GB Judo Star Supports New Sports Clubs across the Black Country

GB Judo player Adam Khalik and Richard Callicott OBE joined sports clubs and participants at the launch of the Black Country Satellite Clubs programme last week as we celebrated a successful first year.

Satellite clubs, funded by Sport England, are designed to be an extension of community sports clubs which can offer a different sporting experience for young people age 11 to 25. By 2017 every secondary school and Further Education provider in the Black Country will have been offered the chance to host a satellite club.

The event lastn Tuesday gave guests the opportunity to see some of our satellite clubs in action.  This included trampolining, netball, basketball, sitting volleyball and rugby.  VIP guests and activity participants also got to learn from Adam’s experiences of school and club sport.

Mr Callicott OBE who is Chair of the Black Country Satellite Club Strategic Group and is former Chief Executive of UK Sport, said of the programme, "so far in our first year of delivery, 19 new satellite clubs have been established in the Black Country with over 200 new participants.  There are currently 44 new clubs being established to start delivering from September 2014.  And in addition, we are also working with special schools, disability organisations and sports clubs to establish some special school satellite clubs from September 2014.”

The Satellite Club programme aims to increase sports participation by create links between existing sports clubs, secondary schools and colleges providing 11-25 year olds with the opportunity to take part in sport.  The aim is to bring sport out to young people in very local venues, attracting young people who are not typically very sporty.

The Black Country BeActive Partnership will be investing up to £270,000 into the programme in the Black Country where we will be looking to tackle health inequalities, support academic performance and create stronger community links as outcomes of the programme.

Some of the clubs and schools paired up during the past few months to develop new Satellite Clubs are: Shelfield Community Academy and Walsall Cricket Club, Windsor High School and Dudley Watersports Club, Oldbury Academy and Warley Rugby Club, and Our Lady & St Chads Catholic Sports College and Big Sky Basketball.

The Satellite Club programme offers many benefits to clubs, coaches and participants.  This may be through generating new investment into the club, identifying new talent and the opportunity to recruit new volunteers.

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Click here for more details on Satellite Clubs in the Black Country