Norwich Union and UK Athletics today announced that the UK’s leading insurer is to extend its commitment to athletics until the end of 2012 in what is the largest UK sports sponsorship deal outside football, worth nearly £50 million to the sport over the next six years.
- Largest sports sponsorship deal in the UK outside football
Norwich Union and UK Athletics today announced that the UK’s leading insurer is to extend its commitment to athletics until the end of 2012 in what is the largest UK sports sponsorship deal outside football, worth nearly Ł50 million to the sport over the next six years.
The new agreement that commences on 1 January 2007 places more emphasis on the preparation of future champions as the sport of athletics targets the Olympic Games in London in 2012, whilst at the same time widening the appeal and reach of athletics to encourage increased participation amongst all children. Investment in grassroots athletics will almost treble. It is estimated that as a result of this increased investment by Norwich Union, over 10 million children and 1.5m families will be involved in the various Norwich Union grassroots schemes by 2012. Training for over 100,000 teachers in over 5,000 secondary and 20,000 primary schools will also be provided through Elevating Athletics, revolutionising the way athletics - the basis of all sport - is delivered in schools. As such, it is the most comprehensive sport sponsorship deal in the UK, influencing and helping all levels of the sport.
In addition to the current deal of seven live televised events, the Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland athletics team at all levels, and the expansion of the current grassroots schemes, additional funding will allow the sport to widen its reach into communities to engage even more children and families in sporting activity.
New highlights include:
- Central contracts
As a key funding partner, Norwich Union will be party to the central contracts being introduced by UK Athletics and UK Sport to ensure members of the Norwich Union GB & NI Team will be strictly accountable for their performances. The additional funding from Norwich Union will offer additional performance-related "top-up" packages for leading athletes, building upon the existing UK Sport World Class Pathway programme. It will also allow for special research projects to be undertaken.
Additional coach development initiatives will be introduced to secure the long term future of the next generation of elite coaches.
Finally, as a key component of the pre-event schedule, support for warm weather training camps will continue to be provided, as will support for Norwich Union Preparation Camps, bolstering existing UK Sport investment. - Junior mentoring
Following the on-going success of the Norwich Union funded "On Camp with Kelly", which sees Dame Kelly Holmes continue to mentor a group of up and coming middle distance runners, the renewed cash injection will allow UK Athletics to develop similar mentoring schemes with Norwich Union in other athletics disciplines and with other mentors. Mentors will be confirmed at a later date. - Athletics festivals
Following the success of the Norwich Union Sportsparks in 2004, free event festivals will run in the host cities of five of the seven Norwich Union televised events. Focused on engaging the local communities, the aim is to generate excitement in the lead up to the events and provide a platform to showcase Norwich Union’s commitment to grassroots athletics. Schools and families will be targeted to ensure they are well attended and lead to an increase in sporting participation and interest in athletics. - Get Britain’s kids active
With Britain facing rising levels of obesity, it is vital that a healthy, active lifestyle is promoted and facilitated amongst children. Since athletics is the basis of all sport, a new joint initiative between Norwich Union and UK Athletics will be launched to encourage teachers and parents to work together to help youngsters get more active. - Schools curriculum and teacher training
To capitalise on the renewed enthusiasm for athletics, and focus on the preparations for 2012, a new resource - elevating athletics - will be made available to schools across the country, allied with an extensive teacher training programme. In this way, UK Athletics and Norwich Union will be further contributing to the government’s vision of delivering more high quality sporting activity for schoolchildren.
The current Norwich Union funded grassroots schemes – shine:awards, star:track and sports:hall – which help children develop their athletic abilities, introduce new disciplines and create a competitive environment – will all be developed and extended to reach even more youngsters across Britain.
David Moorcroft, chief executive of UK Athletics, said: “We have been thrilled with the support Norwich Union has given the sport of athletics since 1999 and are delighted they are to continue the partnership. The current crop of very talented juniors is testament to the long term foundations provided at the grassroots level and due to Norwich Union’s long term commitment announced today, the sport will be able to build on this platform by boosting participation, increasing the talent pool helping to prepare future champions to reach our medal targets in 2008 and 2012.”
Patrick Snowball, executive chairman of Norwich Union, said: “We have a strong heritage in the sport of athletics and are passionate about the sport. Our continued long-term support is testament to the vision and strategy we share with UK Athletics – that of helping prepare future champions through increasing participation at the grassroots level, identifying and nurturing talent, and providing the best possible support structure to retain talented athletes and prepare them for major competitions at senior level.
“But it’s not all about the elite. Not all children can be World or Olympic champions, but sporting activity can help prepare children from all backgrounds with vital life skills such as improved confidence, discipline, motivation, behaviour and even academic attainment. Schemes such as ours develop teamwork and leadership skills together with all the associated health benefits of being active. With athletics being the root of all sports, we are in a unique position to champion this cause.”
Minister for Sport Richard Caborn, said: "I welcome this new investment by Norwich Union. The legacy of winning the Olympic Games last July is that serious investment is being channelled into sport, both from Government and others. It shows the increasing recognition of what sport at every level can achieve."
Recent Commonwealth decathlete champion Dean Macey said today at the launch: “For any elite athlete Norwich Union’s continued and increased support for athletics means that the British team will be able to receive the best possible preparation support for major championships and athletes like myself will have an excellent programme of domestic meetings to check our progress against the best in the world on home soil.”
20 year old Commonwealth Bronze Medalist Jessica Ennis said: “The continued support from Norwich Union is vital for athletes like myself, aiming to prepare for the Olympic Games in 2012. I began my interest in athletics at a Norwich Union star:track event and now have a fantastic opportunity to build on my Commonwealth medal.”
Pete Robins, teacher at Priesthorpe Sports College in Leeds, said: “The delivery of sport in schools is incredibly important as a healthy body helps lead to a healthy mind. Sport helps schools deliver results in the classroom as well as reducing truancy levels and boosting discipline. It’s also great fun for the pupils as it teaches them vital life lessons such as learning to win and lose, the value of teamwork and can boost self-confidence. Support such as that planned by UK Athletics and Norwich Union is welcomed with open arms as it will help all schools to deliver a practical and easy-to-teach sports delivery programme that is intrinsically linked to the national curriculum.”
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Media contacts:
UK Athletics: Helen Wyeth – 0870 998 6700
Norwich Union: Tanya Veingard – 020 7662 3616 / 07800 695 269
MEC Sponsorship: Stuart Wareman – 020 7803 2306 / 07733 010799
Notes to editors:
Norwich Union & UK Athletics
Norwich Union has been the number one commercial sponsor of UK Athletics since 1999 with a significant amount of money invested in developing the sport at grassroots level. This support will enable every child in the UK to have the opportunity to access to athletics by 2012, and provide extensive support to teachers to deliver the sport in schools.
Norwich Union’s support of athletics at every level will add value to the existing World Class Pathway investment in elite athletes, provide more opportunities to help identify future champions, and also help prepare children for life challenges through increased sporting participation.
Former participants in these initiatives include Paula Radcliffe, Denise Lewis, Kelly Sotherton, Mark Lewis Francis, Jade Johnson and Jamie Baulch. Many of the 2012 athletics hopefuls such as Nathan Douglas, Jessica Ennis, Jade Surman, Alex and Ashlee Nelson and Laura Finucane also took part. With the increased support by Norwich Union it is anticipated that the overall talent pool in athletics will continue to increase as participation increases.
Elite Athletics
- Title sponsorship of seven live televised events in the UK
- Title sponsorship of the Norwich Union GB & NI Team
- Coaching support for current and future coaches.
Junior Athletics
- Title sponsorship of age group Norwich Union GB & NI Teams
- Title sponsorship of age group national championships
- Mentoring support from retired athletes.
Grassroots Athletics
- Norwich Union shine:awards
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- The core platform from which athletics is introduced to children at school. The nationwide awards scheme for 3-18 year-olds measures their athletics progress in a variety of skills and discipline
- Norwich Union star:track
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- 8-15 year olds of all abilities receive expert athletics coaching from trained coaches and can try events that they would not normally have a chance to – eg pole-vaulting, discuss and javelin
- This will be enhanced to maximise participants and event
- Norwich Union sports:hall
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- The pinnacle of the Grassroots schemes that allows for competitive indoor team athletics for U11s, U13s and U15s. Festivals take place from November, Regional Finals from January to March, whilst the National Final is held at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingha
- Elevating Athletics with Norwich Union
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- National curriculum resource for schools aimed to increase interest in the sport of athletics as well as encourage literacy and numeracy
- Extensive teacher training programme to engage over 100,000 teachers from 20,000 Primary Schools and 5,000 Secondary Schools to ensure quality and uniform coaching of athletics in schools.
Athletics in the Community
- Norwich Union Athletics Festivals
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- Free athletics festivals to be run in the host cities of five of the seven Norwich Union televised events to engage local schools and the community in athletics
- Get Britain’s Kids Active
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- An initiative to encourage teachers and parents to work together to help their children and pupils get more active.
For more information on these initiatives and how to get involved, visit www.ukathletics.net or call UK Athletics on 0870 998 6800.
Norwich Union is also committed to ensuring those children with disabilities are able to enjoy a fun, active lifestyle. Through its partnership with WheelPower, Norwich Union is funding a series of events throughout the UK to engage children in wheelchair sport. To find out more visit www.wheelpower.org.uk.
About Norwich Union
Norwich Union is the UK's biggest insurer. With a focus on insurance for individuals and small businesses, Norwich Union insures one in five households, one in seven motor vehicles and around 800,000 businesses. Norwich Union insurance products are available through a variety of distribution channels including brokers, corporate partners such as banks and building societies and Norwich Union Direct.
Norwich Union is also a leading provider of life, pensions and investment products and one of the largest financial adviser (FA) providers. FAs provide over 70% of the company's long-term savings business in the UK.
Norwich Union is part of Aviva, the world’s sixth-largest insurance group.