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A raft of non-competitive sporting clubs and activities could soon be launched in Jersey, as the organisers of a popular charity run announce a rebrand.
Run for Kezia is now a well-established annual event and will once again be held this year to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day on 15 September.
The run was started in 2022 in honour of Kezia Mason, who tragically died by suicide.
Pictured: Kezia Mason died aged 14 in March 2022.
Last year's event saw over 800 islanders run or walk distances of 10k, 5k and 2k starting from Jardins de la Mer.
Its two iterations have raised a combined total of £35,000 for Kezia's Fund, which distributes grants to organisations working to help support those experiencing mental-health challenges.
But organisers of the event, including Kezia's father Rob Mason, are now looking to launch a wider series of clubs and programmes aimed at promoting the importance of physical health among children and teenagers.
Race organiser Alex Ruddy said she had teamed up with Claudia Andrade from Move More Jersey Sport, Cleo Raphael-Hall from the island's Mental Health Service, fitness leader Ceri Tinley, and Adam Grocott, coach of Wednesday Night Football Club, to put on other activities alongside Run for Kezia.
These include a couch-to-5k, football and other sessions aimed at teenagers.
She said: "These sessions are aimed at teenagers who might not consider themselves sporty but are looking for friendship, fun and a chance to build up their fitness in a safe environment.
"There are a lot of sports clubs on the island, and when children hit 12 or 13, if they were only doing it for enjoyment purposes and not as an elite athlete, they tend to drop off. I know this from experience with my kids.
"We are trying to reach those who aren't sporty, but they quite enjoy it, and are restricted by not being able to access things like this."
Pictured: Eloise Morel, Saskia Ruddy and Ella du Feu – friends of Kezia – at the charity fun run event started in honour of the teenager.
She added: "One of our key thoughts is that teenage girls don't necessarily want to do sport with boys and can be body-conscious, especially if they have not run for a while, so we are definitely going to have a couch-to-5k aimed solely at teenage girls."
Ms Ruddy added that there was potential to introduce boxing classes, and schemes to train up young people to lead the clubs – which would be free.
She said the new clubs were a partnership between Run for Kezia organisers, the island's Mental Health Services, and Move More Jersey, an initiative for Jersey Sport.
"This is just us taking the run a step further," Ms Ruddy said. "It is a good way as a community to get together and look after children and young people and get them more active again."
She said talks had begun and some of the initiatives could launch before Run for Kezia in September.
Kezia's father, Rob Mason, explained that the logo for the now annual event had also been rebranded from a silhouette of his daughter to a green heart tailing into a ribbon.
This is to reflect that Kezia's legacy is a focus on supporting children and young people to appreciate the importance of mental and physical health.
Mr Mason said: "The green heart has become a symbol of Kezia's loss when friends and family correspond with each other.
"Green was Kezia's favourite colour and the green ribbon is traditionally worn to represent mental health."
Sponsors Oben Law & Regulatory, Grant Thornton, Rathbones and Vaiie have also announced their continued support for the event.
For more details about Run for Kezia, follow the event on social media (X, Facebook and Instagram) or sign up via race nation.
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