Project Take Off
2
The Pitch
Problem statement
Sport England’s Active Lives Survey (2023) shows 1.18 million young people are playing basketball weekly, in addition to a 34% increase between 2021 – 2022 in children from low affluent families who play at least once/week. We have seen high demand locally in Easton, Bristol with 70% of our basketball after-school clubs filled by 219 local children. Easton is in the bottom 10% IMD and 26% of its population are economically inactive, so the need for low-cost and local sessions so families is paramount. However, only 5% of children who attended our Bristol Flyers Community Hubs in Greater Bristol came from an Easton postcode. Our project will use doorstep delivery to drive positive change.
Solution
Project Take Off will engage low-income families in Easton whose young people want to play basketball and currently can’t due to cost or transport barriers. The goal is to make basketball more accessible by removing barriers to participation. Through the funding, free coaching sessions will be offered to 120 children in a local Leisure Centre. Our existing school partnerships surrounding Easton will ensure the funding reaches those children in most need. We will provide positive fun experiences, which act as a catalyst to inspire long-term continued participation either through Flyers weekly sessions, Flyers Community Player Development Pathway or Bristol Flyers National League Programme.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
Bristol Flyers Community are a large provider of community basketball, who engaged 13,432 children in Greater Bristol during the 2023/24. Our qualified coaches (many of whom are players) have a proven track record of coaching children from disadvantaged communities and act as role models. Our pilot allowed 74 children to receive free holiday camp spaces during 2022/23. As a Foundation we deliver weekly coaching to over 50 primary schools in Greater Bristol, so are best placed to reach this demographic. Our track record signposting children to local exit routes allow children continue to play, some of whom have progressed on to the Player Development Pathway and National League programmes.
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| Venue Hire - Easton Leisure Centre - £35/hour* x 2 hours (per week) = £70 weekly venue hire 23 weeks (4 terms) x £70 venue hire = £1,610.00 *15% discount from venue provider Start T3 – Finish T6 | £1,610 |
| Coaches Salaries - £22.50/hour x 2 hours = £45 weekly coaching cost £45 x 23 weeks delivery = £1,035.00 | £1,035 |
| Admin./Marketing - £300 (10%) - Project co-ordination £55 – digital marketing (Project Take Off ‘Golden Tickets’ to give to participants advertising free sessions). | £355 |
| Value in Kind - Volunteer development (e.g. Basketball Level 1 Course) = £295 | £0 |
Beneficiaries
120 people
Who will benefit
Expected impact
Up to 120 primary aged-children from local low-income families will benefit by gaining free access to high quality weekly basketball coaching. We will increase the attendees physical and mental health, through fun game-based team sessions. Our pilot showed children had increased confidence, better communication and teamwork skills after attending our 6-week hub. The project will generate community impact for the Easton population through social cohesion. We have seen hubs creating stronger relationships between local families, as well as promoting active, happy and healthy lives. We will also improve the coaching knowledge/skills of up to 4 local volunteer coaches who will assist our professional qualified coaches. To support their development, we will offer a Level 1 coaching course. Through this project, we will look to measure the impact of both physical health levels and mental well-being by asking participants to complete a short survey pre and post engagement.
Track record
Project Take Off Holiday Camp Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3szPLD24AK4&t=13 Personal story from a project beneficiary: Romaine’s Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFGwgrohE58&t=1s 2022/23 Flyers Community impact: Community Hub Attendees – 1,749 Holiday Camp Attendees – 2,464 Basketball Curriculum delivery – 8,928 Player Development Pathway Attendees – 291 Throughout the last two year of running Project Take Off we have had 3 young athletes progress in Bristol Flyers national league programme respectively. We are extremely proud of these as trials for the Flyers national league programme are extremely competitive.