1. Developing Lifelong
Participation
StreetGames
National Training Event
27th March 2012

2. Developing Lifelong
Participation
Our ambition is for DSCs to:
•Encourage regular participation and
retain young people within Doorstep
Sport Clubs (DSC) activities
AND
•Equip their members with skills,
confidence and knowledge so that they
are able to ‘make their own way’ into
lifelong participation.
Reduce post-16 drop-off in sport

3. What do we mean?
•DSC members will develop the knowledge, skills, confidence
and motivation to participate in sport/physical activities beyond
the club activities.
•So, for example, it may be that they go on to independently:
 Use a leisure centre - on their own or with friends
 Join a gym
 Jog or cycle
 Join a mainstream sports club.

4. Issues to consider
• Many factors contribute to post 16 drop off:
– Competing priorities
– Busy life-styles
– College/work
– Friends/relationships
– Hobbies/other interests
– Family/child care commitments
– Inappropriate playing offers
– Cost and transport difficulties.
• BUT also issues around knowledge, skills
and confidence – ‘sporting capital’

5. Building sporting capital
“I don’t know how to get involved”
“I want to do the gym thing but I don’t know how to get the slips you
need”
“I want to learn to ice skate…I would never go there because everyone
is looking over the balcony and I can’t ice-skate so I don’t wanna go
there for everyone to laugh at me”
“If you’re on your own you feel stupid doing stuff”
“I think people can be intimidated by those who are better at the
activity”

6. Young people will need
support to:
– Gain knowledge of how to
access clubs/fitness centres
– Develop an awareness of
cultural norms such as
clothing, etiquette/customs
– Activity-specific skills
– Create social connections
-feel involved and “sporty”

7. Developing Lifelong
Participation through Doorstep
Sport Clubs
DSCs need to build plans which
seek to encourage lifelong
participation.
So for example, this may involve:
•Taking part/gaining experience in a range
of different activities
• Going to different places and meeting
new people
• Developing activity specific skills
• Building leadership skills .
• Understanding the importance of regular
activity

8. Range of activities
As move into later teens and
adulthood:
• Individual activities such as going to
the gym, jogging, swimming, cycling,
and fitness classes become more
popular – particularly for females
AND/OR
• Traditional teams sports in a more
‘informal’ form e.g. 5-a-side game
with college/work mates

9. Encouraging
independent activity
• Show participants where to go, how
to find activities, where sport can be
read about and watched
• Physical visits to sports and leisure
centres
• NGB links - informal products such
as Just Play, No Strings

10. Activity specific skills
• Fun-based skills/drills
• Recognition/rewards
• Skills and tricks
• Opportunities to compete:
• Internal round-robins
• Challenges
• Friendly games
• Home and away matches
• CVLs
• Tournaments
• Festivals

11. Friendly environment
and social connections
• Supportive
• Motivating
• Caring
• Safe
• Personal development
ethos
• Build cohesive groups

12. Leadership Skills
• Providing opportunities for
young people to:
• Mature
• Develop leadership skills
• Confidence
• Through coaching,
volunteering and involvement
in decision making.

13. Case study - Tower Hamlets Cycling
Club – Dev. of women's section
• ‘T’ joined the club - she'd never had the chance to cycle due to
cultural & religious constraints
• ‘T’ learned how to cycle - is now a confident cyclist, volunteers,
helps out at sessions & promote rides
• ‘T’ has lost weight gained confidence & is now learning to swim
– making her own way to lifelong participation
• Hopes to cycle to college in the future.
"The Cycling Club has allowed me to learn to cycle after
years of wanting to and has stopped my caring about the
stereotypical view that Muslim women shouldn't be
cycling. The Club has given me the chance to enjoy riding
a bike - something most people take for granted and have
the privilege to do all their lives without a second thought"

14. Next steps
– Development of a 3 hour training
workshop
– Support materials