A year for sporting adventure

I was fortunate to be brought up with the great Welsh countryside on my doorstep. Growing up in Porthcawl, South Wales, I developed a love for the sea and the surrounding countryside. It was the norm to go surfing, swim in the sea, use the beach for various different sports and to explore the area. My family ensured that I had access to these opportunities and my school supported trips to organised adventure activities. I feel very fortunate to have had these experiences, as I am only too aware that not everyone is able to access our outdoor gym.

It built my confidence at trying different activities and that provided me with so many memories. It instilled in me a sense of adventure and a desire to keep challenging myself.

It’s been my passion to ensure that every child, young person and adult have the opportunities to feel the benefits that I did from being active.

Unsurprisingly I believe that sport has an ability to transform lives, not only through physical health, but through building social networks, developing leadership and new skills and creating resilience. Above all else it’s fun and that in itself is good, something that all too easily can be forgotten! These are the benefits that I want everyone in Wales to share in.

Understanding what motivates people to take part really is key. Our recent School Sport Survey and Active Adults survey highlighted that motivation comes from having confidence, an awareness, the opportunity and a positive experience. Quite obvious really, but if we are to get people more active in the outdoors then these need to be the principles that we base our offer on.

We’ve got some fantastic facilities throughout Wales. Our partnership with the National Trust in Wales has opened up beautiful locations for the purpose of physical activity and sport and it’s been hugely popular with families of young and old who were looking at alternative ways to stay active.

Plas Menai, our outdoor and watersports centre in North Wales, along with the new Welsh Sailing Academy and Events Centre at Plas Heli have been taking children’s passion for sailing and other activities and turning that into world championships and Olympic medals. They’ve built on positive experiences, built up confidence and skills through fun and engaging activities and given them the opportunity to set new goals and achieve even greater things.

Mari Davies, is a perfect example of this. Mari started her adventure in the sport at the club level.  She has represented Wales and Team GBR as a Junior & Youth sailor.  She has been Welsh, British champion and a medallist at the Europeans.  She has sailed at world championships and already travelled the world.  She is currently a member of the British Sailing Podium Potential Squad and has started her campaign for selection for Tokyo in 2020. I’d love to see others like Mari in some of our adventure sports.

Setting goals, achieving something and challenging yourself. These are all positive steps to a greater health and wellbeing. Having a sense of adventure can only benefit you and sport can very much be one of the ways in which you express it.

This year is the Year of Adventure. People like Mari and also people like Lowri Morgan and Richard Parks are great role models for how sport can play a role in helping you to ‘find your epic’. They are people who when they completed a challenge immediately started thinking about the next one. People who believed that if they focussed and worked hard, they could achieve feats that others would have doubted.

That spirit, tenacity, and belief that no goal is insurmountable should be at the heart of our collective approach to making the most of the natural environment we have in Wales. Obviously your challenge may not be climbing seven of the highest mountains in the world or competing in the 6633 Ultra Footrace, but can we take that belief and deliver a more active, healthy, sustainable and successful Wales? I believe we can.