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Welcome to our April & May edition of

ProActive. With the cold winter becoming

somewhat of a distant memory and spring

fast approaching, the City of Gloucester is

coming to life once again! In this edition

you will find fantastic offers in and around

the area, and don’t miss our brilliant

article with local Personal Trainer Luke

Kavanagh on page 12. Luke has shared

with us with some valuable advice for

those of you who are dusting off your

trainers ready for Spring!

If you have an interesting article about

your local sport then please get in touch.

We will be including more news about

different areas in our next edition.

So lots to keep you up to date with Spring

just around the corner!

If it happens in Gloucester…..you’ll find it

here!

Happy Reading!

Jessica

The Team

Editor Jessica Martin

Production Manager Mike

Squire

Advertising & Sales Jessica

Martin

Contributors

Luke Kavanagh

Dawn Adams

Advertisements:

If you would like to

advertise in this guide

please contact Jess Martin

on 0800 0234 963 or email

jessmartin@activeconnecti

ons.org

All rights reserved. The contents of

this guide are protected by

copyright and may not be

reproduced without permission.

Whilst we take care to ensure that

adverts and articles appear

accurate and correct, ProActive

cannot accept responsibility for any

loss or damage caused directly or

indirectly by the contents of the

publication. The views expressed in

this guide are not necessarily those

of its publisher or editor.

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Have You Tried Chess Boxing?

The first of its kind, Hybrid Sport! If you are looking for

something new to try, something to test you from every

angle , then look no further…

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Futsal

Futsal is a fantastic small sided version of football.

Find out who's doing what in Gloucester

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Sport Skills Start Young

A look at the new way of thinking in developing

sporting stars of the future. An interesting short article

on the development of senses related to physical

development

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StreetGames is Back

A look at the work StreetGames is doing in Gloucester

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Warm UP for the Spring Exercise Regime!

Check out this essential advice on injury free training

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GL4 Junior Trail Run Series

Find out about this fantastic series of runs for the

family

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H ave

You

Tried Chess

Boxing?

Chess Boxing is a

hybrid sport that

combines chess

with boxing in

alternating rounds.

Chess Boxing is a

fast growing sport,

with large

followings in Berlin

and London.

Participants need to

increase their skills

in both Boxing and

Chess as matches can

be won either way.

The basic concept of

Chess Boxing is to

combine the #1

thinking sport and

the #1 fighting sport

into a hybrid that

demands the most of

its competitors –

both mentally and

physically.

In a Chess Boxing

fight two opponents

play alternating

rounds of chess and

boxing. The contest

starts with a round of

chess, followed by a

boxing round,

followed by another

round of chess and so

on. A round of

boxing takes 3

minutes. Between the

rounds there is a 1

minute pause, during

which competitors

take off or put on

their gloves. The

contest is decided by:

checkmate (chess

round), exceeding

the time limit (chess

round), retirement of

an opponent (chess

or boxing round), KO

(boxing round in full

contact), or referee

decision (boxing

round). If the chess

game ends in a

stalemate, the

opponent with the

higher score in

boxing wins.

Chess Boxing can

also be played in a

non-contact form

and is a great team

building day for

businesses who want

to create a team who

can think, act and

perform under

pressure. And best of

all its great fun! The

non-contact version

differs in that each

competitor takes on

a boxing coach

scoring points for

clean shots to target

areas, whilst taking

on their opponent in

the chess. Oversized

gloves and protective

equipment is worn

by competitors to

protect the coaches

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from the enthusiastic

players! The Chess Boxing

rules are still the same and

the winner is decided by

victory on the chess board

or highest points in the

ring.

Thinking on your feet,,

memorising a strategy,

dealing with fatigue and

adapting to your opponent

is what chess boxing is all

about. It does seem

strange, and yes we had to

be convinced, but once you

see it you will want to take

part, get in the ring and

beat your competitor.

If you are interested in

chess boxing for an event,

team building day or just

for more information then

please get in touch. Call

ActiveConnections on

0800 0234 963

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F UTSAL

Futsal is a variant of football which is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played

indoors. In Brazil, futsal is amazingly played by more people than soccer but does not attract as many spectators.

Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the goalkeeper. Unlimited substitutions are permitted. The game is played on a hard court surface with a pitch marked out. Futsal is also played with a smaller ball with less bounce than a regular football. The surface, ball and rules create an emphasis on improvisation, creativity and technique as well as ball control and passing in small spaces.

Gloucester has a growing Futsal presence with the programme Onside, a University of Gloucestershire based football initiative, which has continued to adopt small sided formats of football in order to be inclusive and provide more opportunities

for children in and around Cheltenham and Gloucester to get involved in Sport. Onside hope to set up more sessions in local areas so more children can take advantage of this fantastic sport. For any further information on how you can get involved in Futsal with Onside please contact Alex Cheal (Onside Development Officer) on alexcheal@glos.ac.uk for more information.

We also have a team, Gloucester Futsal Revolution, who play in the national league. This team, coached by Jim Hart, play their home matches at GL1 Leisure Centre. Gloucester Futsal Revolution is a community project formed by Gloucester City AFC and has grown since its roots in 2009. Jim Hart delivers a whole range of Futsal activities for all ages from very young children up to adults. For more information please go to www.gloucesterfootballrevolution.com.

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S ports Skills Start

Young

By Mike Squire MA, BSc(Hons)

Developing sports skills starts

very early on in childhood. From

early childhood environmental

factors play a crucial part in a

child’s physical fundamental skills

which underpin their sports skills.

As children grow we spend a lot of

time looking at how we nurture

their senses, how they see the

world, how they interpret what

they hear, and the types of food

they may like.

What we need to be focusing on as

well, as children grow, is developing

their physical senses alongside the 5

senses (sight, sound, smell, taste and

touch) as they are commonly known.

These other senses which are so

crucial to a child's physical

development are known as

proprioception and vestibular senses.

Not to get into too much science but

the vestibular system in our body is

essentially concerned with our sense

of balance and spatial orientation. It

helps us to know where we are in

space, how fast and in which

direction we are moving.

Proprioception is the sense that

indicates whether the body is moving

with the required effort, as well as

where the various parts of the body

are located in relation to each other,

i.e. knowing the position a body part

is in, in relation to other parts .

So how can we help support the

development of these senses ? Well

as many parents know, children love

the park and this is where these

senses get a lot of stimulation.

The swings, roundabouts, slides and

climbing frames all help with the

development of the vestibular sense

through the different movements of

the body and helps the

proprioception development by

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offering different textures, a sense of

weight, pressure and force on the

body.

Schools play their part by ensuring

that the children in their care receive

high quality physical development

opportunities and not just traditional

sports coaching. Sport in its

traditional sense is important but the

development of these underlying

senses is crucial for sport and

everyday life. So instead of teaching

young children how to play specific

sports in specific ways, we should be

giving them the tools to play what

they like and how they like.

This will help children develop life

long integrated sports skills and also

a love of movement and physical

activity.

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S treetGames is

Back in

Gloucester

StreetGames is back in Gloucester

after a brief absence. StreetGames is a

sports charity that changes lives and

communities. ActiveConnections

delivers StreetGames in Gloucester

and other areas of the county as part

of their Game Plan project.

StreetGames supports projects

like Game Plan which give sports

and

volunteering opportunities to young

people in communities across the

UK. Doorstep sport is StreetGames’

delivery method, whereby we bring

sport close to the home in

communities at the right time, for

the right price, to the right place and

in the right style.

StreetGames is proud that it gives

young people exactly what they’re

seeking – the chance to enjoy sport,

give back to their communities and

aspire to greater things. The

enthusiasm that this breeds leads to

an increase in sports participation

and recognition of the enjoyment

that can be gained from taking part

in sport. Game Plan can be found in

different locations across the city.

There are Game Plan sessions in

Tredworth, White City, Matson,

Coney Hill and more coming soon to

Podsmead and Kingsway. These

sessions offer young people from the

age of 8 upwards access to sport on

their doorstep. It also offers the older

ones (16+) with access to training and

volunteering to help support sessions

and develop themselves.

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Case Study (Boxing at Parry Hall)

“We have a new session of Game plan

boxing running out of Parry Hall in

Tredworth. Already we have 30 young

people between the ages of 9-14yrs

old signed up. The turnout has been

fantastic and we are getting new ones

every week. It has been funded

jointly by StreetGames and Network

Rail. We would also like to thank

Sported. for funding the fantastic

boxing ring. We are working on

developing links to mainstream clubs

to signpost those young people who

want to take the next step, to be able

to go on and develop further”

Emma (Sport and Community

Project Worker, ActiveConnections).

If you would like more information

on StreetGames, perhaps you would

like to volunteer and become a

qualified sports coach then please

contact us on 0800 0234 963 or email

gameplan@activeconnections.org.

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W arm Up for the

Summer

By Luke Kavannagh, Fitta4Life, BSc (Hons)

Yes the

summer

months are

on the way

and as ever

we hope that

it brings

something other than the annual flood

warning followed by an immediate

hose pipe ban!

I’m not here to promise you endless

sunshine and a long lasting tan however I

am here to warn you regarding Injury. The

summer weather is normally a great

excuse to participate in exercise again as

we get our lighter evenings back and

it is more appealing to don on your

trainers and go for a run.

BE WARNED!

Just because it may be warm outside

this doesn’t guarantee it will be warm

inside (meaning your muscles!)

The major thing I see commonly in

Gyms, on Parks, fields or courts are

poor warm ups which only just about

tick a box for raising core body

temperature.

Next time you are gearing up for a

Gym session, Run, Match or Event,

think of “RAMP”.

RAMP

R - Raise:

This is a well-known aim that is associated

to a reason for why we may warm up. This

activity should be of a low intensity and be

similar to the exercise that you are about to

do e.g. if your plan to run then your warm

up should include running. You should aim

to raise the following:

Heart Rate

Core Body Temperature

Breathing Rate

A - Activate:

Now your focus should be to begin to

“wake up” the key muscle groups to

which you will be using in the activity.

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This activity should be a dynamic

exercise. Good examples of exercises to

use are:

Lunges or Squats:

Good for waking up the leg and bum

muscles.

Mini Press Ups:

Great for waking up the upper body

muscles (Chest, Shoulders, Arms and

Back)

Again it is important to note that this

should be specific to the exercise/activity

that you are about to perform.

M - Mobilise:

Now that you have woken up your muscles

this may be a good time to loosen them.

This will improve your flexibility long term

but will also help prevent any injury

through tight or stiff muscles.

This is normally a common cause of injury

that is associated to a poor or ineffective

warm up.

As always try to associate this to the

muscles that you are using in your exercise/

activity.

Major muscles to mobilise are: Legs, Back

and Shoulders.

P - Potentiate:

Here is the science part….(stay with me)

The final part of the warm up should be as

close to the intensity and technique of the

exercise/activity that is about to take place.

This can be sprints to near max levels or

jumps which encourage our muscles to act

in an explosive nature; this will help to

prepare them ready for top performance of

the activity.

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Take part in the

GL4 Junior Trail

Series of exciting

runs will vary in

distance. Runs will

be between 2km

and 3km and will

also vary in terrain,

some will be hilly,

some flat and some

muddy. These runs

are fun and

enjoyable and can

be completed by

children and young

people of all

abilities. The

emphasise is really

on fun and building

a sense of

achievement and

confidence.

Opportunities for

children to do

running events is

very limited - it

tends to be cross

country and

competitive - we

would like to give

more children the

opportunity to

experience and

enjoy running.

You can enter this

series of runs for

£23 for entry to all 4

runs or £7 each .

We hope that

families will come

out and join in the

runs that are aimed

at school years 3-7 .

Check out the

locations and

contact details for

the runs below.

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