June 15, 2011
Boost for community sports
Scotland may not rank highly on the global sporting stage, but within every community there’s a huge pool of voluntary effort that goes into coaching and organising sport at all levels. Reflecting this trend and a wish to have it all on a more sustainable footing, Senscot recently held the first ever conference for Sport and Social Enterprise. Early days, but it looks like the new Government is a fan of community owned sports hubs
Sport Minister, Shona Robison today pledged a new fund to support community ownership and management of sport facilities, and the creation of at least 100 Community Sports Hubs
Those were just two of the commitments she made during the first parliamentary debate in her new Ministerial role.
The related points of Ms Robison’s speech were :
• The creation of at least 100 Community Sports Hubs across Scotland by 2014; there are currently 56 in 20 local authorities
• A £500,000 fund to encourage community ownership and management of sport facilities
Ms Robison said:”In Scotland we are uniquely placed to reap considerable benefits from sport and activity. Not only will 2014 see us host two of the world’s greatest sporting events in the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup, it will of course also be our year of Homecoming.
“The events of 2014 will place Scotland well and truly on the global stage and it is around the Commonwealth Games in particular that our vision for a sporting nation will crystallise – a vision where Scots are helped to become more active, where physical activity is embedded in our culture and where our athletes excel.
Major sporting events can stir our passions and rally a real sense of nationhood. But it is at a community level that we have seen the maximum benefits of sport being realised. Community engagement and development lie at the heart of our commitments and that is why we have made today’s pledges on both community sport hubs and funding to encourage community ownership.