Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Sports clubs team up to promote physical and mental wellbeing
FOUR Dundee sports clubs have come together to form the new Dundee Sports Collective.
The group aims to raise awareness of the various sporting organisations’ work in the community and provide a platform for collaboration in a city whose culture was described as “very much orientated through sports”.
The founding members, North End Football Club, Dundee Rugby Club, Kanzen Karate and Midland Hockey Club, signed the collective’s charter yesterday at a V&A launch event.
The values of Dundee Sports Collective centres on collaboration, equity, inclusivity, empowerment and community engagement. Its aims are to provide access to affordable sport regardless of barriers, foster a sense of community, promote physical and mental wellbeing, create sustainable and inclusive environments that respond to the needs of our diverse communities, and provide affordable spectator opportunities that promote sport and wellbeing.
The signing of the charter marked the beginning of the collective, which harbours hopes of attracting more members to create a strong platform for grassroots sports to thrive in the city.
A funding application has already been submitted on behalf of the collective.
The person behind the group, councillor Lynne Short, who is the council spokesperson for culture, sport and history, is keen to develop the initiative further and expand it to include more sports clubs, with big hitters Dundee and Dundee United already expressing an interest.
She said: “Sport is very much the culture of our city and bringing together these founding clubs will allow us to say thank you to all those doing great work and to maximise their opportunities to be involved in conversations at a city level.”
Ms Short teamed up with V&A Dundee schools development officer Gary Jamieson to set up the collective. “We are proud to support Dundee Sports Collective,” said Mr Jamieson.
“Partnering with sports organisations to co-design activities for young people that are inclusive and remove barriers to participation are excellent ways to bring together the benefits of sports and culture.
“It’s the young people in our communities that will eventually determine the direction of our community clubs, so it’s important that we connect with them and pay attention to their thoughts and ideas.”