Congratulations on 50 years of supporting grassroots sports in Newcastle upon Tyne

Liberal Democrat councillors led the way as Newcastle City Council congratulated all those associated with the charity which has provided more than £2.5m in grants to young talent, sports clubs and events in our city.

Its special anniversary appeal aims to raise £50,000 for the specific purposes of developing young female football coaches, mentoring and development of basketball coaches, expanding the Deaf Rugby Programme in the city and a one year Introduction to Sports Coaching programme for Year 12 and 13 for those young people who currently support Hat-Trick as volunteers in the more disadvantaged parts of the city.

Commenting, Parklands Ward Councillor Pauline Allen said : I know that Sport Newcastle do an excellent job in supporting young people in our area to achieve their sporting potential. I really admire the dedication and commitment of our young sportsmen and sportswomen but I know that they rely on dedicated coaches and generous sponsors in order to be able to fulfil their potential and this is where Sport Newcastle help out with grants and support.

We hear much about the problems that our youngsters face today, and we've debated many of them in the Council Chamber over the years, but we should also celebrate those who spend hours every week practising their chosen sport, be it football, rugby, athletics, swimming or gymnastics or one of the many other sports now available to them and to help them wherever we can. I'm sure that early morning runs or swims in all weathers can be difficult, but to achieve success it is necessary to put in long and possibly lonely hours of training, it isn't all about awards and adulation but that's usually the only parts we as spectators see. Sporting excellence needs to be worked at and it must be difficult at times to keep motivated and focused but fortunately many of our young people do that and then become the Olympic champions of the future.

We need organisations such as Sport Newcastle and I was pleased that Malcolm Dix received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the recent awards dinner for his 40 years' involvement with the organisation, and I extend my congratulations to him. I know that Malcolm feels passionate about the work he does at Sport Newcastle and we should all feel grateful that he, and all the others involved with the organisation, give so much time and effort to helping young people.

I hope that the City Council will find ways of helping Sport Newcastle reach its targets in this its 50th year and beyond so that more youngsters can realise their dreams and become the sports personalities of the future.