Twenty-five years on, summer sports programme keeps growing in potential – and not just for kids

Twenty- five years on and the Gibraltar Sports and Leisure Authority’s Summer Sports programme is heading to what it expects could be one of their biggest Summer Sports programmes.
Already having achieved a record 800 plus children attending last year’s sessions, GSLA CEO Reagan Lima did not hide the fact he would be more than pleased to see the numbers rise even further.
There was confidence among the team presenting this year’s programme that the new format introduced last year, which provided for parents to drop off their children earlier for a 9am start,would continue to be a success this year once again.
This year’s programme, which was launched on Friday at a press conference held at the Tercentenary Sports Hall with Minister for Sport Leslie Bruzon present, was described as not just providing “enriching experiences for children in our community”, but also as a “potential career path for volunteers and leaders involved in the programme”.
A clear demonstration of that potential was evident among those present at the launch. GSLA CEO Reagan Lima started as a volunteer himself, as did Sean Collado, one of two people running the day-to-day side of the programme.
Even the Minister for Sport himself was among the first volunteers in the programme when it first started.
Mr Lima highlighted that three of the leaders involved in the programme last year had since joined the GSLA.
This year marks 25 years since the start of the Sports Train programme, and 15 years from the start of the Stay and Play programme, the latter which has also continued to grow in numbers.
Reinforced by a multi-agency approach in terms of planning and implementation, alongside the support from numerous sporting associations, the Gibraltar Summer Sports Programme and Stay and Play programme is now looking at once again offering a summer of sporting opportunities and recreation for children, including sports camps for individual sports.
Organisers of the programme also emphasised that the work done behind the scenes in preparation for the summer had seen collaboration between agencies and departments, including culture, to ensure that there was crossover between the programmes in order to offer a wider range of activities to children.
The increased number of sports facilities, with the use of Lathbury and Europa facilities and the new pool will once again provide for sessions to be split across age groups and venues, something that proved to be a success last year.
Similarly, the programme will start immediately after the school year ends, with doors open as from the 10th July until the 23rd August.
Those wishing to register can do so by following the links at gsla.gi, with online registration available.

(Look out for more information in next week’s editions)