.png)
Inclusion
Active Humber aims to provide opportunities for people who are inactive to be physically active. Some communities require greater support to be more active and through our inclusion work we aim to support those facing the greatest inequalities to have the opportunities to be active in a way that suits them.
Case Studies
GOGA Bowls and Croquet Case Study
Get Out Get Active
Returning to Activity in North and North East Lincolnshire
The Get Out Get Active programme in North & North East Lincolnshire is a physical activity programme supporting the most inactive 55-74-year old’s to become more active by developing an inclusive and intergenerational offer.
In response to COVID-19 the programme has focused on a couple of new ways to engage the key target audience; Active Humber developed Stay Active at Home pages to encourage people affected by lockdown to be physically active in their own homes, alongside this a Stay Active at Home GOGA leaflet was developed and distributed with food/care packages, community emergency response teams and other partners agencies to support those who may not have access to the internet to undertake light exercises in their homes.
Since restrictions have eased Active Humber have been working with partners in North East Lincolnshire to develop bowls and croquet sessions at a local park in Grimsby. Sessions run twice a week and are fully inclusive. The sessions have attracted a range of ages and abilities and are fully adapted to cater for the range of participants that attend.
We take a look at some of the responses from the GOGA participants so far:
Peter:
Is 48 years old and has epilepsy and anxiety. Peter was walking through the park and
saw the sessions taking place and was invited to join in. Peter enjoys the sessions as
it has helped him meet new people, and other people with anxiety.
​
​
​
​
​
​
The Whitehead Family:
Mum Leanne, Dad Adrian and children Alex and Stephanie have attended the bowls
sessions almost every week since they started and describe the sessions as the best thing ever"
and "one of the few things that they can all do together as a family”. They have
even gone out and purchased their own bowls as they enjoy the sessions that much.
They feel this will support Alex and Stephanie to return to other activities as lockdown restrictions ease further.
​
​
​
​
​
Nigel:
Nigel is 53 years old and has various health conditions which affect his mobility. Nigel has attended every session
so far and the sessions are the only form of exercise he undertakes. At 6 foot 5 inches playing croquet was initially
a challenge for Nigel as the height of the mallet caused him some pain. However, to support his participation
in the sessions the coaches went away and created a longer mallet for Nigel
which meant he could participate in the sessions.
GOGA Bowls Activity In North East Lincolnshire
Get Out Get Active
Bowls Activity in North East Lincolnshire
As soon as lockdown restrictions eased in 2020 the Active Humber GOGA team set up some weekly bowls sessions, working with the enthusiastic coaches of 2020 Community Sport CiC, Jane and Neil. The sessions were set up at a local Bowls Club – People’s Park Bowls Club that before covid had wanted some support to widen and diversify their membership.
​
The Local Councillors for the area, Debbie Woodward, was also an enthusiastic supporter of getting the sessions up and running and supported with leafleting the local area to promote the sessions, as well as bringing her infamous bakes to go with the tea and coffee that the participants looked forward to during a break in the sessions.
​
People poured into the sessions on a weekly basis and soon sessions were being offered twice a week on request of the participants. The coaching team of Jane and Neil did a great job of not only providing fun sessions with a mixture of coaching and support where needed (some were just happy to come and play, others wanted to learn more about the game), but were instrumental in gently coaxing people from the park, who were looking at the sessions, explaining what they were doing, and making people feel comfortable enough to have a go.
​
There was a great mixture of people who attended, some families came, individuals who had been quite isolated during the lockdown period as they lived by themselves, a range of ages from children as young as 6 in the summer holidays through to people aged 70+, and the sessions were fully inclusive allowing people with a range of impairments including autism, physical impairments, mental health conditions to all participate together.
The plan was to move the sessions indoor in October 2020, however due to local restrictions and another lockdown in November 2020 sessions were put on hold and recommenced back at People’s Park Bowls Club as lockdown #3 ended in 2021.
​
Once again, the sessions were really popular and there was a willingness to continue them once the Bowls Club closed at the end of the summer season. GOGA supported an indoor bowls session to continue in a local village hall. One of the individuals attending these sessions is a person with Parkinson’s. They hadn’t attended the Bowls club sessions, but these sessions were local, and they wanted to give it a try. They are very open about their condition and how it affects them, their lives and their mobility, and refuses any additional help or support saying that it is best to do as much as they can to keep their limbs moving. A slight tremor affects their hand which impacts on the accuracy of bowls, but they laugh at the bad ones and celebrate the good ones, setting a very humbling example at the sessions. Another couple in their 70s have continued attending the bowls sessions after a very tentative start at the bowls club; the husband is very quiet, and his wife is in remission from Breast Cancer. She finds it helpful to attend these sessions as part of the gentle exercise regime that she is being encouraged to adopt. Since moving to an indoor venue the husband brings his brother and sister-in-law now. They had never played before but now come every week enjoy the sessions as they see it as the best way to wind down after a busy week!
​
North East Lincolnshire Council were really enthused by the impact of the summer sessions that they agreed to fund a further 6 indoor bowls sessions with 2020 Community Sport CiC across the area. This will allow even more people to benefit from the sessions, as we knew that with colder weather people would be less likely to travel to one central venue to continue participating. With 7 sessions running on a weekly basis from January 2022 we hope even more people will have the opportunity to engage with the Bowls activity, and that when sessions restart at the Club there will be even more people attending and benefitting from being more physically active and having the opportunity to socialize and meet new people.
The bowls activity has enabled us to work quite differently to engage an audience that have previously done little or no physical activity as part of their lives. The role of the activity providers has been to offer friendly, fun activities which everyone, no matter what their ability, can participate in. The emphasis has been on providing an inviting environment where people meet new people, and are provided with something that wouldn’t necessarily be available through other bowls clubs, but also somewhere every level of bowls can be catered for.