Olympic tickets offered to UK Armed Forces members
Tuesday 14 June 2011 1:04 PM
Troops serving in the UK's Armed Forces are being given the chance to win tickets for next year's Olympic Games.
The Tickets For Troops share-out will allow 10,000 tickets to be given to members of the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and their families.
London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said he was "absolutely delighted" troops could receive tickets.
And young people are also to be given the chance to win free Olympic tickets in return for taking part in sport.
Tickets For Troops is being funded by London 2012's Ticketshare scheme, which sees proceeds from prestige hospitality seats used to provide tickets to worthy causes.
All serving members of the Armed Forces and those medically discharged since the start of military action in Afghanistan in 2001 are eligible to register for tickets, which must be done online at the Tickets For Troops website.
Lord Coe said: "Through the sale of our prestige tickets we are enabling the donation of tickets to a number of deserving causes - it would be unimaginable that we wouldn't include our armed service personnel."
Tickets For Troops chairman Lord Marland said: "This support makes a real difference to the troops who are doing such an extraordinary job during these difficult times."
Tickets For Troops was set up in 2009 and since then more than 250,000 free tickets to major sporting, entertainment, musical and cultural events has been shared out.
Meanwhile, any young people who want to qualify for the ballot in which they can also win Olympic tickets will have to join in the Sportivate mass participation scheme.
Sportivate aims to give 14 to 25-year-olds the chance of six to eight weeks of sports coaching.
The whole programme will cost £32m and is designed to get 300,000 youngsters playing sport.
Sport England chief executive Jennie Price said: "Lots of young people think sport isn't for them.
"I would like them to have the chance to discover whether there is a sport they really enjoy, so this programme is all about choice.
"Everyone who takes part will receive high-quality coaching - giving them the confidence and skills which will make them want to keep playing in the future."
To be eligible for free Olympics tickets participants must complete the sports course, missing no more than one session, and then participate for three months.
An eight-week judo course in Lincoln, wakeboarding courses in the Cotswolds and an eight-week introduction to golf for disabled teenagers and young adults in Bedfordshire are among the courses on offer.
There is also mixed tennis sessions for 17 to 24-year-olds in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and football sessions for women in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.
Athletics courses in Tooting Bec, south London, and parkour introductory courses at Waveney in Suffolk are also available.
Sport England hopes the 49 county sports partnerships and local providers and sports clubs, which will run the scheme on the ground, will help those taking part to continue with sport after they have completed their course.
A team of top athletes, current and retired, will act as sporting champions and visit Sportivate sessions to share their experiences
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