DAME Jessica Ennis-Hill has backed The Sun’s Activity For All campaign to ensure kids are on the go over the summer.
The Olympic champ fell in love with athletics after her parents dropped her off at a summer club when she was just ten.
Now she is encouraging kids’ summer clubs to run, skip and jump to get their applications in for a £1,000 grant before the August 5 deadline.
Jessica, 38, said: “It’s so important, because not all kids get the opportunity to be involved in sport if there’s no funding.
“Those kids can get that chance through Stronger Starts and Activity For All. For some, it might be the first time they get to experience healthy snacks and being active.
“It can have such a positive impact on their lives. They might decide they want to be a coach, a sports nutritionist or even an elite athlete.
“Having financial support there for community groups, schools and clubs will make a real difference.”
Our Activity For All cash can be used in any way that encourages kids to get active in the holidays.
Perhaps you give youngsters their first taste of cricket, or you run basketball camps.
Maybe you want to fund additional spaces, buy equipment or provide free healthy lunches. Whatever it is, our grants can help.
Tesco’s Stronger Starts has found that four in ten have seen their kids miss out on summer clubs and activities due to the cost.
Jessica first won international attention for her sporting prowess in 2006 when she won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in the heptathlon.
She then won gold in the 2012 London Olympics and silver in the 2016 games in Rio. And it is all down to her parents.
Jessica said: “I fully credit my parents for what I’ve done. I might not have found athletics without them.”
As a mum-of-two, she knows just how tricky it can be to keep kids interested in playing sport.
“You don’t want to force your kids into sport,” she said. “It’s more of a gentle nudge to try different things.
“Giving them options is key. It’s how I got my start. My parents took me and my sister to a summer camp. It was about trying new things.
“It was fun. It’s something any parent can do — take their kids to a local group and make it exciting.”
The sportswoman has son Reggie, ten, and daughter Olivia, six, with husband Andy Hill, and they encourage them to be “strong like Mummy”.
“We like them to see us being active,” she said. “I like to plant the seeds that being strong is good and exercise is worth doing.
“It’s all about positivity in our house. They know how much I like running. My son has always been active. He started walking at about ten months, which was quite freaky.”
Jessica has this year been able to see someone she inspired compete in the Paris Olympics.
I was with Jessica when she came out and the crowd cheering was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard. I thought, ‘I want that!’
Laviai Nielsen
In 2012, Laviai Nielsen, 28, was chosen to carry the heptathlon runner’s kit and now credits that honour with inspiring her.
Laviai recalled: “I was with Jessica when she came out and the crowd cheering was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard.
“I thought, ‘I want that!’ ”
JESSICA’S tips for getting young ones more active:
VARIETY: “Expose your kids to as many sports as possible to help them find one they love. You never know what they might like.”
POSITIVITY: “If you make sport fun, rather than a chore, your little ones will see it that way too.”
TAKE UP A SPORT TOGETHER: “Learn something with your children – it’s quality time.”
LISTEN TO YOUR KIDS: “If they say they want to try something like rugby or football, get them to a session if you can. If they love the sport they chose, they’ll want to do it more.”
WATCH COMPETITION: “Watching sports as a family is fun. We’ve had a fab summer with the Euros, Wimbledon and the Olympics.”
She is competing in the 400m, as is her twin sister Lina.
Jessica said: “It’s not until you retire and look back that you think about the impact you have. It’s only now I see the effect it’s had on other people. I was just enjoying the sport.
“Laviai was my kit carrier at the 2012 Olympics, and to hear that my experience inspired her is amazing.
“I understand how important role models are for young kids.”
In fact, it was meeting a former Olympian that helped Jess realise she could achieve the same.
She explains: “The diver Leon Taylor came to my school to tell his story. He had won a medal in the Athens Olympics. I was so inspired.”
Jessica is hoping to help launch a new stream of athletes across all levels with her AI platform for Tesco Stronger Starts.
Using a special platform, clubs can create their very own message from Jessica to encourage friends and family to vote for them to be funded.
Voting takes place in Tesco stores, using blue tokens at the checkout.
The winning club gets £1,500, the next £1,000 and the final club £500.
Each store has three local projects or schools to vote for.
Jessica said: “Hopefully, making it personalised will encourage more to get involved and vote.
“The grants can make a big difference to clubs and children who attend them, so please go and pop your blue tokens in the boxes.”
IF you run a not-for-profit, grassroots sports club in England, Wales or Scotland you could be eligible for one of our 150 £1,000 grants to use for anything which encourages under-18s into sport.
Applications close on August 5.
Go to tescostrongerstarts.org.uk/activityfund/ or scan the QR code.
