Slingsby Sport for All

Aim

Transforming the changing, social and sporting facilities to make them accessible for everyone in the wider community

Introduction

Entirely run by a team of dedicated volunteers, Slingsby Sports and Social Club is located on the edge of the beautiful Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the North Yorkshire Moors National Park.

Slingsby Sports Field has been a centre of community activities since at least the 1920's and over the years the facilities have been improved to meet the changing needs of our community.  

The Sports and Social Club is used extensively by many members of the community, including being the sportsfield for children attending Slingsby School.  However, the current facilities which were built in the 1980's and have served the community well, are in need of significant development.

As well as the use for sports, the club is also a central part of the community for events such as Car Boot Sales, Bonfire Nights, Social events such as New Years Eve and recently the incredible Jubilee Celebrations.

Our Vision

Our vision is to transform the facilities available to all parts of our community, including people of all ages and backgrounds who use the club for either sports, play or socially.

The project will achieve this in 5 areas.

Area 1 – Access for people with disabilities and improving the changing rooms and shower facilities

The Problem

Despite having a number of members in the community with mobility issues, we have no disabled toilet facilities and access for anybody with mobility issues is extremely limited.   We recognise that this has to change and we want to create a facility that is accessible for all and is an environment where people with disabilities will be able enjoy playing sport and socialising.

The current changing facilities are small, cramped and serve multiple purposes (the home changing room is the cloak room for people to leave their coats and jackets and the away changing room is a closed off part of the lounge and doubles as the darts room).   The shower room is entirely inadequate, is directly off the corridor to the toilets from the lounge and has only three showers.  

As we plan to introduce additional sporting teams, including junior sports, these facilities need a radical upgrade in order to make them fit for purpose.

Currently children from the local school who use the field for sports and play need to get changed at the school and walk across a busy road to get to the facilities.

The Solution

To address these issues we have developed plans to expand the Sports Club to provide spacious and modern changing facilities that we meet the needs of future generations and will be accessible for people with mobility issues, including wider corridors and disabled toilet facilities

Area 2 Improvement to sporting facilities and coaching resources

The Problem

The current practice facilities are extremely limited in terms of offering opportunities for people interested in playing sport to practice and improve their skills.

From this year onwards the club will be running Cricket and Football Teams (both junior and senior teams) as well as providing the facilities for coaching children attending Slingsby School.

There are no cricket practice facilities and limited facilities for junior players and members of the community to practice football.

The Solution

We will enhance the facilities and activities we are able to offer with a particular interest in coaching and supporting youth sports through acquisition of professionally-approved, disability-friendly coaching kits for youth cricket and youth football; creation of all-weather cricket pitch and practice nets; practice goals and borrowable (at no cost) tennis coaching kits.

 The creation of artificial all weather cricket practice facilities will provide a consistent playing surface allowing players to develop their skills in a predictable environment.  These facilities will be available for use by other clubs that do not have access to such facilities.

The football goals and cricket practice facilities will be available for use by the school as well as any member of the local community who wants to use them at any time.

The replacement of the existing, unsafe, cricket scorebox will allow for scorers, who are quite often retired former players who wish to remain connected with the game, a comfortable environment in which to score as well as providing a key hub for the coordination of events such as the school sports day or the annual village sports day.

In addition, we will diversify our sporting offer by adding basketball hoops to our tennis courts and providing indoor ‘pool’ offer; creating a much-need rural ‘youth’ offer and building intergenerational community cohesion.

Area 3 Improvement to catering facilities

The Problem

The current kitchen facilities have been in place since the club was built in the 1980’s and are in need of a significant upgrade in order to allow us to provide catering for social events and after sports matches.

The Solution

The replacement of the outdated and inefficient kitchen equipment with a modern fit-for-purpose kitchen that will make things far easier for the dedicated team of volunteers who support the club.

Area 4 Improved outdoor seating for families and disabled visitors

The Problem

There is currently limited outdoor seating, all of which is exposed to the elements and none of which is suitable for visitors who are in wheelchairs which is introducing barriers to people with mobility issues having the opportunity to watch sport and enjoy the social opportunities available at the club.

The Solution

We will provide accessible outdoor seating, including wheelchair accessible picnic table, which allows abled and disabled people to sit together and offers enhanced sports viewing opportunities.  

Sheltered spaces will also be created to allow people to enjoy the outdoors whilst being protected from any adverse weather.

Area 5 - Environmentally sustainable energy and construction solutions

 The Problem

 Much of the heating generation and energy usage associated with the club uses old and inefficient systems with an associated impact on the environment and energy costs that increase the overall running costs of the club and impact the amount of money that can be reinvested into community projects.

 The Solution

 We will install and solar panel energy and battery storage system to reduce the environmental impact of the club as well as reducing the costs associated with running the club.

 This will be our first step on creating a more sustainable energy solution for the club and will be used as a model for other members of the community to visit as part of the longer terms plans for the wider community in terms of making Slingsby a more environmentally sustainable community.

How you can play your part:

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 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 we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. If you want to run your own fundraiser to support us, 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!

This project successfully funded on 25th March 2023