Veronica Hubbard
Health & Wellbeing Co-ordinator
Health & Wellbeing Coordinator – My role focuses mainly on the health intervention programmes, primarily the Be Active … Live Well programme and the Well Living Workshops. The focus of this work is prevention and management of long-term health conditions through lifestyle change.
My earliest memory of sports was playing what is now called ‘roller hockey’, set up in the middle of a col de sac in London with neighbours, at about 7 years old and at least 15 of us playing at different times. Unofficially set up as a way of entertaining ourselves, we shared roller skates, hockey sticks and between us bought a set of goals.
I was inspired to pursue a career in sport and leisure to help tackle health inequalities, supporting people to gain control of their own health and wellbeing through physical activity. This mainly started from my own journey of using exercise to improve my own health, manage weight and boost confidence.
The best part of working in this field is being able to help people explore options for physical activity which resonate with them, especially where people have felt this is out of their reach for one reason or another.
The biggest barrier I have experienced working in sport as a woman were self-imposed and confidence related earlier on in my career. This related to what the ‘image’ of someone who worked in that field should be, particularly as someone who had been through a significant weight-loss experience at a young age. Working specifically in the area that I do was a great daily reminder that physical and mental health are the biggest motivators personally and professionally when it comes to physical activity and sport.
I am most proud of being able to contribute to an environment which tailors sport and leisure to individual needs, to create a space where people feel confident to explore, rather than intimidated by physical activity.
A lot of great progress has been made in terms of how women are viewed in sports, but I would love to see continued enthusiasm for recognising female sporting achievements.
