S ince its launch in 2006, StreetGames’ vision has been to assist the most disadvantaged young people and communities to enable them to enjoy the benefits of sport and participate at the same rate as their more affluent peers.

The charity defines its approach to the delivery of opportunities as ‘doorstep sport’ – taking sport to communities at the ‘right time, right price, right place and in the right style’.

The doorstep sport approach addresses the needs of young people who may not have the finances, support or knowledge which is needed to get involved in sport. It has developed a wide range of resources that help to identify and overcome barriers that impact young people’s participation, including concerns about safety, fees, travel, activity choice, adult support, confidence, familiarity with the environment and overall knowledge of the activities.

The StreetGames network has grown substantially – collectively delivering more than 110,000 doorstep sports sessions, attracting more than 228,000 participants and 2.3 million attendances. StreetGames uses its financial and experiential resources to lobby for greater investment in disadvantaged communities, to develop the skills and knowledge of sports workers and to consider ways to improve the quality of sports delivery in renewal areas.

Volunteers
Developing volunteers is also a key part of StreetGames’ work and over 6,700 young people have begun volunteering in StreetGames projects. The Doorstep Sport approach has also been incorporated into Sport England’s recent strategy document Creating a sporting habit for life: a new youth sport strategy, which sets a target of developing 1000 sustainable Doorstep Clubs.

Two recently funded projects have helped to showcase StreetGames’ ability to contribute to the London 2012 legacy by creating opportunities which engage young people from diverse socially disadvantaged communities: ‘Building a Participation Legacy’ and ‘Us Girls’. Brunel University’s research on these projects was designed to explore the doorstep sport approach and its capacity to engage young people.

Building a Participation Legacy
The Building a Participation Legacy project was part of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Disadvantaged Areas programme. It was funded by a Coca Cola Foundation grant.

The goal was to create five projects which would develop a sustainable sporting legacy; increase sport and physical activity levels and encourage positive behaviour change.

Each of the legacy projects targeted its programme towards particular groups of disadvantaged young people in their communities and each included initiatives designed to attract at least one group who typically have particularly low engagement in sport, including girls, people from migrant communities and estates where safety was a concern, ethnic minority groups and young people with little previous interest in or experience of sport.

The capacity to deliver activities at low cost and the willingness of workers to ensure that venues were perceived as accessible and friendly helped with the success of the programmes. Consultation with participants is part of StreetGames’ style. As one coach said: “We ask young people what they want or just fit the sessions around them.” The right style for StreetGames sessions is typically informal, participatory and active.

Coaches were identified by young people as particularly contributing to their enjoyment and many felt that StreetGames coaches were more helpful than teachers, parents or friends in supporting their efforts to get involved in sport. A key part of this appears to be their willingness to spend time developing trusting relationships with young people. One participant said: “They listen to what we want to do, rather than telling us.” The qualities young people admire in StreetGames coaches represent a combination of youth work and coaching skills such as being friendly, fun, polite, nice, easy-going, accepting and supportive.

One of the most interesting findings was young people perceived their StreetGames experiences led to increased social skills. Engaging with their peers, meeting new people, working in teams and developing positive relationships with adults were all described as benefits.

Young people who volunteered were particularly positive about their ability to take on responsibility, lead sessions, and interact with others. One said: “I like to wear the StreetGames volunteer t-shirt. Teachers see me wearing it and ask what I do. They didn’t speak to me before.”

Us Girls
The Us Girls initiative was part of Sport England’s national Active Women campaign which involved getting more than 30,000 women, aged between 16 and 25, from disadvantaged communities more active. The project involved more than partners working in 47 disadvantaged areas across England.

Our research was collected during the course of the initiative and was used to inform training and the development of resources for practitioners including the development of a series of ‘how to’ guides, a three-hour training workshop and web-based resources.

One of the challenges of the Us Girls programme was gaining understanding of the ‘right time, right price, right place and right style’ for the diverse groups involved in the initiative, including students, young mums, women in full time employment, Muslim women, and NEETs. Successful times for sessions varied considerably by both day of week and time of day and had to be tailored to the community. There was also no right activity and so the projects offered a varied menu of activities including dance, exercise and team sports. One of the key successes of the initiative was its capacity to address the needs of women who had little confidence in their sporting abilities and who were anxious about getting involved in sport. The Us Girls strapline ‘Fun, Fitness, Friends: Get Together With the Girls’ was deemed to be a successful marketing tool which seemed to reassure some women that the sessions would be different from more formal school and sport environments. Although a wide range of marketing strategies were used, more personalised recruiting through friends, intact groups and taster sessions were particularly successful. Incentives bearing the Us Girls logo were also successful in attracting participants, encouraging attendance and engendering a sense of belonging to a national initiative. As in the legacy project, many participants highlighted the importance of the coach for their enjoyment, motivation and attendance. Us Girls’ ‘style’ was characterised by a relaxed atmosphere which allowed women to have fun, be social, and engage in high levels of activity in a non-judgmental environment.

A StreetGames Legacy
The StreetGames legacy has been its capacity to support local organisations and address barriers which lead to socially disadvantaged young people’s exclusion from sport and volunteering. As a researcher, one of the rewarding aspects of working with StreetGames is its desire to learn what works and to learn from mistakes as well as successes.

StreetGames’ has demonstrated how a national charity, dedicated to developing sport, can manage rapid growth, attract funding, engage in partnerships and deliver effective programmes. This may be some of the most important elements of its legacy.