Rounders England has been awarded just under £2 million by Sport England to fund key aspects of its work for up to five years.
Amongst a group of over 120 organisations working in partnership with Sport England, Rounders England will receive expertise, support and an investment of £1,916,825 of government and National Lottery funding from Sport England, to co-deliver its ambitious 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.
Building on the launch of our own 10 Year strategy, Rounders: Reconnected we will not only create more opportunities for people to engage in our sport and get active but will also focus on tackling some of the inequalities that act as a barrier to physical activity. A particular focus will be placed on supporting the rounders community to become more confident and knowledgeable to engage priority groups, establishing their resilience so their young people and communities thrive.
Over £550million is being invested in total, with the partners including Rounders England receiving funding for up to five years. Sport England’s new funding model 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 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.
Chair of Rounders England, Katherine Knight, said:
As Chair of Rounders England I am so proud of the staff, Board and members who have worked together to build our new Rounders: Reconnected strategy. We believe our collective ambition has resulted in us being granted system, governance and delivery status with Sport England for the next 5 years. We can’t wait to get going to tackle inequalities and be part of Uniting the Movement.
