We have signed the lease on an empty warehouse, with your help, we will turn it into a community basketball hall, café and gym in Holmfirth and will provide a load of new sessions, community events and a community venue.
Holme Valley Basketball Club – is the driving force.
As Holme Valley Basketball club we already affect 200 + people, with session ages ranging from 12-47, we pride ourselves on being a socially driven, diverse and inclusive club with supportive coaching and links to other clubs (Basketball England affiliated). We want to continue to create more opportunities for people to enjoy and play basketball in a fun and safe environment, including running a number of additional sessions for all: Women, girls, juniors ( ages 6+), adult beginner sessions and walking basketball for older generations.
The Facility
Our Basketball focussed facility will allow individuals to turn up and join in with whoever is there, book affordable mini-courts for smaller groups of friends/families, or join in with one of our many coach driven sessions/leagues.
The café and gym, will help to expand the social basketball culture, allowing its' users to spectate and socialise in a venue where all its' users share a common passion. Users can also expect to workout in the gym with all the usual equipment, with the addition of specialist equipment and workout cards aimed at basketballers.
Our aim is to raise £15,285 to kit out the first phase of the facility from a minimum of 75 unique supporters.
What will we do once up and running?
Our coaches and volunteers will be running sessions for the community – with set sessions focussing on:
- Juniors 5-12
- Juniors 13+
- Adult's beginner basketball
- Amateur pickup
- Junior Girls 5-15
- Women 16+
- Walking basketball
- Central venue league and competitions
- Basketball focussed strength, mobility and conditioning
- Private family/group sessions
As well as many hours – of open to everyone, join in and play sessions.
How we'll spend the money:
- Basketball Flooring Prep: £6910.80 (hopefully Sport England assistance)
- Fire escape and stairs: £8000
- Basketball Flooring: £8375 (hopefully Sport England assistance)
- Gym Flooring: £5000
- Kitchen area: £2000
Anything over:
- 2 x shooter training basketball court (rings and divider fencing): £3000
- Towards Phase 2 - the main court. This first phase of our project, creates our starter courts, gym and coffee area. The second phase will create our larger court, allowing us to facilitate more sessions, tournaments and camps
How the warehouse looks now:
Plans when the doors open
Less than two months after hitting our funding target...
Venue issue
Finding venues in the local area with availability at reasonable times is a real challenge, relying on schools which are subject to many closures, sub-par facilities and slots in peak times being booked up long-term by other sporting users.
According to Sport England, basketball is one of the most played sports outside of school, yet there is a real lack of opportunities (especially the younger generation) to play outside of school, or in bad weather. The only real option currently is to hire an entire sports hall (if you can find availability) which is a big commitment and expense that is unrealistic for casual basketball or families.
How you can help us?
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things/services we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!
More about us....
About Holme Valley Basketball
Since setting up Holme Valley Basketball club a few years ago, we have gone from strength to strength as a club, winning back to back trophies in the West Yorkshire (Leeds) league, adding a second team, doubling our sessions and adding Junior sessions too.
Many of our players have come back to basketball in their 30s, 40s and up, having not participated in sport for a number of years.
The 2 key things that have come with being part of our club are the social and fitness aspects. We have brought many of our members back into competitive sports, and have created long-term friendships along the way...
Our lead volunteers
(there are another 20 of us: https://just-hoop.co.uk/meet-the-team/)
Adrian Whittles:
Since I was first introduced to Basketball in 1998, I fell in love with the sport and it has been a big part of my life ever since, playing at University, national league and various local leagues, whilst voluntarily coaching and helping to facilitate leagues.
When I was younger I loved playing in the park, and always wished there was an indoor facility where you could turn up and play despite the weather.
I have met some fantastic people in the basketball community throughout the years, and since moving to Holmfirth and starting Holme Valley basketball club, the community here have supported and inspired me to make this happen.
Last year I went part-time in my I.T. day job to try and help make this dream a reality , getting Basketball England qualifications in Basketball coaching (level 2), Basketball refereeing (Level 2 in progress), first aid and child safety and will be giving a lot of my time to help run the facility.
Ben Collier:
From my earlier career in community sports development, I have always had a passion for sport and physical activity. After having children, the amount of time I could dedicate to playing and organising football became limited and I stopped participating in structured exercise for a number of years.
When Holme Valley Basketball formed, I was able to get back into basketball, having not played since school/college, since then I now play regular competitive basketball for Holme Valley Basketball club, I have made lasting friendships, improved my fitness and basketball has become a big part of my life.
I am keen to help make basketball more accessible to a greater audience, giving more people the opportunity to have the great experience I have had to date. I also see interest in basketball from my son (age 8), his friends and parents, however there is currently not anywhere for him to play/train in the area (apart from in the garden when the Huddersfield weather allows).
Holme Valley Limited Edition Merchandise
Available in black/red/blue/pink