The Watford FC Community, Sports and Education Trust’s highly-successful and established Active Watford and Three Rivers programme has secured funding to run from April 2022 to March 2025.
The programme is aimed at working with inactive people in Watford and the surrounding Three Rivers area who are at risk from cardiovascular disease and mild to moderate mental health issues, helping them lead more active lifestyles.
Funding will be provided by the Premier League Charitable Fund, the Professional Footballers’ Association, Watford Borough Council, Three Rivers District Council and NHS Herts Valleys CCG.
According to the UK Government, one in three adults in England live with a long-term health condition and they are twice as likely to be among the least physically active. However, evidence shows that regular physical activity can help prevent or manage many common conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
As part of the Active Watford and Three Rivers programme each participant gets a consultation where they explore the benefits of becoming more active, what is on offer in the local area and the support needed to reach the goals of a curated personalised plan to help them on their journey.
They also receive text-message support, opportunities to engage in activities and an app which has exercise and nutrition advice.
In six years the programme has helped to support over 2,000 people in the local area. In late 2021, over 900 consultations had taken place with 96 per cent of people classed as active after three months. This resulted in people’s life satisfaction ratings increasing by 125 per cent after taking part.
“The Active Watford and Three Rivers project has helped improve the quality of life for the town’s residents, through embedding physical activity into everyday lives,” said Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor.
“This tailored programme gives the guidance and support to help individuals overcome any barriers they face, by helping them find the motivation to be more active, and suiting it to the needs within their lifestyles.”
“Active Watford and Three Rivers is an important part of our service to support our residents to become more active,” added a spokesperson for Three Rivers District Council.
“The tailored guidance and support they receive is proven to help them on their journey to being more active and leading happier, healthier lives.”
With the new funding in place, one of the key new features of Active Watford and Three Rivers involves working regularly with GP surgeries to deliver Patient Engagement Events to help participants understand more about their health and how exercise can support it.
This is now being delivered online via webinars, with topics so far ranging from menopause to arthritis. Further presentations on cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease will be available later in the year.
In addition to the main programme, the Trust has just secured funding from Sport England to deliver fitness classes specifically to inactive women, to help them build their confidence to be more active which will be delivered at the Meriden Community Centre.
There will be a webinar hosted on Wednesday June 22 at 8pm, where people can voice their opinions on what they would like to see from the fitness session.
For more information on the Active Watford and Three Rivers programme click HERE, or contact Alison Goodchild by calling 07710 096398 or emailing alison.goodchild@watfordfc.com.
