Practitioners First and Participation Reimagined

At Participate World, one of our founding principles is that we believe community sport has the power to change the world, and not just because of its ability to elevate heart rate for a period of time, or build muscle, or strengthen bones.

Far more impactful are the relationships that are created and fostered, the sense of achievement and purpose enjoyed by participants, and the overall improvements in mental health that in-turn support better lifestyle decisions.

Too often we judge the impact of physical activity as ‘minutes of elevated heart rate’, and too infrequently do we judge it by ‘time spent being active and social’. Those are the fundamental building blocks of human health, where health means so much more than simply the absence of illness.

Our aim then, is not just to increase participation in community sport, but more importantly to change the recognised definition of participation itself, and therefore impact, so that we can realise the true opportunity that lies in front of us.

We also believe that, across the UK and around the world, there are already thousands upon thousands of incredible people developing and delivering impactful community sport initiatives. For example, last week we heard a story about a grassroots junior football coach who had found three of his young players in possession of knives, with which they intended to attack others. This coach, having cultivated a position of trust and respect with those players, was then able to remove the weapons, convince the young lads that what they were doing was wrong, and hopefully point them in the right direction going forward.

These incredible people, the practitioners of community sport, are the experts we should be listening to, who should be driving the strategic decision making, and leading the agenda for current and future interventions. Yet, far too often over the last 12 weeks we’ve heard stories of community sport leaders having to change what they do to satisfy funding KPIs, or spending unaffordable hours scrabbling around for support, or remaining unrecognised for changing the world. Not that they look to be celebrated or revered, but they should be held up as shining examples of the best of humanity, to inspire others to follow in their footsteps, and to show us all what is possible.

Today’s photo is Chris and I at the Carnegie School Of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, where we had the pleasure of spending an hour or so with Dr Jo Clarke, a leading expert in evaluating the impact of community sport and who, along with Leeds Beckett, we very much hope to collaborate with as we embrace this journey.

Through Participate World, we will change the definition of participation, re-define the understanding of impact, and put the great practitioners of community sport front and centre of the decision making process for how we can all leave the world in better shape than we found it.