England Hockey sensation and London Sport Awards panellist, Grace Balsdon, tells us about her experience on the judging panel and why she’s looking forward to celebrating grassroots sport at the iconic Wembley Stadium this year.
Why did you want to be involved with the London Sport Awards this year?
I thought it was a fantastic opportunity too see the range of of initiatives that are going in London to get young people active and engaged in their communities as well as health and sport together as a package.
Why do you think it is important to celebrate the successes of grassroots sport?
Celebrating grassroots is really important because if you engage people young enough, they are more likely to adhere to a healthy lifestyle as they grow up. As the population of London, we need to help encourage that and make sure that it is a priority for us. The younger people start playing sport and being active, the more likely they are to carry it on throughout their lifetime.
What does a winner of a London Sport Award look like to you?
There’s a lot of people doing things to provide opportunities for young people but its got to be something that catches peoples attention and be a new initiative that’s new and a creative way of engaging more young people
Did anything shocks or surprise you when going through the nominations?
I really liked the Volunteer of the Year category. I’m an athlete and so i know the efforts that go into getting people engaged in sport. It was also great to see the sheer numbers of people that are volunteering, I thought was a fantastic to see people not only doing it, but actually helping out communities through volunteering – i thought that was really amazing.
What are you most excited about the Awards itself?
I’ve only been to Wembley once, and its an amazing and historical venue for this kind of event, I think a lot of people will be excited about attending there. And as for the Black Tie and Trainers, I’m sure we’ll see some interesting combinations! Overall i’m just really excited to be part of the awards.
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