Sportsmatch funding success for the Collier's
The Collier’s community partner Reach for the Sky Basketball have developed a great working partnership for the last 4 years with England based community sport consulting company Rising Ballers. Therefore this was an easy link for the Collier’s to make.
After many discussions a formal sponsorship agreement was in place, which in turn made the Collier’s eligible for Sportsmatch awarding the club £2,496.
Sportsmatch is a sportscotland initiative that, “aims to recognise the outstanding contribution commercial sponsorship makes to community sport by matching their support on a £ for £ basis. The award scheme supports grassroots sport projects that encourage participation at community level, especially youth groups.”
Emmanuel Davis, Rising Ballers Performance Director commented: "We are happy to be supporting the Colliers, we are a great believer in grass roots sports, hence starting our sports wear brand "Rising Wear"to support projects and initiatives like this."
The programme will provide approximately 200 pupils across five primary schools the opportunity to take part in basketball for 6 weeks including Auchinraith Primary, High Blantyre Primary, Burnside Primary, St Charles Primary, Bankhead Primary and Townhill Primary. Each school will receive coaching in partnership with Reach for the Sky and the Active Schools team working towards competing in a tournament on Wednesday the 11th of June, which will take place at Calderside Academy.
Furthermore, the school will also receive new equipment (basketballs/bibs) which will mean that other pupils within the school can use them and be exposed to the sport also.
The key aims of the programme are to ensure each pupil has a fun experience and learns something new. On top of that, there is a pathway in place for the young people to ensure they can continue to play after the programme has ended from grass root to elite in close proximity to each school.
Club Development Officer Ross Hutton commented: “I took part in a P7 school football tournament when I was at school and remember how excited I was about just being there. We met kids from other schools, played games, won, lost, laughed and generally had a great time.
“It’s a memory that is very fresh in my mind despite it taking place in 1988!! I hope that this programme and tournament will create similar fond memories for all those taking part. It’s not about finding the next superstar. It’s about providing a fun sports programme where kids can enjoy themselves and learn more about this brilliant game.
“The pathway is in place for those who do want to take up the sport either recreationally with Reach for the Sky or competitively with the SL Colliers which I think covers all the bases and is very rare within this country. “I look forward to working with the new pupils and hope that its a fun experience that they will remember for a long time.”
