AMBASSADORS 2020

Debra Nelson recently began her journey of being a youth coach and mentor for the educational charity Football Beyond Borders after being a participant for 4 years. Having experienced and reaped the benefits of having accessible and relatable role models Debra realised and felt inspired and motivated to become the person that other young people would look up to and feel comfortable coming to for advice.

Debra has been a sports fanatic ever since she can remember and has loved playing football for several school and club teams. Her relationship with football hasn’t been the easiest and smooth sailing but she has used her experiences to motivate and inspire young girls to believe in themselves. She currently works alongside Football Beyond Borders to normalise and encourage young girls to get more involved in football and stay physically active.

Debra recently chaired the ukactive Active Uprising 2020 – Open Doors webinar where she displayed her love of sport whilst engaging with other young athletes discussing the effects of Covid-19 on their overall well-being. We are thrilled to have Debra on board this year as an Ambassador of the Great British Week of Sport and look forward to her involvement and support.

John McAvoy is a former prolific high-profile armed robber who has found redemption through the power of sport. Having been sentenced to a life term, John discovered a love for physical activity - breaking both British and World indoor rowing records whilst in prison.
John now travels the world competing, making speeches and hosting workshops as a Nike-sponsored Ironman triathlete.

He believes that sport can have a positive impact on mental health and hopes that his story of rehabilitation can help and inspire others to change their lives for the better. Because of this, much of his current work is now focused on helping those from schools in deprived areas.

He is also proud to be an ambassador for the #BeActive message - “I’m immensely respectful of the privilege of being an Ambassador, for what it’s going to let me do back home in London, to bring together young children in difficult circumstances through the power of physical activity,” McAvoy says.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson - “I am delighted to have taken on the role of Great British Week of Sport Ambassador. The week provides a great platform to celebrate the role that physical activity plays in supporting people in leading happier and healthier lifestyles on a huge scale. We have some great plans coming together which will involve a number of exciting partners to reach a wider audience and help people #BeActive.”
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is a crossbench peer and legendary Paralympian wheelchair racer - one of the most successful British athletes of all time.
Over an international career spanning 19 years she won 11 Paralympic Gold medals, held over 30 world records and won the London Marathon six times.

In 2005 she became ‘Dame’ Tanni Grey-Thompson for her services to sport. On 23 March 2010, Grey-Thompson was created a Life Peer on the recommendation of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. Her title was conferred as Baroness Grey-Thompson, of Eaglescliffe in the County of Durham.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson was appointed ukactive chair in 2015, turning her seasoned campaigning voice to the crucial issue of turning the tide of physical inactivity. She has been a leading public face for the organisation, outlining several key ukactive policy recommendations in the past two years.
In addition to her work at ukactive she is also a Board Member of several organisations including Transport for London, the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
Tanni has appeared regularly on TV as chair of ukactive, including on BBC Breakfast and Daily Politics, highlighting ukactive policy recommendations as well as promoting the myriad benefits of physical activity as a whole.
Tanni is also a regular feature in the print media, providing expert comment on all things physical activity related and writing several op-eds in the Huffington Post

Georgie Twigg MBE was an International field hockey player, having played at international level from 2010 through to 2016, retiring officially from hockey in 2018. She played as a midfielder for both England and Great Britain.
In the London 2012 Olympics, Georgie was the youngest Great Britain player, making her Olympic debut only two years after her first international appearance.
She was part of the Bronze medal winning team in her home Olympics and four years later in Rio, went on to win Gold in one of the iconic moments for Team GB at the Olympic Games.

However, not only an incredible athlete, Georgie has also gained a Law Degree from the University of Bristol, completed her Legal Practitioner Course, and is now a qualified solicitor in the renowned Bird & Bird LLP in central London.
Georgie’s appearance as an expert panellist at the EU Sport Forum in 2018 led her to become an ambassador in the European Week of Sport here in the UK. This continued support and passion that Georgie has for sport will continue through the #BeActive message into what will now be the Great British Week of Sport.

RED January is a nationwide movement that’s empowering people to get active every day during January, to ‘beat the blues away’.

Inspired by the powerful transformative effective that physical activity had on her Mums mental health, Hannah Beecham founded RED January.

Over the last five years RED January has empowered 150,000 people to embrace physical activity to support their mental health and raised over £2.7m for mental health charities.

Hannah is not only dedicated to spreading the word about the benefits of physical activity on our mental health but also on ensuring that RED January reaches people of all backgrounds and provides an accessible and supportive way to start, rekindle or continue being active.

“We know from the RED community that feeling a part of something special is a powerful motivator, especially during testing times. It makes being a part of this years Great British Week of Sport even more exciting. I can’t wait to turn Tuesday 22nd September RED with you all!"