Doorstep Sport Clubs

What they are and how they work for us

What are they?

Fun, exciting and vibrant place for young people to play sport –aged over 13yrs

Clubs will offer a menu of different sports and different ways to play those sports

Clubs will attract new participants- on average 50 per year and 20 in subsequent years (plus a drop off rate of approx. 30%) = 118 in total per club. But we expect that there will be variations, some will be bigger some much smaller

The club will aim to attract 20-30% of the young people as regular attendees (once a week)

Clubs will be a destination in their own right but will also encourage participants to go to other points of play- helping to establish a sporting habit for life

10 Doorstep Sport Operating Principles

DSC Pilot Testing

What did we do?

What have we learnt so far?

8 Testing Areas

Newcastle-upon-TyneWigan

Hull

Derby/Derbyshire

Herts

East London

Bristol

Birmingham

DSC Testing

Testing Period:

• July 2012 – March 2013

• Definitely a challenge…….

• But one worth doing………… lots of good practice and learning

8 Testing Areas Aiming to set up 45 Pilot DSCs

16 different lead organisations: – Local Authorities (4), Third Sector (8), Leisure Trusts (2), Local Sports

Club (1), Rugby League Foundation (1)

Using a variety of venues: – Leisure Centres, Community/youth centres, MUGAs, ATPs, Parks,

Schools, a Prison and a Fire Station

Providing a diverse range of sports:– Football, cricket, rugby league, trampolining, dance, badminton,

basketball, fitness, handball, netball, boxing, angling, athletics, swimming, judo, volleyball, table tennis, tennis, golf, cheerleading, cycling/BMX………and more

Headline Data

40 out of the 45 DSCs originally planned are up and running

The Pilot DSCs have:– Delivered 1,063 sports sessions– Generated 11,573 attendances– Attracted 2,067 participants

24% females 37% BME 3% disabled

76% are aged 14-25 years Participant postcode mapping shows

majority live in areas of high deprivation

The DSCs

Definitely not ‘one-size fits all’

Many different approaches and solutions

Varied approaches to Multi-sport

The DSCs – Multi-Sport Offer Examples

No. Multi-Sport Offer DSCs

1 A single sport session that introduces new sports at the end of this session. Leading into a multisport offer of single sport sessions

11

2 A number of sports already offered as separate clubs/sessions brought together to form a multi-sport offer – using outreach programme to gain new participants, aimed at one identity – the activities can be at different venues but all sports opportunities promoted as one club package

1

3 New multi-sports activity – mixture of sports in one session 23

4 Same venue, same time each week but different sports happen at each session (or blocks of sessions)

2

5 Different sports offered in the same venue, but happening on different nights 8

Learning from the Trailblazers

Participant Feedback

Participant Feedback 97% said their club is good/very good 80% said they have been taking part in sport

more regularly Majority getting ‘a lot’ out of their sessions

– 66% learnt new skills ‘a lot’ and 31% ‘a little’– 66% had got better/improved skills ‘a lot’ and 29% ‘a little’– 80% had enjoyed being active ‘a lot’ and 18% ‘a little’

Doorstep Sport approach is critical - like best:– 78% it’s cheap– 74% It’s fun– 72% The coaches– 70% Easy to access

I really enjoy coming. I like being part of a team and joining in with others my own age

I love coming to this club and the fact that it is girls only, it has made me think that I would like to try other things too

It helps me de-stress

This club is brilliant, we don’t have anything to do usually that our parents will allow us to go to

Friendly like home

It’s fun and I learn things each time I come

It has made me healthier and I love seeing friends each week

We all live close and we all get to play badminton together

It’s fun and I’ve learnt a lot

The reason I come here is because a lot of my friends come here 

Key Success Factors Committed Project Co-ordinator

Easily accessible and familiar venue

The ‘right coach’ to create a fun, friendly atmosphere

Word of mouth, taster sessions, links, partnerships, importance of friendship groups

Volunteer involvement

Variety of offer

Competition/events

Female only opportunities

Retention incentives

StreetGames Support

One-to-one support viewed positively

Specialist DSA support helpful

Training workshops valued

Activator courses and Doorstep Sport Level 2 qualification - particularly valuable

Financial and monitoring systems – deemed user friendly

Demand for additional training and the sharing of information and good practice

Challenges/Issues Project Co-ordinator input ‘in kind’

Some DSCs struggled to shape their offer and attract a core of members

Some DSCs impacted via delays in waiting for equipment or partners

Some DSCs impacted by facility management apathy

Introduction of charges

Gender

Age profile

Challenges/Issues

Challenging timescales of the Pilot - not always being clear on what is needed, when…..

Challenges of being involved in a pilot, things changed….

Lack of major launch or branding

Need for clear communication

10 Principles

Useful framework……BUT

During early testing efforts mainly focused on setting up the ‘right’ sessions and providing the ‘right’ offer

Very few gave thought to sustainability elements during this early testing period.

Some of the Principles can be developed simultaneously, others act in sequence

Summary - Key Findings DSCs are attracting the intended target group

Feedback from participants is overwhelmingly positive

Participant numbers and attendances demonstrate that DSCs can be an effective means of engaging young people in disadvantaged areas in sport

Some really great examples of doorstep sport in action

High number of EOIs (230+) to run DSCs shows that there is high demand to run these clubs from both local and national organisations

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Questions