Real Gap Experience (www.realgap.co.uk), the UK's fastest growing gap year provider, is delighted to announce the launch of its brand new ‘Real Sports Experience' programme featuring professional training, prestigious sports academies, adventure sports and travel, and volunteer sports coaching in over 15 countries around the world.

The first new programme of its kind in the UK, Managing Director David Stitt is delighted with the opportunities it offers. “We are helping sports enthusiasts to travel abroad and do something they love, whether they are amateurs or near professionals who want to improve their skills, or just want to try adventure sports in a different country. There is also a growing trend for more sports related volunteer work. Football, especially, unites people from all walks of life, and can have a huge positive impact on disadvantaged lives.” 

For those who are really serious about their sport, Real Sport has set up links to some of the most respected Sporting Academies in the world. Where better to polish your rugby skills than New Zealand, (programmes from 1 - 6 months available from £3399), or learn to play football alongside former International players than Brazil (4 weeks from £1499 ) or lower your golf handicap than Australia's gold coast (4 weeks from £1999). Cricket, tennis and surfing are also available and there is even the possibility to become proficient at the emerging sport of Kung Fu.  Based at the foot of the Kunyu Mountains, East China, protégées  will study directly from some of the best Shaolin Masters found in China (5 weeks £999). 

Product Manager Rick Lyne has set up sports volunteer projects in Africa, India, South America, China and Sri Lanka. These projects welcome both sexes, and he is hoping that they will encourage more young men to volunteer. “Currently our ratio of gap year bookings is 70/30 female to male,” he commented. “And although our sports programmes are equally suitable for male and female, we are hoping that that some of the younger guys will realise they have something important to offer too”.

Like most South American countries, Ecuador has a passion for football. The Ecuador Football Volunteer Project offers to provide young children with a place to go and enjoy physical activity, combined with purposeful education and language lessons. (4 weeks from £799).

Volunteers for football coaching and other sports are equally welcome in Africa where, due to high teacher/pupil ratios, sports training is given a low priority. Hockey is particularly popular in Ghana, where there are only enough school places for children to have a formal education for a couple of hours each day. Organised sports activities ensure that the children enjoy a more structured day with access to ongoing educational facilities. (4 weeks from £899).

Adrenalin junkies looking for an action-packed holiday, as well as giving something back should look no further than the Zimbabwe and Zambia Sports Expedition. Starting with a 5-day canoeing expedition down the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, participants will then learn to dive on a PADI Course before diving in the pristine Chinhoyi caves. The trip is completed with 3 weeks coaching sports to orphans in Zambia, about 20 minutes from Victoria Falls. (5 weeks from £1695).

Real Gap Experience has gone from strength to strength, with bookings having doubled every year from its launch in 2003. Keeping abreast of the times and listening to customer demand has been a key factor in this growth. Last year the company launched Gap Year for Grown Ups (www.gapyearforgrownups.co.uk) specifically aimed at adults aged 30+, and it is confident that Real Sports Experience will be equally as successful.

For further information call: Real Gap Experience on 01892 516164
Or visit www.realgap.co.uk/sports

Media Contact: Jennette Baxter PR Manager   01342 316337 / 0794 0174 303      pr@baxter1.clara.net  Ends.December 2006.