Event review SAPCA Conference

SAPCA Conference and Exhibition, Glasgow

The SAPCA Conference and Exhibition took place in Glasgow on 12 October. Held at Hampden Park, Scotland’s national stadium, the one-day event featured a series of educational seminars covering a wide range of topics

The day began with a recorded message from Scottish Minister for Sport, Maree Todd. She highlighted the importance of SAPCA members in designing and building the facilities needed to create an active, healthy nation.

“We know that too many people face barriers to participation,” she said. “This is a challenge we are determined to address and where our primary focus lies.

“The opportunities for communities to use high-quality, inclusive facilities plays an important part in achieving this. Our investment must ensure that we address any inequalities that exist and break down the barriers that people experience and that prevent them from being active.”

Todd also commended SAPCA for its approach to place sustainability at the heart of its strategy and operations. “The Scottish government is committed to the country becoming a net-zero nation by 2045,” Todd said. “With the funding the

Scotland’s national stadium, Hampden Park, provided the backdrop for the event

government is providing for current and future facilities, there is a responsibility on the sports sector, in terms of sustainability and the transitioning to net-zero.

“I’m delighted to see that on the programme for the SAPCA Conference there are sessions around sustainability across sports facilities. That is increasingly important and it is going to remain so.”

Investing in football

Cammy Watt from the Scottish FA introduced delegates to the association's funding plans – including the association’s Grassroots Pitch & Facilities Fund, which was launched in December 2021. The funding focuses on the replacement and enhancement of 3G football surfaces, but is also available for natural grass projects.

Each pitch and facility project receiving investment from the Grassroots Pitch & Facilities Fund will have to show it can achieve three key goals: to protect and improve participation levels; to offer football development opportunities in a safe and attractive venue; and to actively and demonstrably promote the benefits of adopting football as a positive lifestyle choice.

“During the first phase of the funding programme, in 2021-22, we received 34 applications with a total value of £8.56mm,” Watt said. “Of those, we were able to support

Cammy Watt from the Scottish FA provided an update on funding plans

I’m delighted to see that the SAPCA conference features a number of sessions on the topic of sustainability and sports facilities

In total, more than 120 people attended the seminars, while the exhibition floor offered SAPCA member companies an opportunity to showcase their products and services to the industry

17 projects, so exactly half.” Watt added that the exact financial details for the value of phase two, which will run from 2022 to 2023, are yet to be confirmed – but confirmed that the programme will run at least until 2025.

Sustainability

As well as being highlighted by the sports minister, the topic of sustainability also featured heavily in a session presented by Graham Finnie, sportscotland’s Lead Manager in the Sports Facilities Team. Finnie pointed out how the industry will be both directly and indirectly impacted by climate change.

Finnie said one of the direct impacts on sports pitches and facilities – as well as famous venues – is the increased threat from flooding. He highlighted how the famous Old Course at St Andrews golf club has already fallen victim of flooding and could eventually become unplayable. Finnie also outlined how a number of both natural and 3G pitches, located in coastal areas around Scotland, had been severely affected and could be lost to flooding.

The indirect impact for the sector, according to Finnie, will come from the way businesses, local authorities and individuals will need to invest more resources into tackling climate change and to secure essential services – which

It is important that we all take responsibility for making cultural and behavioural changes

could divert finances away from sport at all levels (from facility development projects at grassroots level to sponsorships at the elite end of sport).

He called on everyone in the sector to “do their bit” and to include sustainable planning and practices in all operations.

“As the national agency for sport in Scotland, sportscotland has a responsibility to work with and provide support to the sport sector,” Finnie said.

“While we do have an important role to play in this area, it is also important that we all take responsibility for making the cultural and behavioural changes that are needed to prevent any further damage to our environment.”

Getting people active

Other sessions during the day included a talk entitled “10 Steps to a Successful Project”, presented by David Dickinson from Sports Labs. There was also a panel discussion on artificial turf featuring David Hook (Tiger Turf), Sean Ramsay (Sports Labs) and Malcolm Clapperton (Mac Consulting).

Blane Dodds and Kirsty Humphries from Tennis Scotland also provided delegates with an insight into the current state of tennis facilities in Scotland – and the impact of the facilities on the development of the game.

“We want to see more people playing across clubs and pay-asyou-go facilities,” Dodds said.

He added that Tennis Scotland’s facility strategy was based on three key terms – protect, enhance and progress. “We want to see tennis becoming an all-year round sport in our communities,” he said.

The next SAPCA event will be the association’s Technical Meeting, which is open to anyone working in the sports sector. Taking place on 8 December, the one-day event will offer a a programme of seminars and workshops on the most important technical topics of the day – from facility design to sustainability. l For more information, visit: https://sapca.org. uk/events/sapca-technical-meeting-2022/