The Gannochy Trust was founded in 1937 by Arthur Kinmond Bell; whisky magnate, philanthropist, and all-round sportsman who cited cricket as his lifelong passion. The Trust helps fund charitable and public purposes that benefit the community of Perth and its surrounding areas, and over the years has provided funding support to Live Active Leisure, helping us to deliver a wide range of projects such as our Emerging Athlete Programme, Individual Coaching Grants and Perth and Kinross’s Young People’s Sports Panel to name just a few.

We recently caught up with Community Sport and Partnership Manager Phil to find out more about the work he does and our partnership with The Gannochy Trust.

What is your position within Live Active Leisure? 

Community Sport and Partnership Manager which means I am responsible for Sports Development, Health and Wellbeing and securing External Funding to support growth and sustainability.

How long have you worked for Live Active Leisure? 

7 years

What do you love most about your job? 

I count myself lucky to work within a field that I am passionate about but it’s definitely the people within Live Active Leisure that make my job so enjoyable.

Are you active in your spare time?  If so, what activities do you like to do? 

Sport has always played a big part in my life and despite my advancing years (!) I still try to keep active on a regular basis. I play 5-aside each week at Bell's Sports Centre with a group of friends - some would say this is recreational, but I can assure you it is very competitive! I am a member of North Inch Golf Club and usually manage a round on most weekends. I've also set myself a bit of a 'Parkrun' challenge for this year to try to improve my overall fitness levels. 

The Gannochy Trust provides funding support for Live Active Leisure, can you explain a bit more about this?

With funding support from The Gannochy Trust, Live Active Leisure has successfully developed and delivered a range of Physical Activity and Sport Initiatives for more than 25 years. Through this partnership, we are able to achieve our shared outcomes relating to increasing participation, improving quality of life, developing local young people and promoting inclusion.

Whilst all of our project work is focused on physical activity and sport, it is true that in many cases this is merely the vehicle that we use to deliver on wider outcomes. Athletes, volunteers, clubs, coaches, schools and communities all feel the benefit of the investment that The Gannochy Trust provides Live Active Leisure, and we continue to work in partnership to ensure that funding is directed towards locally identified priorities.

What are some of the projects that the Gannochy Trust have supported us with?

The Gannochy Trust provides support that allows Live Active Leisure to deliver a wide range of projects and initiatives, targeting different groups and communities across Perth and Kinross.

Some of the more established initiatives include:

Live Active Leisure’s Emerging Athlete Programme

With The Gannochy Trust’s investment, Live Active Leisure provides subsidised support to young athletes who are competing at Regional, National or International level. The Emerging Athlete Programme has been designed to create a holistic approach to athlete development which includes weekly strength and conditioning training as well as ongoing performance lifestyle support and guidance. There are currently 20 local young athletes who are part of our Emerging Athlete Programme.

Live Active Leisure’s Individual Coaching Grants

The development of coaches and volunteers at all levels, from grassroots to performance sport, is something that is central to the growth, success and sustainability of community sport within Perth and Kinross. The funding from the The Gannochy Trust allows Live Active Leisure to provide this support by removing barriers for new and developing coaches. For those looking to undertake National Governing Body Qualifications in their chosen sport, Live Active Leisure are able to provide financial assistance to support the cost of attending these courses. Over the years, the feedback from those who have received funding has been centred around two themes:

●  without this funding support, they simply would not have been able to attend the courses and achieve the qualification.

●  their skills and confidence in coaching have improved as a result of their coaching course.

This highlights the critical role that the funding plays in making coach education more accessible to those within Perth and Kinross but also the important part it plays in improving the standard of coaching within our clubs and communities.

A few of our more recent developments that have been introduced with support from The Gannochy Trust include:

Live Active Leisure’s Targeted Outdoor Education Programme

A new project in 2022-23, investment from The Gannochy Trust allowed us to deliver an Outdoor Education programme for targeted Primary Schools in Perth and Kinross. We believed that by delivering in an environment that challenged and inspired our young people, they could develop new skills and reach beyond what they thought was possible.

Working with identified young people and providing them with outdoor experiences, we have supported more than 200 individuals this year who have enjoyed taking part in opportunities that they would not otherwise have experienced. From gorge walking, climbing and skiing to paddleboarding, geocaching and shelter building – the range of activities and challenges have helped to build confidence and resilience within the young people engaged in the initiative. Whilst a new project, we are delighted with the impact we’ve seen this year and we look forward to it growing and developing over the coming years.

Perth and Kinross’s Young People’s Sport Panel

Having been in the pipeline for over a year now, in early 2023, we successfully recruited to Perth and Kinross’s first ever Young People’s Sport Panel (YPSP) thanks to funding support from The Gannochy Trust.

We are delighted to have 12 young people who are starting their journey to support the development of sport in Perth and Kinross, providing a youth voice and helping to shape projects and initiatives to address local priorities and inequalities. The 12 young people come from a diverse range of backgrounds. The age range is 15 – 22 with members coming from school, employment, modern apprenticeships and further education.

The panel have only been in place since March but have already identified the key objective that they would like to focus on this year which is ‘Helping others to access sport’.

They have agreed to break this down into the following themes:

●  Women and Girls

●  LGBTQ+

●  Mental Health

●  Cost of Living

We can’t wait to see what impact this group of young people will have in helping us plan, develop and deliver sport across Perth and Kinross.