Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:40 pm on 13 December 2022.
I call for a statement on sports participation for school-aged children in Wales, and particularly north Wales. One of the three north Wales-based junior parkruns is called Prestatyn Prom, and it's suffering from a low take-up of participants and is at risk of closing. Junior parkruns, which are run by volunteers, are free, fun and friendly weekly 2 km events for children aged 4 to 14, to jog, run or walk every Sunday morning. Parkrun Cymru is very keen to help promote and grow this event to be as successful as other junior parkruns across Wales. Parkrun has already been identified as a model that fits the Welsh Government's proposed social prescribing framework through participation and volunteering. The Sport Wales 2022 school sport survey stated that only 39 per cent of pupils took part in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week, but that 93 per cent of pupils in Wales had a demand to do more sport. It is therefore vital that we grow free, accessible and enjoyable activities for children, such as junior parkrun, and I call for a Welsh Government statement outlining how this could be achieved. Thank you.