Stronger Communities Through Sport

Showcasing how sport and physical activity are being used across London to improve social integration

ConnectSport worked with the Mayor of London on this campaign to showcase and support local groups using sport and physical activity to benefit their community. Organisations were invited to submit a short video to raise the profile of their work. Throughout the campaign six organisations were selected to receive an award of £250. Below you can see some of the entries and stories about the six award recipients.

 

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Tai Ji Circle Charity 2019.
Tai Ji Circle, is a north London charity led by Master Liu Quanjun, an expert 20th generation Chen Taijiquan practitioner. We are dedicated to sharing Chen Taijiquan and qi gong, traditional exercise systems that embody Chinese cultural ideas for well-being. We hold classes and workshops in Camden and Archway, teaching tai chi from foundation to advanced levels, with free monthly tai chi in Camden Square gardens. Come and join us for some expert practice with Master Liu.

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Fit Mammas BoxFit is part of Queens Project UK which aims to improve the fitness, confidence, self-esteem and mental wellbeing of women and young girls through:

- Physical activities such as bBoxFit, Kick Boxing and Self-defence (babies and children welcome)
- Personal development e.g. our monthly principles
- Events aimed at women's health & empowerment
- A Mumpreneur network to promote their businesses and training to upskill mums, women and girls to become coaches or support career/school aspirations.

There are a multitude of issues impacting the mental wellbeing of women and girls such as; the high levels of violence whether physical, sexual or psychological. Women are more likely to also experience persistent poverty and unsurprisingly suffer from common mental health disorders.

Queens Project UK offers women a space to connect, get fit, improve their confidence, release stress, connect and boost their mental health. Together We Can Raise Queens #whatsyourfight Sundays Sobell Centre, London, N7 11.00-12.30

See our ConnectSport directory page.

S-Factor Academy is a dynamic, inclusive athletics club catering to the Kent and South East London regions. We offer our members elite coaching by top coaches, including some former international GB and Olympic winning athletes in a fun and educational environment. Founded in 2010 by top Commonwealth and Junior Champion, and former Team GB athlete, Lisa Miller, S-Factor Academy’s ethos is to use sport as a tool to engage young people and channel their energy into building and enhancing their life skills.

But we are more than just an ‘athletics club’, we believe that the skills gained in sport such as discipline, focus, commitment and respect are wide ranging and are transferable in managing and living a better quality of life. We have fostered excellent working relationships with schools, sports clubs, local authorities and national governing bodies. In partnership with these bodies, we also offer wider opportunities for our members such as career advice, workshops and work experience. The club's Disability team works with disadvantaged and disabled (physical/learning or sensory) young people to help them achieve their full potential in sports; improve well-being and overall quality of life.

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Katherine Low Settlement (KLS) is a charity that has been serving Battersea and the wider Wandsworth community since 1924. We are dedicated to building stronger communities and enabling people to challenge and find ways out of poverty and isolation. To meet this aim we run a range of our own community projects to support children, young people, families, older people and refugee communities.

At KLS we have a 95-year track record of providing services for older people with the aim of reducing isolation and loneliness whilst improving wellbeing and building stronger relationships within our community. We run 11 weekly activities, 2 fortnightly social clubs, 4 additional partnership delivered activities and 10 annual trips with an average of 12 members attending per trip.

Our activities include chair exercise class, sewing group, walking groups, gentle yoga, lunch clubs, drama club and more.

Find out more at www.klsettlement.org.uk

Restorative Justice for All (RJ4All) is a non-profit Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) with a mission to advance human rights and community cohesion at the local, national and international levels. We redistribute power in a more equal way by delivering social justice projects, educational programmes and high-quality volunteering opportunities to the most marginalised groups of society. We focus on building better and more effective social justice systems by working locally, nationally and internationally through the redistribution of power.

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Remnants HC is still the only openly gay women's hockey club in London - maybe in the UK! Remnants HC is a friendly club which welcomes gay, bi and straight women alike. We welcome all hockey abilities from, "I've never even held a stick," to, "I used to play at school," and even "I'm world class and looking for a fun new club." We don't discriminate! Many of our club members are also here for our social scene, meeting new friends whilst getting fitter.

Our members mostly come from south-east London and Kent so we can usually organise transport for those who need it. So get in touch and we look forward to welcoming you to our club. The season runs from September to April. In the summer months we often play Rush Hockey and this year, we also took part in the first London Pride cup organised by London Royals HC in June 2018. Many of our members also take part in other sport events, like Pride 10K, Park run, London Marathon etc.

Off the hockey pitch, we also have a number of social events like escape room nights, swingers golf club, cocktail nights, London pride, country walks... In the summer, we also run Rush Hockey sessions every two weeks. Keep an eye on the calendar for events during the new season. We play our games in the Kent league on Saturdays from September to March.

JoyRiders London empowers women by introducing them to the joys of cycling, and supporting them to overcome social, cultural and economic barriers to cycling. We offer weekly women’s rides, including entry-level rides, with bikes provided by the local council. We bring together women from diverse backgrounds through cycling to help them build new social connections across different communities.

Our rides also enable women to take time out for themselves, from servicing the needs of their families. We cycle to green open spaces such as the Walthamstow Wetlands, the Olympic Park and the beautiful Lea Valley. We also offer a progression pathway for our participants to train as Ride Leaders, and some have also gone on to train as Cycling Instructors.

All from BAME/Muslim backgrounds, they are fantastic ambassadors and role models, recruiting other women from within local communities to have cycle training, join our led rides, or both. JoyRiders London also delivers monthly family rides where dads and kids can join in the fun and cycle in the safety of a group with trained Ride Leaders and marshals.

In the last 12 months, JoyRiders delivered 44 led rides, with 417 participants and a total of 223 unique participants.

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Formerly known as Belmont School of Ballet and based in Erith, Balletgirlz Bexley opened it's doors in 2017 at it's new studio in Townley School, Bexleyheath. Twenty five senior students had transferred over to the new venue and now study the system of classical ballet called "Vaganova". The system was created in the 1930s in Russia by Professor Agrippina Vaganona.

Although widely used in other countries , there are only a small amount of dance establishments in the UK teaching this method. The system has produced some of the world's most outstanding virtuoso dancers, such as Rudolf Nureyev.

Students aged 10 years upwards study the first 3 years of the Vaganova system. They are able to enter examinations under the Association of Russian Ballet & Theatre Arts. Apart from syllabus work, the dancers have performed in dance productions and numerous charitable events locally, helping to raise hundreds of pounds for good causes.

Not only do our classes promote high levels of fitness , it also teaches fantastic artistry and our school was awarded 1st Place in the classical ballet category from one of the UK's leading Dance Challenges in 2018. Thank you for your interest in Balletgirlz Bexley.

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We are the London Cruisers, a lesbian, bi and non binary basketball club with a 20-year history based in east London. Our objective is to create and activate a community around basketball. We currently have 25 active members from 20 different countries representing the diversity of London.

We take part in both domestic and international tournaments every year. In 2019, we have played tournaments in Dusseldorf, Paris and London with the fourth and final tournament scheduled in Barcelona in September. We were enrolled in 3 London leagues in 2019: We Love basketball, the Tower Hamlets Trojans women's basketball league and the Metropolitan league.

We train twice a week with our coach, with one training focusing on preparing for the games with the 15 players enrolled in the Metropolitan league.

Although our passion for basketball brings us together, we also organise social events that keep us connected beyond the sport, such as taking part altogether in the London Pride parade.

See our ConnectSport directory page.

Carl Campbell Dance Company 7 is a contemporary Caribbean Dance Theatre Company with a deep commitment to the educational development and appreciation of African Caribbean dance and culture as a performing art relevant to the 21 century. The Company's Recycled Teenagers Music and Dance Theatre programme was formed to give the Over 55s the opportunity to experience dance from a creative perspective, improve health, wellbeing, social interaction and the shear enjoyment of working together.

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Insight is a Young People's Service working with Young People under 25 and families in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster. We provide a health and wellbeing service inclusive of drug and alcohol interventions, smoking cessation, education support, outreach support, housing advice, access to gyms, sexual health advice and much more.

We run a Hot Café session on a Wednesday evening between 5pm and 7.30pm for young people under the age of 16. First we play football on the pitch with a coach from London Sports Trust, then we head over to Kensal resource centre for hot food and open conversations and other activities. We run workshops and sessions in schools and colleges educating young people on drugs and alcohol and smoking.

We are based in Ladbroke grove (51 Golborne Road, W10 5NR). We have a drop-in where young people are able to walk into and get confidential support and advice from one of our health and wellbeing workers, as well as use the telephone and computer.

See our ConnectSport directory page.

WOMEN'S TABLE TENNIS

Paddington Development Trust Community Champions, Church Street

Just for Women at The Greenhouse Centre Led by Maria a female community coach who has experience of developing women throughout table tennis and sport the sessions will be for women only. This enables the women to exercise without any inhibitions and will support any women who, for cultural reasons, cannot exercise with men. We will provide weekly drop-in sessions for women to take part in table tennis and socialise with other residents:

  • To engage with local female residents who would not normally access a sports venue or take part in physical activity by providing a safe, welcoming and inspirational space.
  • To increase the physical activity levels of women living or working in the Church Street ward or Westminster and beyond by providing free, high quality table tennis sessions.
  • To enhance resident's quality of life with activities that improve their physical and mental health.

See our ConnectSport directory page.

Aim2gain sports is a community based sports organisation in east London. Aim2gain sports has been running in the community for the past ten years. Delivering a variety of community football and multi sports sessions mid week and on the weekends, all inclusive for any children to join in and get involved. The organisation also runs football teams feeding off our football community sessions to help children take their sporting ability to the next level.

The organisation over the past two years has run very successful multi sports camps in all of the school holidays making contact with over 150 children to keep them active and enjoying sports during their time off from school. On top of this Aim2gain sports offer after school sports and mentoring clubs. These clubs aid children who may not have access to computers, or help from parents/guardians at home offering vital supports with school work and also then a variety of sports to take part in. Aim2gain sports connects with hundreds of children every week to help them excel and better themselves through sport.

See our ConnectSport directory page.

Aikido of London was formed in 1994 by Ismail Hasan who has been training and teaching Aikido for over 40yrs. Based in Archway north London and with classes on a daily bases from beginners to seniors of all ages, gender, background and abilities, including teen classes from 11-19yrs old.

The aim of training is to develop an overall conditioning that involves physical fitness suitable for Aikido, mental focus, discipline and importantly a calm centre. Aikido as a martial system is co-operative in nature and allows all people interested to learn no matter their background or age.

At its most basic it gets your body going, sweat and muscles. It encourages fitness with confidence, self reliance and resilience - qualities much needed in todays world.

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Holborn Gymnastics Club is a community club that delivers 15 sessions of gymnastics every week to approximately 150 children. The club also delivers gymnastics in local primary and secondary schools. The club caters for local children and young people between the ages of 4-16 years.

The club's training venue is situated at Bedford House Community Centre in Holborn, Central London. The gymnasts that attend the club come from a variety of backgrounds with one special purpose uniting them- a passion for grassroots gymnastics!

The club's ethos focuses on building stronger communities through sport and providing a welcoming, friendly and supportive environment for children to learn gymnastics.

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INSPIRE Sport is a non-profit organisation dedicated to delivering multi sports sessions to anyone with additional needs.

We strive to provide a safe, all inclusive, active, fun environment where everyone is given the opportunity to experience different sports skills, learn how to follow rules, work with partners and small groups and improve fitness and wellbeing.

We help develop life skills that lead to more independence, involvement in Special Olympic events and social enterprise employability.

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Whether it’s the buzz of the Women’s World Cup, or the desire to level the playing field, women's football has grown in recent years, and so has grassroots football.

Actonians LFC is helping pave the way from grassroots to professional football for women. Based in West London the club was established in 2003 with two teams. We have now expanded to three senior teams in competitive leagues.

Additionally, we have seven girls teams and we run SSE Wildcats Centre sessions for girls aged between 5-8 years old.

A diverse club, our players come from all over London and the world! But it’s not just the players that make Actonians, our managers and coaches volunteer their services for free and have guided us to many a victory.

Actonians is a club that goes far beyond the pitch, our ethos is to empower women to invest in their fitness through football.

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Fight for Peace works to realise the potential of young people in communities affected by crime and violence. Founded in Brazil in 2000, today the organisation is present in 25 countries around the world through Academies in Rio de Janeiro and London, Safer Communities Programmes in Jamaica and South Africa, and via partners trained in the Fight for Peace Alliance.

The Fight for Peace Academy in Newham, east London, delivers programmes to young people aged 7-25 years old based on the organisation's Five Pillars methodology, which combines Education and Employability support with Combat Sports training, Youth Leadership opportunities and wrap around Support Services.

Through these holistic and integrated programmes, Fight for Peace invests in the personal development of young people, ensuring that they have access to the opportunities, support and safe environment they require to succeed and become champions in life.

In 2018, Fight for Peace worked with 988 young people at its London Academy.

See our ConnectSport directory page.

Aim High Dance Academy provides an environment where learning both dance and life values go hand in hand and where each participant can become confident in his/her efforts and successes.

We have branches in London in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Henre Hill. The Academy offers services such as PPA cover, Breakfast clubs, After school clubs, Holiday clubs, theatre productions, one-on-one sessions, group sessions, parties and much more.

See our ConnectSport directory page.

Step Up 2 Fitness focuses on the wellbeing of women and girls by delivering overall functional fitness sessions, nutritional workshops and outdoor challenges.

Our participants reflect the diversity of people living in North Paddington area and beyond. Our aim is to reduce the disparity and inequality around access to fitness sessions, which is affecting women and girls in general - even more so BAME communities.

Our sessions run three times a week at the Stowe Centre and the Academy Sport Centre, and we also hold an outdoor running group which is extremely popular and demonstrates the need for these activities.

The DS Football Academy is a local community initiative designed to engage meaningfully with disadvantaged youths through a variety of peer group football coaching courses and activities.

Our Boyz 2 men programme uses sessions which are one hour of physical activity and 30 minutes of group discussion focusing on health, well-being, personal development and prevention.

Discussion topics:

Knife Crime - prevention/intervention.

Mental Health - getting conversations going to help reduce stigma and normalise, importance of prevention and early sign posting for young people to helpful services.

Drugs and Alcohol - the potential harmful effects and how to recognise addiction and how to help and sign post to relevant organisation.

See our ConnectSport directory page.

Sporting Recovery is a not for profit Community Interest Company (CIC), providing a Wellness Programme through sports, exercise and a wellness café, for people experiencing mental distress and those recovering from serious mental illness.

We evolved in 2014 from a successful clinical pilot, funded by the Maudsley Charity, and working in partnership with the South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. When the pilot ended, the CIC was established in December 2014 to continue the programme.

Our Peckham based Wellness Programme provides opportunities for social interaction through physical activity and a Wellness Café. We offer a stigma-free and welcoming environment for service users, support staff and adults who are or have had mental distress.

Activities include:

- Individual and team sports
- Gym & non-contact boxing
- Tai Chi, Yoga & Dance classes
- ‘Nudges’ towards healthy eating and lifestyle choices (e.g. smoking, sugar intake)
- Pathway to gain sports coaching qualifications and food hygiene certificates.

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SkyWay works with some of the most vulnerable young people in our society. We offer practical and emotional support through our core projects.

Our services are available to young people aged between 8 – 25 years old. We are community focused and deliver a wide range of activities and programmes in youth clubs, local sports centres, parks, housing estates and on the streets. All these services are FREE at the point of access.

SkyWay Futures
We focus on the transitional stages young people go through as they move from childhood to young adulthood. We support them to develop the skills, confidence and resilience to address the challenges many of them face, helping them to form a positive sense of identity and increasing aspiration.

SkyWay Futures is split into three programmes:

1) Transitions
For young people aged 8 – 14 years old, focusing on developing their skills, confidence and resilience, providing a safe environment, diverting them away from criminal and anti-social behaviour, supporting positive engagement with the community and increasing their expectations about what they can achieve.

Young people taking part in our summer bike project.

2) Active
For young people aged 15+ providing targeted support to develop resilience and confidence, widen their choices for their futures and encourage independence, responsibility and self-determination.

3) Fun
Term-time and holiday sessions which engage young people in fun activities and build positive relationships between young people and the wider community.

We spent a weekend away at the Paccar Scout Camp on our 2015 residential trip.

Employment and Enterprise
We support young people to develop and utilise their skills, helping them to gain qualifications, experience and employment through job clubs and one to one to support and advice. We also give them the opportunity, advice and support to create their own business.

Alternative Education
We teach and facilitate the education of young people at risk of low attendance or social exclusion. We deliver a comprehensive range of vocational learning including: enterprise, mechanics, beauty, literacy and numeracy to support the positive progression of the young people.

SkyWay Ambassadors
SkyWay Ambassadors is our highly commended peer development programme. The Ambassadors are trained and gain qualifications to support the delivery of activities and workshops for younger children who see them as positive role models they want to emulate. SkyWay Ambassadors volunteer and work in the local community, delivering activities in community settings and schools, and some continue training to become the next cohort of youth workers.

SkyWay Ambassadors specialise in providing support in:
Mental health awareness
Sexual health
Money management
Healthy eating and budgeting
Sports coaching
Leadership and mentoring
Life skills

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Core Sport is a department of an adult mental health charity called Core Arts based in Hackney, London. We use the power of sport and physical activity to help those with mild to severe and enduring mental health needs as part of people's mental health recovery plan. Not only do we offer a free 6 day a week programme with over 15 different sports on offer, we also run short course throughout the year and one-off sport specific trips.

We break down all barriers to enable our members to access these services; cost, equipment, clothing etc. We have a leave a diagnosis at the door policy and treat everyone as a person not as a diagnosis. We create a safe, friendly community that people can attend activities with like minded people. These initiatives assist people experiencing mental health barriers, fulfill their potential to achieve their personal goals and aspirations and make a full contribution to society.

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RJ4All is a non-profit NGO based in SE16 London with a mission to advance community and social cohesion at the local, national and international levels. Through our programmes, we redistribute power within society using the values and practices of restorative justice. To this end, we partner with like minded organisations and individuals to deliver activities that advance our mission including sports and art, inter-cultural dialogue and workshops.

We increase cultural awareness especially amongst children and young people, breaking in this way the barriers that lead to division and community tensions. We provide training and courses (face-to-face and online) that are accredited with CPD status. We also have a publishing arm specialising in books and Journals in social sciences and social justice.

We are governed by a Trustee Board and our Founder is also our Director (voluntary role). We are supported by 12 part-time interns and over 40 volunteers monthly. For the submitted project, we partnered with Tideway Sailability is a unique sailing charity in SE16 focused on providing access to a sports activity in which children and young people with disabilities participate with, and on equal terms to, those without a disability.

Tideway strives to create a more cohesive and integrated local area by enabling those with and without a disability to come into closer contact in a healthy, outdoor and sporting environment.

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ReachOut is the largest mentoring charity in the UK, working with young people aged nine to 16 in disadvantaged areas to raise aspirations and help them grow in character and attainment.

We improve self-confidence and develop numeracy, literacy and communication skills whilst reinforcing our core values of fairness, self-control, good judgement and staying power.

We do this through one-to-one mentoring with positive role models and team activities – including a variety of sports and physical activity programmes – to promote leadership, trust and responsibility. Young people meet weekly with their ReachOut mentor at after-school projects which take place in a classroom in our partner schools in term time.

There are up to 16 young people from one year group on each project, each paired with a mentor, and supervised by a project leader. For the first hour of each session, the young people and their mentors work one-to-one on Maths and English and structured character activities.

During the second hour they take part in team sports, led by professional coaches. For many of the young people, the hour of sports is the motivation they need to complete the first hour of the ReachOut session, where the focus is on goal-setting and academic work.

The sports activities reinforce our character strengths that they learn about in the session, and can put it into practice straight away. These include: Fairness: Following the rules of the sport, and ensuring everyone gets a chance to take part.

Self-control: Not getting angry if you lose, and being a good sport.
Good judgement: Making good decisions during games, and thinking about the consequences before your actions.
Staying power: Being committed to the team and not giving up In every singly activity we do, we refer to these character strengths.

The young people are able to identify these in themselves and other people, or even the character strength they need to work on for next time.

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Boxing Futures registered with the Charities Commission in June 2015. We are a Sport for Change and Development organisation and since becoming operationally live, have delivered non-contact Boxercise Programmes and sessions to over 2000 people.

We aim to make an immediate impact on the lives of young people and the wider community. Working predominantly with 16-25-year olds, however both older and younger age groups are engaged. Our goal is to improve not only physical health but mental health and wellbeing through sport, whilst building empowering relationships and developing core soft skills.

Through our programmes we aim to use service user’s improved well-being, new-found motivation, confidence and core skills as a springboard into re-engagement with education, volunteering, employment and importantly their wider community.

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Launched in 1984, Fleetwell volunteers use Halliwick method to promote water safety & happiness.

  • Stroke and balance problems are alleviated in our social group.
  • A range of autistic behaviours are accepted in this safe environment.
  • Progress through sheer determination delights everyone.
  • Swimmers become volunteers extending skills and confidence.
  • Helpers move around encouraging development and sharing fun.
  • Age doesn't matter, we're all in the flow.
  • New experiences for everyone.
  • Wednesdays 6-7pm at Kentish Town, the Fleetwell family meet whenever they can.
  • More than exercise, mixing together gives us strength.

Contact: Lynda Stuart 07773 267505.

See our ConnectSport directory page.

The LPFF manages seven playing fields across the capital where 200,000 people a year play football, rugby, cricket and softball improving their physical and mental wellbeing. We believe that playing fields are where sport begins and for the gifted few they are where careers begin.

Founded in 1890 our vision is to create happier, healthier, more cohesive communities. Recent research commissioned by the Foundation shows that the benefits derived from playing sport and being physically active extend well beyond the pitch. For just one of our grounds in Walthamstow the report found that the minimum saving to the public purse was £4.8million over a 12-month period.

As well as increasing sports participation through the provision of facilities for schools and clubs, we extend our reach to disadvantaged groups via a series of life changing projects. For example, the award-winning project Coping Through Football works with the NHS to provide a service with a difference in helping hundreds of people with long term mental health issues to get their lives back on track. Other projects target youngsters at risk of ceasing sporting participation or those for whom opportunities are few and far between. We have also run projects focussed on social inclusion and preventing youngsters from falling prey to the lure of gang activity. These projects aim not just to make an immediate impact but also to shape and inform government and social health policy.

Furthermore, the Foundation also has a strategic protection role which entails compiling the Fields at Risk Register and acting as the first port of call for advice on saving endangered sports pitches across London. We have also written a Charter for Playing Fields in London which provides 12 indisputable calls to action that we hope key stakeholders will unite behind and implement to safeguard the future of London's playing fields.

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BaseballSoftballUK (BSUK), founded in 2000, is a national development agency created by and working for the British Baseball and Softball Federations, and receives funding from Sport England to carry out this role. BSUK’s work has been defined by a vision of the sports as “Played in Every Park”, and a central focus has been to increase participation.

Ten years ago, around 10,000 people played the sports in the UK; today the number is over 24,000, with an age range of 7-70. As well as programmes designed to grow participation, particularly among women and girls, members of the LGBT community and in the higher education sector, BSUK’s other areas of focus are coaching and coach development, facility development, bringing the sports to children and young people in and out of schools, supporting the development of clubs and leagues and talent development through an Academy and High Performance Academy structure.

BSUK also provides a range of additional services to the Baseball and Softball Federations, including communications and marketing support, insurance provision, governance and safeguarding. The UK’s first-ever dedicated baseball and softball playing complex was built by BSUK with support from Sport England and the US-based Baseball Tomorrow Fund and opened at Farnham Park, north of Slough, in 2013. It has since become the national centre for the sports, hosting everything from development sessions to league and tournament play, National Championships and international competition.

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Richmond Rugby Community Department have partnered with The Atlas Foundation to help raise money for community projects being run by the Club in and around the Richmond Area. The Atlas foundation was formed by ex-England Captain and RFU President Jason Leonard, who lives locally to the Club.

The partnership’s aim is to raise funds for schools rugby delivery at local state schools who have little or no resources for outside coaching support. The Community team are looking to target schools who traditionally have not played rugby and have pupil intake from diverse cultural backgrounds.

In addition to the school projects we are also looking to fund a “Rugby changes lives” programme being run at Her Majesties Prison Feltham, ‘A’ wing. The younger inmates aged between 15 and 18 years of age get an opportunity to take part in a rugby training session once a week for 2 hours. The long term aim of the programme is to offer pathways for these young men on release from prison, with the opportunity to continue to play rugby in their local area. We strongly believe that physical activity in a competitive environment linked with Rugby’s values can offer help to these young men an alternative to a life of crime.

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Mary’s Youth Club is open to 10-19 year olds on weekday evenings with trips and activities on Saturdays. Co-Production is at the core of Mary’s. This means young people, staff, volunteers and delivery partners all play a part in supporting each other and our community.

We have a varied programme of activities that sit under four zones: Social Action, Creative Skills, Skills for life and Health & Fitness: Education & employability underpins all our activities and has its own programme zone.

Mary’s is committed to delivering grass roots sporting activities. Encouraging young people to develop a healthy relationship with Health, fitness and wellbeing now and in the future.

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Bobby Kasanga founded Hackney Wick Football Club in 2015; Hackney’s first ever semi-professional football club in nearly a century. We are not you regular football club as our ethos is based on community engagement and uniting the local diverse groups as well as battling peer pressure and tackling gang influences.

We engage 160 youths and 70 adults through our training, fitness and football matches (16 youth teams plus sessions for children with additional needs as well as 2 adult teams). We do this by offering educational workshops, sporting opportunities, mentoring and access to work routes which would actively engage with those already involved in gangs, those on the brink of gang life and those who might not be aware of the threats out there (as a safeguarding tool).

We are a community club whose members and players volunteer our services for free to the Hackney community. Be it providing free football coaching or helping out at various events our members come along and support. We will offer training, employment and community projects which promote health and well-being as well as community safety.

We will work with our partners and network to identify at risk individuals and groups who would benefit from our engagement. Referrals can be made by parents, schools, police, local authorities, probation services and other organisations in a collaborative effort to save lives.

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Established in 2015, AFC Leyton is a fully independent not-for-profit girls only football club operating in East London. AFC Leyton was created with the belief that participation in football is transformative for girls and young women. We are very proud of our club. Unlike nearly all other girls and women’s teams, we are not attached to a male football club. This means that every penny the club receives is reinvested into the girls training, matches and other experiences. There is no club quite like AFC Leyton.

The club operates for girls aged 3 to 17, and training for women aged 18+. We have a committed set of talented coaches, all of whom share the same values, to develop girls and young women as good citizens and team players as well as successful footballers. AFC Leyton is both an FA Charter Standard Club as well as an Arsenal Sister Club. The accreditation is awarded to clubs rigorously adjudged to be well-run and sustainable – and which prioritise child protection, quality coaching and implementation of the Respect programme.

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WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT GETTING THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE OUT OF GANGS EACH YEAR

BoxUpCrime is a social youth organisation operating out of the London borough of Barking and Dagenham. We work with young people who are at risk of having their lives ruined by crime and motivate them to rebuild and recapture their dreams and aspirations.

We believe that every young person is entitled to a bright future, inspired by their hopes and dreams, regardless of their background. We deliver our tailored sessions to schools, pupil referral units and community centres across London. In our weekly sessions, we offer a foundation of discipline through boxing training, educational programmes and mentoring. We provide young people with job opportunities and apprenticeships as a stepping stone to their future.

Vision
An international youth-led community, rebuilding misguided dreams by harnessing the talents of young people.

Mission
Providing the opportunity and resources to help all young people discover a true sense of identity as well as guiding them to develop self-motivation strategies. Once equipped with this, it will allow them to go on to self-fulfilment, making a successful life accessible, and ultimately decreasing and preventing the chance of them becoming a victim of senseless murders and going to prison.

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The FNF Championship is a free football showcase summer league based in Southwark. We attract young (mostly 16-23 year old) aspiring footballers and offer them the chance to showcase their talent.

Working with groups from across London including semi professional players, women and refugees we aim to be the summer hub for talent and opportunity whist building community cohesion.

Working with a network of organisations we want to give back to the local community and help foster better opportunities for all through a twice monthly provision of free football at ST Paul's stadium in Rotherhithe.

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Metro Blind Sport is a registered charity creating fun, sporting opportunities for individuals with a visual impairment. We offer opportunities to get involved in a wide variety of sports, primarily located within Greater London.

In addition to our core sports, which include Archery, Athletics, Bowls, Cricket, Football, Tennis and Swimming, we play a vital role in the provision of information about wider sporting and social opportunities to our members, our website visitors, Twitter followers and newsletter subscribers , so that we can share to extended blind and partially sighted community.

Metro Blind Sport supports all ages and abilities. For most members, the joy of simply being able to participate in sport is life changing. Sport delivers many social, physical and mental benefits helping participants lead a more fulfilling, healthy and happy life, both on and off the field of play.

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We are a grassroots football club bridging the gap between grassroots and professional football. We were established in 2013 by a group of young people who were passionate to live their footballing dreams through other young people.

WYFC is a club run by young people for young people. We are based in Tower Hamlets and attract players from across London and Essex. We are here to provide opportunities for young people and recently have become an official partner of Juventus Academy!

We love what we do and do it to make a difference and help young people achieve their footballing dreams. We are here to change lives and our sessions are inclusive of everyone. We engage kids, teens, seniors and even girls! Come join the Wapping family and help us use football to bring change!

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Kekoa believe football should be played without fear and with a confidence that makes playing the beautiful game as enjoyable as possible. Enjoyment is a key factor at Kekoa, as football should be played with a smile and a freedom which brings out the best in players, no matter their ability. Encouraging creativity, skill and inventiveness is our aim.

Confidence is one of, if not the most important thing in football. The difference between a confident and a non-confident player is always very evident, even the most talented football players in the world, look a shadow of themselves when they are lacking in confidence.

The environment we create welcomes mistakes and recognises that mistakes are a part of the game, we do not focus on what a player might be doing wrong, but what they might do different. If a player thinks that they will get into trouble or get shouted at for making a mistake he/she will automatically be playing with fear and ultimately play within themselves.

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Badu Community uses an holistic approach to develop, support and enable young people and their families in the community. We are a multi-dimensional-organisation that embodies education, community development and mentoring within a primarily focus of using sports as a vehicle to Broaden, Advance, Develop and Understand.

We offer a range of physical activities in Hackney and surrounding boroughs, outside of school hours to improve the wellbeing of children and their families. These include: Netball, Walk, Jog or Run Football, Dance, Basketball, Table-tennis.

Although we are inclusive to all young people, our key objective is to engage those from:
• Deprived and disadvantaged backgrounds
• Low income families
• Black and Ethnic minority groups (BAME)

And those at risk of:
• Mental health challenges–anxiety or depression
• Exclusion or social isolation
• Serious youth crime.

It’s about uplifting and empowering within the local community to enhance and better the lives of the people who live there.

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Disability Sports Coach provides award-winning sport and physical activity opportunities for disabled people in London. Most notably, Disability Sports Coach deliver 13 Community Clubs, as well as activities for organisations and inclusive sport training workshops.

Since 2005, DSC have delivered sport and physical activity to over 60,000 disabled people, trained over 5000 people through inclusive workshops and supported over 300 organisations to make their sessions inclusive.

Community Clubs

Disability Sport Coach's award-winning Community Clubs are specialist, weekly sports activities for all disabled people. The purpose of the Community Club network is to ensure disabled people are more active, more often, whilst being integrated in their local community with the opportunity to develop independency and social skills.

Community Clubs aims and objectives are:

- Improve disabled people’s physical, mental and social wellbeing by attending weekly sessions, competitions and annual events.
- Provide support to ensure members are able to access other opportunities to be more integrated in their local community.
- Support and train disabled people and their network to become volunteers and coaches, creating a more representative workforce.

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The Reaching Higher Football Academy is a FREE turn up and play football academy welcoming young people aged 11 – 18 years old. With an FA Qualified coaching team ranging from FA Level One to UEFA B, we deliver high quality sessions for players of all abilities and challenge young people both on and off the field using our very own ‘Player Profile’ approach.

Our Ethos and Philosophy

RHFA focuses on developing young people to become leaders of their own lives, and the characteristics needed to match that helped us to form our core values. The core values have different weightings and have been discussed as what we deem to be more important for the Reaching Higher ethos.

Attitude - 50%
Attendance - 30%
Ability - 20%

- Making young aspiring footballers into well rounded people
- Positive, supportive and relative to the young people
- Give players the opportunity to express themselves

Transferable Skills from Football to Education and Life

Through our Player Profile programme we focus on our young people’s psychological and social development the transferable skills give the young people the opportunity to see how it could also have an impact in their everyday lives.

- Responding to people in authority
- Awareness of decisions
- Dealing with highly pressured situations
- The importance of team work and having a reliable support system
- Importance of effective communication

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MMARAP teaches MMA/Self Defence and education for the non-disabled, Deaf/Blind and disabled. We're based in Islington along with teaching all across the London boroughs.

MMARAP helps to:

1. Mobilise disabled and non-disabled people to become leaders and have control – in their own lives and society.

2. Provide advice to achieve independent living.

3. Break the association between disability and inactivity.

4. Put disability, equality and human rights into practice across society.

20 years of – Wise Thoughts

A Pioneering LGBTQI+ & BAME Arts Charity based in Haringey, London

Wise Thoughts creates dynamic local, national and international arts initiatives and deliver services that help address social justice issues for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex (LGBTQI+) and Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.

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Wheely Tots is a registered children’s charity that believes ALL children should be healthy, confident and resilient. We run family friendly cycling activities in Haringey and Hackney. We provide access to cycling equipment and facilities via inclusive and friendly events and sessions.

We specialise in parent and toddler balance bike sessions in local parks. We offer advice and support to families to get them cycling together: we provide bike servicing, cycle training, workshops and use of our cargo bikes. We have a Kit Library where people can try out and borrow bikes and cycling equipment.

We bring together the diverse community in North London through shared experiences and enjoyment of outdoor spaces.

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African Physical Training Organisation (APTO) is a non-profit organisation that was founded in the UK on 28th August 2002 to improve the quality of life of African French speaking refugees especially children and young people, and refugees/asylum seekers by enabling and empowering them participate in the socio-economic development of the wider community in which they live.

Our activities, which include football training and educational sessions, benefit young people as well as adults and the elderly.

The activities are intended to relieve ill health and to increase the social, economic and educational status of the beneficiaries, all of whom are from a disadvantaged background.

APTO offers its services to all central Africans (Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, RCA, Rep of Congo, Uganda, Congo Brazzaville, Cameroon and Ivory cost) with who we share the same language and culture.

Registered charity number: 1099577 England and Wales

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Highbury Table Tennis Club Highbury Table Tennis Club is for all abilities, young and old, male and female and people with additional support needs. The club has various venues offering wide range of table tennis activities for Juniors, Female Players, Drop in sessions, 16 league teams, British leagues and much more.

Just a 10-15 minutes walk from Highbury & Islington tube, Highbury Grove School, N5 2EQ, We have experienced coaches, run fun training sessions and enter teams in the Central Table Tennis League. The club is suitable for beginner, intermediate and advanced players. The club is open most Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings throughout the year. 

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We are London Youth, a charity on a mission to improve the lives of young people in London, challenging them to become the best they can. Young people need opportunities outside school to have fun with their friends, to learn new skills, to make a positive change in their communities and to shape the city they live in.

Last year, we worked with over 27,000 young people through our sports development, employability, youth action and involvement, arts and outdoor education programmes. Our work gives young people access to opportunities they might not otherwise have had. We do this with, and through, our network of community youth organisations and at our two residential centres.

We look to work with all young people, focusing particularly on those who wouldn’t otherwise have access to the kind of opportunities we offer.

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At The Bike Project, we take second-hand bikes, fix them up and donate them to refugees and asylum-seekers. London is bursting with opportunities – but it's also expensive. Especially when you're a refugee trying to navigate the complex asylum process on just £36 a week.

At The Bike Project, we believe that no one should have to choose between eating a square meal and catching the bus. That's why we do bikes. In addition to donating bikes, we run Pedal Power, all-female cycling lessons for refugee women, and our Bike Buddies scheme that matches our refugee cyclists with a buddy in their local area to help them build confidence using their bike.

We rely on donated bikes to do our work, and a number of them are refurbished and sold in our online shop to raise much-needed funds for our work - in this film Louis Theroux buys a bike from us, and donates his old one.

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Our three-year RugbyWorks programme exists to help teenagers excluded from mainstream education get into, and stay in, education, employment or training. As part of the curriculum, we work with small groups of young people in Years 10 and 11 at Alternative Provision (AP) schools.

Through a mixture of rugby and classroom sessions, our coaches seek to develop key life skills, such as teamwork, aspiration, communication and leadership, that young people need to thrive. Establishing trust and support is vital to our programme, as is making sure our participants are exposed to a range of work-ready experiences, including employability Days, workshops and CV building.

We’re nurturing young people who aspire to positive, productive futures. In Year 12, we offer one-to-one mentoring support to help teenagers as they move out of the AP environment and back into the mainstream system.

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Saracens Sport Foundation is the charitable arm of Saracens Rugby Club. Working across Hertfordshire and North London, our vision is to inspire our community through the values of sport, physical activity and social opportunities as a catalyst for positive change, enabling the fulfilment of potential.

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Muslimah Sports Association (MSA) is a non-profit organisation which is committed to providing opportunities and empowerment through sports to Muslim and BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) women. We are a team of volunteers who have dedicated time to manage various sessions to make them rewarding for our participants.

MSA provides sports activities for women in an environment which does not compromise religious or cultural beliefs. We work closely with national governing bodies, local authorities and sports organisations, community and faith groups, local clubs and charities. We strongly believe that all women, especially Muslim and BAME women, should have the freedom to participate in any sports without limitations or prejudice.

We want to be at the forefront of creating an outlet where Muslim and BAME women can be individuals, and want to increase the participation for women at all levels, whether volunteering, participating, coaching or refereeing. We aim to improve health and lifestyles for women and all those around them.

We want to make a difference to Muslim and BAME women, to improve physical and mental wellbeing for the long term.

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Carney’s Community aims to reduce offending, re-offending and anti-social behaviour, whilst improving social mobility and community cohesion. We achieve this by engaging a range of participants, in positive and constructive activities.

Specifically we offer free boxing fitness and Yoga (with Live Karma Yoga) sessions, alongside our core long term, intensive and unconditional one to one support with the aim of reducing offending, improving physical and emotional health and bridging the social divide, which is common in today’s society.

Our participants are from a variety of backgrounds, with a focus on the disadvantaged and excluded. We believe that by empowering young people through mentoring, participation, focusing on their strengths and learning from each other, we can improve not only their opportunities, but also those of their local communities.

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Chance to Shine is a national charity that gives children and young people the opportunity to play, learn and develop through playing cricket. We create opportunities for children to play cricket and through that improve their physical wellbeing; help to develop key life skills like communication and leadership; and improve their social wellbeing.

Our organisation is part of a charity called Community Resources based in Dagenham, that supports volunteers in the community working in various different projects, such as open doors which provides english classes, supports teen mums and a community hub drop in. Also there is a wonderful coffee shop run by volunteers. The project which I run is called Skates Dagenham and it is a roller skating club for teenage girl's between the ages of 13-19. It is funded by London Sport.

Barking and Dagenham has the highest rate of teen pregnancies. Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows 27 girls got pregnant for every 1,000 below the age of 18 in 2016 – a decrease of just over 10 per cent compared to 2015’s figures.

One of the issues that has been raised was that there isn't enough youth clubs/activities that are affordable for teenagers to take part in. In fact I couldn't find any especially for girls that was fun. This bothered me and I felt that it wasn't fair that not all teenagers could participate or be a part of a club because of certain barriers, such as costs, travel and also lack of motivation feeling incapable of learning or trying something new. This is when the idea of skates dagenham came about. I had always roller skated and ice skated during my youth and loved it. Why couldn't there be a roller skating club that was accessible and affordable for local teens.

I found out through the charity Community Resources that I could get funding which we did from London Sport. We started running our sessions on the 7th of July 2018. We run our sessions on Sundays from 5:30-6:30 at Kingsley Hall, we charge a £1 a session, provide rollerskates and wrist guards. Its a bit like a roller disco where we skate to music learn new skills and have lots of fun.

We've had over 20 girl's that have participated in our sessions and have a core group of about 10 that come each week. I'm a qualified rollerskating coach and have 2 volunteers that help me run the sessions.

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We are a Wandsworth-based charity that delivers integrated sport, education and nutrition programs to improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged young children. We currently have four programmes in London, and one in Yorkshire. We partner with “Aspirational Hosts” and local “inner city” schools. Each session offers
• One hour of Rackets Sport
• One hour of maths / STEM Education
• An evening meal, plus nutrition advice

A typical profile for participants has been
• 86% were from BAME communities
• 79% spoke English as a second language
• 54% were eligible for Pupil Premium
• 64% were girls

Feedback from the Trial indicated:
• 96% of the children who took part made new friends
• 96% of the children felt the maths tuition helped their maths in school
• 95% of parents saw a positive change in their childs attitude to school
• 100% of participants said taking part in physical activity made them happier

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Greenhouse Sports is a London-based charity committed to the belief every child deserves a fair chance to succeed. We are passionate about the power of sport to change young lives. Greenhouse Sports uses inspirational sports coaching and mentoring to engage young people from disadvantaged areas to help improve their life chances.

We partner with schools to provide opportunities for young people who may be disengaged and vulnerable to develop the social, thinking, emotional and physical skills that help them thrive. Greenhouse Sports coaches work full-time in secondary schools and sixth form colleges, special educational needs (SEN) schools and in our performance sports clubs, delivering over 50 programmes across 16 London boroughs.

This year we will work with nearly 8000 young people in those schools and at our first community sports centre, the Greenhouse Centre - in one of the most deprived wards of Westminster. We focus our resources on young people who are disengaged, vulnerable or facing disadvantage. We only work in schools where at least two-thirds (67%) of pupils live in areas of high deprivation according to IDACI, or which are specifically for young people with special educational needs.

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The London Otters is an inclusive rowing club established to help break down some of the barriers that prevent LGBTQ+ individuals from getting involved in sport, along with those who have found it difficult to access the sport in a more traditional way.

We are based in East London, our membership base is broad and includes male, female, gay, lesbian and straight rowers ranging from the ages of 18 to 60, most of whom joined the club as complete beginners through our Learn to Row Scheme.

Members of the LGBTQ community are two and a half times more likely than heterosexuals, to experience mental health issues and the physical and mental benefits of participating in a sport like rowing is well established.

We are reaching capacity and in order for us to continue to support the LGBTQ+ community and their allies we need to purchase new vital equipment.

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Play Place delivers a whole range of youth services across, Croydon, Kent and south London. In particular we have our own garage in Croydon which young people can come to every Wednesday evening 4-6pm to learn to fix our off road motorbikes and learn to ride on our training track.

Young people then have the chance to use their new riding skills on our private off road track. Young people can come along from the age of 11 to 18.

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Peace Ballers is a social enterprise that creates peace in local communities by developing good identities in young men through football and entrepreneurship. Our project will help participants to reconnect with their neighbourhoods in a new way, leading to peaceful outcomes for their communities.

We achieve this using two key interventions:
• Delivering revolutionary football development sessions to improve three key entrepreneurial personality traits of participants (confidence, discipline & resilience).
• Developing participants entrepreneurial spirit through inspirational workshops held in partnership with a local, top class academic business institution. Our first project will be within the London Borough of Southwark.

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GO Run For Fun is an international campaign, set up to inspire children to be more active through fun short-distance running events. It has been a phenomenal success so far with over 290,000 children having taken part since 2013. Running is simple, and children do it naturally.

It’s fun, good for their confidence and great for their health and development. It’s not expensive, and is the basis for so many other sports. If kids catch the bug early enough they tend to stick with it and this leads to a more active and healthy lifestyle.

Our well organised running events encourage children to prepare themselves for the challenge of completing a 2km fun run, to give it their best on the day and to make their run a memorable achievement.

GO Run For Fun currently takes place in UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, USA, Mexico and Singapore – and we are still growing!

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IBB Polonia London Volleyball Club is bringing top level of volleyball events to London. Our mission that is called: Volleyball 2.0 is set to bring Londoners and volleyball fans together at our matches. We are the oldest club in the English Volleyball League, current English Volleyball Champion and the first ever British Club to win a European Volleyball Trophy (NEVZA CUP 2019).

The club plans to play at the highest level of European volleyball, in the CEV Champions League 2019/20. The club plans to populate the team mainly with England internationals to upgrade time, focus, professionalism, bonding, and performance for the national team The club will push the England team to qualify for the European Championships off the back of these developments.

To find out more about the Mayor of London's Sport Unites fund, and to access larger grants, click here.

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