Your Game and Chartstage

Your Game 2007 trailer

Neil Murray Chartstage Regional Development Manager

The action was relentless on - and off - the pitch

One of my first tasks as the new regional development manager for Chartstage Training and Development was to attend a number of Your Game regions steering groups.

Having spent the last three years managing a Positive Futures project in the East Riding area of Yorkshire, this sounded quite a nice introduction to my new job.

I attended about eight festivals in total and each one very different. This must have been one of the first challenges for the Your Game team.

In one region local agencies were proactively taking the lead and happy to be involved, where as in another region nobody engaged in conversation, they just sat in silence - good luck boys!

My task during the event was to sign participants, team managers and project staff up for training courses, the Certificate in Community Sports Work (CCSW) and Tutor Training in VRQ Qualifications in Community Volunteering.

Chartstage

At each event we were hoping to get about 20 people on the CCSW course and three projects on the VRQ training.

There were plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained

It became evident very quickly the training was a very welcome and needed part of Your Game.

We exceeded all our own expectations at all the events.

I have been pleased with the number of community workers identifying young people on their projects who are volunteering large numbers of hours a week to give back to the community what they have received.

These young people have been signed up and, with the right training and ability to draw funding from the Football Foundation and the initiatives with the Prince's Trust, they are in an ideal situation to develop themselves and their projects to bigger and better things year on year.

Talking to community workers and team managers in all events you hear the same thing: "This is the first time these guys have played in an organised event" and "this is great they are already talking about coming back next year".

Roll on Manchester on 15 July - I for one cannot wait.