ARKFLUX

December 2024

A few words from our CEO Mike Chamberlain...

I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy (and active) New Year ....and what another busy and productive year it has been here at Sport Birmingham! We’ve welcomed two great new trustees to the board and appointed a new Chair, as well as enhancing the team with new manager and officer roles responsible for safety and welfare including safeguarding.

During the year we’ve refreshed our strategy and consulted widely with partners to form a set of 5 new strategic priorities, and this will be outwardly promoted from early 2025. They closely align to Sport England’s ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy and Birmingham City Council’s ‘Creating an Active Birmingham’ strategy, and we will look to lead and support the bigger outcomes addressing inactivity, improving activity levels, tackling inequalities, and creating more opportunities for children and young people.

We have continued to activate and strengthen the local legacy work from the 2022 Commonwealth Games under the banner of 'Active Birmingham’, working with communities and networks. Our schools work saw more participation-focused School Games events taking place, giving opportunity for some of the least active, and those with special educational needs, to experience sport - culminating in another wonderful celebration legacy event at the Alexander Stadium in June.

Throughout the year we have worked particularly closely with The Active Wellbeing Society and Birmingham City Council to lay the foundations for a large ‘place-based’ bid to Sport England in 2025; this will provide significant funding for several years into communities in areas of greatest social need, and will allow us to positively impact on many who face the biggest barriers to being active.

To top the year off, we celebrated our 10-year Birthday with a special event - the Community Celebration Awards, where we invited almost 300 guests to join us at Edgbaston stadium - a great mix of current and ex-team members and trustees, as well as national, regional and local partners and community representatives. It was a fantastic evening where we honoured 10 winners and a special recognition for 8 years of service to Paul Faulkner as our outgoing chair.

The Sport Birmingham Team really look forward to working with you next year to help make Birmingham a more active and healthy city for everyone!

Looking for opportunities to get active over the festive period and into the new year? Check out the Active Birmingham Activity Finder, with a huge range of sports and activities to try. The Greenground Map also features lots of ideas for green spaces to explore across the city. The map was commissioned by Birmingham City Council in partnership with the National Trust and Lottery Heritage Fund.

Young Leaders Gaining the Skills to Give Back…

Matt Hillman Tennis (MHT) works across Birmingham, delivering inspiring tennis sessions, including a Community Coaching Programme, developing inclusive tennis for all! Through their ‘Give It Your Max’ project, their mission is to support young leaders to increase transferable skills and resilience, with the aim of enabling participants to host community days at Kings Norton Tennis Club.

The young leaders participating in the project already had the technical skills required to play and enjoy tennis. ‘Give It Your Max’ provided additional training which complemented their athletic learning, enabling them to broaden their skill set.

The project equipped participants with the social and leadership skills required to help them give back to the community, support their peers, and provide them with knowledge for the future.

A Skills360 Young Leaders grant enabled MHT to design and develop a residential experience for leaders to gain new perspectives. Combined with access to the Skills360 eLearning platform, participants were able to develop leadership skills such as team-work, communication and problem solving.

Check out the full article here

Activity Alliance Launch Their New Strategy

The charity Activity Alliance, is the leading voice for disabled people in sports and activities.

The Alliance's vision is for a future where all disabled people feel they belong in sports and activities. We’re proud to support their new strategy #WeAllBelong. Let’s work together and build a powerful collective voice to ensure that all disabled people feel they belong in sports and activities. You can find out more about Activity Alliance’s new strategy here.

#WeAllBelong

Click here to find out more about
Community Engagement Drop-Ins 2025

Funding and Training Update

Sport England Movement Fund
If your organisation and project are eligible for funding, and your project aligns with Sport England's goals, you could receive up to £15,000. The scheme provides funding as either a contribution to a crowdfunding campaign or as a grant.

For more information and guidance and to apply click here

Buddle
Buddle have a fantastic range of free online training workshops for sport and physical activity clubs and organisations. Topics covered include community engagement, social media promotion and financial and legal matters. Check out their full range here.

Click Here to Find Out More About
Partnering With Sport Birmingham

Sport Birmingham,
11th Floor, Cobalt Square, 83-85 Hagley Road,
Birmingham, B16 8QG

Registered charity number: 1155171