This month the Essex All Together Campaign are focusing on sporting clubs that inspire us. However, we want to take a different ‘take’ to this and ask some questions to which I don’t have the answers, but we can speculate and ponder and think. Hopefully get you thinking too! So could COVID-19 change the way clubs attract and retain new participants?
Could this be the way forward to a healthier nation? It’s what the Government want isn’t it? In the ‘Road Map’ to be a healthier nation? Numerous Daily Broadcasts have regularly discussed ambitious plans for bike lanes, vouchers to make bikes ‘fit to ride’ and the number of people walking instead of using public transport.
Can we build on the success of programmes like The We Are Undefeatables programme that engages people with Long Term Health Conditions and gets them moving and exercising?
How about the amount of exercise content on You Tube, Zoom, Sway and the coming together of ‘sports and ‘groups on Microsoft teams to continue participation in a different way?
Or are you a carer tentative about a safe return to your club and how it will work?
Let’s explore!
We have inquisitive mindsets at Time To Heal! We ask lot of questions and we try to think ‘out of the box’ and make some use of our thirst for knowledge on a scale that we can manage. So be prepared!
We are well aware that COVID-19 has changed the way we go about our everyday lives. But how has it affected the way we exercise and participate in sports. Now everyone is after a new normal. It’s all about learning and that’s something we have all done throughout this process of lockdown and now with the lifting of restrictions it’s time to start thinking about how it will all work.
Let’s look further into potential problems but also what opportunities and lessons clubs could learn from COVID-19 that has the potential to enhance participation and membership levels of sports clubs who will have lost significant revenue through this pandemic. They may even lose members because new hobbies have been found or exercising at home or with their family means your club is no longer the priority. How can you ensure that these members want to return to your club?
We really need to look below the surface and see if clubs could have an even greater spread of participants and appeal to those who have been classed as vulnerable or who are shielding. Perhaps they have engaged in some of the online content but don’t know where to go next. Perhaps carers and the person they are caring for have found some online activity to participate in together. Are you as a club or instructor able to accommodate both into your club or will they remain ‘home exercisers’ instead.
On the flip side of that what about those with long term medical conditions, mental health problems and disabilities who actually found exercise online and want to continue and perhaps developed the desire to continue with activity having been supported by the various programmes that have been launched. What are this group of people willing to do in terms of getting clubs to provide them with something they now wish to pursue. Added to that, what about carers and those still shielding who still have a significant stage of lockdown to conquer.
How about allowing a carer to actually attend a club/exercise session and the person for whom they care for able to watch and participate at home. This would be especially helpful for ‘shielders’ and those with mental health problems. A potentially really powerful tool as they face the fear of the outside world but make tentative steps towards something that can be so positive! Not to mention the fact that a shielder or very vulnerable club member could be a highly competitive sports person and desperate to get going again but rightly hesitant. Plus there could be high level right down to low level coaches who are shielding themselves and seriously worried about keeping their sessions going as the lifting of lockdown allows some clubs and teams to start some training. What will their mental health be like if they know that others on the team are training and they are falling behind?
After all the findings from Active Alliance during this time suggests;
‘as the least active group in society, the health and well-being benefits of activity are particularly important. Despite disabled people facing additional barriers in accessing sport and physical activity, research shows many want to be more active’.(Activity Alliance - Guidance on getting sport and exercise for disabled people up and running).
From their research they have produced this detailed document about opening up your old sessions, what that may look like and how you can get rid of inequalities in provision.
If we delve beneath the surface and you’ll find a bit more, identify barriers we need to break down and perceptions to be challenged. Clubs are more accessible than ever before, although some are lucky enough to be have their sports re-starting others are still waiting for the breakthrough that allows them to enter their sporting activity on a new ‘normal’ level.
Peoples ‘assumptions and perceptions’ of a sports clubs are often still that of competitive sport and challenging training sessions that demand you to attend sessions every week.
Then when you look at this quote from The We Are Undefeatables team; ’Being Undefeatable is understanding that how you feel can change from day-to-day, that everybody’s situation is unique, and that moving more when you can is just as important as accepting when you can’t’. #WeAreUndefeatable (Facebook 29th June) You can understand that thinking mechanism behind this.
So how do we help those with long term medical conditions not only to exercise but to join clubs and groups? There is often a ‘myth’ surrounding sports clubs and this isn’t helped by the definition of sport and clubs.
So if we look at the definition of ‘sport first’
‘sport is defined as an activity involving physical exertion and skill which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment’ Although it can also be defined as entertainment and fun! (The Oxford Dictionary of English App)
Think about this in a Sports Club Environment with the definition of a club.
Definition of club - ‘an association dedicated to a particular interest or activity’ There is potential for this in any ‘sports club’ (The Oxford Dictionary of English App)
But interestingly if we now we take a look at the definition of a ‘team’;
‘team can be either a group of players forming one side in a competitive game or sport’ or ‘two or more people working together’ (The Oxford Dictionary of English App)
Now let me put this into a real life situation. As part of my Active Essex Disability Ambassador Role (full details below) we (Carer et al) attended a Tennis club to help them on their road to attracting disability players. Whilst there there were four people on a court playing doubles together, then on the other side an individual working 1-1 with a coach. So all were at a sports club, the doubles were competing, the 1-1 was a team and they all belonged to the same club. So with that in theory does it now seem possible?
Can we draw in a new audience in an innovative way who have been inspired to exercise by sites like Active Essex and We Are Undefeatables. Two of my favourite providers but they are networking to make a National project successful and then bringing it to life in a local setting and environment. I am sure others do as well. But if you are in Essex then have a look here;
So how have clubs changed through this battle? Through the course of the COVID crisis City of Norwich Swimming Club have been offering land training sessions and guidance with great instructors through Microsoft teams. Active Essex has provided so much content through sway to support the 30/30 exercise challenge and more.
So has this pandemic led us to a position where sports clubs could continue utilising Zoom, sway and Microsoft teams to bring people from a vast array of backgrounds. Is this an opportunity to enable those with long term medical conditions an opportunity to be apart of something that actually adds value to what great sports clubs are already delivering. After all the effort to set these up it would be a shame for them to disappear.
A wider audience can’t be a bad thing and think of the mental health benefits? How about if people are injured or can’t get to a session, could it be recorded / ‘live’ for them to watch and interact with team mates even if they are just sitting doing some gentle stretching? Would it work well for those City of Norwich swimmers training twice a day and doing land training to allow them more flexibility, especially during exam years with the added pressure of missing so much of their education through 2020?
Can someone who joins a ‘club’ via the social media have a club kit order sent to their house so they feel a part of a group. Or perhaps they could meet with others in an outdoor area - with the new COVID-19 6 people and social distancing this could be an opportunity for some social engagement with other club members. They could still pay a subsidised membership fees and be like an ‘overseas’/‘distance learner’. Perhaps progressing over time to the next level offered.
We cannot expect clubs to bend over backwards to include us and then not make it happen. We need to be certain that what we promote to clubs and vice versa is a possibility. Especially when you consider that many clubs are run by volunteers and even if not coaches may not have the capacity right now. Coaches/Instructors may not have worked with someone with a severe health problem or disability before so it is the responsibility of both parties involved to keep talking, working together to find a good balance.
So we need to share, communicate, link from home to exercise to inclusion in clubs, utilise the power of our newly found zoom, sway and Microsoft teams. But above all find your ‘right fit’, participate and feel a part of something special and unique in our own way and at our own level. You may not find this on your first attempt. It may take time but there is still plenty of online content for now.
This is just thinking ahead, like we said at the beginning this is to get us started and asks a lot of questions for which I don’t apologise… but there are people out there with the answers and we know at Time To Heal that our ‘partners’ will be able to get us there, so let's utilise what’s been started and working well, get rid of the rest and become happy, healthy and ‘fit’ people!
We truly hope that this sparks something inside that builds on where we are right now in our long voyage of discovery into our new sports and exercise programmes. Details of the Active Essex All Together For Inclusive Sport and Activity Ambassador information is below with the links that you need to get involved.
As always, safe safe, safe alert and stay well…..
RESEARCH LINKS
The Active Essex Disability Ambassador Programme could support clubs with It’s focus being to promote Inclusive sport and physical Activity.The current ambassadors and their profiles can be viewed here. We all come from different backgrounds, involved in different sports and have a range of disabilities, physical, mental and learning, so contact us through the Facebook page with any question you have and we will do our best to support you. Plus if you feel inspired then why not join the team.
The Essex All Together Programme are always after new ambassadors. Have a look at the link below. The roles are flexible and you get a lot of great support from the team at Active Essex. Plus don’t think you have to be really active and going out to promote things. No, many things can be done from home and are a great step to feel part of a team! We even have our team t-shirts, water bottles, pens and pins!!
Facebook Page
Current Ambassadors
Join The Team
The Pituitary Foundation
Between trying to answer all of those questions and anything that you come up with yourself you may need the link below for some relaxation guidance to ease anxiety that has been put together for those with Pituitary conditions but can be used by anyone. The added bonus is you could add it into your sessions. Perhaps another link to those new to exercise ‘homies’ wanting to take their first intrepid steps into the world of sport and exercise!
Next time will be a nostalgic post but with Active Essex focusing on clubs I’ll be looking at three which I am involved in, one which I have a ‘distance’ connection with, one that I’m an armchair fan of, one on my doorstep and one that no longer exists! Be prepared to be challenged and inspired by what these clubs do that makes them so special and our relationship with all of them as a lifeline to the outside world and the new inside one as well.
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