Nicki catches up with Kirsteen Ross, Community Sports Hub Officer, to find out more about sporting life in communities across Perthshire and Kinross.

Many of you will know that earlier this year LAL’s services expanded to include Active Schools, Sports Development and Outdoor Centres.  Just when you thought we couldn’t get any busier!  As part of this transfer, the fantastic Community Sports Hub project crossed over into our fold and with it came a wonderful gathering of minds, ideas and knowledge.

Community Sports Hubs were launched across the country by sportscotland’s 2014 Commonwealth Games Legacy sports development project.  The idea is that all sports clubs, organisations and parties involved in sport can work together to share good practice, expertise, knowledge and resources.  Because this is all done at a local level, the hubs bring clubs and the community together to achieve a shared vision for developing sport.

Over the past two years Perth and Kinross has launched hubs in the following communities:

1. Bridge of Earn
2. Auchterarder
3. Perth High School
4. North Perth – covering the catchment area for North Muirton Primary, Balhousie Primary, Tulloch Primary,  St Ninians Primary and Perth Grammar School
5. St Madoes
6. Eastern Perthshire – covering Blairgowrie and Rattary
7. Aberfeldy

This weekend, the eighth of these hubs will officially open with Kinross-shire joining in the sporting success story.  Work in the area is already underway and as well as organising the launch, members of the Kinross-shire Community Sport Hub also held a competition across local schools inviting children to design their logo.

Primary 7 pupil, Anna Pakravan from Fossoway PS designed a striking, colourful character in celebratory pose to reflect the range of sports that are members of the new sport hub and to show that local sport is bright and vibrant. Enter Astute, our fantastic print partners, and the logo was turned into a professional digital image.

The local community in the area have been working towards this for some time now and have been supported by LAL Sports Development officer, Kirsteen Ross,

Kirsteen Ross said "The hub will be making plans to help get more people, more active, more often by helping clubs to get stronger and by understanding and meeting the community's needs. Now the hub has a fantastic new logo we will begin promoting all the terrific activities that are available in the area. Well done to Anna for her excellent creativity."

The Kinross sports hub is holding its launch event at Loch Leven Community Campus on Saturday 17th September from 10am to 1pm when people of all ages and abilities are invited to come along and enjoy free taster sessions for all the sports,  meet the people that run our local clubs as well as trying out the climbing wall and enjoying face painting and a bouncy castle. It's looking like LOTS OF FUN fun for the whole community.

The hub in Kinross-shire, as with other area hubs, is truly unique, with its own vision and values that reflect the uniqueness of the community in which it is based.  What joins these hubs together though, is five common principles:

• Growth in participation
• Understanding community need
• Supporting community leadership
• Offering a range of sports
• Ensuring all the right people work together

The hubs work primarily with sports clubs in the area to deliver on these principles but also hook up with other key partners such as schools, active schools, brownies and cubs.  Backed by local volunteers who assist with admin, newsletters, chairing the group and other such jobs, they have created huge benefits for all involved.

It has been proven, time and again, in areas across Scotland, that when a thriving hub is in place the area will experience increased numbers of participants and growth in sports club memberships.   On top of this, coaches, officials and volunteers become more skilled through accessing development and training opportunities as local sporting networks emerge and begin to share good practice, ideas and resources.

One of the largest advantages seen in this sharing of information is the increase in funding applications as sources of money are identified.  This allows clubs to become self-sustaining, stronger and better managed organisations that understand and meet the community’s needs.

MORE OVER ON THE LAL SPORTS HUB PAGE >>>

Want to set up a new community sport hub in your village or town?

To become a community sport hub, we require commitment from three different sports clubs in a community to work towards the five key principles listed above.  Once clubs have met and agreed they wish to proceed, please contact, Kirsteen Ross, Community Sport Hubs Officer, Live Active Leisure, Bell’s Sports Centre, Hay Street, Perth, PH1 5HS

Tel: 01738 472245

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.