Sheffield gets moving as city targets to be most active by 2020

Thousands of fitness enthusiasts across Sheffield achieved 8.1 million active minutes during what it called its 'Move More Month', as the city bids to become the most active in the UK by 2020.

During June, 8,132,528 Move More Minutes were registered, with more than 10,000 people taking part in activities across Sheffield.

To encourage participation, more than 400 free or discounted sport and leisure activities were put on by providers, including trampolining, trail running, walking and swimming.

The steel city derby – a competition pitting Sheffield United against Wednesday football supporters to see who has the fittest fans – was won by the Owls for the second year running. Sheffield Wednesday fans finished with 437,489 minutes and Sheffield United clocked up 425,249 minutes.

Organisations across Sheffield supported the city-wide campaign, including Yorkshire Cancer Research and the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM).

“Our aim, through Move More Month, is to make Sheffield the most active city in the country by 2020. It is about making physical Activity a part of every day life – from walking your children to school, taking the stairs instead of getting in the lift and getting off the bus a few stops early – every little counts and can make a huge difference to a person’s overall health and wellbeing," said Professor Robert Copeland, director of NCSEM and Move More.

“Perhaps most importantly, we are starting to engage those who are least active and whilst there is plenty more work to do, this is very encouraging for the city.”

Joe Taylor, partnerships manager at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: “Being a part of the Move More initiative has been fantastic for the charity. We’ve been able to reach so many people with our lifestyle advice, highlighting how people can reduce their risk of cancer through regular exercise. We hope the people of Sheffield continue to be active for many years to come.”