, local delivery partners and athletics clubs can help encourage more children and young people from underrepresented communities to get into the sport. The families we support through our free community athletics sessions face a multitude of barriers to being active – including the cost, lack of confidence and language barriers – and are therefore unlikely to join a club without specific and targeted support in their own community.
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Zara!
*a pseudonym
Photos: Bobby Gavin
