Shoreham FC have made changes ranging from vegan pasties to carbon offsetting while Play It Again Sport is removing financial barriers in south Wales
It all started when Steffan Rees, a karate instructor in south Wales, had a lightbulb moment. He realised that lots of children were unable to come to his classes because the kit was too expensive, while at the same time others had stuff sitting unused in their wardrobes. He suggested to People and Work – the charity for which he was working – that it introduced a sportswear and equipment recycling scheme, which also removed some of the financial barriers to sport. The momentum built, it won national lottery funding, and Natasha Burnell started running Play It Again Sport in November 2019.
Burnell loves her job, which involves lots of human interaction and plenty of rummaging around in her huge store room. Play It Again Sport is based in the Rhonda Valley, an ex-mining community with high levels of obesity, sickness and unemployment and lower levels of access to transport. Keeping things local and low-cost is essential.
Written by Tanya Aldred
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/oct/20/its-like-scoring-a-hat-trick-how-sport-is-aiming-to-drive-sustainability under the title “‘It’s like scoring a hat-trick’: how sport is aiming to drive sustainability | Tanya Aldred”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
