Humber Sports Partnership - News

Support for sports clubs facing hosepipe ban

Chris Warkup — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:47:31 +0100

With water crucial to maintaining the quality and safe performance of many outdoor surfaces, governing bodies of sports have come together with Sport England to develop the advice.

The advice includes:

How to maintain pitches and courts effectively during drought conditions
Making the best use of rainfall when it does occur
Managing the use of pitches to reduce the risk of damage
How all clubs can use water more effectively
Working with the water companies to negotiate possible exemptions.
The document will not only support sports clubs directly affected by the hosepipe ban, but will also encourage clubs outside the ban area to use the limited water more effectively and to make their facilities more resilient, which will help ensure their longevity.

Clubs in areas not subject to the ban can help reduce the impact of drought on the environment by taking simple steps such as; increasing mowing height and mowing less frequently; watering in larger amounts on fewer occasions to get the water deeper into the soil; never watering in the heat of the day.

Seven water companies are planning to introduce a ban on the use of hosepipes from Thursday, 5 April and other parts of the country could be affected later in the year, depending on the rainfall this spring.

Current legislation only provides very limited exemptions for sports facilities, such as for staging national and international fixtures. In exceptional cases sports clubs can secure an agreement to water their pitches from their water company.

Charles Johnston, Sport England’s Property Director, said: “We have been supporting the excellent lead taken by a number of governing bodies by working with them and Cranfield University on the impact of climate change on pitch sports. The recent announcement of hosepipe bans has reinforced the importance of this area of work. I am therefore pleased that we can jointly release this new guidance to help clubs to play their part during this period of water shortage and control.”

“We will continue to work closely with the industry to ensure that the very best techniques and latest technologies are adopted to help manage these limited resources as effectively as possible now and in the future.”

Bruce Cruse, National Funding and Facilities Manager at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), said: “ECB welcomes this initiative from Sport England. In our sport, watering pitches is vital to maintain safe pitches and keep our sport functioning throughout the summer. We recognise the importance of conserving water and have ourselves commissioned expert advice on this subject and are now communicating to our clubs ideas for saving water.”

Clubs are encouraged to begin discussions with their water company now to make their case and to ensure that they fully understand the practical implications of the proposed water restrictions.

The new guidance provides advice and information that will help clubs in their discussions with the water companies.

Guidance Document

61 sports playing fields benefit from the latest round of Olympic legacy funding and investment

Chris Warkup — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:16:15 +0100

The second round of Protecting Playing Fields legacy fund has brought National Lottery grants of between £20,000 and £50,000 to 61 playing fields across the country taking to 109 the number of playing fields that have benefitted since the fund was launched.

Among those to receive funding is a recently formed football club in Devon which has received £50,000 to create a new home ground. Currently, Princeton Football Club has to make a 16-mile round trip to Tavistock to play on a proper pitch. With no other playing pitches in the village, the new pitch will help get many more local people involved in sport.

“We currently have no sports facilities – even the primary school is without a grassed area - and in a very rural and deprived area that’s made it incredibly hard for people to get involved in sport,” said Club Secretary, Anna Homden. “Having our own pitch will help our young residents to take up sport and will honestly change lives. It’s a dream come true. We can’t thank Sport England and the Lottery enough.”

Other projects to also benefit include:

Hull City Council has received £30,715 to restore playing fields severely affected by the flooding in 2007. Following the heaviest rain fall in 150 years, the playing fields were left uneven and effectively unusable . The funding will be used to return an area of the playing fields into a cricket ground, incorporating two full size football pitches on the outfield.

£50,000 for a London community football club that was facing eviction from its current home. CB Hounslow now plans to double in size, offer new sports and develop five new pitches on a previously disused site at Green Lane that was offered by the council after a decision was made to end the club’s lease on pitches in Norwood Green.

Wallsend Rugby Club in the North East which has had to train and play across two sites, will be closer to getting its first permanent home. Using its £50,000 of funding, the club will convert land leased to the club by North Tyneside Council into two high quality rugby pitches.
£50,000 for Oakfield Cricket Club in Warwickshire to end uncertainty over its future by buying its pitch. The investment means the club can move ahead with expansion plans that were put on hold because its current lease could see the club evicted with six months’ notice.
“These investments will transform the local pitches where many young people have their first experience of sport,” said Richard Lewis, Chair of Sport England. “With all of these playing fields safe from development for at least a generation, communities across England can look forward to years of sporting enjoyment.

All 61 playing fields will also be protected from developers for at least 25 years (1) , creating an enduring benefit for sport. And 33 are set to become Queen Elizabeth II Fields after agreeing to dedicate their playing field in “perpetuity”. This is thanks to a partnership with Fields in Trust (FIT) which is running the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge as part of the programme to mark the Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“This fantastic investment into grassroots facilities in England will help to ensure that neighbourhoods can participate in sporting activities at all levels for years to come,” said Alison Moore-Gwyn, Chief Executive of Fields in Trust. “We are delighted to see that over half of these playing fields will also be protected in perpetuity as part of the permanent legacy that the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge will create in tribute to the Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Games.”

Part of the Places People Play legacy programme, Protecting Playing Fields is bringing the inspiration and magic of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities all over the country. A further £6 million will be awarded to hundreds of projects through three more funding rounds.

(1) Sport England will support community and voluntary groups and local authorities to protect all funded playing fields by placing a legal protection on the site for a minimum of 25 years.

£2M BIG SOCIETY AWARD LAUNCHES COMMUNITY GAMES ACROSS ENGLAND

Chris Warkup — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:56:49 +0000

The Community Games programme will be coordinated through the County Sports Partnerships who will provide support and resources for communities to organise their own local sporting and cultural events in celebration of the London 2012 Games. The events will be anything from a triathlon or a sponsored walk to a live concert, and will reflect the interests and needs of the local community.

Community Games was the brainchild of Legacy Trust UK, a charity whose role is to create lasting impact from the Olympic and Paralympic Games by funding ideas and local talent to inspire creativity across the UK. The Community Games programme will provide support and resources which includes a national accredited training and mentoring programme, designed to create a lasting legacy of community volunteers with the skills and confidence to activate social change.

Local people will have the opportunity to get involved in Community Games in a number of different ways. They could become a Community Games organiser responsible for developing and implementing a Community Games event, they could volunteer to help out at an event, they could participate in the events activities, or they could just simply come along, have fun and enjoy the event as a spectator with friends and family

Don’t Forget Sport Relief

Chris Warkup — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:46:35 +0000

Whether you do 1, 3 or 6 miles – as a family team, with your mates or against the clock – you’ll have a fantastic time when you go the distance. Secure a place at your nearest Mile now. It’s just £6 for adults, £3 for children and £15 for a family of four. Enter now to receive a free 3-day pass to Fitness First

Sport Relief Miles in the Humber include:

The Hull Mile

The Cottingham Mile

The Swanland Mile

The Beverley Mile

The Brigg Mad Mile

The Hutton Cranswick Mile

The Scunthorpe Mile

The Driffield Mile

The Cleethorpes Leisure Centre Mile

The Easington AFC Mile

The Sewerby Mile

Search for your nearest Sport Relief Mile

Relief activities in North Lincolnshire

North Lincolnshire Council and the Sport Development Team are once again supporting the fund raising efforts of this very worthy cause in a number of ways across North Lincolnshire.

Friday 23 March 2012, will see Riddings Pool hosting a Choreographed Dance session

Sunday 25 March 2012 will see Central Park in Scunthorpe once again host the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile.

More info

The Sewerby Mile

The cliff-tops of Sewerby will provide the dramatic backdrop for a Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile on Sunday, 25 March, after East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Sport, Play and Arts Service organised an event at Sewerby Hall and Gardens to raise money for the charity.

Activities get underway from 10am and will conclude at around 3pm and participants are encouraged to sign up for the event by visiting the Sewerby Mile page on the Sport Relief website. More info

Launch of 2012 Humber School Games

Chris Warkup — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:47:00 +0000

Amongst the sports will be traditional Olympic sports such as Athletics and Swimming where young people will test themselves against the best the Humber has to offer, but alongside these there will also be less traditional sports such as Orienteering and Rounders where it is just as important to work as a team as it is to be the best athlete. There are thirteen sports which will form the basis of the official competition but just like the Olympics a number of demonstration sports such as Tennis will be staged so that there is a feel for what might be included in following years.

Already Schools across the Humber are taking part in local championships to qualify for the major Humber Games Finals and the young people of the Humber are showing there is exceptional talent amongst them. Results, team photos and match reports will be reported from qualifying rounds in this paper and on www.humbersport.com

Denham Kite, Headmaster of Victoria Dock Primary School, Hull said

“The Humber School Games is a major event for the Humber region and for North East Lincolnshire it gives a real opportunity for our young people from 8 – 16 to take part in a huge celebration of Sport. The Games will also have a large Cultural element of Music, Dance and Art so it will be a cultural experience as well as a sporting one. We want the Young people to bring their families and enjoy what should be one of the most memorable days of the summer. “

The competitions will take place across a number of venues on both sides of the river Humber, including Costello Athletics Stadium, The University of Hull, The Pods Leisure Centre and Appleby Frodingham Sports Club, Scunthorpe.

The School Games are a legacy of the Olympic Games and will continue over the next few years. There are opportunities for local sports clubs to get involved in supporting the events and to promote themselves to competitors and spectators to gain new recruits to their clubs.

The competition held on Saturday 14th July links up with the North Lincolnshire Cultural Olympiad events taking place during the summer 2012, specifically forming part of the Cycle Song Festival and Opera taking place that weekend.