GRASSROOTS
CASE STUDY: LEWISHAM THUNDER AND SEFTON STARS E
ngland Basketball works with clubs and facility providers at a local level to improve access to facilities for clubs and Sefton Stars and Lewisham Thunder are good examples of what can be achieved.
Sefton Stars Basketball Club own the lease on Fernhill Leisure Centre in Bootle, near
Liverpool. The local council planned to close the centre but the club has been able to buy the lease and take the responsibility for the operation and upkeep of the facility. The club shares the sports hall with local school St George of England during the day, but out of school time the club run its own basketball activities training, games and local leagues. The club has also installed a gym to develop a revenue stream, which is made available to the community and outsourced to a personal trainer. Traditionally, England Basketball has worked with Sport England via the Building
Schools for the Future (BSF) programme to broker deals for clubs to access BSF facili- ties for more hours at a reduced cost. Lewisham Thunder at Forest Green School is a great example of this process. Eng-
land Basketball was able to get a collective user agreement in place for the next five years so that the club is able to double its existing hours for almost half the price.
as funding, developing volunteers, un- derstanding and development statistics, developing effective school-club links and in depth information on the Sport England Small Grants Scheme. The work- shops, alongside regular communication, have witnessed tangible results – particu- larly with clubs identifying and securing funding. Clubs in the England Basketball network have managed to successfully acquire over £300,000 for grassroots development activities from the Sport England Small Grants scheme since its in- ception 18 months ago.
PERFORMANCE The performance element of England Basketball’s activities has come a long way since 2002, before which age-group national teams were either self-funded or non-existent. In 2009, England Basket- ball’s four age group teams (U16 and U18 boys and girls) improved their results, with the U16 boys placed third and the U18 boys fourth in their respective Euro- pean division championships.
This year, the British Men’s and Wom-
en’s teams have both qualified for the European Championships (or Eurobasket) – finishing top of their respective qualifying groups. The performance pathway has grown
to include 20 Area Performance Centres compared to 11 last year. In addition, U15 national development squads for boys and girls, as well as regional develop- ment squads for U13, U15 and U17 boys and girls have been created and 16 fully accredited AASE institutions currently raise the game for young players.
FACILITIES – THE BIG CHALLENGE One of the major obstacles to increas- ing sports participation in England is the apparent lack of access to indoor sports facilities for people of all ages and abili- ties – and basketball is no exception. Basketball transgresses all boundaries
and is a major provider of equal oppor- tunity sport participation. The sport is equally at home in the inner city, the
38 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital
The English Institute of Sport in Sheffield played host to 24 teams over two days in the England Basketball Junior Final Fours
suburbs, deprived areas and in country towns. Throughout the world basketball is characterised as being an inexpensive and easy-to-access sport, however there is a continuous struggle here in England to make that a reality – due to the lack of affordable, accessible places to play.
LOOKING FORWARD England Basketball has recently put to- gether a marketing plan with support from Sport England. This plan sets out the ways in which England Basketball will undertake the task of raising participa- tion among those who traditionally may not engage with the accredited club structure. It also demonstrates how the sport will work with a diverse range of partners who will assist in this goal. The plan is divided into several sec-
tions, each of which contain action points and key milestones that are vital to its overall success and will require input from many sectors of the sports world if these ambitious goals are to be realised. Developing relationships with a wide
range of partners will play a key part in this plan moving forward, along with detailed local intelligence and the tireless dedication of England Basketball’s devel- opment officers. The ultimate aim is to increase the sport’s popularity. ●
Issue 1 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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