Five years after Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games the number of people who are part of Community Sport Hubs (CSH) across the country has almost doubled.
First launched in 2011, the CSH programme brings together sport clubs and community organisations to develop and grow sport at a local level. The National Lottery funded programme is central to sportscotland’s commitment to ensuring that everyone gets the best out of Scotland’s world-class sporting system.
The number of CSHs is now at an all-time high of 197, an increase of 50% from 131 in 2013/2014, as sportscotland continues to deliver its key legacy commitment from Glasgow 2014. Over the same period the number of sport club members actively part of hubs rose by 92% from 81,686 to 156,562.
In addition to the sport club members there are an additional 16,637 people who are involved in physical activity/non-sport organisations as part of the wider hub network.
As sportscotland and the wider sporting network in Scotland continues to create meaningful participation opportunities for people across the country, the number of sports clubs within the CSH network has also nearly doubled, increasing from 835 in 2013/2014 to 1,541 in 2018/2019.
Details of the latest data were announced by sportscotland Chair, Mel Young during a visit to Camelon CSH by representatives of the UK Sports Cabinet who were meeting ahead of the 2019 Solheim Cup. “The growth of Community Sport Hubs over the last five years has been incredible and is at the heart of the wider sporting network’s commitment to building a more active Scotland. We know from experience the life-changing effect of sport participation and that can be seen in hubs across the country."
Minister for Sport, Joe FitzPatrick, was also delighted to see the increase in people using Community Sport Hubs: “I’ve seen for myself how clubs and community groups, supported by their local authority, leisure trust and governing bodies can all work together through Community Sport Hubs to provide opportunities for people to make positive changes to their lifestyles.”
Since its launch last year Camelon CSH, which is a partnership between Falkirk Community Trust and a variety of local sports clubs and organisations, has established itself as a vital part of the local community, helping create sporting opportunities for people of all ages. It now has close to 1,100 members taking part in a variety of sports and physical activities including football, rugby, indoor bowling, basketball, table tennis, karate, taekwon-do and baton twirling.
As well as targeting younger and older populations the hub seeks to ensure that individuals experiencing poor mental health, physical or financial barriers are given opportunities to participate.
Camelon Community Champion and member of Camelon Community Sport Hub, Ann Henderson is clearly proud of what's already been achieved by their hub: “I am so pleased that it’s all come together – this is what Community Sport Hubs are all about. It makes all the partnership working worth it. I love seeing the success of Camelon Community Sport Hub.”
Every hub in the network works to the same principles: To grow participation, engage the local community, promote community leadership, offer a range of sporting opportunities and bring key groups together.
The CSH network is about more than just sport. Links between hubs, clubs and schools are also growing and there are now 186 physical activity groups and non-sport organisations involved in hubs across Scotland.
Find out more
For information on community sport hubs and all the latest data go to the sportscotland website
