Penny Chuter, senior development manager with Sport England South East, believes the million-pound boost for Oxfordshire sport, which has come about thanks to lottery funding, can kick-start exciting times ahead for sports enthusiasts in the county.

The Active Sports Partnership is benefitting by £817,705 from Sport England to improve coaching, training, education and sporting opportunities in four selected sports - girls' football, tennis, rugby and hockey.

Roger Bottomley hands over the cheque

"This award marks the start of an exciting time for sport and young people in Oxfordshire," said Chuter.

"A lot of hard work has gone into getting the project off the ground, and we now look forward to the good bit - the start of activity for young people."

The project is a partnership between the six local authorities and nine sports.

The four chosen sports will benefit immediately, with five further sports introduced in phase two of the seven-year project, the total cost of which will be nearly £1.5m.

The partnership will also receive a further £221,799 from local partners.

In the first 12 months of the scheme, which was announced yesterday, up to 2,000 young people are expected to participate, 30 clubs set to benefit and 200 coaches given the opportunity to develop their skills.

A further boost to young people's sport in Oxfordshire is the announcement that the Vale of White Horse Council will host the Thames Valley Youth Games in 2002.