The Buddy System

Some people feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about health and fitness and taking part in P.E. classes, particularly if they feel like they’re too unfit to take part. Tara Rouse, 18, saw this problem and decided she wanted to solve it in her school.

She was inspired by a few things. Firstly, the fact that she knows what it feels like to not be that interested in physical education. That’s because when she first arrived at her high school, St. Dominic’s, she wasn’t all that interested either, but this was soon turned around when she became aware of all the options provided at the school compared to her primary school. And she wanted to turn people around and get them enthusiastic about P.E. just like her. Secondly, the new, modern fitness suite available at the school just wasn’t being used enough, and it seemed a shame for a facility like that to be going to waste.

Now that she was taking P.E. at A-Level (and was hoping to go on to study sports beyond the age of 18) she saw this as an opportunity to help those people who might feel uncomfortable when it comes to sport, and to give them the encouragement they need to start thinking about working towards a healthier lifestyle.

A lot of people told her about how they felt uncomfortable when doing P.E., and that perhaps they’d feel more comfortable outside of the classroom environment and being taught by people closer to their age. She decided to set up The Buddy System.

The Olympic Torch at St. Dominic’s

She applied to Live UnLtd to help her set up her project. She was offered guidance and support, as well as a cash Award to get her started. This money was put towards getting expert advice from fitness instructors and covering insurance and refreshments for the classes.

She ran the classes along with other A-Level pupils, and they were a huge success, with plenty of people showing up and telling her how much they enjoy the classes.

“It never felt like work,” saysTara, “I enjoyed doing it.”

The classes have received praise from Sport NI, and one member of The Buddy System even got to run one of the legs of the Olympic torch when it was passing through the area.

And she has now passed a belief of the importance of sport on to those in the year below her. The project has been handed on to them so that it keeps going now that she has left school.

Tara’s interest in sport remains. She is now studying an HND Diploma in Coaching and Sports Development. In fact, everyone that was helping her in running the classes has gone on to study sport in some way after their A-Levels.

The experience helped her when deciding what she wanted to do after leaving school, and she is currently
working towards becoming either a personal trainer or a nutritionist.

Want to start a project like Tara did?