HUNDREDS of people in Dorset have been inspired to get active in the year following the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing events.

Sport leaders said the success of last year’s events and the interactive sports arena held on Weymouth Beach, sparked a surge of interest in local sport.

Member numbers for local groups have soared but coaches and organisers said more work is needed to keep the ‘sporting legacy’ alive.

Council chiefs said that a ‘sporting, arts and cultural legacy’ has been secured by extra funding for projects, new sport centres and the expansion of the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA).

John Tweed, chief executive at the sailing academy, said: “The Games sent out a really positive message and people are more interested in sport.

“All of our on-site partners have had a lot of interest already and thanks to Sport England funding our Olympic sport legacy will expand so we can build on it.”

During the Games more than 100,000 people visited the sports arena, held on the beach for 24 days, which offered 25 different activities.

Every visitor received follow-up information to encourage them to find a local club.

Since then, the borough has secured a £450,000 grant from Sport England to help promote the borough as a destination for fun and challenging sports.

Head coach of South Coast Tigers Basketball Club Michael Dronyk will soon open four wheelchair basketball clubs across Dorset.

The sports leader was inspired after the sessions he ran at the Weymouth beach live site proved to be such an ‘outstanding success’.

He said: “More than 500 people, both disabled and non-disabled, have shown an interest. A sporting legacy has been left and now there is more funding for sport in schools we need to build on that legacy.”

Joint member numbers for Weymouth Swimming Pool and Osprey Leisure Centre have increased by more than 26,000 in the last two years.

Nigel Williams, general manager at Osprey Leisure Centre, said the rise in membership was due to the Games and extra funding.

He said: “We have a lot more local interest in sport and it has been inspired by the Games but also because the £50,000 from Sport England allowed us to improve our gym facilities.

“More work is needed to keep the legacy alive”

Terry Sallows, of Weymouth-based Second Wind Watersports Ltd, pictured above, said: “We have had a noticeable increase of 40 per cent in business since the Games. There are a larger number of foreign visitors interested in watersports.”

Carol Green, of Castle Cove Sailing Club in Weymouth, said: “We have seen a significant member increase but we have been actively recruiting and some of this will be pent-up demand from earlier years.

“We have sailors from eight to 70 plus with many members joining as families with children.”

A report from Sport England says that 15.3 million adults play sport at least once a week. This is 1.4million more than in 2005 and 2006, when the Olympic bid was won.

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