Officer appointed to promote sport among disadvantaged

Michelle Dent, 27, has been appointed partnership development officer for equity at South Yorkshire Sport, which is one of 49 county sports partnerships in England.

Her role will be to increase the awareness of sport and benefits of recreational activities among disability groups, clubs and individuals in areas that typically have low participation rates.

One of her main aims will be to research and explore the barriers preventing minority communities in South Yorkshire from taking part in sport and to identify ways county sport partnerships can promote community cohesion through sport.

She said: “This is a new post for South Yorkshire Sport and I will be working with the core team here and our partner organisations to develop our main sporting projects.

“I have a broad remit, but my main goals are to promote sport to minority groups, such as women and girls, ethnic communities and disabled people, and to increase participation in areas that have little sporting activity.

“With the Olympic and Paralympic Games approaching I think it’s a great opportunity for South Yorkshire Sport to show people that their sporting dreams can become a reality and we will be here to point them in the right direction.

“I think my new position will be rewarding because I will be able to show people that they can achieve their sporting goals whatever their background with a can-do attitude.”

The amateur netball player previously worked for the Federation of Disability Sport Organisation where she was a disability development officer for South Yorkshire for two and a half years.

She will be working with South Yorkshire Sport’s partner organisations including the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation, the Federation of Disability Sports Organisations and the English Federation of Disability Sport.

South Yorkshire Sport is publicly funded and receives much of its support from Barnsley Council and some national sport governing bodies.