The Active Code

Are you a rugby fan?

Then you will not want to miss the next episode of The Active Code.

We’re thrilled to announce our guest this week is Chris Jones, ex-international England rugby player.

Who is Chris Jones?

On the pitch, Chris was a senior player and key decision-maker. Chris was a key member of successful Premiership-winning squads and capped for England.

Following his playing days, Chris is still involved in coaching and mentoring younger players.

In his professional career, Chris has moved outside of the sector.

What do we chat about?

During this episode, Chris speaks to Luke and Paul about:

·       Being offered his first professional contract

·       The transition from his playing days to his new career

·       The impact physical activity has on mood, sleep and health

·       What the great leaders did in high-pressure situations

·       What leading by example looks like

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

We’re thrilled to announce Hockey star Tess Howard is joining us on The Active Code!

Who is Tess Howard?

Tess Howard is a Great Britain and England Hockey player. Since recording the episode, Tess has gone on to extraordinary heights in her Hockey career, including scoring a winning goal against Australia in the gold medal match of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

In addition to Tess’s Commonwealth successes, she’s also a public speaker, guest writer and podcast host.

What do we chat about?

During the episode, Tess shares:

·       Her experience of representing her country from a young age

·       Juggling her university studies with playing sport

·       Her incredible story of overcoming a 12-month intensive rehabilitation following an ACL rupture that led to her missing the Tokyo Olympics

·       Her drive to break down the barriers for girls and women taking part in sport and physical activity

LinkedIn / @howard__tess

The wait is over.

The Active Code is back.

And not just as audio, but video too!

That’s right, not only can you listen to us, you also have the option to see us on our  YouTube channel, by clicking here.

We’ve got a whole new host of experts joining us to explore how we can boost leadership and get more children active.

And what a first guest we have.

Who is our guest?

We’re delighted to be joined by Tara Dillon, CEO of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, or as many of you will know them, CIMSPA.

CIMSPA is the professional development body for the UK’s sport and physical activity sector, committed to supporting, developing and enabling professionals and organisations to succeed and, as a result, inspire our nation to become more active.

We have recently formed an exciting partnership with CIMSPA as we feel collaboration on standards, high quality and the development of career pathways in the sector is a crucial part of the puzzle to get more children, more active, more often.

Through introducing you to Tara, and the work CIMSPA do, we hope to bring you, your organisation and your workforce support, guidance and inspiration to continue the great work you already do.

What do we chat about?

As CEO of CIMSPA for 7 years now, we are keen to hear Tara’s story and motivations behind the great work CIMSPA has done and is going to do moving forwards.

We’ll be delving into the secret of CIMSPA’s success and rapid growth, the direction CIMSPA wants to take the sector and the amazing impact CIMSPA has had on physical activity levels.

Our chat with Tara is split into two parts and will be released over two weeks:

w/c 21st November 2022: Part 1

w/c 28th November 2022: Part 2

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Watch on YouTube. 

We are very excited to bring this podcast to you... enjoy the episode!

The wait is over.

The Active Code is back.

And not just as audio, but video too!

That’s right, not only can you listen to us, you also have the option to see us on our  YouTube channel, by clicking here.

We’ve got a whole new host of experts joining us to explore how we can boost leadership and get more children active.

And what a first guest we have.

Who is our guest?

We’re delighted to be joined by Tara Dillon, CEO of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, or as many of you will know them, CIMSPA.

CIMSPA is the professional development body for the UK’s sport and physical activity sector, committed to supporting, developing and enabling professionals and organisations to succeed and, as a result, inspire our nation to become more active.

We have recently formed an exciting partnership with CIMSPA as we feel collaboration on standards, high quality and the development of career pathways in the sector is a crucial part of the puzzle to get more children, more active, more often.

Through introducing you to Tara, and the work CIMSPA do, we hope to bring you, your organisation and your workforce support, guidance and inspiration to continue the great work you already do.

What do we chat about?

As CEO of CIMSPA for 7 years now, we are keen to hear Tara’s story and motivations behind the great work CIMSPA has done and is going to do moving forwards.

We’ll be delving into the secret of CIMSPA’s success and rapid growth, the direction CIMSPA wants to take the sector and the amazing impact CIMSPA has had on physical activity levels.

Our chat with Tara is split into two parts and will be released over two weeks:

w/c 21st November 2022: Part 1

w/c 28th November 2022: Part 2

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Watch on YouTube. 

We are very excited to bring this podcast to you... enjoy the episode!

The series finale of The Active Code is here and what a series it’s been!

To say farewell (for now), we’re looking back on series 3 and bringing you the very best bits in this final episode.

Who’s joined us on the podcast this series?

We’ve welcomed a whole host of exceptional business owners and experts from both inside and outside of the sports coaching and children's activity sector:

Episode 1: Chris Brindley - Non-Executive Director, International Speaker, Executive Coach and Consultant in business and sport

Episode 2: Adam Lakeland - Founder and director of Pro Sport Coaching Ltd

Episode 3: Edwyn van Rooyen - CEO at T-Cup Ltd

Episode 4: Dennis Kennedy - Founder of Inspire Activity Limited

Episode 5: Jack Shakespeare - Director of Research, Policy and Communications for ukactive

Episode 6: Mitchell Quirke - Business Development Manager at Progressive Sports

Episode 7: Hannah Crane - Director of Development at StreetGames

What sought-after insights have been shared this series?

Over the seven episodes we noticed a theme develop. Our chats with each guest were first and foremost about 'what's best for our children and young people'.

• Chris Brindley MBE challenged the perceptions of teachers, sports coaches and educators through the children's eyes.
• The social impact of sport in the local community was celebrated.
• Mitchell Quirke from Progressive Sports in Bristol emphasised the importance of developing public and private sector relationships to affect meaningful change.
• Jack Shakespeare, Director of Research, Policy and Communications, delved into the key strategies we can take from other sectors, such as marketing and communication, to help engage more people in physical activity.

Listen to episode 8 “Best Bits” now or catch up on all seven episodes wherever you get your podcasts.

A big thank you to all our series 3 guests for joining us and sharing thought-provoking insights, nuggets of wisdom and inspirational ideas to boost leadership and get more children active!

This week on the podcast we chat to Hannah Crane, Director of Development at StreetGames.

Who is Hannah Crane?

Hannah is Director of Development at StreetGames, an organisation creating positive change in the lives of disadvantaged young people through the power of sport.

Hannah joined StreetGames in 2011 as Partnership Manager, heading up the organisation’s legacy building strategy for London 2012. Now, as Director of Development, Hannah manages the design, writing and delivery of StreetGames’ training. 

What’s discussed in the episode?

• Volunteer to career success examples
• How a values-first discussion builds trust with community organisations 
• How to take on the difficult questions, such as ‘What do young people actually want to hear about?’
• Why the sector needs to support the workforce in fielding first line mental health questions from participants
• StreetGames’ exciting upcoming projects

This week on the podcast we’re joined by Mitchell Quirke, Business Development Manager at Progressive Sports.

Who is Mitchell Quirke?

Mitchell Quirke is in his eighth year at Progressive Sports.

As Business Development Manager, Mitchell develops meaningful partnerships with primary schools and community projects in the Bristol and South Gloucestershire region.

Why?

To engage and inspire children to lead active and healthy lives.

What’s discussed in the episode?

• The importance of a healthy body and healthy mind
• How Progressive Sports doubled their revenue through effective relationship building and increased customer trust
• Why Progressive Sports offer the Holiday Activity and Food Programme in the region
• Headaches and barriers the programme threw up
• Solutions and tips to address the headaches and barriers
• How Progressive Sports has had an impact on over 8,000 children in the past 12 months during the school holidays

This week’s guest brings with him years of experience in the children’s activities sector.

Joining Paul and Luke for a chat is Director of Research, Policy and Communications for ukactive, Jack Shakespeare. 

Who is Jack Shakespeare?

 Starting his career with Fit for Sport in 2007, he helped the organisation become one of the country’s most well-known children’s activity organisations. In a 10-year journey Jack helped develop hundreds of people to operate in the sector and became Head of Training and Development.

Moving on to become Head of ukactive Kids in 2017, a not-for-profit organisation for the physical activity sector, Jack worked with local and national partners to develop a policy-driven, practical approach to providing more opportunities for children and young people to be physically active.

Now, as Director of Research, Policy and Communications for ukactive, Jack continues to champion the benefits of physical activity and plays a key role in the ukactive Research Institute.

What do Jack, Luke and Paul chat about in this episode?

·       The benefits of physical activity on family life

·       How exercise sparks innovation and clear thinking

·       How emphasising growth on an individual level is key to engaging the unengaged

·       What the sector can learn from the youth sector, marketing and communication

·       How we as a sector can start showing the social impact of our provision and support in the community

This week on the podcast we welcome Dennis Kennedy, founder of Inspire Activity Limited.

 Who is Dennis Kennedy?

 “It takes a village to raise a child" is a proverb that really resonates with this week’s guest. 

 Dennis Kennedy is the founder of Inspire Activity Limited, a West Midlands based organisation that connects people with activity providers through the Community Games project.

 Swapping life in the corporate world to work with a core voluntary team and provide an environment where children and young people are inspired to grow in a safe and healthy environment has had its challenges, but Dennis and his team are in no doubt that those challenges are far outweighed by the positive outcomes.

What’s discussed in the episode?

• The origins of the Community Games
• How the Community Games has engaged a staggering 80,000 plus people in their local community
• The main reasons why the Community Games has seen great success
• How Dennis and his team pivoted during the pandemic
• The importance of volunteers in the physical activity space

This week on The Active Code we welcome tech entrepreneur Edwyn van Rooyen who’s using science, tech and real-time data to help organisations, schools and individuals find their own perfect blend of health, happiness and success. 

Who is Edwyn van Rooyen?

Ed is a successful tech entrepreneur, having set up and run multiple organisations. With a background in legal and financial services and a keen interest in sport and physical activity, Ed is passionate about creating successful teams who thrive within the workplace. 

Ed’s most recent venture, T-Cup, uses cutting edge self-reflection technology to improve people’s wellbeing in a measurable and sustainable way using real-time data.

Hosts Luke and Paul chat to Ed about:

·       His background as a semi-professional rugby player

·       The sale of his business and the struggles it caused

·       His desire to measure health and happiness

·       How T-Cup helps people thrive