Young people doing their DofE through the Community Sports Trust at Burnley Football Club make their debut as stars of the small screen.
The Burnley DofE group will be featured on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday this weekend and then on Match of the Day on Sunday March 7th and in The Mirror newspaper. The BBC camera crew spent the day filming the DofE participants giving Match of the Day viewers a snapshot of what is involved in achieving a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
The young people who achieve their DofE at Burnley were filmed taking part in all four sections of their Bronze DofE programme. The Volunteering section was illustrated with the opportunity called Challenge Nepal Charity Effort. The young people collect sports clothing which gets sent on to under-priviledged youngsters in Nepal and at the same time learn about global citizenship. They demonstrated the Expedition section with tent pitching, map reading and using a stove. They were filmed practising their first aid techniques for their Skills section and the Physical section involved the young people playing badminton with the Burnley players.
Burnley's players Clarke Carlisle and Jack Cork have given their backing to teenagers doing their DofE at Turf Moor, organised as part of the club's 'Places for Players' partnership with the Barclays Premier League.
Defender Carlisle and on-loan midfielder Cork gave advice and encouragement to 15 of the young people who are doing their DofE, joining them to take part in the sections that make up a DofE programme, including physical activities in the sports hall, followed by an orienteering expedition at Towneley Hall, where Manager Brian Laws met them at the finish.
A DofE programme is a personal challenge and not a competition against others. Every participant’s programme is tailor-made to reflect their individual starting point, abilities and interests. A Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is achievable by any young person who chooses to take up its challenge, regardless of ability, gender, background or location. The young people each spend at least six months completing the four sections of their Bronze DofE programme – Volunteering, Physical and Skills and a two-day, overnight expedition that they organise and complete themselves unaccompanied.
The DofE at Burnley Football Club has had 106 young people successfully achieving their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award over the past 12 months and is on course to achieve over 150 in the coming year. Since the DofE started in 2006, over 140 young people have achieved a combination of Bronze and Silver Awards.
Jonathan Heys, the DofE Co-ordinator at Burnley FC, said: “Through the medium of football and the status we have gained through the promotion to the Premier League, we can target more young people and encouraging them on board and getting them involved in a DofE programme. We are tackling stereotypes and showing that a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is achievable by all.”