Community Athletics Festival launched to inspire next generation

GMAX Trackstars partner up with the Rio Ferdinand Foundation to put on the event at Crystal Palace

The Paris Olympics might be over but the next generation of kids are already being inspired.

GMAX Trackstars – an organisation founded by sprints and hurdles coach Mark Lancaster – and the Rio Ferdinand Foundation have launched the Community Athletics Festival, with the aim to unlock the power of sport for young people.

The first edition of the festival occurred last Monday (August 19) and just under 100 teenagers were involved, in everything from bonding activities to sprinting at Crystal Palace.

The location was purposely chosen due to Crystal Palace’s inclusive learning environment – the complex’s multi-sport eco-system is a big factor – and its rich history in athletics.

Young athletes ran on the same track that Usain Bolt once competed on and you quickly got a sense of the adrenaline, energy and excitement on show.

Lancaster, who used to be a civil engineer, wants to help develop the next generation into athletes, coaches and fundamentally skilled individuals.

Mark Lancaster and his team at GMAX Trackstars (GMAX)

“I think a lot of kids have been inspired by the Olympics,” he tells AW. “Like London 2012, you had that good time feeling across the nation for Paris 2024, but we want to capture it in the grassroots. We saw some showboating at the festival and I’m loving it. Athletics is a sport that gives you the opportunity to showcase yourself.

“The kids will remember this for the rest of their lives. Crystal Palace has not done anything on this scale in the grassroots for a little while and it’s an amazing venue. You know, I actually saw Carl Lewis run here once. Just look at this place, it’s the spiritual home of track and field. The use of it needs to be maximised and we will do everything we can to enhance the past and bring it all back.”

Both GMAX Trackstars and the Rio Ferdinand Foundation worked on funding, organisation, promotion, a leadership programme and getting hold of the stadium, with the pair of organisations emphasising the positive impact community can play in society.

A charitable group, GMAX Trackstars has a unique funding model – a bustling yoga studio and café provides the income which goes into funding coaches, delivering sessions and school visits – and partnerships with Ferdinand’s foundation will only help in the future.

Community Athletics Festival (GMAX Trackstars)

“We’re modifying and growing and now we’ve come on board with Rio Ferdinand, I think we could escalate it to really great things,” Lancaster adds. “It’s unique and I can’t thank Rio enough for coming on board and saying ‘look there’s an opportunity for us to work with young people’.

“Athletics is an under-utilised sport in terms of participation and we can make this great again. Rio is a global name. He’s recognised and he’s lending that to us. He’s helping us get grassroots athletics back on the map again.”

Members of the Rio Ferdinand Foundation – including four sessional coaches – were down at the festival and believe that there is also a strong relationship between athletics and football.

Donald Forde, Director of Operations at the foundation, thinks collaborations like this could be instrumental for athletics at the grassroots level in the long-term.

Young athletes at Crystal Palace (GMAX Trackstars)

“I think fundamentally what we’re about is bringing opportunities for young people,” he says. “With GMAX Trackstars, you’ve got somebody in Mark [Lancaster] who genuinely cares and makes things happen. We wanted to support him in his journey to help fulfil his goals.

“Surely there’s more that can happen for the grassroots community with a focus on being inspired by athletics. You’ve got the perfect facility down at Crystal Palace, which has such a rich history as well.

“We just hope that the kids who got involved remember the day and the next time we do this community festival, they can bring their friends and family down.

“A lot of these kids probably come from a football background and I think the sport is a bit of a cousin to athletics. They’ll do athletics at school but then they drop off it. That’s where football has capitalised but athletics is so important for the next generation.”

Find out more about GMAX Trackstars here

Find out more about the Rio Ferdinand Foundation here

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