The high profile duo were joined by more than 100 children across the capital who gathered to show off some of the unusual sports they have been undertaking at school as part of the project including street cheer, jump rope, ultimate frisbee, dodgeball and parkour, a physical discipline focusing on efficient movement around obstacles.

Matalan Sporting Promise, which is run by the well-known British retailer Matalan, supports sport and PE activity in schools by working in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust.

Around 3,500 schools already benefitting from the programme and Sir Steve, one of only four Olympians to have won a gold medal at five consecutive Olympic Games, said he is proud to be an ambassador for the project because of all the good work it is doing for young people.

"Matalan Sporting Promise is all about encouraging children to take part in a variety of activities – not just the traditional sports – so it was fantastic for them to demonstrate what they've learned at Trafalgar Square," he told insidethegames.

"It is a fun and exciting way to engage young people in a whole range of sports and physical activity.

"Sport is such an important part of children's wellbeing, so it's vital we continue to support the teachers who are running PE lessons across the country."

Children from St Mary's and Marlborough primary schools, Langdon Park secondary school, Stepney Green College and Westminster Academy were joined by a number of leading UK stars of parkour, ultimate frisbee and jump rope.

This included French free runner Sébastien Foucan (pictured above and below, right of Redgrave), one of the founders of parkour.

The 37-year-old from Paris has been involved in a number of high profile projects promoting his sport, including Bond film Casino Royale where he features as villain Mollaka and is involved in a high speed foot chase by James Bond, played by Daniel Craig, through a construction site.

"We are really pleased to be celebrating the huge success of Matalan Sporting Promise and the impact it has had on young people across the nation," said Youth Sport Trust chair Campbell, who is also chair of UK Sport.


"We know that sport changes lives and through our partnership with Matalan, we can reach thousands of young people and encourage them to get involved in sport, in a fun and energetic way."

There are two parts to the programme.

The first is Matalan TOP Sport, which is designed for primary education, providing training and resources for teachers with 3,600 teachers trained as part of this already.

The second part of the programme is Matalan yoUR Activity which concentrates on secondary schools and young people who may not want to take up traditional mainstream sports.

The aspiration is for the programme to be in more than 10,000 schools by the end of 2013 and to reach as many schools across the UK over the next few years.

There are currently more than 260 schools involved in London.

"Matalan is committed to getting more young people taking part in more sport and I'm delighted to see the Matalan Sporting Promise programme working so well here in London," added Janet Hogan-Dawkins, the Matalan store manager in Dalston.

"We really want to strengthen our relationships with the local schools and it's not just for the children either, their parents will receive great offers in their local store."

More information on Matalan Sporting Promise is available in Matalan stores and online by clicking here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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