UK Athletics and England Athletics have launched a new initiative which will give thousands of people the chance to make athletics a regular part of their lives through the creation of 50 'networks' across the country.

The McCain Athletics Network programme was unveiled at Lee Valley High Performance Athletics Centre in North London on 5 November, and the aim is to bring together local clubs to open up the sport to a wider audience and improve access to high quality coaching. McCain Foods is funding the £300,000 scheme, with match-funding provided by Sport England. Grants of up to £50,000 per year will be made available to the first 20 clubs to take part in the initiative, which will be used to pay for equipment, facilities and coaching staff. An additional 30 clubs will benefit from further funding awarded next year.

The grants have been designed to enable clubs to develop strong community links, an improved structure, and provide effective coaching. Free taster sessions will be available to people wishing to try athletics for the first time, with the hope many then choose to join a club. Chair of Cambridge and Coleridge Athletics Club, Neil Costello, said: "As voluntarily run clubs, we need support to help us reach out to communities, to introduce more people to athletics at all levels, and then to provide good service to newcomers when they turn up on training nights.

"The network will provide clubs like ours with new ideas, training opportunities to develop the skills of our volunteers, investment to purchase new equipment, and the capacity to develop stronger links with local schools and community organisations." Mike Summers, chief executive of England Athletics, said: "It is in clubs across the country that we will build a sustainable legacy for the sport in our communities. This is about supporting clubs to develop the next generation of athletics champions and to do this, we must get more resources into local activity delivered by and between networks of clubs."