‘Outdoor and adventure sports should be accessible to all’ – new development officer
Guernsey’s new outdoor and adventure sports development officer wants to help make activities like kayaking, paddle boarding and wild swimming accessible to the whole community.
Alan Jenner, a stand-up paddle board instructor for eight years, has been in post for just over a week.
‘The issue is that outdoor and adventure sports can often be seen as exclusive because of the cost and need to access kit and equipment,’ he said.
‘I want to be able to reduce this friction and make it accessible to the whole community.’
The role has been jointly funded by a private benefactor and the Guernsey Sports Commission.
A key part will be coordinating training and providing support to teachers, coaches, and volunteers to ensure that the delivery of adventure sports is safe.
‘I will be hoping to provide a central point for water safety training on the island,’ said Alan.
‘I will be coordinating logistics and having an oversight of activities making sure that there are some decent standards in place and that there remains a pathway to accessibility for all.
‘I will also be working with all the existing service providers and outdoor and adventure sports community and developing a water safety strategy which is something the island has been lacking for some time.
‘But it’s not just about outdoor and adventure sports. I’m hoping to deliver life skills, learning about our natural environment, the tides, the weather, how to decide when it’s safe to go out on the water. There is so much to learn and so much to see.
‘My ambition is to make the area around Havelet Bay and La Vallette a centre of excellence, providing a stepping-stone for people on their outdoor and adventure sports journey.
‘I would love to hear about what people want or how they would like to participate. I don’t want people to think that it’s all about abseiling down a 200ft cliff. It’s about embracing our whole outdoor culture and environment.’
The Commission’s relationship director Steve Sharman said that outdoor and adventure sports is a real growth area, and the island provides the ideal environment for these sorts of activities to take place.
‘We are hoping to be able to develop increased opportunities for sporting activities such as kayaking, paddle boarding, wild swimming and many other sea-based activities and plan to focus these around the new development at La Vallette and Havelet Bay,’ he said.
