Community Sports: Huge Success for Coffee Club Nights
ANGUSalive were pleased to host a range of Community Sports Coffee Nights across Angus between 20 and 30 March 2023.
The Coffee Nights provided an opportunity to bring together sports clubs, community organisations and local physical activity providers to start conversations about what Community Sport Hubs are, and the role of sport & physical activity in reducing barriers linked to health, social and inclusive inequalities.
Several key partners including the community sport team, Active Schools, Angus Disability Sport and sportscotland contributed to the discussions, giving opportunities for clubs to feedback and share insights around some of the changes and challenges that face them in their sport, clubs and local communities.
The main outcomes from facilitating these discussions were to increase awareness of what the community needs look like across Angus, and how – through effective collaboration in a community sport hub – we can support the empowerment and depth of impact that sport and physical activity can have in changing the lives of people who live here in Angus.
The coffee nights were the first of many discussions which ANGUSalive Community Sport Hub coordinator Ross Taylor will be hosting over the next 12 months, with the focus being to establish a shared vision, goal and approach for clubs and community organisations.
Ross Taylor said: “When we initially organised the coffee nights, we had no idea if they would be popular but we have been blown away by the response. Between the depth of discussions, the value in creating opportunity for clubs to share their voice, and the chance to build some collective interests in the room around the role sport can play alongside other facets of our communities.
“It shows the potential for impact that community sport can have in Angus and we can’t wait to continue our work on the back of this”.
Steve Crawford, Chairperson and volunteer at Arbroath Ski Club attended one of the events and said: “A very informative evening with excellent presentations introducing the opportunities available to the local sports communities to work together and collaborate for the benefit of the people of Angus”
ANGUSalive are now working to share the next steps involved in the creation of community sport hubs across Angus, starting with a follow up to all attendees who came along to the coffee nights.
If you didn’t manage along to a coffee night and your club or organisation would like to be involved in the community sports hub network, please email Community Sport Hub coordinator Ross, at ross.taylor@angusalive.scot