SportsNation Issue 5 2023

You’re unlikely to have missed the news about the government announcing its long-awaited sports strategy - Get Active: A strategy for the future of sport and physical activity. There are many positives to take from this strategy and we look at these in more detail on pages 28-32 - including feedback from across the sector..

In the same week as the strategy was revealed, the Sport and Recreation Alliance published evidence that the UK currently ranks joint 12th out of 15 comparable European nations for levels of physical activity.

Given that the UK is also ranked as the third highest spender on healthcare costs caused by inactivity – and only ninth in overall wellbeing – it comes as no surprise that the leading bodies in the sector made an urgent call to the main political parties to make the UK the most active nation in Europe. This is quite an ambitious goal -

and rightly so! Allied to a sports strategy that places an emphasis on the value of public leisure facilities, in terms of community wellbeing as well as enabling and encouraging physical activity, perhaps this is a league table that the UK can expect to climb quite quickly.

Speaking of league tables, the Rugby World Cup is now underway in France. Tournaments like these often produce heroes and role models which can help boost a sport’s profile – which in turn can translate into increased participation at the community and club level. While high-profile stars no doubt can have an impact on young people’s interest in a sport (and why not older people’s too), the “moment” is lost if there aren’t any opportunities for them to go and try the sport for themselves. On pages 5053 we look at the strategies that rugby union has in place to do just that.

Tom Walker Editor

T: +44 (0)7796 512769

E: tom@sportsnation.org.uk

50 Sport in Focus: rugby union

As the World Cup begins, how are NGBs planning to grow the sport?

54 Interview: Marlie Packer

The England women’s rugby captain

58 Tennis in the park

Delivering the LTA’s park project

64 The power of padel

The latest in the fast-growing sport

74 European Games

A report from the event in Poland

82 In a natural state Natural turf remains crucial for community sports

86 Show preview: SALTEX

What to expect at this year’s event

88 It’s a skills game

Developing a skilled workforce

96 SAPCA Showcase Members’ classified directory

100 Interview: Paul Scannell Head of Club Wembley

© PEXELS-PIXABAY

© CREDIT CLUB WEMBLEY

IN BRIEF

10-year, £5.5m plan for CWG legacy

A 10-year plan, supported by £5.5m worth of new funding, aims to improve access to sport and physical activity across the West Midlands. A collaboration between Sport England and the West Midlands Combined Authority, the project looks to build on the impact of last year’s (2022) Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Birmingham.

Ju Jitsu body facing derecognition

Sport England, sportscotland, Sport Wales and Sport NI have found the British Ju Jitsu Association doesn’t meet the criteria to be the recognised national governing body (NGB) for the sport in the UK. The body now has until 1 October to show it is compliant, or it will be derecognised as an NGB.

New sports strategy published

The UK government has launched its long-awaited new sports strategy, setting out a blueprint to improve the nation’s health and fitness.

At the heart of the strategy is a target of getting an additional 3.5 million people physically active by 2030. The new participation targets – to have over 2.5 million more active adults and over 1 million more active children by 2030 – are intended to reach people of all

ages and backgrounds, and meet the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidance (150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week for adults and 60 minutes a day for children).

Called Get Active: A strategy for the future of sport and physical activity, the strategy arrives as figures from the Sport England Active Lives Survey indicate that 25% of adults are currently deemed to be ‘inactive’. • To read more about the strategy, see pages 28-32.

New athletics track for Lanarkshire

A new four-lane running track has opened in Lanarkshire, as part of a leisure centre upgrade. The new 400m track at Airdrie leisure centre was officially launched for use by local clubs, schools and community organisations. The facility also includes a sixlane 100m sprint section plus high and long jump areas.

SPORT ENGLAND

Natalie Daniels appointed to Sport England board

Natalie Daniels has been appointed to the board of Sport England on a threeyear term. Specialising in urban development and investment, Daniels is currently the Assistant Director of Housing at Greater London Authority (GLA), leading the implementation of the GLA’s affordable housing programmes.

In her new role at Sport England, Daniels will help the board set and agree strategy and policy as well as oversee the development and implementation of major projects.

Chris Boardman, Sport England chair, said: “Natalie brings a wealth of experience to our board having dedicated her career to building sustainable and inclusive communities. She will play an important role as we deliver on the ambitions set out in our strategy.”

England Netball adds to board

England Netball has welcomed three new members to its board – David Mahoney MBE, Tim Rolfe and Jill Emney. Mahoney and Rolfe will fill the two independent vacancies, while Emney will be co-opted to the board for a oneyear term before taking up an independent director position.

Mahoney has spent the last seven years as COO at the England

and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and prior to this, oversaw the strategy, insights, HR, integrity and public policy teams as the ECB’s Chief Strategy Officer.

Rolfe is a HR professional with over 25 years of experience in senior HR roles. while Emney is a chartered accountant and has been a partner at PwC for more than 10 years.

Andy Salmon appointed Swim England CEO

Swim England has appointed Andy Salmon as its new chief executive.

Salmon, who has spent the past six years as chief executive of British Triathlon, will take up his new role in February 2024. He will replace Jane Nickerson, who is retiring after spending 25 years with the national governing body.

Prior to his role at British Triathlon, Salmon was deputy chief executive at Scottish Golf for almost a decade.

“I’m excited to be taking on the new role,” Salmon said.

“There is much to do as there are many challenges facing the whole sporting system – and swimming specifically, as it embarks on its cultural change journey detailed in the Heart of Aquatics plan.

“By continuing to listen and engage with members and clubs, and being clear and transparent in that work, Swim England can provide meaningful support and resources to the aquatics community.”

Natalie Daniels

Salmon will join Swim England from British Triathlon

The trio took up their roles on 16 September at the NGB’s AGM

ENGLAND NETBALL

SPORT ENGLAND

Tim Rolfe

Jill Emney

David Mahoney MBE

Edinburgh gets 13 tennis courts as part of park project

13 tennis courts across four parks in Edinburgh, Scotland, have reopened this summer after undergoing renovations worth £190,000.

The improvements to the courts in Inverleith Park, Leith Links, Victoria Park and St. Margaret’s Park were funded by the City of Edinburgh Council, UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation. The courts have undergone extensive work –from resurfacing, repainting lines, new fencing, nets and a new booking gate system – to ensure their future viability.

As part of the partnership, City of Edinburgh Council’s Parks

and Greenspace service will manage the courts. It will adopt the LTA’s Clubspark booking system to manage community access, which will be connected to a smart access gate at each of the refurbished venues.

The redevelopment works were managed by tennis’ national governing body, LTA, as part of its Parks Tennis Project, which is delivering the biggest ever investment in parks tennis facilities across Britain. The nationwide programme of investment will see thousands of existing park tennis courts in poor or unplayable condition brought back to life.

The 13 courts to reopen are located in four parks across the city © CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL

£30m redevelopment plans approved for Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre

A major project to redevelop Southampton’s Outdoor Sports Centre has been given approval by Southampton City Council.

The £30m plans will transform the venue – which dates to 1938 – into a community sports hub with a wide range of inclusive sports and physical activity facilities and services. The new sports centre will include a new community hub – including a health and fitness club, changing facilities and café – three covered indoor netball and tennis courts, three new 3G football pitches, a new athletics clubhouse and 240-seat grandstand. There will also be a new ski lodge at the Alpine Snow Sports Centre, a Family Zone featuring skateboarding facilities and

improved cycling and walking facilities across the park.

The wider infrastructure at the venue – from parking to floodlighting and fencing – will also be upgraded. The new, covered tennis and netball courts will replace existing outside courts and will encourage year-round use for tennis and netball players. The covered tennis and netball courts will sit alongside nine existing outdoor tennis courts and seven existing netball courts.

For football, there will be one new 11 v 11 and two new 9 v 9 floodlit 3G pitches.

The two existing artificial hockey pitches will be upgraded, which will allow additional training opportunities for local clubs.

The redevelopment has been designed by Lincolnbased architects LK2.

Investment boost for women’s sport

A new initiative has been launched to provide women’s sport in England with an investment boost. The new Women’s Sport Investment Accelerator is being provided by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and has been created in association with Deloitte’s Sports Business Group and is supported by the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport.

Running for a year starting from autumn 2023, the accelerator will bring together UK-based women’s sports rights-holders who are seeking investment –leagues, teams, competitions and events – together with industry experts and sports investors. It will provide a series of sessions and networking events alongside comprehensive mentoring for rights-holders.

The new sports centre will include a new community hub

The accelerator looks to promote women’s sport

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The in-house development team have recently implemented the ability to calculate values and add logic into the reporting templates, as well as an advanced charts module that allows the addition of custom graphs to reports. These are designed in direct collaboration with our clients to meet specific reporting needs, ensuring clear communication of data to report recipients.

With the ever-increasing size and complexity of datasets, visualisations are a key tool to enable understanding and ascertain key insights. They make data accessible and trends readily apparent, both within and across reports, increasing stakeholder engagement and understanding. Passport365 is on a mission to turn data into actionable information, giving you an insight into your business that you’ve never had before.

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Pool support fund’s second phase opens

The second phase of the Swimming Pool Support Fund is now open to applications from local authorities in England with pools in their area. It will see £40 million of government funding being made available for local authorities to invest in improving the energy efficiency of public facilities with pools in the medium to long term.

Sport England, which is managing the fund, is also providing £20m of National Lottery capital funding to complement the government money, bringing the total capital fund to £60m.

The second phase follows the £20 million first phase of the fund, which opened to applications earlier in the summer and is now closed, with funding decisions expected by the end of this month.

The fund is open to local authorities in England that have at least one publicly accessible swimming pool, that offers payas-you-swim sessions, that would benefit from improved energy efficiency as a result of this support.

Completed applications can be submitted via the online portal from 3 October 2023, with the window closing at noon on 17 October 2023. Each successful application can expect to receive between £20,000 and £1 million.

Rebranded Harrogate Hydro opens to public

The Harrogate Hydro has reopened its doors following a £13.5 million transformation project funded by North Yorkshire Council.

As part of the redevelopment of the venue – delivered by Alliance Leisure – the facility has been renamed as Harrogate Leisure and Wellbeing Centre.

The building’s footprint has been expanded and reimagined as part of the council’s goal to create a modern facility more in keeping with the needs of the diverse community. New facilities include a new 400sq m fitness suite, a Les Mills immersive cycle studio, a sauna and steam suite, a wellness suite kitted out with power-assisted Innerva machines and a reconfigured reception and café.

Alliance Leisure worked in partnership with ISG Construction and GT3 architects on the project.

The fund is open to local authorities that have at least one publicly accessible pool

The facility has been renamed as Harrogate Leisure and Wellbeing Centre

Fall in PE hours in schools a ‘threat to wellbeing’

Cuts to the number of hours in PE and sport delivered in schools in England is a “matter of immediate national concern”, according to the Youth Sport Trust (YST).

Figures released by the government show that 4,000 hours were lost in state-funded schools in the last academic year alone. Since the 2012

London Olympics, there has been a 12% drop in the amount of time secondary school pupils spend doing PE and sport.

Data shows that around 326,277 hours of PE and sport were delivered in secondary schools in England in 2011-12. By 2021-22 that had fallen to 290,033 – and to 285,957 in the past 12 months.

In response to the figures, YST said the cuts pose a “threat to the wellbeing of young people”.

Ali Oliver, YST chief executive, said: “Fewer than half of children in the UK currently meet 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity which is the Chief Medical Officers’ minimum recommended level.”

The Youth Sport Trust says that ‘too many children are missing out’ on exercise

SPORT ENGLAND

Record investment made in Northern Irish sport

Sport NI is investing more money into Northern Irish sports than ever before after announcing a 58% increase in funding.

The national sports body has revealed plans to distribute a total of £8.1m through its Sports System Investment programme.

The National Lottery-funded programme currently supports more than 400,000 people involved in sport across Northern Ireland. This encompasses 37 sports governing bodies, more than 3,000 clubs and around 400,000 members, as well as around 40,000 coaches and 5,000 officials.

Richard Archibald, Director of Sport at Sport NI, said: “Our Sports System Investment programme is built on our biggest ever conversation with sports to ensure

we meet the needs of the sector. We held 35 sessions with 40 NGBs, amounting to almost 500 hours of engagement which shaped our thinking and how we invest in sport.

“Through this new programme we want to support the sports sector

to have strong resilient systems in place to be able to grow and thrive. We are working in ways that support trust, enable collaboration and foster shared commitment to growing sport and tackling inequality within the sector.”

New grants available for LED lights at 3G pitches

The Football Foundation will begin providing grants to support the upgrading of previously funded 3G pitches with LED lighting solutions.

Funding will be made available for new installations that replace existing lighting systems with LEDs, as well as projects which retrofit LED systems to existing masts.

For the new funding, The Football Foundation is establishing a supplier list for third parties with previously funded 3G pitches. The grants must be used by third parties to award contracts to a supplier on the supplier list. Suppliers appointed to the supplier list will then have the opportunity to bid for the contracts.

Contracts are expected to have a value in the region of £20,000 – £70,000 depending on the upgrade.

Sport NI will distribute a total of £8.1m through its Sports System Investment programme

The funding will help upgrade lighting solutions at 3G pitches

All our structures conform to the relevant building codes and we are SAPCA approved.

UK’s first PureGrain installation completed

SAPCA member, Notts Sport, has completed the UK’s first-ever PureGrain installation at Preston School, Yeovil. Working with Desso Sports, the project also involved the use of pioneering ShockWave technology.

PureGrain by Tarkett has been designed to replace the use of rubber infills in synthetic sports pitches and represents an advancement in sports surface sustainability. The revolutionary solution, derived from corn cob, represents a major step towards a more eco-friendly future without compromising performance.

PureGrain constitutes an entirely plant-based infill meticulously crafted from corn. Sourced from the non-edible portion of the corn cob and a by-product of corn

seeds, this renewable resource is cultivated in France using entirely non-GMO methods. The outcome is an environmentally conscious, dust-free, and biodegradable filling, promoting sustainability in sports surfaces.

Duncan Bennett, Notts Sport MD, said: “We’ve advocated sustainability in projects across sport and play for many years – and partnering with Desso and adopting the PureGrain infill technology demonstrates that commitment.”

STA launches Aquatic Excellence Awards

The Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA) has launched its first ever Aquatic Excellence Awards, to celebrate and showcase the achievements of learn to swim programmes and aquatics training in the UK and globally.

The 11 “STAr” award categories are open to all UK and international learn to swim and aquatic training providers and range from STAr swimming teacher and swim school provider to not for profit community campaign.

Dave Candler, STA CEO, said: “We’re looking for examples of creativity, diversity, community, and excellence, in line with our charity objectives.”

Entries are now open and the winners will be announced at the STA annual conference on Friday 13th October. For more information, visit: www.sta.co.uk/sta-aquatic-excellence-awards

PureGrain has been designed to replace rubber crumb in 3G sports pitches

Winners will be revealed during the STA annual conference in October

START WITH SPORT:

DELIVERING THE BEST

Schools and colleges provide the building blocks for many sporting professionals. But without the facilities to do so, many might not be able to achieve their full potential

Exemplifying the best in sports facility construction is something O’Brien Contractors is proud of, as highlighted by our recent contract with client Algeco: a £2.1 million project at Northampton Boys College. Forming part of a £28 million new modular build campus for the school, the project will deliver a fully comprehensive sports facility package. This includes the development of 40,000m2 of natural turf pitches, a full size 3G synthetic surfaced football pitch with associated lighting and fencing, and a 62 x 36m “Leisuretex” surfaced multi-use games arena (MUGA), designed to facilitate sports such as tennis and netball. With work already under way, the facilities are due to be completed by September 2024, ready for the school’s grand opening.

Adding value

Involved right from the start, we were approached by the client in April 2021, with a brief to create a new sports facility. Over the course of two

40,000m2 of natural turf pitches, construction of a full size 3G football pitch

years, we worked with the client and the college to plan, design, and prepare a best-in-class facility. With the college possessing limited knowledge in project management and construction, we were able to draw on our team’s extensive knowledge and experience in total sports project solutions and bring the vision to life. Working to the client’s brief and budget, we were able to offer a flexible approach and meet additional requirements requested by the college. Our in-house team provided a full bespoke design package, including earthworks modelling for natural pitches, along with extensive drainage design.

Previous experience

Combining decades of experience, we’ve seen success with a range of Midlands clients, including the delivery of new facilities for Aston Villa Football Club, Old Salteians RFC, Solihull School and Bromsgrove School.

O’Brien has a first class organisation and team. The company delivered all phases of the project in a professional manner, with good communication. Worked very well in a very complex demanding environment, with little supervision required in a sensitive area Shaun Darke, Director of Projects, Aston Villa FC

To make an enquiry with O’Brien Contractors, visit us online here, or call us 01926 423 918.

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British Asians ‘more engaged’ with football

The number of people from Asian communities participating within grassroots football in England is growing.

According to the latest figures from the Football Association (FA), male and female Asian participation (aged 16+) within grassroots football shows a general upward trend, with female football continuing to grow within Asian communities at 17.5%, compared to 15.4% in 2022.

The data comes from a Year 3 update on the FA’s Asian inclusion strategy, Bringing Opportunities to Communities, which aims to increase the representation of Asian communities across English football, both on and off the pitch.

In its update, the FA also states that more than 8,000 clubs across

The number of British Asians taking part has increased significantly

the country have now adopted the Football Leadership Diversity Code, as part of the process to become England Football-accredited.

Dal Darroch, the FA’s Head of Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Programmes, said: “Creating

opportunities for Asian communities is very important to us. We’ve made good progress across several key areas, most notably, the significant rise in the number of Asian women playing grassroots football.”

Code of conduct template launched for Irish sports

Ireland’s minister of state for sport and physical education, Thomas Byrne, has launched the National Code of Conduct Template developed by Sport Ireland for Irish sports. The initiative aims to foster a culture of respect, integrity and fairness within the country’s sporting community by addressing and eliminating abuse towards referees, officials, coaches, players and all participants involved.

The newly created code of conduct template sets out guidelines and principles that promote the behaviour and conduct expected from athletes, coaches, parents/guardians, supporters, referees/officials and club members.

While different sports organisations may have their own customised codes of conduct, Sport Ireland recommends that NGBs use the template as an opportunity to review their existing policies.

SPORT IRELAND

The initiative aims to foster a culture of respect, integrity and fairness

Wembley uses new ‘lay and play’ pitch technology for season opening Community Shield

Wembley Stadium used its new ‘lay and play’ pitch technology to turn around its hallowed playing surface and make it ready for the FA Community Shield just three weeks after a sell-out music concert.

Made up of 720 rolls of turf grown off-site and imported to the stadium, the hybrid pitch was made ready for the game between Arsenal and Manchester

City on 6 August. Each roll was 10m long by 1.2m wide and the install took 60 hours to complete. Wembley Stadium’s Grounds Manager Karl Standley said: “Previously, it might have taken up to five weeks after a concert to get a pitch ready for a football fixture. Now, thanks to the new technology, this can be done in just five days. Growing it offsite means we can ultimately

cut down the time required between concerts and football to let the pitch recover, so that Wembley can continue to keep up with global demand to stage world-class events.”

Standley added that the pitch was grown to the very specific demands of the Wembley pitch.

“It is like one big chemistry experiment, our pitch has very certain requirements,” he said.

The pitch was grown o site, before being transported to Wembley and laid down

TARA DILLON CEO CIMSPA

Working together

We welcome the launch of the government’s new sports strategy, which showcases the essential nature of sport and physical activity in people’s lives. In response to the new strategy and the continued growth and relevance of our sector – we deliver £85bn in social and economic value through improved health and wellbeing, community cohesion, productivity and employment, educational attainment and reduced crime – CIMSPA, along with other members of the National Sector Partners Group (NSPG) have launched what I believe is the UK’s most ambitious pledge to date to improve the health and wellbeing of our nation.

This NSPG represents the breadth of the sport, recreation and physical activity sector with fellow members comprising Active Partnerships, the Local Government Association, Sport for Development Coalition, Sport and Recreation Alliance, ukactive and Youth Sport Trust. Collectively, the group

represents thousands of organisations and professionals who help to keep millions of people active. Our vision is to make the UK the most physically active nation in Europe. This is not a vanity project; this is a resolute effort to unlock the full social and economic potential of sport, recreation and physical activity for the benefit of everyone in the UK. Why? Because we know that getting more people active will deliver a healthier, happier and more prosperous nation. But we’ve got our work cut out. The UK is lagging behind in the physical activity stakes, currently rated the 11th most inactive nation when compared to 15 similar European countries. Such levels of inactivity correspond to high healthcare costs from preventable disease and lower reported levels of happiness.

Just think how much more we could achieve, how much more impact we could have on people’s lives, local communities, the NHS and the wider economy if we became the most active nation in Europe.

To this end, we are committed to working with the government and our partners to support the NSPG’s ambitious pledge with a skilled, professional and inclusive sport and physical activity workforce that delivers high quality sport, recreation and physical activity experiences for all. ●

“HOW MUCH MORE IMPACT WE COULD HAVE ON PEOPLE’S LIVES, LOCAL COMMUNITIES, THE NHS AND THE WIDER ECONOMY IF WE BECAME THE MOST ACTIVE NATION IN EUROPE”

The sector delivers £85bn in social and economic value

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POLICY

Women’s World Cup 2023: The good, the bad and the stupid

Now that the emotion of the Lionesses loss in the World Cup final is beginning to plateau, there’s one word that sums up our collective feeling: proud. There are also some reflections we might want to consider on what was a remarkable tournament.

The good

From Lauren James’ screamers to Mary Earps’ wonder-saves (and iconic reactions), watching England was exhilarating. Sarina Wiegman continues to prove she’s the best football manager in the world. There was also the feeling of watching an England team in a penalty shootout – because of course there had to be a penalty shootout – with confidence rather than a sense of impending doom. I hope the Lionesses recover from their natural disappointment and fully realise what a remarkable thing they’ve done.

The bad

The next time I hear a man explain how proud he is of The Lionesses because he’s ‘a dad of daughters’ I’m going to scream. When a man says that, what he’s actually saying is

WILLIAMS Policy and public a airs manager

Women in Sport

that women’s sport isn’t something that men really care about. It’s fine that his little girl is inspired by Lauren Hemp, but he never could be. It makes me sad that so often it’s said with the best of intentions, but please stop.

I will say this though: respect to those girls who’ve opened their dads’ eyes to women’s sport and, in fairness, respect to those dads for whom the eye opening has been genuinely transformative.

The stupid

Maybe it’s a sign of the progress of equality FIFA President Gianni Infantino feels the need to say something as ridiculous at the women’s World Cup as he did at the men’s.

I’m not going to do him the honour of repeating his speech, but to summarise, he argued that women need to ‘pick their battles’, the ‘right’ battles, and prove to men like him that they deserve equal pay and equal respect.

It’s difficult to know where to start when faced with views like that from the very top of football. To Mr Infantino I say: the right battles for women to pick – in football and in society – are the battles we choose. They’re the battles for the things we deserve, not because any man tells us we do, but because we know we do.

This amazing summer of sport should not be overshadowed, though. I hope that this is a real turning point for women’s sport and for women in society. ●

“THE NEXT TIME I HEAR A MAN EXPLAIN HOW PROUD HE IS OF THE LIONESSES BECAUSE HE’S ‘A DAD OF DAUGHTERS’ I’M GOING TO SCREAM”

England goalkeeper Mary Earps was one of the stars of this year’s tournament

RACHEL

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JOIN US! Independent non-executive board member

We are seeking to strengthen our board of directors with the appointment of an Independent non-executive board member.

■ Do you have the strategic vision and drive to add to the long-term success of the association?

■  Are you interested in representing the voice of end-users of sports facilities?

■  Keen to work closely with sports governing bodies?

If so, get in touch!

The Sports and Play Construction Association (SAPCA) is the UK trade association for the sports and play construction industry. We represent more than 200 members and work to raise the standards in the design, construction and maintenance of sports and play facilities across the UK.

As an independent, non-executive board member you would join a SAPCA board made up of respected industry voices, sports governing body representatives and other independent members.

We are committed to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation to bring new and di erent perspectives to our work. So that we can more closely reflect UK society, we particularly encourage applications from individuals within groups which are currently underrepresented within our association – which includes candidates from ethnically diverse communities, candidates with a disability, candidates from the LGBTQ community or from under-served communities.

To find out more, CLICK HERE or scan the QR code

https://sapca.org.uk/careers/independent-non-executive-director-sapca/

CEO SAPCA

Growing as an association

The past 12 months has been a very busy period for SAPCA, when it comes to us receiving applications from companies wanting to join the association. The increased interest is a sign of the association’s strength –and underlines the value that companies place on being a SAPCA member.

As the number of companies wanting to join us grows, it is more important than ever to ensure we maintain and guard the quality and standards that make us such an attractive proposition in the first place. We achieve this by having a thorough and robust process in place for accepting new members.

Since the start of 2023 we have received 63 expressions of interest from companies wanting to become members. From these, we’ve sent out application packs to 41 applicants.

After receiving a formal application from a company, we complete a paperbased finance and due diligence check on each company. It is at this stage that many of the applications fail. During the first seven months of 2023, out of the 63

the

initial expressions of interest we received, the number of applications to have made it to the “final stage” – having passed the credit and other checks – has been five.

Those five applications have then been shared with our existing members, with an invitation to comment and offer feedback on the applicant’s suitability for SAPCA membership. The purpose of this is to give our members, who are embedded in the sports and play construction industry, an opportunity to share their insights on the prospective companies.

This final stage of our membership application mechanism has proven to be a crucial aspect of the process. This year, of the five applications to have made it to the final step, two have failed due to member feedback – showing the importance of members engaging and playing an active role in ensuring the high calibre of our membership.

So, out of the initial 63 expressions of interest to join SAPCA this year, we’ve seen three companies join – a “success rate” of less than 5%. This is a great example of how each and every SAPCA member has been properly vetted and means that by choosing a SAPCA member for your sports and play facility project, you are in good hands. l

“EACH AND EVERY SAPCA MEMBER HAS BEEN PROPERLY VETTED AND MEANS THAT BY CHOOSING A SAPCA MEMBER FOR YOUR SPORTS AND PLAY FACILITY PROJECT, YOU ARE IN GOOD HANDS.”

RICHARD

Of

63 expressions of interest to join SAPCA this year, a total of three have become members

At the heart of the government’s new sports strategy is a target of getting an additional 3.5 million people (2.5 million adults and 1 million children) – physically active by 2030. Other focus points include tackling inequalities and the creation of a new cross-government National Physical Activity Taskforce to drive the strategy.

The strategy arrives as figures from the Sport England Active Lives Survey indicate that 25% of adults are currently deemed to be ‘inactive’ in England, with over 11 million doing less than 30 minutes of activity in total a week. Data also indicates that 53% of young people are not meeting the CMO’s guidance of at least 60 minutes of activity a day – with 23% being fairly active, but 30% doing less than 30 minutes a day.

The government has now released its new sport strategy, Get Active: a strategy for the future of sport and physical activity. It is the first sports strategy to be published since 2015 and sits alongside the updated School Sport and Activity Plan, published in July

Facilities

The strategy features an entire section on the role of facilities in creating active communities. It lays out the need for quality, safe and accessible facilities – and identifies how a lack of venues is among the greatest barriers for participation in some areas.

“In order for people to be active, they need to have access to high quality and inclusive spaces in which to participate,” the strategy reads. “This doesn’t just refer solely to traditional sports facilities, but also to wider spaces for recreation and activity.

“Across the nation there are a variety of outdoor spaces for people who want to get physically active or play sport. Our green and blue spaces provide the location for a wide

SHIFT STRATEGIC

variety of physical activities: from parks offering opportunities to walking, running and cycling, to our rivers, lakes, canals and coastline for outdoor water sports. However, not everyone has equal access to these spaces for outdoor recreation: less than half of the least well-off households live within a five minute walk of green space.

“Equally important are venues for organised participation, such as sports pitches, gyms, leisure centres and sports halls. All of these venues and their supporting infrastructure, including clubhouses, play vital roles in their communities. They provide jobs and volunteering opportunities, and help people to meet others.

“Providing more than just a venue for people to play sport and get active in, public leisure and sport facilities also support wider community

wellbeing. For the leisure sector to be fit for the future, it needs to be flexible and innovative in adapting to changes in participation habits and in securing investment. This includes being considered within the wider local authority landscape for how it can contribute to improving physical and mental health outcomes for individuals across the community, rather than sometimes just offering an alternative to other gym provision.

“While the current physical activity offer provides a valuable contribution to getting people active across the country, we know it is not right for everyone. Some individuals and communities feel they can’t do the sports and physical activity they want.

“This is contributing to high levels of inactivity across the country and is something that we are determined to change. The government will provide the strategic direction to addressing this issue, but we need partners from across the public and private sector to work together to ensure that provision is accessible and reflects the needs of the community.”

Local leadership

In the strategy, the government outlines its primary focus as being one of improving the physical activity landscape and creating a

The strategy looks to get an additional 1 million children and young people physically active by 2030

While the current physical activity offer provides a valuable contribution to getting people active across the country, we know it is not right for everyone

country in “which everyone, no matter where they live or their background, can access a facility where they feel able and confident to take part in sport”. The strategy links this ambition the government’s overall mission to level up opportunities and access across the UK.

It also points a way for local communities - and authorities – to have a say in the types of facilities being developed in their areas. Perhaps most importantly, the strategy states a clear policy to ensure there is a continued focus on localised solutions and to ensure partnership working.

“We are introducing a target for at least 75% of Sport England place investment to be committed to areas with the lowest levels of physical activity and social outcomes,” the strategy reads. “This will ensure a continued focus on ensuring that community voices and needs are put at the heart of investment decisions.

“It is crucial that local people are at the heart of the decision-making process and that the needs of individual communities are considered in order to address inactivity.

“Decisions on funding new and existing

facilities and spaces should be guided by those who really understand community needs and can inform what is likely to work. This approach accepts that the answer to every problem is not always to simply provide more money, but instead to focus more on strategic leadership and local collaboration.

“With this in mind, we would encourage local leaders and local authorities to ensure that there is a clear and well-evidenced facilities plan for their local area. This should take into account informal spaces for participation as well as the role that the local leisure estate plays in contributing to physical activity and wider wellbeing.

“Government will work with the Local Government Association (LGA) to provide advice and support on how to do this. Our commitment to place-based interventions is highlighted by the Sport England partnership approach introduced through Uniting the Movement, in particular through the increased level of funding to the Active Partnerships network.

“This focuses on helping local leaders to

Decisions on funding new and existing facilities and spaces should be guided by those who really understand community needs

The strategy calls for the physical activity sector to be flexible and innovative

understand national policies and unlock funding pots to address the inactivity challenge. The network is funded by Sport England, but each partnership is empowered to make decisions, recognising that local leaders have the best understanding of where and what action is needed.”

Reaction

The sport and physical activity sector’s reaction to the strategy has been generally positive. There has, however, been grumblings about the lack of exact details on how the government plans to deliver on its promise of getting 3.5 million more people active by 2030.

Overall, though, the strategy – which has been nearly eight years in the making – has been welcomed by industry bodies and leaders.

Richard Shaw, CEO of the Sports and Play Construction Association (SAPCA), said: “We welcome the new strategy and wholly support the aim of getting more people more active more often. At SAPCA, we believe that improving

the nation’s health and wellbeing through physical activity should be a priority for any government – both at the central and local level.

“One of the ways to encourage people to get active is to address some of the persistent barriers to participation. For many of our communities, these barriers include a lack of access to quality, accessible facilities that cater for the needs of communities.

“Sports and play facilities – from outdoor pitches, athletics tracks and ball courts to swimming pools, leisure centres and multi-use games areas – are the engine room of physical activity and we’re delighted that this has been recognised in the strategy. As the government states in the strategy, ‘providing more than just a venue for people to play sport and get active, public leisure and sport facilities also support wider community wellbeing’.

“This is where SAPCA members will play a crucial role, because it is our members who design, plan, build and deliver the facilities that people can get active in. And, as each SAPCA member is committed to delivering their facility

Among the strategy’s aims is to remove barriers facing ‘hard to reach’ populations

projects according to our codes of practice –which set out the standards needed to ensure excellence – they are in a position to ensure each facility is delivered to the highest quality.

Huw Edwards, ukactive CEO, added: “We’re pleased to see a recognition of the essential role of facilities in delivering the strategy. Our gyms, pools, leisure centres and other providers represent the engine room of physical activity in the UK, helping more than 17 million people to be active, making an enormous contribution to the health of the nation.

“Yet there is still much more that can be done to reduce health inequalities and utilise sport and physical activity in delivering on the government’s ambitions to reduce NHS waiting lists and boost economic growth.

“The strategy rightly recognises this can only be achieved through attracting further investment into the sector, and we will continue to work with the Government on identifying which tax and regulatory measures can achieve this.

“To further harness the power of our members to drive activity in this country, it is crucial the Government continues to work closely with the sector to turn these ambitions into reality. Working alongside Government we can maximise the impact of activity on health outcomes and economic productivity.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England CEO, said: “The government’s new sport strategy, with its strong focus on increasing participation and ensuring sport and physical activity is accessible to everyone regardless of background or postcode, is hugely welcome and comes at an important time for our sector.

“It is a highly ambitious document that clearly understands the role activity can play in the health and wellbeing of our nation, and how sport can be a force for good by reducing pressures on the NHS, improving educational attainment and bringing our communities together.” ●

Working alongside Government we can maximise the impact of activity on health outcomes and economic productivity

The strategy recognises the importance of sports and leisure facilities

Want

The UK average public sector pay per swim fee is over £5 for the first time – but how does this vary by region?

And that’s not all. New this year is a fascinating deep dive into the stories and trends behind the statistics, as operators, suppliers and sector experts share their insights and advice.

Don’t miss out, get your copy today.

TAKE A DEEP DIVE

The State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2023 isn’ t just about data, says Leisure DB founder David Minton. It’s rich with interviews and insight

Most people will be well aware of the perilous state of the UK’s swimming pool stock. If not, Google ‘swimming pool closures UK’ and you’ll be brought up to date with a rather depressing bang. But is it all bad news, or are there glimmers of hope and best practice from which we can all learn?

As is the case every year, the State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2023 puts hard numbers behind the headlines: openings and closures, pool counts and locations, top operators, pricing changes.

Key findings this year include a continued decline in pool stock: overall pool count is down -0.8% and the number of sites with pools down -1.8%, with the decrease more notable in the private than the public sector. Not significant numbers, you might say, but as the continuation of an ongoing decline, I would sadly beg to differ.

By number of sites with a pool, GLL is the UK’s #1 public sector pool operator, Nuffield Health #1 in the private sector.

Other findings include trust dominance – 51 per cent of all public sector pools are managed by a trust – and an average public sector payper-swim fee that’s topped £5 for the first time.

All of this, of course, is the sort of robust data you’d expect from Leisure DB’s reports, which for many years have provided accurate, granular views of the supply-side to the industry.

A rich narrative

What you might not expect – and new to this year’s report – is a fascinating deep dive into the stories behind the statistics, with an incredible line-up of operators, suppliers and sector experts offering a rich and insightful narrative.

I’d like to take this opportunity to hand the mic to a small selection of the operators we spoke to, because it’s here that the good news and replicable best practice lies. What follows are excerpts from their interviews with us.

Total Fitness

“Swimming pools can be a sensitive topic in the private sector,” says Sophie Lawler, CEO at Total Fitness. “As a full-service operator, it’s hard to get granular usage data and cost to serve stats for pool-side and dry-side products and customers, so there’s always a sense that private sector pools may be running at a loss.

“My response to that is firm and based on a strong body of our own research. Our membership base is growing dramatically, and what’s clear is we wouldn’t acquire as many members if we didn’t have pools: around 80 per cent of new joiners cite the pool-side areas as a key influencing factor in their decision. Neither would we retain customers as long.”

However, she says, across the sector “the pool-side experience can be an afterthought – the customer is being let down”.

Starting with its own learn-to-swim product, Total Fitness has therefore been asking new questions in recognition that the customer isn’t only the child – it’s also the parent. Find out what topics the operator has been probing in our State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2023; details of how to secure your copy can be found at the end of this feature.

Around 80 per cent of new joiners cite the pool-side areas as a key influencing factor in their decisions

Sophie Lawler, Total Fitness.

Swim lessons have gone through the roof postpandemic

Jacqui Tillman, Everyone Active

Everyone Active

“Swim lessons have gone through the roof post-pandemic, with 180,000 students now coming through our centres each week,” says Jacqui Tillman, director of aquatics & wellbeing at Everyone Active.

“Casual swimming is also up with 1.1 million swims a month, compared to 850,000 prepandemic. All casual swim customers now book via an app, which means we know who they are and which sessions are popular. This information allows us to identify user needs as well as pinch-points and helps us shape pool timetables and memberships. Everyone Active has always been focused on data, but this is something we’ve never been able to do before.”

In the full State of the UK Swimming Industry Report you can also find out how Everyone Active creates “sharp, efficient pool timetables to ensure casual swim isn’t side-lined for lessons”.

How to get the full report

Our thanks go to everyone for their time and willingness to share their experiences, and to our partners – Airius, Alliance Leisure, Blu, Fitronics, Green Wing Energy

GLL

Meanwhile, GLL has reinvented its swimming lesson product, with the traditional learn-to-swim stages 1–10 restructured into just three classes – Foundation, Development and Academy –each run by teams of teachers. Within each class, different swimming cap colours denote students’ level and they’re grouped accordingly. This solves multiple issues, says head of sport & aquatics Andrew Clark. First, if more capacity is needed, another teacher is simply added to cover the additional children. Second, kids don’t have to switch between classes – or time slots/days – every time they pass a level. In turn, a real sense of community develops, which GLL now plans to develop further. The Academy also helps GLL to incorporate lifeguarding and water safety, nurturing potential future employees.

The Academy has allowed GLL to incorporate lifeguarding and water safety

Andrew Clark, GLL

Solutions, Hydrohex, Paragon Structures, Prospec, RLSS UK, Space&Place, STA and Swimming Nature – for their support in producing this must-read report. You can purchase your copy of

the State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2023 at leisuredb. com/publications – promo code SWIM15 unlocks a 15 per cent discount for SportsNation readers until 30 September 2023.

https://www.leisuredb.com/publications

Swimming pool operators have seen a huge increase in demand since the pandemic

© PEXELS-ANDREA-PIACQUADIO

Play Innovation’s new Corner Skills range activates ‘dead spaces’ at multi use games areas and ball courts

Empty Corners Re-purposing

The creative minds at Play Innovation have been at it again. Adding to their popular retro-fittable target game systems including Crossbar King and Street Snooker, a revolutionary new range named ‘Corner Skills’ has been launched to make use of almost every corner and inch in every ball court. The engaging games include a fun noughts and crosses (Tic-Tac-Toe) target board and a cricket panel with a wicket and numbered targets.

Filling a void

Marco Boi, founder and creator of Play Innovation, says: “Each year, local authorities across the UK spend significant amounts of money on creating Multi Use Games Areas (MUGAs) – in essence, rectangular, fenced boxes. But while the intended outcome is great – providing community spaces in which lots of different activities can take place – it is, sadly, seldom achieved. The reality is that most MUGAs end up being used for two sports (basketball or football) by one demographic (teenage boys).

“At the same time, we hear about the importance of getting people active in a bid to fight the health challenges – both physical and mental – we face from obesity and social inequalities.

“Most people in power, who hold the purse strings, understand that we need to get the inactive population active. Frustratingly, there are still many organisations that have the ability to change the tide but choose not to think outside the box and invest in innovation which can help tackle these issues head on.

“From our experience, too many organisations responsible for community health request ‘cookie cutter’ or like-for-like projects in the tender process. In addition, they score tenders weighted heavily towards the lowest cost bid winning. Here at Play Innovation, we like to do things differently and we love thinking outside of the (rectangle) boxes.”

The games are both durable and low maintenance

Activating people

Play Innovation has been obsessed with tackling inactivity in children, young people and adults since 2010. Seen as an industry pioneer, the company has developed more than a dozen patented games designed to accessorise and revolutionise ball courts and encourage more people, young and old, to enjoy moving more.

“We spend time listening to the communities we work in and visit and speak to people from ALL walks of life,” Boi says. “And it’s here, when we listen, where we are most creative and innovative. We take on board people’s thoughts and feelings and channel them into designing games that make a difference to lives.

“We live in a digital world fuelled by the latest advancements. Yet, some of the genuinely creative solutions that bring people, families and communities together do not require electronics or flashing lights. At Play Innovation, we use colour, good design and high-quality material choices to make as many of these existing (and new) facilities feel safe, low maintenance and fun for as many people as possible regardless of age, ability, gender or ethnicity.”

Play Innovation’s new ‘Corner Skills’ range is a perfect example of this process. The panels can be easily installed to almost any corner and they sit at 2400mm high x 600mm wide.

Like all Play Innovation commercial grade games, they are manufactured from low noise,

heavy duty, recyclable HDPE materials and steel fixing brackets, designed for harsh external environments – as low maintenance requirements are an important feature for the games. The Corner Skills also have replaceable targets, which negate the unlikely event of vandalism

“Get in touch and let’s innovate and change the world together; one corner of the world at a time,” Boi says. ●

More info: contact@playinnovation.co.uk www.playinnovation.co.uk

The innovative games help facility owners to fully utilise their spaces

We take on board people’s thoughts and feelings and channel them into designing games that make a difference to lives

Since being launched by Richard Curtis and Sir Lenny Henry in 1985, Comic Relief has become one of the UK’s most recognised charities, raising over £1.5bn for good causes. SportsNation spoke to Neel Sood, Comic Relief’s Sports for Change Manager, about how sport has become a major part of the charity’s operations

NEEL SOOD C

omic Relief was launched in 1985 with a simple concept – get British comedians to make the public laugh, while raising money to help people in the UK and around the world. Its most famous charity drives are the annual Red Nose Day live events, which each year raise tens of millions of pounds.

In 2002, Comic Relief launched Sport Relief, to use the power of sport to help change lives and to unite the sporting community with the entertainment industry. Ever since, sport has played a huge role in Comic Relief’s funding.

What is Comic Relief’s Sport for Change and when was it launched?

It all started back in 2002 – a memorable year for sport, with the FIFA World Cup, the Commonwealth Games here in the UK and our very first Sport Relief campaign. Since then, our Sport for Change funding programme has gone on to support more than 500 projects in the UK and around the world.

Neel Sood joined Comic Relief in 2022

Since its launch in 1985, Comic Relief has raised more than £1.5bn for good causes all over the world

We call it sport for change at Comic Relief, but it’s also known as sport for development or sport for good. In its simplest terms, it’s about using the power of sport and physical activity to create positive, lasting social change by working together with communities and the people living within them.

To have the greatest impact, the activity needs to be accompanied with specialist non-sport support, specifically designed to tackle social issues. For example, a Sport for Change project aimed at improving mental health outcomes might combine a sporting activity, such as football, with specialist mental health care provided for its participants in a way that is embedded into the programme.

The activity that is part of a Sport for Change project will be inclusive and help to create safe spaces for people to build friendships and connections, engage in important conversations, and access further support. In some contexts, this can have a transformational effect.

It’s about using the power of sport and physical activity to create positive, lasting social change by working together with communities and the people living within them

What was the motivations for Comic Relief to get involved with sport?

Sport has the power to bring people together across culture, language, gender, social class, race, age and religion, among many others. With its popularity and universality, sport can engage people and offer an alternative setting to clinical or traditional support services. When used to respond to social issues, sport can be a powerful tool for social change.

What are the main aims of Sport for Change?

Comic Relief launched a new organisational strategy earlier this year (www.comicrelief.

com/funding/funding-strategy), and the sport for change strategy we are developing will align with these goals to address the causes and consequence of poverty. We’ll continue to work in spaces where we know sport can make a difference, which may include areas such as mental health and gender justice. We know sport can make a huge difference in a variety of areas, and are really looking forward to seeing what we can achieve with this greater focus on the approach. Comic Relief is well known in the sector for giving out grant funding, but we would like to do a lot more than that in the sport for change

Comic Relief has utilised sports ability to act as a powerful tool for social change

world. For example, we are keen to work with partners to showcase the positive stories from around the world, that sport for change can bring. We also actively support advocacy that is lobbying for the increased use of sport and physical activity to support social outcomes; mostly we do this through our support for the Sport for Development Coalition. We also want to learn more about the impact of sport for change funding, or the impact that sport for change programmes are making around the world, and would love to do more research/ evaluations to support this. That’s why we look to convene the sector around certain learnings

we find and to showcase our work and learnings more often. We’re always happy to talk to anyone who’d like to support us on the journey.

How much money has it provided for projects since its launch – and how much do have you earmarked for the coming years?

Comic Relief has invested over £80 million of funds into sport for change projects since 2002, both in the UK and around the world. We are already planning future funding and hope to be able to share more news in the autumn.

Could we have some examples/descriptions of a few projects it has helped?

We’re really proud to have supported some fabulous organisations over the past 20 years. Fight for Peace is an amazing organisation who work in the UK and Brazil. It uses the power of boxing and martial arts to support young people who have been affected by violence in their communities and promote peace. Another exciting project is Street League. It runs programmes throughout the UK and provides access to a range of sports including football and dance, whilst helping to equip young people with confidence, qualifications, and opportunities to build a brighter future.

You’re currently undertaking some research which will shape your future strategy – what can you tell us about that?

Comic Relief is a strong learning-based organisation, and through the research we have commissioned we want to learn about

Comic Relief has invested over £80 million of funds into sport for change projects since 2002, both in the UK and around the world

The charity funds sports-related projects in the UK

© SHUTTERSTOCK / JULIA ZAVALISHINA

how our funding – and the wider support we’ve provided – has impacted the sport for change sector. We’re conscious that we’ve funded very different types of organisations, working towards different aims in many different contexts; so, we’re keen to dive deeper into where that support has made the most impact and also where there are gaps for us to consider filling in our future work.

What do you see as Sport Relief’s/Sport for Change’s biggest achievement so far?

Sport for Change has become a recognised part of the development sector – which has proven to be fantastic at supporting society through its biggest challenges. Its ability to adapt to different challenges is one of its biggest strengths – whether that’s supporting young people to gain hard and soft skills that could help them into employment, to supporting people’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, or supporting girls and women strive for equality.

And what about the biggest challenge it faces?

I think Sport for Change can be confused with participation/competitive sport, which takes the eyes away from the social change we’re looking to make. It’s a hurdle the

sector has to overcome, even though you could argue there’s a slight overlap.

How do you see Sport for Change growing in coming years – what are the future aims?

We’re really proud of the work we’ve been able to deliver in this area for more than 20 years, and we’re really looking forward to, and are excited by, supporting new initiatives and partnerships that support our new strategy. In that time, we’ve also seen lots of changes across the sector too, and want to be able to do more to help embed sport for change in it.

You joined Comic Relief/Sport for Change last year - what motivated you to do that? Prior to joining, I was Programmes and Grants Manager at Laureus Sport for Good, a charity which currently supports more than 275 programmes in over 50 countries. Similar to Comic Relief, it uses the power of sport to transform lives.

I was there for five years and my role was very similar to my current role at Comic Relief. The bulk of it consisted of giving grants and then managing sport for change investments from all over the world – once they had been awarded – which included going to visit projects. In addition, I supported the fundraising/communications

Prior to his role at Comic Relief, Sood spent more than four years at the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation

We’re really proud of the work we’ve been able to deliver in this area for more than 20 years

Tackle inactivity in children, young people and adults with a patented Play Innovation target game.

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teams with their respective efforts.

I loved my role at Laureus and so I feel I’ve moved from one great organisation to another. As for the motivation, it was mostly about wanting to see another perspective on sport for change, to round off my knowledge in the sector.

Have you always been passionate about sport?

I would consider myself fanatical about sport. My dad got me into sport, playing hockey, as a young kid and I’ve always been into it ever since. I played hockey competitively to a decent level up until 2017 and since then, have run for fun. As well as playing, I coached hockey too as well as sitting on club committees – so I have a rounded experience of the sporting world!

You’ve also spent time on “front line” of delivering sport and physical activity – at Get Berkshire Active?

Yes – I worked there as a Sports Development Officer. I managed a funding programme called Satellite Clubs, which was delivered by all Active Partnerships (as they’re now known). The programme linked activity providers to local communities and provided informal opportunities for young people to try out a new sport/physical activity.

sport

My role was to manage the process of giving grants, and managing them once they’d been given out. This was very much part of the legacy to the London 2012 Olympics – the whole programme made a huge difference in giving opportunities to areas of the county/demographics who didn’t have as many, and it was rewarding to have implemented it in my home county.

What do you see as your biggest career achievement so far?

I’m generally proud to have worked for organisations who have distributed funding to projects in underfunded/underserved communities around the world. Having travelled a fair bit to see sport/sport for change projects around the world; it’s been very rewarding to hear positive stories from young people whose lives have been changed. ●

I would consider myself fanatical about

The charity is investing into learning about how its funding has impacted the sport for change sector

Only the best is good enough

For high contact sports - especially Rugby and GAA

High Performance Adhesive Systems for Sports and Leisure Surfaces

TESTING

TIMES

The latest results from Sport England’s quality assurance scheme, Quest, shows that 95% of facilities were rated ‘good’ or above for their overall customer journeys between September 2022 and May 2023. Despite the positive overall figure, it seems, however, that there’s still a way to go when engaging with hard to reach groups via telephone systems, websites and social media platforms.

Tackling inequality

Sport England’s Quest Foundation Review (QFR) monitors the customer service experiences of people from lower socioeconomic groups, culturally diverse communities, people living with disabilities, people living with long-term health conditions and socially excluded groups. Over the past 12 months, the QFR was used to explore the way local authority leisure facilities engage and interact with people and communities that have at times struggled to access physical activity opportunities to provide insight into where and how the industry can raise its game when it comes to tackling inequalities.

The QFR scored and benchmarked 284

facilities across England as part of the Continuous Improvement pillar of the Moving Communities programme, which tracks participation at public leisure facilities to evidence the sector’s performance, sustainability and social value.

“For the first time since its inception in 1996, Quest offered this free service to every local authority in England to identify how the sector is performing at present and use that data to create awareness of inequalities and shape training and

When it comes to delivering customer service, the sports and physical activity sector is doing a pretty good job, according to Sport England’s quality assurance scheme, Quest

education to help enhance and improve services,” says Sarah Lobo, Head of External Accreditations at Right Directions, which manages Quest on behalf of Sport England.

“The QFR surveyed three areas; how the facility and its online services were perceived during one specific call, one online/digital visit to its website and its linked social media platforms. Each section comprised nine questions with a possible total 100% score and qualitative feedback was also given to aid interpretation of

Key Learnings from the QFR Reviews

● Website imagery was often limited and not reflective of target demographics

● Answering the telephone and information given over the telephone were both poor

● The sector scored poorly when it came to taking contact details for a call-back or for emailing information

● Exercise Referral schemes are often ‘catch-all’ programmes that lack information or support for specific target groups

● Solutions for people who speak English as a second language were extremely poor across the sector

● Policies for specific groups (such as transgender) were often hard to source, with staff believing they had no issues as an ‘equal opportunities facility’

The data and qualitative feedback provide a summary picture of how these groups experience leisure centres to help us remove barriers to participation

Sarah Lobo, Head of External Accreditations, Right Directions

the score, highlight best practices and provide guidance for improvements.

“While only a snapshot compared to the full Quest report’s more rigorous assessment, the data and qualitative feedback provide a summary picture of how these groups experience leisure centres to help us remove barriers to participation.”

Hanging on the line

QFR offered some useful insights for operators – and that there is significant room for improvement in areas of basic customer service. For example, the survey showed that when it comes to answering the telephone – from the promptness of answering to the information given out – the results were disappointing, returning an average score of just 30%. This means that only three out of the nine areas of service received a positive score.

According to Phil Lown, Senior Quest Assessor at Right Directions, a potential

The data suggest that there is “significant room” for improvement in areas of basic customer service

If a conversation with a member of staff on the telephone doesn’t help someone to understand exactly what you have to offer them, how do we expect to encourage them into our centres

Phil Lown, Senior Quest Assessor, Right Directions

customer having a negative experience during what is often the very first point of contact with a leisure centre is worrying.

“If a conversation with a member of staff on the telephone doesn’t help someone to understand exactly what you have to offer them, how do we expect to encourage them into our centres?” Lown says.

“These groups are described as “hard to reach” for a reason, so we need to remove as many barriers to starting physical activity as possible. The lack of ability to speak to someone at the facility you want to attend, either because they don’t answer the phone or haven’t had suitable training, especially if you have mobility or mental health issues constricting your power to travel, should be an issue that is easily resolved.”

Customers’ interactions with websites and online services with the assessment painted a more encouraging picture. The QFR reviewed the accessibility of information and programmes on offer and returned an average

score of 65% across the sector. This meant that more than six out of the nine questions in the section generally scored positively.

“It was great to find that 97% of facilities had easy-to-access websites, with 92% having a telephone number to contact the facility and 94% giving the option to contact the facility online via an e-mail address or an online form,” Lown says.

“Unfortunately, facilities were let down by the fact only 36% had details of timetables or activities that may be suitable for the demographic being reviewed. There was also a lack of good quality virtual tours, which many people in these target groups use to familiarise themselves with what they may experience when going to a new place for the first time.”

The social media assessment, which included a review of information available on at least one or more of each operator’s social media platforms for the demographic being analysed, was the highest-scoring element, with a solid average sector score of 70%.

“Of the 96% of facilities that had social media links on their websites, only 94% of these were working,” says Lown. “Most operators are keeping their channels up to date too, with 88% having been used in the previous week. However, a couple of areas for improvement were highlighted, including the fact only 61% had images or videos relevant to the demographics being assessed and only 50% give quality operational information specific to the relevant facility, such as opening times, timetables and booking information.” ● A copy of the sector-wide QFR report is available on the Quest website: www.questaward.org

Customer interactions are important at every level

SPORT IN FOCUS

RUGBY UNION

For rugby union in the UK, the past few years have offered a mixed picture. The number of registered players has fallen both in Scotland and England, while both nations have also struggled at the elite level. Meanwhile, however, Welsh rugby has witnessed an encouraging recovery in the number of grassroots players, a success story which has been mirrored in the improved performances by both the men’s and women’s national teams.

In addition to the disruptions caused by the pandemic, rugby has, in recent years, had to deal with concerns over tackling and head injuries.

So how is the sport looking to bounce back? Will the World Cup, currently taking place in France, help elevate awareness of the sport? Perhaps by creating heroes and role models? We looked at the existing strategies in place across the three nations to find out what the plans are.

ENGLAND

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) published its strategy to grow the game in 2021, in the aftermath of COVID-19 disruptions. It recognises the challenges the sport has – and the fact that participation numbers were already declining prior the pandemic.

In his foreword to the strategy, Bill Sweeney, RFU chief executive, admitted the sport was facing one of the toughest periods in its history. The strategy was a response to those challenges and a blueprint to rebuild both at community and elite level.

“Through our strategy, we aim to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union and develop the sport for future generations, creating a successful and thriving game across the country,” Sweeney said. “We aim to achieve this by strengthening and uniting rugby union in England and producing consistently winning England teams. Prudent cost control before the pandemic hit put the RFU in

As the Rugby World Cup 2023 gets into full swing, we look at the current plans to grow and strengthen the sport of rugby union across the UK

Women’s rugby has grown significantly in recent years

a good position to weather the initial impact of the crisis, but longer term we knew this would not be enough to run a sustainable operation and safeguard our future and our ability to invest in the game. We needed to make difficult decisions on continued investment, as well as the appropriate size and shape of our organisation for the future.

“Following a capability review and a consultation process we have completely remodelled our organisation in order to work di!erently in future. The consultation involved RFU Council, representing our Constituent Bodies and member clubs.”

RFU’s strategy has eight key strategic priorities, to which all of the national governing body’s investment decisions need to align. The eight priorities are:

1. Enabling positive, enjoyable player experiences

2. Creating the best possible highperformance system

3. Enhancing player welfare

4. Supporting clubs to sustain and grow themselves

5. Driving rugby to reflect the diversity of society

6. Building a deep understanding of players, volunteers and fans to shape the future of the game

7. Connect with and grow the rugby community

8. Ensure a sustainable and efficient business

The strategy also outlines the RFU’s three core activities – rugby-related operations, commercial activities and running the business – which form the backbone of its operations and run alongside its strategic priorities.

From both angles, grassroots is at the heart of the

strategy. “The community game is the lifeblood of our sport and it needs simple, focused support that delivers real benefit,” Sweeney said. “This will include support to become commercially innovative and self-sustaining, the introduction of campaigns and programmes to attract new audiences to the sport, facilitating change that improves the enjoyment and safety of the game and guidance on increasing diversity in club leadership and playing bases.”

Making the sport inclusive, creating rugby communities and ensuring positive experiences are one of the major strands of the strategy. In line with this, the RFU committed, in August 2022, close to £1m of additional funding to support the community game in its rebuild. The increased support is based on a whole package of measures targeting areas of the game most affected by the enforced 18-month break during Covid.

At national level, the RFU introduced a ‘Play Together, Stay Together’ campaign to drive participation among two key playing groups –17-22-year-olds in the men’s and women’s game and male social players aged 30+. It also redeployed coach developers to provide targeted practical support to around 100 clubs nationwide to help retain players. The governing body also provided clubs guidance and resources for transitioning players from age grade rugby into adult rugby.

At a more local level, the RFU earmarked funding to help increase playing and coaching opportunities, while also supporting students

“Making the sport inclusive, creating rugby communities and ensuring positive experiences are one of the major strands of the strategy”

The RFU’s strategy looks to help clubs grow their programmes

© RFU

to find clubs close to their universities or to stay connected with their old clubs.

In addition, RFU undertook the most significant shake-up of the sport’s grassroots competition structure for 30 years. This saw a reduction in the size of divisions at all levels below the RFU Championship (Level 2) and an increase in the number of divisions at all levels below National League 1 (formerly level 3).

RFU Director of Rugby Development, Steve Grainger, said: “During the pandemic we’ve seen a decline in the number of games being played in the adult men’s game, while the women’s game has stayed flat at a time when growth was planned. While we are confident in our planned interventions in the women’s game through recruitment campaigns, it’s really important that we act now to address the immediate challenges we are seeing in the men’s game. We have already announced the biggest changes in 30 years to the men’s league structure to better suit players’ lifestyles. The package of measures are targeted and immediate in nature, designed to have an impact on player retention in the first half of the season.

“We hope the whole rugby community will get behind ‘Play Together, Stay Together’ as the game works together to encourage more players back to their local clubs.”

SCOTLAND

The pandemic caused huge disruption to rugby in Scotland too. Similar to England, there was an 18-month hiatus to games being played at a community level. This had a detrimental effect on the number of active players – something which the national governing

body, Scottish Rugby, looks to reverse with a three-year strategy published in July 2021.

The strategy, published in the wake of the pandemic lockdowns, follows a four-step plan of ‘Review, Reset, Recover and Rebuild’, outlining the key areas of focus. The strategy is centred on the themes of ‘Wellbeing, Women and Winning’ and outlines specific areas of work, such as growing participation, improving diversity and inclusion, future-proofing the community game, driving revenue growth and building winning teams. It is backed by a commitment to provide the “most comprehensive and sustained investment programme in the sport’s history”.

Investments include a £6.5million package for the community game running into 2026, which will deliver funding streams to community clubs in Scotland. As well as improving facilities, the funding will enable outreach sessions to bring new and previous players and volunteers back to the game or to welcome them for the first time.

The strategy also identified the importance of wellbeing for everyone involved in rugby for the positive combination of physical and mental-health benefits sport brings, especially through the role clubs play as the focal point of their local communities.

The rapid growth in the women and girl’s game will also act as a driver to raise wider participation in the sport within the aims of the strategy.

To support the growth of the women’s game, Scottish Rugby published a separate Women &

Welsh Rugby is increasing its investment in the women’s game

Girls’ Strategy 22-26, which delves deeper into what is required to ensure the sport grows.

The focus of the women and girls’ strategy has been set around four P’s; Participation, Pathway, Pipeline and Performance. They are underpinned by a “holistic approach” to develop the game, in recognition that investing in isolation into one area alone could create an imbalance that will impact on long term growth and sustainability.

“We will invest in seven strategic priority areas, our key building blocks, that will impact across the four Ps,” Scottish Rugby said. “These are; ‘Empowering leadership’, ‘Positive introduction to rugby’, ‘Playing pathway for all’, ‘Building capacity in our clubs’, ‘Developing the future of performance rugby’, ‘A winning Scotland’ and ‘Let them see what they can be’”.

WALES

Bucking the trend of declining participation numbers, Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) posted healthy participation figures following the pandemic lockdowns. During the 2021-22 season, there were 45,613 community male players and 5,686 female players. These marked a clear increase on the prepandemic figures (during 2018-19) of 32,785 and 4,350 respectively. It meant that the number of total registered players in the community game went through the 50,000 mark for the first time since digital records began. To support the development of community players and to ensure a steady feed of talent into the elite teams, the WRU also unveiled a major pathway shake-up for the sport earlier this year.

Community director Geraint John is pleased with the numbers, but said the WRU is striving for even more. “We have hugely positive participation figures,” John said.

“We are buoyed by these figures, but this is not a case of job done. We work extremely hard in this area and have a wide range of initiatives and structures in place to address and improve participation at all levels, but also invest in the people and places that nurture players as they come through the system.”

As well as the increase in overall participation numbers, the WRU has hailed the development of women’s elite rugby as one of its greatest success stories in recent years. The introduction of professional contracts for the women’s team was seen as a landmark moment, with the expectation that the success of the women’s game will eventually deliver more sponsorship and revenue.

“We’re dedicated to supporting the women’s game,” says WRU performance manager, Huw Bevan. “We’re looking at setting up a Women’s and Girl’s Rugby Strategy Group from departments across the WRU and creating a performance plan to take us through to the 2029 World Cup. Our target is to potentially become a semi-finalist at that tournament.” ●

Rugby remains one of the most popular team sports in the UK

“Making the sport inclusive, creating rugby communities and ensuring positive experiences are one of the major strands of the strategy” © SPORT ENGLAND

England women’s rugby captain first started playing when she was five years old. A crucial member of the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup winning team speaks to SportsNation about her rugby journey

MARLIE PACKER

You’ve had quite a journey in rugby - where did it all start?

I started playing rugby when I was five years old at Yeovil Rugby Club. My first rugby experience was one to remember. My school friend took me down to Ivel Barbarians RFC and my mum had dressed me in jeans and a red top with frilly bits round the neck, which I hated! What she didn’t know, is that I was going to come back caked in mudhaving just joined my first rugby session.

From there I spent 13 years at Yeovil RFC. I then joined Bath in 2007 and received my first senior England Cap in 2008. In 2009 I moved to Bristol where I spent 4 years before joining the England 7’s programme in 2013 and signing for Wasps.

In 2014, I became a World Cup winner - a

Packer was part of the 2014 World Cup winning England team

moment I had only ever dreamt of as a young girl growing up in Yeovil. I returned to the West Country in 2016 before joining Saracens in 2017, where I continue to play in the Premier 15’s.

When did you first realise you could make it as a professional athlete?

I was 16 years old and still at Ivel Barbarians RFC (now Yeovil RFC), having worked my way through the minis section and age grade rugby. When I got to Yeovil college, I became aware of the opportunity to play high level rugby.

I started to focus on ways to improve and it became apparent that I needed to work on aspects off the pitch, such as nutrition and strength & conditioning, to be a better athlete. Rugby came naturally, so these were the areas I knew I had to work on if I wanted to play for

In 2014, I became a World Cup winner - a moment I had only ever dreamt of as a young girl growing up in Yeovil

The women’s team has made it to the final of each of the last six Rugby World Cups

England. I was selected to represent England U19s in 2007 (aged 17) and the rest is history!

What inspired you to become an athlete?

The happiness, the adrenaline, the feeling of pushing my body to new extremes and coming out on top. Those feelings inspired me to push myself to be the best athlete I could be.

Becoming a Red Rose in 2008 also made me realise how important the sport was to me and so many others. I became part of a special family. Not many people can say they’ve played for England. I once aspired to play for England, and now I’m in a place to inspire the next generation. I work hard for them.

Who has been (or is) your biggest influence/inspiration?

My mum, Julie, has been there throughout my life and rugby journey. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing and she has always been there to support me.

What keeps you motivated?

I love rugby. I love doing what I do and that drives me to be the best I can possibly be. Since becoming a mum, my motivations have changed slightly. I now also think about my son, Oliver, and how I want to make him proud.

How often do you train?

I train with Saracens five times a week. This ranges from gym sessions to skill and team sessions.

You also coach young, aspiring athletes?

I’m a big believer in giving back to the sport and I like to do this through coaching and

school visits. I like to show how fun rugby can be and that it is a sport for all shapes and sizes.

I work with Girls Rugby Club which is a global rugby club built by girls for girls. It's a great way to connect with the next generation and hopefully inspire them to work hard. I have also worked with Essex U18s in a performance coach role. Although I find myself showing a more competitive side when coaching at county level, the principle of having fun and developing remains at the forefront. I want to show young girls that they can achieve anything if they put the hard work in.

What challenges have you faced in coaching?

The paperwork and admin that goes with it! Luckily, I’ve discovered something called CoursePro, a fantastic tool which has the ability to change a coach's outlook on admin - from being a complete nightmare to a walk in the park!

It allows you to mark attendance, access coaching plans and has all medical information at your fingertips. The home portal also allows parents and/or participants to check in on their own or their children’s progress and access any other updates.

The software takes away many stresses placed on coaches and I would highly recommend it. ●

Packer has 74 caps for England and was named captain in 2022

I was selected to represent England U19s in 2007 (aged 17) and the rest is history!

© POCKETROCKET.GROUP

TENNIS AT THE PARK

Henry Riley is a multi-disciplinary construction consultancy working across a range of sectors – including leisure and sport. The company’s Project Director, Harry Clarke, explains how the consultancy is helping to deliver the LTA’s multi-site parks programme

The Park Tennis Project is a £30m investment delivered by tennis governing body, The LTA, and funded by the UK Government and the LTA Tennis Foundation. It is transforming thousands of existing park tennis courts across Britain that are in poor or unplayable condition.

When the opportunity arose to support The LTA on the delivery of its the programme, it was something we were really excited about. It has been amazing to see the impact this programme is having on park facilities up and down the country and something we are proud to be part of. So far, more than 1,500 courts have already received upgrades.

We wanted to share some of the elements we believe are essential to success when delivering large multi-site programmes and how these have been implemented on the Park Tennis Project.

Establishing a Framework

Putting a framework in place ahead of a project has numerous benefits which aid overall delivery. A well planned framework: ● Forms a commitment between the client and supply chain

The LTA’s Park Tennis Project will see £30m invested in courts

● Provides clarity on delivery targets to allow the supply chain to put adequate resources in place

● Establishes clear and consistent terms of engagement

● Reduces transaction costs

● Provides increased commercial certainty via an agreed schedule of rates

● Facilitates continued and shared learning

● Drives innovative and efficient ways of working

● Supports speed to site

● Promotes consistency and quality in delivery Should a schedule of rates be utilised alongside a framework agreement, it is important to consider how inflation will be addressed. There are various ways to approach this, including indices-linked adjustments and/or regular review periods written into the agreement.

Collaboration and communication

A collaborative approach between stakeholders underpins all successful programmes. The close working relationship between The LTA’s team, the framework contractors and Henry Riley’s team has allowed the programme to be delivered at pace and any challenges overcome. Consistent teams and regular touch points in the form

of weekly meetings ensures communication is clear and efficient. Dividing a programme into pods, based on the geographic location of projects, also drives collaboration and consistency of teams, something the Park Tennis Programme has done via the lot allocations.

Flexibility

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On all large multi-site programme’s things change, so it’s essential to have a flexible approach to ensure any impact to the programme is minimised.

The weather has posed a significant challenge to the Parks Programme, there have been multiple delays due to low temperatures persisting into mid spring and a particularly wet and windy summer. To mitigate delays wherever possible the programme has been re-sequenced on a weekly basis to ensure delivery targets are maintained. This has involved co-ordination between The LTA, contractors, Henry Riley and local authorities.

Stakeholder engagement

The majority of large programmes will have multiple stakeholders, so engagement is crucial. Understanding the needs and drivers of each stakeholder is something

High-profile supporters of the park project include Judy Murray

we take the time to understand when approaching a delivery programme.

Local authorities are a major stakeholder in the Park Tennis Programme and engaging with them throughout the project has been vital. Scoping, pre-start, progress and practical completion meetings have all been held with Local Authorities to ensure they are updated at the key milestones throughout the project.

Centralised commercial reporting

Management of capital expenditure at a programme level is also essential. Doing so ensures:

● Funding budgets are accurately reported against.

● Overspend risks are highlighted, managed, and mitigated where possible.

● Stakeholders are provided with accurate and live cost data to make informed decisions.

The use of online platforms allows multiple users to view and update information simultaneously, an important aspect for the Park Tennis Programme.

Contractor cash flow

On programmes with multiple sites and fast paced delivery a framework contractor is likely to have several sites running at any one time, it is important to consider the contractor’s cash flow and how it can be supported. Payment terms and the provision for regular valuations need to be addressed when a programme is procured and delivered.

Bespoke project delivery model

No two programmes are ever the same and they require a bespoke approach when developing a project delivery model (PDM). Consideration needs to be given to the client’s objectives and the parameters of the programme.

A well thought out PDM provides all parties with clarity on their roles and responsibilities throughout the delivery of a project or programme. A time or duration linked PDM supports forecasting and programming whilst also managing expectations on decision-making time-frames and the issue of information.

The importance of construction contracts

We often speak to clients who are having issues with delays, performance and cost increases. When asked which type of contract the project is being delivered under the answer is sometimes that there isn’t one in place. Construction contracts protect both parties and provide clarity on each party’s obligations.

Listed below are the risks associated with not utilising a construction contract. Regardless of the project’s simplicity, or low value, we would always recommend having a contract in place.

1. If your contractor causes death/personal injury, or damage to property, you may not have any contractual terms imposing liability on them, and you could incur significant

The renovated courts are providing new opportunities for participation

losses and reputational damage if these events happen which will then rest with you.

2. You may not have any contract appointing your contractor to act as principal contractor (and principal designer where they are acting as such) meaning these roles may well rest with you, and you could incur significant liabilities under the CDM Regulations as a result.

3. No binding commitments on the contractor regarding insurances for the project.

4. Limited or no protection should a contractor go into administration.

5. No binding commitments on the contractor to achieve any particular standards for the services/ works carried out, in the event of a dispute it will be extremely difficult to show that the contractor is liable for any defects that might occur.

6. No binding commitments on the contractor to achieve any completion date.

7. You will have to pay for the services/ works provided (as you will have received the benefit of them) but the basis for payment will be very uncertain.

8. The contractor has no certainty on payment provisions and time frames.

9. Design responsibility will be uncertain.

10. The likelihood of disputes increases as there will be significant areas of uncertainty as to the basis on which the contractor is operating. There are a range of contracts available to suit any project. Framework contracts can be utilised when delivering multiple projects and offer a great way to ensure a contract is in place on each project without slowing down programmes through contractual negotiations.

What is CDM and what are the client’s obligations?

A CDM (construction, design and management) advisor plays a central role in any sports and play construction project. They provide the client or principal designer with sound competent advice on construction design processes, risk mitigation, best practice over health and safety applications and current legislation. They also assist them with their statutory requirements, ensuring that clients’ construction projects fully adhere to health and safety procedures, including the changes to the CDM Regulations 2015. Many clients, particularly

Construction contracts protect both parties and provide clarity on each party’s obligations

No two tennis court projects are ever the same

Bringing a court project to a successful conclusion requires a collaborative approach

those who only occasionally have construction work done, are not experts in construction work. Although you are not expected to actively manage or supervise the work yourself, you have a big influence over the way the work is carried out.

Whatever the size of your project, you decide which designer and contractor will carry out the work and how much money, time and resource is available. The decisions you make have an impact on the health, safety and welfare of workers and others affected by the work.

CDM 2015 is not about creating unnecessary and unhelpful processes and paperwork. It is about choosing the right team and helping them to work together to ensure health and safety.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 help ensure that noone is harmed during the work, and that your facility is safe to use and maintain while giving you good value.

Effective planning will also help ensure that your work is well managed with fewer unexpected costs and problems.

Client obligations include:

1. Appoint the right people at the right time.

2. Ensure there are arrangements in place for managing and organising the project.

3. Allow adequate time.

4. Provide information to your designer and contractor.

5. Communicate with your designer and building contractor.

6. Ensure adequate welfare facilities.

7. Ensure a construction phase plan is in place.

8. Keep the health and safety file.

9. Protecting members of the public – as well as employees.

10. Ensure workplaces are designed correctly.

● Further information on client responsibilities can be found on the HSE website. https://www.hse.gov. uk/construction/cdm/2015/responsibilities.htm

Whatever the size of your project, you decide which designer and contractor will carry out the work

THE POWER OF PADEL

A hybrid of tennis and squash, padel has become a hugely popular sport in the UK in recent years. As courts are popping up all around the country, we look at the latest developments in the sector

Padel has been rapidly expanding across Europe for the past decade. While it’s hugely popular across Spain and Italy, it has also made waves in Scandinavia and northern Europe – showing that it can grow in climates which require indoor facilities.

In the UK, the sport was played in pockets throughout the 1990s and 2000s, but it wasn’t until 2011 that padel really began to grow, when racquet and health club operator, David Lloyd Leisure, opened its first purpose-built courts.

That same year, the British Padel Federation was established, sparking a period of expansion.

By 2019, padel had grown to such an extent that the governing body for tennis, the LTA, integrated British Padel into the organisation. Since then, the sport has grown quickly and there are currently more than 250 courts in Britain serving more than 90,000 active players.

We looked at recently completed projects, as well as the latest products and services available for those looking to add padel to their facility offering.

Game4Padel growing its footprint

Game4Padel is one of the UK’s leading padel court operators with 14 venues open at the time of writing. It is also growing its portfolio of sites rapidly.

In August, Game4Padel opened two courts each at three sites – Crystal Palace National Sports Centre (in partnership with leisure facility operator GLL), Gosling Sports Park and Bedfont Lakes Business Park. Further launches are planned for Grappenhall Sports (2 courts), Liverpool Cricket Club (3 courts) and Golf It in Glasgow R&A (3 courts). In total, Game4Padel has a further 20 venues secured to open in the UK. It has also teamed up with Active Away, the sports holiday business backed by Dragons’ Den investor Peter Jones. The partnership will see Active Away

Wilson adds to its Carbon Force racquet collection

Sports equipment specialist, Wilson, has launched a new version of its Carbon Force line of padel racquets. Specifically designed for versatile players, the refreshed Carbon Force racket line has a diamond-shaped design, offering a smaller sweet spot that’s located higher on the racket face, allowing players to produce more power.

The line is also made up of Soft EVA foam that offers a cushioning effect that allows players to have more control.

hosting padel holidays to Game4Padel’s flagship Spanish resort from Summer 2024 onwards.

Game4Padel boasts a diverse group of experienced UK investors and ambassadors, including former world no.1 tennis players Andy and Jamie Murray, Liverpool FC star, Virgil van Dijk, former tennis stars Annabel Croft and Andrew Castle and Welsh rugby legend Jonathan Davies.

Game4Padel said: “We provide a full service padel solution from feasibility to planning, construction, funding, management, booking systems, playing programmes, coaching and maintenance of the facility. We bear all capital and maintenance costs in return for a share of revenue.”

Game4Padel is one of the UK’s largest padel operators

The new line of racquets is designed for versatile players

©

GAME4PADEL © WILSON

Portico Sport UK creates pop-up court at Battersea

Earlier this year, Portico Sport UK delivered one of its Mobile Panoramic courts to Rocket Padel, creating a pop-up padel club at the iconic Battersea Power Station. The court solution, designed by Portico, was created to provide an open feel with unrestricted viewing for spectators. Made with support plates that do not require anchoring to the ground, the mobile court allows it to be transported to any location, with only a draining surface needed to prevent water accumulation.

Padium opens in Canary Wharf

A new eight-court padel facility in the heart of London’s financial district is being described as the new ‘des res’ of UK padel. Located at 10 Bank Street in Canary Wharf

Padium took more 18 months to construct at a cost of more than £4m.

Designed and delivered by SAPCA member, Padel Tech, the venue boasts seven indoor and one outdoor V-Panoramic courts supplied by All For Padel (AFP). The playing surface is Mondo Supercourt, which is used on the

The court is built to World Padel Tour standards and is staffed daily from 9am to 10pm, with a “service station” providing players with food and drinks.

Portico UK said: “This was one of the UK´s most fun padel projects and it was a huge honour to have one of our mobile padel courts installed at the famous Battersea power station. Our fully customised base and court has been a great success and we were extremely lucky to be chosen to head up this project with the team at Rocket Padel.”

World Padel Tour. Paul Ross, Padel Tech MD, said: “Padium has been our most challenging development since Padel Tech was established in 2016. It has involved collaboration from a number of different stakeholders.”

The court is located adjacent to the iconic Battersea Power Station

One of the courts at Padium

Italian Padel gets accreditation and partners with Copri

Padel court manufacturer, Italian Padel, is the first Italian company to secure a TÜV SÜD certification for its operations. Germanybased TÜV SÜD tests, inspects and certifies technical systems, facilities and products.

Italian Padel has supplied more than 2,900 padel courts in 22 countries – including in the UK – making it one of Europe’s largest specialist padel court companies.

“2023 is a very significant year for us,” the company said. “As well as receiving the TÜV SÜD certification, we have launched a new, light product for indoor installations and areas with a low wind index.”

In the UK, Italian Padel has partnered with SAPCA member, Copri Systems. The two companies will work together to develop customised systems that are designed specifically for the UK and for the environment they are built in.

“We ensure that all British building regulations are met but also that the environmental

characteristics of each site are taken into consideration,” Copri Systems said.

“Wind loads in Bologna are not going to be the same as in Brighton and likewise, wind loads in urban areas are not going to be the same as they are by the coast. When you remember that we are dealing with glass structures, that should be a significant consideration. The British environment is also more likely to cause drainage issues and corrosion. European padel courts tend to be built on non-porous surfaces, which would never work in our wet weather. Likewise, if rust occurs because the steel frames have not been treated properly, the structural damage is irreversible.

“We’ve partnered with Italian Padel because, after research and testing, we believe them to be the best manufacturer of padel court systems in Europe.”

Ream Padel bringing Jubo’s Infi nity courts to play

Ream Padel has partnered with Jubo Padel to supply the UK market with Jubo’s pioneering courts. It currently offers a number of different solutions, from the standard “vision” court built using pillars and frames to the “panoramic”, designed for professional players and competitions with a greater vision for viewing. Later this year it will begin offering Jubo’s

“Infinity Court”, a glass walled court with no metal pillars designed to address the issue of padel courts that are clustered together sometimes appearing “prison-like” due to the steel bars.

“Infinity is already installed in various mainland Europe locations and is now receiving a lot of interest from UK clubs which plan to establish and operate competition courts,” Ream Padel says.

Italian Padel has supplied more than 2,900 courts in 22 countries

Flexible court solutions

SAPCA member, Rocklyn, has created a portable Padel court solution for clubs seeking a non-permanent court option. The fully mobile court is also an ideal solution for tournaments, pop up events and festivals.

Suitable for both indoor and outdoor installation, the courts are manufactured to exacting standards and both galvanised and powder coated. Unlike Rocklyn’s permanent court padel system, the portable court does not require anchoring to the ground – allowing relocation or seasonal storage as required.

The court, which is compliant with World Padel Tour regulations, comes with a choice of coloured Mondo artificial turfs, LED lighting and certified tempered glass in 10mm or 12mm - the highest standard in Padel manufacture.

Fordingbridge adds to padel solutions

Over the past three years, SAPCA member, Fordingbridge, has been developing padel court canopies into its range of sports facility solutions. The company is currently working on a number of padel projects.

Adam Collier, Technical Sales Manager for Fordingbridge said: “We’re working with all the leading court manufacturers and operators, alongside the governing bodies on supplying padel specific canopy structures to ensure all year-round weather protection, whilst maximising court usage and revenues.

“As we’ve refined our padel canopy design over the past three years, we’ve developed several set standards; manufacturing everything in-house allows us to provide a seamless process from initial enquiry to site visit and survey, through to in-house fabrication and installation.

“All of our canopies are structurally engineered and conform to building regulations, which is backed by our industry-leading guarantees. Conforming to minimum heights – as set out in the The SAPCA Code of Practice for the

Construction of Padel Courts – including the height over the net, reduces impact on gameplay.”

Fordingbridge’s recent projects include a large twin-span padel structure at Chapel Allerton where two end-to-end padel courts combined with a vast coverage of 585sq m.

“We’re currently developing several live padel site projects, with many more in the planning phase,” Collier adds. “Going into 2024, we will have installed over 10 live padel canopy projects.”

The temporary courts can be used indoors and outside

The canopies offer protection from weather

ROCKLYN

Golf club adds padel courts with help of Smart-Space

SAPCA member, Smart-Space, worked with Heron Golf Club in Essex to provide covered courts for its new venture – The Heron Padel Club. The new padel facility occupies part of the golf club’s car park and features two covered, floodlit courts – allowing all-year play and providing the club with additional revenues. There is also a waiting area and secure access to the courts. A third court is planned for later this year and the courts are available to both members and non-members, with bookings being managed via the MATCHi platform. The club also offers individual and group coaching sessions with Frankie Langan, the club’s Director of Padel and British number 1 on the LTA British Padel Tour.

TigerTurf’s Padel 11 surface designed specifically for the sport

SAPCA member, TigerTurf UK, has created a premium synthetic grass designed specifically for padel tennis courts. With a focus on performance, durability, and aesthetics, the turf solution provides players with a consistent and reliable surface for an enhanced padel experience.

Designed for both recreational play and competitive tournaments, Padel 11 builds on the UK’s leading tennis grass, Advantage Pro. The carefully engineered surface provides a balance of traction and slip resistance, allowing players to execute accurate shots and dynamic movements. The surface’s

characteristics promote consistent ball response, enabling a high-quality gameplay experience.

TigerTurf’s proprietary manufacturing techniques also ensure that Padel 11 is built to withstand the rigours of padel tennis play. The turf is designed to resist fading, flattening, and deterioration caused by intensive use, ensuring its longevity even in high-traffic areas.

TigerTurf UK said: “Padel 11 will withstand prolonged exposure to sunlight without losing its vibrant colour or structural integrity. This UV-resistant feature ensures that the court maintains its appearance and performance over time.”

Heron Golf Club has added padel to its sports offer

The new surface has been developed to cater for padel’s requirements

SMART-SPACE

ProGame Shock Pads for Sports Fields

Especially for artificial turf sports grounds: The Trocellen XC & XC Plus series includes high-quality shock pads made of closed-cell, chemically cross-linked polyethylene foam. ProGame shock pads are delivered in rolls of 2-meter width and tailored length to meet the requirements of the field. The combination of the unique XC-punched polyethylene foam guarantees excellent drainage properties, quick and easy installation, and very high dimensional stability. The wide range of thicknesses (6 – 14 mm) and densities (30 – 90 kg/m³) caters to the requirements of a variety of sports.

TigerTurf UK manufacture industry leading, high quality synthetic sports surfaces for schools, clubs, and communities.

Ensuring that every playing field we create is a testament to our commitment to excellence. With a track record of innovation and a dedication to pushing the boundaries of what synthetic sports surfaces can offer, TigerTurf UK stands as a pioneer in the field.

Padium – setting the standard

Billed as the ‘home of UK padel’ and located in the heart of London’s financial district, the soon to be “des res” of British padel has finally opened amid soaring anticipation

Padium, located at 10 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, is a top-end padel experience which is positioning itself as the market-leader. With the development costing more than £4million and the project taking almost 18-months to complete, the eight-court facility is the crown jewel in the London business enclave’s leisure offering.

The construction of Padium provided a set of unique challenges that ensured court manufacturer, Padel Tech, had to use all of its ingenuity to create the flagship facility. The project was spawned from a chance meeting between Padium CEO, Houman Ashrafzadeh, and Padel Tech director, Guy Heathcote, and soon began to move apace.

In an exclusive interview with SportsNation, Padel Tech MD, Paul Ross, explains: “Without doubt this is our most challenging development since Padel Tech was established in 2016. We’ve built courts all over the world from desert locations

to Caribbean Islands but this has definitely been the most daunting. It has involved collaboration from a number of different stakeholders covering various and differing aspects.

“From Padel Tech alone we are talking a seven figure outlay and that was mainly as the technical aspects alone have been so complex. Guy had looked at other interesting sites and I came in from a more technical angle and we agreed with Houman that we could probably do something - but the site was so challenging.

“We had started with Wood Wharf which was in fact the foundation of a skyscraper which had stopped and their idea had been to build a five court centre on that building. Then Canary Wharf asked us if we could move to 10 Bank Street, which was both a very different site but also one which was much tougher from a variety of standpoints.

“So we now have a build which has eight AFP (All For Padel) courts, seven indoor and one outside with a very high canopy. This was a site which created a large number of challenges, mainly in engineering terms and meant we were building at street level, effectively where there had been a park in the middle of Canary Wharf surrounded by skyscrapers. It was a very spectacular site!

“Ultimately it was also a huge amount of work, in fact 18 months of engineering, has gone into creating Padium and there has been a lot of input from all sorts of parties but now we have finally got it across the line.”

Applying suitable technology to the unique demands of the site also required thought and invention from Padel Tech.

“Operating a construction site in the middle of the Canary Wharf business district is certainly a unique experience,” Ross explains. “The geography of the site was certainly challenging and that impacted on the costs. The eight ton machine

The location posed a number of challenges for the construction project

we would normally use to point load on to concrete slabs could not be utilised and we had to use other methods and different techniques to carry out the build but we got there in the end and are very happy with the end result.”

The AFP Panoramic courts, which are the culmination of a combination of innovation, technology and a manufacturing process encapsulating the highest quality materials, are enhanced by their Mondo Supercourt surfacing.

With each court completed at double the cost trading in the regular UK market-place due to capital costs, Ross says Padium is ‘impossible to beat’ for quality. “It is very premium and the courts are all AFP V-Panoramic which is more of an outdoor model but we have used them indoor here as they have a certain distinctive quality,” he says.

“They are also Mondo Supercourt which is the World Padel Tour surface and this denotes the speed of the ball to a certain degree and will be slightly slower by comparison to the World Padel Tour court bounce.

“Without doubt the playing experience will be superb and the courts present in an anthracite grey while we have picked out colours in Padium green which is visually spectacular and completely in keeping with the quality of environment at Canary Wharf.”

For a concept and project of the magnitude

of Padium, you need a great team. Ross is keen to acknowledge the gratitude he owes his partners in padel for helping Padium realise its dream move to No.10.

Ross says: “Firstly, it has been a great pleasure working with Houman (Padium CEO) who has been an absolute gentleman from start to finish and showed great patience to see this through despite the challenging nature of the project.

“I’d also like to thank Ray Dawkins, the project director, who has been my point of call and a good man to work with.

“Subsequently, we have built an excellent relationship which has already provided a platform for discussions on another project in West London of a similar size and spectacular quality!”

In a district dominated by skyscrapers it is no surprise that Padel Tech is keen to issue a roof-top shout-out when it comes to the quality of the offering at Padium:

“I am confident that Padium will offer the preeminent padel experience in the UK,” Ross says, adding: “People who use Padium will get the premium padel experience which will be absolutely high end, not only in terms of courts and playing surface, but also in respect of the changing rooms, café bar experience, viewing and shop.

“As it’s Canary Wharf, it’s absolutely blue chip.” More info: www.padium.com

People who use Padium will get the premium padel experience which will be absolutely high end

The playing surface is a Mondo Supercourt, used by the World Padel Tour

ALL IMAGES

EUROPEAN GAMES 2023

With AI-generated online audio commentary and a multi-city approach to hosting, this year’s European Games broke the mould for organising major sports events.

Richard W Orange in Krakow reports

The third European Games, which were hosted in southern Poland in mid-summer, were heralded as the largest sporting event to be staged on the continent since London 2012 – and concluded with a call for organisers of future competitions to plan more events in urban centres.

In terms of numbers, 48 countries sent just short of 7,000 competitors to the EG2023 events held across Lesser Poland and the neighbouring Upper and Lower Silesia regions. The games took on an added significance

for teams, with direct qualification slots in 10 of 18 Olympic (non-athletic) sports on offer. Athletics is run alongside the games but as a separate team championship. A total of 1,700 athletes represented 16 national squads, also vying for a place at Paris 2024.

Third edition

The European Games, first held in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2015 and then in Minsk, Belarus in 2019, are proving to be somewhat experimental and have yet to seep into mainstream consciousness in terms of public awareness,

The athletics event featured 16 national squads

familiarity with the format and (unfortunately in rather too many 2023 events) with spectator attendance. The fledgling rugby-7s competition – which saw GB’s women’s team triumph – and the showcase athletics events were played out in near-empty stadiums. However, organisers pointed to the popularity of the boxing tournament in Nowy Targ city, as well as emergent events staged in Krakow’s picturesque main square, as examples of urban sports capable of attracting large crowds.

The low public turnout at major stadiums was possibly a consequence of the format of the Games and the associated athletics championship. Both are run as national team-based affairs, rather than a spectacle of individual sporting prowess in which household names vie for gold medal glory and attract the attention of fans and media alike. This posed a problem for promoters.

It is not the European version of the Olympics, although the European Olympic Committee plays a major oversight and support role in the event. Tickets for seats were modestly priced, roughly £15 to £30 per day. Other plausible explanations for poor spectator numbers have been postulated; that the games were transmitted live on

We saw something very interesting; huge interest for urban sports, for new sports and for the sports that are for the youth

Spyros Capralos, EOC President

Team GB won the women’s rugby 7s, which acted as a qualifier for the Olympic Games Paris 2024

Spyros Capralos

national TV, that the athletics clashed with a national volleyball tournament, that the publicity overly-focussed on promoting the generic games rather than informing the public about venues for the particular competitions, and that social media marketing was not engaged as well as it might have been.

Competitions were live-streamed on YouTube, with artificial intelligence utilised to add audio commentary, plus broadcast feeds from EBU and various national channels across the continent. In a trackside conversation with SportsNation at the athletics stadium, EOC President Spyros Capralos said: “The games have been organised very well and the Polish authorities should be congratulated. [But] it is not very nice to have empty stands for the athletes. We have the best athletes from Europe competing here and they are performing at the top level, [so] they deserve better.”

Multi-city approach

The EG 2023 events, from which competitors representing Russia and 2019 hosts Belarus were barred, offered EOC officials an opportunity to trial eight new disciplines, including breaking (aka break dancing),

teqball, padel, canoe slalom, plus exhibition events such as E-sports and chess. This being Poland, there was also a well-attended ski jumping competition at the popular Zakopane mountain station, with ‘aerial-thetes’ landing on a grass rather than snow covered slope.

But the most notable change from previous European Games competitions was an unashamedly cost-cutting switch from a single host city format to a multimunicipality approach. The EOC President described the move to a multi-city format as “a responsible and sustainable” approach at the opening media conference. In conversation with SportsNation, he further explained the thinking behind the decision to award the competition to Krakow and its neighbours: “It is difficult to organise events across so many cities, but it is going well.

“Our initial reaction was a lot of scepticism, because we are not used to having such widespread events, but we understand their thinking. Every city deserved to see the best

Ireland captain Harry McNulty in action against hosts Poland ©

European athletes and, even though it required a lot of travelling for everyone, the results are good. They used their facilities – they didn’t need to spend money on new facilities.

“Secondly, and what is more important, they spent the money on refurbishing their existing facilities. This is something that will remain as a great legacy for the people living in those cities.”

Facility strategy

A total of 13 cities and towns, spread across the counties of southern and south western Poland, were selected to host tournaments, with the hub of the organisation and a third of the events in the popular tourist destination of Krakow. Aside from erecting spectator stands, large video screens, PA systems and kitting out rooms at most venues with the necessary equipment, only two construction projects were necessary.

A new, permanent lakeside beach arena was built for the beach handball contest

near Tarnow city, which will be used to attract similar competitions in the future. A temporary BMX park was erected in Krzeszowice, a commuter town near Krakow. It proved a popular attraction for local younger fans and a boon for Team GB, which clinched a gold medal in the final.

It meant that existing, dual-use football and athletics stadiums, concert halls, festival arenas, university sports centres, outside running tracks, public swimming pools, leisure parks and water-sports venues were pressed into service for the 11-day programme from June 20 to July 2.

For example, organisers utilised the Henryk Reyman football stadium in Krakow for the opening and closing ceremonies and the rugby-7s. In conversation with SportsNation, victorious GB women’s team captain Abigail Brown described the facilities as “amazing”. Team-mate Amy Wilson-Hardy reflected on

A total of 13 cities and towns, spread across the counties of southern and south western Poland, were selected to host tournaments

Bronze medalist Jessica Varley GB in the mixed event of the modern pentathlon

Olivia Green, riding Mosis in the women’s final, modern pentathlon

the low spectator turnout: “At the World Sevens you’ve got huge crowds, and it adds to the excitement. But ultimately we come here to play rugby. Maybe there’s not as much chemistry from the crowds [here] in terms of feedback, but we see family and friends out there and that’s always important to us.”

Irish team captain Harry McNulty, whose squad’s final win against runners-up GB also meant direct Olympic qualification, cited the stadium’s proximity to the competitors’ village and practice pitches as positives but considered the multi-city format of the games might not be ideal for sports fans. “From a spectator point of view, it is a hindrance. Speaking to my parents before they came over, they wanted to watch the rugby but also have the opportunity to see other sports which might be an hour and a half away. That’s when it gets tough.”

The city’s Tauron concert arena was transformed into a fencing hall, the AWF

physical education university campus –including its 50-metre pool – was adapted for modern pentathlon and the nearby Kolna water-sports centre’s continental training centre facilities were an ideal venue for canoe slalom. In most cases, training facilities were alongside competition venues. All the pool in Oswiecim (aka Auschwitz) city required was a large video screen for the artistic swimming events, which is to remain in situ. Krakow’s AGH engineering and technology university made its student accommodation facilities available as a competitors’ village, with cafeteria and internet access alongside added security measures. Alternatively, national teams booked competitors, trainers and officials into hotels where they mixed with tourists and travelling supporters.

Travel issues

For some national teams, including Ireland, the decision to opt for hotel accommodation in Krakow meant that athletes and support staff faced an 80-minute coach journey each morning and evening along the invariably busy A4 motorway to the Silesian Stadium at Chorzow on the outskirts of

Among the sports featured was a “summer version” of ski jumping, held at the famous Zakopane ski centre

The budget for EG2023 was €88m, with half of the funding from the Polish Ministry of Sports and Tourism

Katowice. Other national teams, including GB, opted to stay in local hotels.

Venues, such as the shooting range in the city of Wroclaw and the diving arena in the city of Rzeszow, were at least three hours’ driving time from Krakow for those competitors to mix with their national compatriots in the village, which made for a somewhat isolated experience. However, teams were sanguine about the travelling, given their positive assessment of the facilities for the games.

Athletics Ireland team manager Teresa McDaid told SportsNation: “We were keen for our athletes to do the orientation a day before the competition, so they would be prepared for the ‘wow’ factor. It has really upped their game. We knew it would be 80 minutes each way for the journey and we allowed for anything going wrong and made sure everyone was hydrated before and after the competition. Our athletes have been through doping control and came back late, but the hotel kept food outside of hours which was really helpful.”

Athletics excellence

The European Games are unlike the Olympics, because the athletics element falls under the

The event’s multi-city approach saw competitions being held in 26 sporting venues across southern Poland

The athletics competition was held at the Stadion Śląski in Chorzów

auspices of a different organisation, with its own structure. The six days of track and field events staged in the Silesian Stadium were the 2023 European Athletics Team Championships, which take place every two years.

The 54,000-seater Silesian Stadium had hosted the 2021 event, and in view of the EOC’s decision to award the games to the Lesser Poland, the athletics body opted to return to Chorzow so that the 2023 championship could run as a ‘companion’ event alongside.

Another innovation was to bring all of the three divisions of competitive athletics into the same programme of events. Previously, national teams in each of divisions I, II or III competed separately, with the top and bottom three being promoted or relegated. Heats and finals took place in the same venue and, as with their European Games compatriots, participants in the 2023 events also had their sights firmly set on valuable qualification places for the Paris Olympics.

British middle-distance runner and 800m gold medallist in 2019, Isabelle Boffey, told SportsNation: “I hadn’t realised the stadium is so amazing, [hosting] the diamond league and continental tours all year.

“The warm-up area, the food and the hotel have all been up to standard for a European meet, so I’m really happy to be here.”

Athletics Ireland president John Cronin described facilities at Chorzow as “unbelievable … well up there”. High performance director Paul McNamara added: “It is superb. We have top quality athletes here but also others

who don’t get the chance to compete in a place like this. It is top of the range.”

Funding

The budget for EG2023 was set at €88m, with the City of Krakow and the Region of Malopolska’s contributions capped at €22m each, with the remaining 50% coming from the Polish Ministry of Sports and Tourism. Additional funding came from sponsors, principally the PKN Orlen oil and gas corporation. Consequently, shortfalls in ticket sale income are likely to fall on central government coffers, rather than local taxpayers. The Minister for Sports and Tourism, Kamil Bortniczuk, responded to the issue of low spectator turnout for the stadium events in response to a question from SportsNation at the closing press conference. He said: “We have set new standards for [the] promotion of sport. We believe that city centres should have sporting infrastructure [which enables] many people to see and enjoy sport. They can go to their city centre

We have top quality athletes here but also others who don’t get the chance to compete in a place like this.

The event was also a showcase for new events, such as teqball (below) and beach handball © EG2023

© EG2023

and see athletes taking part in Olympic-style events. If you have sporting facilities in city centres, [rather than] outside, and you can re-use these buildings and infrastructure in the future, [then] you won’t have waste.”

EOG President Spyros Capralos told SportsNation: “We saw something very interesting; huge interest for urban sports, for new sports and for the sports that are for the youth. We had big attendances for city centre sports – for teqball, padel, BMX and breaking. This gives us ideas about where we should be going in the future, not forgetting traditional sports, but by innovating. Since the beginning of the European Games we have tried new things, and these have been taken seriously by the IOC. Some are now in the Olympic programme. We have been successful and this is huge for development of these sports.”

National Olympic Committee president Marcin Nowak told SportsNation: “The 21st century is presenting us with a number of challenges, and one of them is finding

new ways of communicating with younger people and showing them how sports can be attractive. That’s a challenge we’ve had from the start and that’s why we’ve chosen modern sites for these games. In the urban events, there were no empty seats. That is something for future organisers of the games [to consider].”

The EOC is negotiating with two, as yet unnamed, candidate cities to host the fourth European Games in 2027. An announcement is expected at its general assembly in Istanbul on October 6/7. ●

The athletics competition saw more than 1,700 athletes take part in 37 events

PAWEL SKRABA

A natural approach

Anumber of sports still rely on natural turf pitches when it comes to grassroots participation – with football and rugby particularly dependent on grass pitches. The UK climate, however, provides natural grass with huge challenges during the winter months. Each year, tens of thousands of games and training sessions are cancelled, as pitches become unplayable due to weather conditions.

Tackling the problem

A number of initiatives have been launched in recent years to improve the standard of grass pitches at grassroots level. Perhaps the most significant of these is driven by the Football Foundation. The funding organisation has stated that it wants to “revolutionise the state of grass pitches” across England and has set a target of having 20,000 ‘good’ quality pitches by 2030.

A key part of in the efforts will be played by PitchPower, a web-based app for inspecting and improving grass pitches. Using a mobile phone or tablet, clubs, leagues, local authorities, schools and organisations can complete a pitch inspection and get access to funding. Delivered in partnership with the Grounds Management Association (GMA), PitchPower allows those responsible for managing grass pitches to submit data electronically – making it less time intensive

and more efficient than in-person inspections. Once an inspection is submitted, regional pitch advisers at the GMA produce an assessment report with bespoke advice and recommendations to improve the grass pitch quality at a site. If the pitches aren’t up to scratch, eligible clubs and organisations can then apply for funding from the Football Foundation to support pitch improvements identified through the PitchPower web app. Football Foundation CEO, Robert Sullivan, says: “With just one in three grassroots pitches currently rated as ‘good’, players are not getting the pitches they need

Having enough natural turf pitches is crucial for grassroots sports in the UK – especially during the winter months. SportsNation looks at the e orts to improve the quality of grass pitches at community level

The Football Foundation’s PitchPower was launched in 2020

and deserve. Grassroots football clubs consistently tell us that grass pitches are their biggest issue. Not only do poor pitches act as a barrier to people playing, they also make playing football less enjoyable and lead to around 150,000 games a season at grassroots clubs getting called off because pitches are unplayable.”

Since October 2020 PitchPower has helped to inspect more than 12,000 pitches. These inspections have led to more than 1,000 grants being issued, worth £28m, towards 4,000 pitches.

“When we reach our target by 2030 not only will it mean an additional 30,000 games of football will be able to take place every weekend, but it will be a better playing experience for all,” Sullivan adds.

Maintaining quality

Another initiative which is hoped to have a positive impact on the quality of grass pitches was launched earlier this year by the GMA. The Grounds Management Framework

(GMF) has been developed as a set of standards for natural turf sports surfaces, with the aim of shining a spotlight on the importance of grounds management to sport.

Developed by the GMA and sports consultant, Tim Nicholls, the GMF has been designed as an easy-to-use framework which will determine whether users are at a ‘basic’, ‘good’, ‘advanced’, ‘high’, or ‘elite’ level. The purpose is to ensure that those responsible for pitches are aware of the characteristics, resources, skills and knowledge required for their playing surface,

Football is particularly dependent on good quality grass pitches

Grassroots football clubs consistently tell us that grass pitches are their biggest issue

and how to progress to the next level. The GMF includes:

● A set of standards to benchmark the quality of each surface, across all levels of sports from community to professional sport.

● A skills and knowledge matrix that recommends the core skills and competencies that volunteers and professional should demonstrate.

● Resource requirements such as budgets and time commitments.

“The GMF has been in development for a long time and has been a big focus for us as an organisation, so it’s great to finally see it launched officially,” said GMA CEO, Geoff Webb. “The grounds management industry already employs around 26,000 people, with more than 37,000 part-time volunteers, but more are needed if we are to keep up with the demand for sport. We need 1,000 people a year to join our sector to keep up with demand, but we know that, with improved surfaces, almost

2 million more children will benefit.

“Our work is focused on getting the best for the industry and highlighting the hard work, knowledge and skill that goes into making sport possible – this framework will make it clearer for people inside and outside of the industry, from club chairman to stadium managers, to understand what it takes to prepare playing surfaces at all levels and will better support matching training and experience to quality of playing surfaces.”

Code of practice

Another industry body working towards improving the quality of natural turf pitches is The Sports and Play Construction Association (SAPCA). The industry body has set up a working group on natural turf, which is developing a comprehensive overhaul of a crucial document that sets out the industry standards for designing and building natural turf pitches. The SAPCA Code of Practice for the Design, Construction and Improvement of Natural Sports Turf, which was first published in 2010, will be updated to include the latest developments in natural turf. All SAPCA members must comply with the specifications and quality outlined in the code, which means that choosing a SAPCA member for facility projects guarantees that the completed work is to high standards of build quality, customer service and overall business practice. For more information, visit: sapca.org.uk ●

The launch event of the Grounds Management Framework

© SPORT ENGLAND

© GMA

The UK climate means that the quality of grass pitches declines during the winter months

SALTEX 2023

EUROPE’S LARGEST FREE GROUNDS AND TURF MANAGEMENT SHOW

With the climate and economy throwing more challenges than ever before at those responsible for keeping sports grounds in tip-top condition, learning from others and seeing new innovations is key. This is where SALTEX, Europe's largest free, sports turf, amenities, and landscaping trade exhibition, can help. The event delivers an unmissable mix of learning and networking opportunities, education, and exhibition, all in one place over two days. Visitors can view the latest advances in equipment, hear about product developments in soft and hard landscaping and receive technical advice, all invaluable elements if success in keeping grounds in great condition is to be achieved.

Now in its 77th year, SALTEX 2023 will provide visitors the chance to view over 400 brands in three halls, across two days – 01 and 02 November – at one central location – Birmingham NEC. Alongside exhibitors is an all-encompassing Learning LIVE education programme that provides advice, insight and real solutions to the biggest issues that the grounds management industry faces. This year, SALTEX will host a series of over 30 sessions on three themed stages – the Main stage where the biggest names in the industry will deliver keynote speeches, the Spotlight stage – the venue for delving into the most prevalent topics in the industry and the Eco stage a whole area dedicated to the latest in all things

The educational programme will again tackle a wide range of topical issues, featuring leading industry experts

sustainable. Visitors will hear directly from industry leaders, technical specialists, and experts from across the industry.

Last year’s show brought together over 8,300 visitors from 50 plus countries with the biggest names in the groundscare industry voicing their enthusiasm for SALTEX. Asked why they attended, 73 % of visitors said it was their interest in the industry, 70

Last year’s show brought together over 8,300 visitors from 50 plus countries with the biggest names in the groundscare industry

percent to source new products, services and suppliers and 46 percent stating that it provides a great opportunity to meet industry colleagues and make new connections – building networks, knowledge and learning about new innovations.

SALTEX 2023 is on track to have one of its biggest years yet as exhibitor demand sees the floor plan for 2023 increase by 20 percent to accommodate bookings.

Big industry names returning to SALTEX include Baroness, Dennis and Sisis, Husqvarna, ICL, Kubota, Ransomes, Reesink UK, Toro and Weibang amongst many others.

The show is organised by the Grounds Management Association – the leading not-for-profit membership organisation representing grounds managers, grounds personnel, grounds maintenance managers, greenkeepers and all others involved in the management of sports turf, pitches, landscape, and amenity facilities in the UK.

SALTEX is by the industry for the industry – powered by the Grounds Management Association – all income generated by the show is ploughed back into the industry.

SALTEX’s history, along with the GMA’s work towards making sport possible, has made it the exhibition of choice for five of the UK’s National Governing Bodies (NGBs). Year round the GMA, Football Association (represented by Football Foundation), Sport England, England & Wales Cricket Board, Rugby Football League, and Rugby Football Union work collaboratively to improve pitches and upskill those in the industry. SALTEX is the exhibition of choice for these leading sporting bodies when it comes to meeting those who work in the groundscare industry. This has been proven by their annual participation over two busy days on the buzzing SALTEX show floor, sharing insights learned from their work, providing free technical advice on maintaining playing surfaces, and providing guidance on accessing funding.

SALTEX takes place at Birmingham NEC on 1-2 November 2023. To secure a free ticket, register online at https://www.saltex.org.uk

Above: SALTEX is the premier show for those working in groundscare

Delivering a better workforce

Having a strong, well-trained workforce is crucial if the sport and physical activity sector wants to fulfil its potential to create an active, healthy nation. SportsNation looks at how the sector is going about achieving that aim

The sport and physical activity sector is increasingly lining itself up to become part of a preventative health service. Encouragingly, the message – that sport and fitness can help ease the burden on the ever-stretched NHS – is clearly getting through to the government. Earlier this year, the Health and Social Care Committee launched a major new inquiry into the prevention of ill-health. Physical activity is listed as one of the specific topics that the committee will look at.

As the message is being received, the physical activity sector needs to make sure it

is prepared to deliver on its promise. To do that, it needs to have in place an effective, inclusive workforce that can fulfil its potential.

Developing a workforce

Sport England launched its Professional Workforce Strategy; Working in an Active Nation in September 2018. The strategy outlines how the sector can work together to support the 400,000 people who work in the sport and physical activity sector in England – and the people they help get active – the best possible support. At the heart of the strategy are two

Around 400,000 people work in sport and physical activity in England alone

key drivers – to support the workforce to become more customer focused and efforts to get the workforce recognised as professional.

The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) – the professional body for the sport and physical activity workforce – is central to the professional workforce strategy. CIMSPA is leading on the development of a set of professional standards, career development pathways and new qualification and training approaches.

As part of its work, CIMSPA recently launched Phase 3 of its Workforce Governance project, which includes a two-year project to explore the development of a national workforce registration scheme, along with supporting infrastructure, policy and processes. The Work will be undertaken with a representative group of sporting bodies over the next two years, after which recommendations will be made for a potential full implementation. It will also place an emphasis on supporting sporting bodies in being ready to implement a national register, should one be deemed viable.

The overall objective of Phase 3 is to support the workforce to allow everyone taking part to enjoy safe and high-quality experiences in a positive environment. It follows Sport England and UK Sport’s policy response to the Whyte Review – the independent review into allegations of abuse in gymnastics.

Tara Dillon, CEO of CIMSPA, said: “Following the Whyte Review policy response, we are pleased to be in a position to begin this vital project. Our focus will be on working collaboratively with all stakeholders from across sport and physical activity in the UK to develop a system to support coaches, volunteers and the wider workforce in providing safe and enjoyable experiences for all participants.”

The project will be led by Dr Vinny Webb, CIMSPA’s recently appointed Head of Workforce Governance and Sporting Bodies, who said it was “one of the most important pieces of work for many years in the sport and physical activity sector”.

Partnership working

Another key role in the sector’s workforce development is played by Active Partnerships, which, as a collective, have the aim of ensuring that

Our focus will be on working collaboratively with all stakeholders from across the UK’s sport and physical activity sector

Tara Dillon

CIMSPA recently launched Phase 3 of its Workforce Governance project

© CIMSPA © CIMSPA

clubs, coaches, volunteers and the professional workforce have the right skills and behaviours to provide inspiring customer led activities –especially for those who are taking their first steps towards sport and physical activity.

Working strategically with national partners –including Sport England and UK Coaching – as well as with local partners, Active Partnerships have committed themselves to help coordinate and support opportunities to develop a ‘people like me’ diverse workforce. The purpose is to have those working in sport and physical activity to be reflective of local needs and able to provide inspiring, high-quality activities.

An example of the type of projects undertaken by Active Partnerships include the Mental Health Champion Scheme, which have seen nine Regional Network hubs being established across England – in partnership with Sport England and national charity, Mind. One of the nine is the The Yorkshire and Humberside Sport, Physical Activity and Mental Health network, which has established a network of volunteers across the region. The volunteers work with local sports clubs/groups to support both its members and new people to improve their mental health through sport. Each Mental Health Champion is given awareness training, guidance about the role and ongoing support through regular check-ins.

Focused training

In addition to national organisations, there are a number of sports/activity-specific bodies – as well as regional organisations – which have committed to developing and improving the sector’s workforce.

One of the regional bodies investing in education is London Sport. “Our aim is to build skills and confidence in the sport and physical activity workforce, so that they are better equipped to support Londoners to be physically active,” London Sport says.

“We will also continue to broaden the sport and physical activity workforce, by reaching out to other workforce sectors like health. Our work will focus on four key audiences: selected healthcare sector employees, teachers in the state education sector, sport and physical

It’s important that the workforce has the right skills and behaviours to provide inspiring activities

activity workforce leaders and trusted workforce partners with sympathetic workforce aims.”

When it comes to addressing sports-specific workforce training needs, the issue of swimming teacher shortages has been a subject of concern for the leisure industry for many years. It’s an ongoing problem that has been, and will most probably always be, a tricky issue to solve totally.

In 2022, as a result of the pandemic worsening the situation – estimates show that swim schools lost 50% of their workforce – the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA) invested in training more than 900 new swimming teachers through a campaign called STAnd Up for Swimming. While it was declared a success as it plugged many employment gaps, the STA itself said that it was not a financially sustainable solution that is going to fix the whole issue.

“The million-dollar question is, how do we tackle this teacher shortage at scale without government intervention, which realistically is very unlikely at this stage (or ever) as their sector-employment focus is on transport and agriculture in the wake of Brexit, school teachers and the NHS to name a few,” the STA says.

To answer that question at least partly, the STA is now working with many of the leading leisure and swim school employers in the country – including GLL, Serco, Virgin Active, Puddle Ducks and local authority pools – to help them build an in-house tutor-training model that can be used to train new swimming teachers. The aim is also to develop existing staff in line with their business needs.

“This would enable employers to have full control of where and when courses can be delivered, and ensures that teachers are

Continuing professional development is an important part of a functioning workforce

Our aim is to build skills and confidence in the sport and physical activity workforce, so that they are better equipped to support Londoners to be physically active

London Sport

able to be utilised as soon as completing a course,” the STA says. “It also allows the costs associated with someone accessing a swimming teachers qualification to be reduced.”

Swimming isn’t the only sport working hard to improve its workforce. Most national governing bodies (NGBs) have invested in their coaching pathways and educational programmes in recent years.

One such NGB is The Football Association, which has focused on increasing the number of coaches with higher qualifications. In 2010, data from football’s European governing body UEFA, showed that there were only 2,769 English coaches holding UEFA’s B, A and Pro badges, its top qualifications. According to Statista, that figure had more than tripled by 2019 and there are now more than 10,000 coaches with a FIFA B qualification.

In its strategy, covering 2021-2024, the FA has also outlined one of its major objectives as creating a “diverse, high-performing workforce and inclusive culture”. Providing learning opportunities and encouraging coaches from all backgrounds is a major focus.

“We have a fantastic team of capable, wellmotivated and resilient experts,” the FA says. “We need to invest in these brilliant individuals to continue to build our positive, inclusive culture,

that develops leaders and supports the County FAs and our growing women’s game. Our work with the Football Leadership Diversity Code demonstrates a commitment to improve the diversity throughout all areas of the game.”

There are also programmes to ensure that the people who manage and maintain sports facilities are well trained and in possession of the skills that allow facilities to be used efficiently and safely. When it comes to caring for playing surfaces, for example, the Grounds Management Association provides career development training and education in turf care, offering a large selection of training courses and qualifications. Ranging from entry- to management-level qualifications, the GMA delivers face-to-face as well as online training, in addition to various levels of technical accreditations. It has also developed a set of standards to help grounds staff at all levels ensure their playing surface is as good as it can be all year round. The newly launched Grounds Management Framework offers guidance to a volunteer groundsperson at grassroots level with introductory qualifications and extends through progressive levels and qualifications to GMA certified Director level.

Private partners

There are also a number of commercial and private training companies which operate in sports, physical activity and fitness.

The well-documented shortages in swimming teachers is a key issue for Swim England and the STA

The STA works with many leading leisure and swim school employers

© SWIM ENGLAND

Launched more than a decade ago, University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) is aiming to become the go-to place for training and qualifications in the sports industry. Providing mainly undergraduate courses, UCFB students have the option to study at two UK campuses at UCFB Wembley, London and UCFB Manchester, as well as distance learning options, with the optional opportunity of attending summits at the GIS global hubs.

“We have graduates, in fields such as sports journalism, marketing, law and business, now working at all 20 Premier League clubs, and no fewer than 68 of the 92 league clubs,” says UCFB’s Oliver Huddlestone. “Even before graduation, our students have had access to quality extra-curricular sports industry training at 65 professional clubs across the country.

“Whether it’s training and qualifications required to get into sports coaching, finance, science or management, we are able to help people not just in terms of a degree course, but also networking, experience and privileged access.”

There are also a number of companies which operate in the personal training and fitness space, providing education for the workforce which operates the UK’s leisure

Volunteer coaches are an invaluable resource for grassroots sport

It is estimated that swim schools have lost 50% of their workforce since 2020

PEXELS-ANASTASIA-SHURAEVA

centres, gyms and health clubs. One of those is Future Fit, which has been providing health and fitness qualifications since 1993.

In 2021, the company realigned its operations and established Future Fit for Business, which is part of the larger Future Fit Group. Future Fit for Business has provided solutions to deliver on the goals of organisations such as David Lloyd Clubs, Places Leisure, Virgin Active and GLL.

To ensure quality training, the training providers work with a number of sector-specific awarding organisations, such as Active IQ. Active IQ is recognised and regulated by Ofqual, Qualifications Wales and CCEA and designs qualifications that support clearly defined career pathways for the active leisure sector.

“We pride ourselves on developing highquality teaching and learning resources for our qualifications to enable providers to give a positive learning experience,” Active IQ says.

Mental health

The importance of staff mental health is now well recognised across all sectors. This is reflected in an increase in mental health awareness training. As well as focusing on recognising and reacting to issues around workforce mental health, there are now a number of companies creating training with a focus on preventative measures.

One of these is Tribox, which has developed an industry-first qualification in preventative mental wellbeing for sports coaches, personal trainers and fitness professionals. The principle for the course is simple – by integrating mental health education into their training, sports and exercise professionals can become instrumental in promoting holistic wellness.

“Preventative education equips them with the knowledge and tools to identify early signs of mental health issues, providing appropriate support and resources to their clients,” says Tribox co-founder, Aaron Ridley.

“This proactive approach not only enhances the effectiveness of their fitness programs but also fosters a supportive and inclusive environment. Fitness professionals armed with mental wellbeing education can help their clients build resilience, manage stress, and maintain motivation.’ ●

Future Fit is among the leading fitness training companies

Above: University Campus of Football Business is among the private training providers working in the sport

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game at every level – from grassroots to elite level.

IN CONVERSATION

PAUL SCANNELL

Head of Club Wembley & Hospitality

What is Club Wembley?

Club Wembley is the hospitality experience at Wembley Stadium that gives fans the ultimate ‘best ticket’ in London. It is a series of restaurants, lounges, and gastropubs, where members can have access to pre- and post-event hospitality. With six different memberships, we’re able to offer members different types of experience – from more corporate settings such as Bobby Moore, through to our modern ‘club within a club’ Number Nine lounge.

How many major events does Wembley host a year?

In 2022 Wembley hosted 35 events in total, including major football finals, England games, heavyweight boxing bouts, an NFL fixture and sell out concerts from some of the biggest names on the globe. We’re a multi-purpose venue and the ratio between sport and nonsport is approximately 60/40 (in favour of sport). Looking ahead to 2024, the lineup will include Taylor Swift among other, not yet announced, performers. The average number of football games is dependent on fixtures in the calendar. There will be more England fixtures this coming season than the previous one, but often nine on average. Our full list of events can be found here:

https://www.clubwembley.com/events

How many days a year is Club Wembley open to members – is it open on non-event days?

Club Wembley is open on event days only. But businesses, companies and private functions can be booked separately through

This year’s FA Cup was among the events to attract a full house

Wembley Stadium. The stadium can provide a great setting for sales conferences, launches and we’ve even hosted a wedding.

Why six different membership types?

Over the years, we have evolved Club Wembley in line with the change in consumers’ needs. We know that a lot of members utilise their memberships for networking and hosting business colleagues, whilst some attend as pure fans with family or friends. So, we’ve ensured that through our six products, there is something to suit everyone.

The memberships range from the Inner Circle to One Twenty and all have different benefits. For example, Inner Circle members gain access to bars, gastropubs and concourse food outlets and have priority access to iconic concerts and other sporting event tickets. At the other end of the scale, the One Twenty is a super-premium offer where members have complimentary no.1 lounge access, discounts to a range of partners and hassle-free valet parking.

All Club Wembley memberships include access to core events – such as the Emirates FA

ON THE JOB

What does your role as Head Of Club Wembley & Hospitality entail?

The nature of my job is dynamic, and there is no typical day, which is why I find it so fulfilling. For instance, leading up to significant events like an England game, my tasks will involve meeting with our various event stakeholders, such as our catering partners, staffing providers and event owners, amongst others, to co-ordinate match day delivery requirements. Meanwhile, always ensuring that our Club Wembley members receive exceptional care and engagement.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

It’s an opportunity rather than a challenge but ensuring that we remain the best stadium hospitality offer in the country. When people come to Wembley Stadium they do so for a major event. It’s a big occasion and they want to make a day of it so it is important we support that by creating the best customer experience we can.

You want people to go home feeling like they have had the best day out ever. We believe Wembley now provides the ultimate, unforgettable, fan experience and we will continue to develop it each year to improve that experience.

Wembley Stadium hosts between 30 and 40 major events each year

© CREDIT CLUB

WEMBLEY

The six Club Wembley membership options

Inner Circle

(membership starts from £2,538 inc. VAT)

Inner Circle members gain access to bars, gastro pubs, and concourse food outlets. Members also gain priority access to iconic concerts and other sporting event tickets, complimentary trains to ensure hassle-free travel, and opportunities to meet England legends.

Centre Circle

(membership starts from £4,854 inc. VAT)

Set on Wembley’s half-way line, Centre Circle offers casual dining and an unparalleled view of sport and entertainment with seats right opposite the dugouts. Members can enjoy buffet-style dining with street food from around the world and there is unlimited complimentary wine, beer, and soft drinks that can be enjoyed before, during, and after the events. There are also additional money-can’t-buy experiences available, such as playing on Wembley’s hallowed turf.

Number Nine

(membership starts from £6,096 inc. VAT)

Named after England’s iconic number nine jersey which has been worn by the likes of Alan Shearer, Bobby Charlton, Ellen White and Harry Kane, the Number Nine package provides hospitality with live entertainment and all-inclusive food and drink. From the restaurant, members can take their guaranteed seats adjacent to the royal box, while they can also enjoy complimentary parking.

Bobby Moore

(membership starts from £8,682 inc. VAT)

Named after a national hero, the all-inclusive package includes four course gourmet meals with bespoke menus crafted by Head of Culinary, Harry Lomas, drawing inspiration from each event to bring the whole experience to life. With live entertainment and unlimited Laurent Perrier Champagne, Bobby Moore members can enjoy a fine dining experience with a celebratory feel; they may even have a football legend pop by their table! With guaranteed seats near the dugouts, guests can get up close and personal when players walk the trophy route.

One Twenty

(membership starts from £12,504 inc. VAT)

With just 120 members, One Twenty is the stadium’s most premium hospitality offering. Alongside unlimited champagne and bespoke cocktails, there is an indulgent five-course meal, with menus inspired by match and event days, providing guests with a culinary experience like no other.

Wembley is a busy venue for conferences when there is no major event on

membership extend beyond event attendance and networking

Cup semi-finals and final, England international matches and the Carabao Cup Final. No matter which membership tier, Club Wembley members also get priority access to tickets for in-demand concerts – which in the last 12 months have included sell-out shows for Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert by Foo Fighters.

We’ve ensured that the benefits of Club Wembley

Do you tailor your hospitality offering according to the sports event?

Ensuring that we give members the best possible experience, our team works meticulously to deliver stand-out memories for guests. That’s why the Club Wembley chefs develop bespoke menus tailored to each event – whether it’s hot dogs and tacos at the NFL or regional recipes to appeal to travelling fans at a cup final. There’s something to suit several tastes, cultures, and dietary requirements.

And what about the differences between sports and non-sports – are they different to organise?

Yes, they can be. For example, for entertainment events, in the Bobby Moore lounge we will host after-parties for members with a dance floor and DJ’s so that they can carry on the party after the entertainment has left the stage.

Wembley events in 2023

1 October

NFL: Atlanta Falcons vs Jacksonville Jaguars

13 October England v Australia

17 October

England v Italy

17 November

England v Malta

What other benefits aside from access to sport matches and concerts do members get?

Club Wembley serves as a hub for networking, allowing guests to forge connections with like-minded individuals who share a passion for sport and entertainment. Our members are a vibrant community of individuals from various backgrounds, all united by their love for sport and entertainment. The opportunities for networking are boundless, whether it's during pre-match gatherings, on the golf course, or post-concert dance floor.

We’ve ensured that the benefits of Club Wembley membership extend beyond event attendance and networking. Members enjoy exclusive perks and experiences that enhance their overall journey, such as invite-only events – from watching the England team train at St George's Park to relaxing luxury spa days. l

The Club Wembley areas offer visitors a wide range of experiences © 2022 THE FA

©

CREDIT CLUB WEMBLEY