Introducing the Movers List: Celebrating the unsung heroes and heroines helping the UK to move more

The list, judged by sports experts and stars including Anthony Joshua and Nikita Parris, highlights the amateur sportspeople who are helping get the UK more active

Ben Burrows
Thursday 28 November 2019 14:05 GMT
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The Movers List: Khadijah Safai

The UK’s first Movers List celebrating the people who get other people moving has been released today, recognising 50 individuals whose volunteering, charity work or dedication to sport and exercise inspires local communities to move more.

The list, compiled by Lucozade Sport and judged by sports experts and stars including boxer Anthony Joshua and England footballer Nikita Parris, highlights the amateur sportspeople who are helping get the UK more active.

They include a 27-year-old instructor who combines yoga with paddleboarding; a 35-year-old reformed gang member who organises community BMX rides; a 75 year-old IronGran triathlete who set up fitness classes for OAPs; the inventor of walking football, which now has 40,000 players in the UK alone; and the founder of RockFit, a fitness class set to rock music and using air guitar moves to keep fit.

“The Movers List celebrates the unsung heroes and heroines who are selfless in their commitments to helping communities move more,” Hannah Norbury, Marketing Director Lucozade Sport, says. ”Our research has unearthed an incredibly diverse list of movers across different sports, exercise and fitness activities, that are all united with a passion to get people active and help others discover the benefits and joy of movement.

“We are proud to publish the inaugural Movers List and hope that it inspires people to find their own communities and move more.”

New research from Lucozade Sport that shows 75 per cent of people have made a conscious effort to exercise more regularly and for longer in the past year. 73 per cent say their motivation to move more is to keep physically fit and 58 per cent say they undertake sport and exercise to improve their mental health and wellbeing.

Other reasons include reducing stress (49 per cent), escaping everyday life (23 per cent), to meet new people (10 per cent) and as a reason to do social good (6 per cent). 61 per cent of people say they are more likely to stick to regular sport and exercise if they are part of a group as opposed to being on their own.

“I know from personal experience that behind every athlete is a team of people that has given their time and energy – often for free," said Parris. "The UK would be far less active without these people so I am delighted to be part of The Movers List, which is designed to recognise and celebrate those unknown team members and give them their moment in the spotlight.”

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