GB Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR) is amongst a group of over 120 organisations working in partnership with Sport England to level up access to sport and physical activity across the country.
GBWR will receive expertise, support and an investment of £2.2 million over a 5-year period of government and National Lottery funding from Sport England to co-deliver its 10-year Uniting the Movement strategy.
Sport England research shows that some groups are typically less active – like women, people with long-term health conditions, disabled people, people from ethnically diverse communities and lower socio-economic groups. Right now, the opportunities to get involved in sport and activity – and reap the rewards of being active – depend too much on your background, your gender, your bank balance and your postcode.
GBWR’s focus will be to enable more people from a diverse range of genders and backgrounds to access wheelchair rugby by reducing the barriers to participation, increasing awareness of wheelchair rugby and showcasing the many benefits of being involved. The organisation will also be providing a pathway of training and development opportunities for its coaches, officials and volunteers to ensure a high-quality workforce able to support all levels of the game.
CEO Jason Brisbane said: “This investment will help our clubs to thrive at a community level through increased training opportunities and support from specialised staff to develop each club based on their individual need. We are also committed to creating a league structure that enables both the development of our future GB athletes and a fun, competitive environment for professional and recreational athletes.”
Over £550million is being invested in total. This new funding model from Sport England provides longer-term financial security as organisations recover and reinvent from the Covid-19 pandemic. All partner organisations were selected by Sport England due to their ability to influence change and improvement at the heart of the system they are a part of, no matter how big or small. This is the first step on a journey to revolutionise Sport England’s approach to long-term partnerships as it seeks to partner and collaborate with innovative organisations to deliver Uniting the Movement and build a nation where everyone can get active.
Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said: “Sport England’s goal is to get everyone active– no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background is. But we know that certain groups – like people with physical or mental disabilities – are more likely to be inactive. We can only innovate and tackle inequalities effectively by thinking about long-term change; Uniting the Movement is a long-term vision, and our funding approach needs to reflect that. Changes to our funding model will help us achieve our goal, by making it easier for our partners to do what they need to do to level up and deliver.”
