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19 Dec 07FOCUS Wins Active Community Project Of The Year 2007
Poole's successful community project, FOCUS 
has won an award for its outstanding community work with young people.
FOCUS was awarded the Active Community Project of the Year at the recent Active Dorset Awards which recognises community and sporting achievements throughout Dorset.
FOCUS (Focus On Communities Using Sport) is a partnership project between Borough of Poole, Dorset Police and Nacro . It is in its third year and has positively affected nearly 300 young people from across the Borough.
The project aims to breakdown barriers between the police and young people who also get the opportunity to gain qualifications in coaching and leadership.
Police officers run football training sessions and regular tournaments for the teams of young people. Teams are also required to carry out community projects in their communities, working with the police and Youth Services to make a positive contribution to their local area.
Cllr Peter Adams, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, Borough of Poole, said: "This is a tremendous achievement for a extremely worthwhile project. It is great to see the positive impact that can be made when young people are engaged in community activities they enjoy."
Sgt Guy Nicholas, Dorset Police, said: "FOCUS has gone from strength to strength and has been a great tool to tackle anti-social behaviour and build stronger community links."
Virginia Bailey, Recreation Development Officer, Leisure Services, said: "I am proud to be involved with a scheme that sees young people use sport to develop in their behaviour and attitude towards society."
Active Dorset is one of 49 County Sports Partnerships in England largely funded by Sport England to co-ordinate activity and sports programmes in Dorset.
Other people from Poole who won Active Dorset Awards were:
Sports Coach Professional of the Year - Becky Travers
Becky has been working at Turlin Moor for the past year and during that time she has encouraged and inspired young people to become more active.
Young Sports Person of the Year (female) - Melissa J Courtney
Melissa is a keen athlete running for Poole and Dorset and recently won the under 15 World Biathlete Championships in Monaco.
Young Sports Person of the Year (male) - Dan Hunter
Dan plays for Wessex Volleyball and now has several England Juniors caps.
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