More than 16,000 pieces of sports equipment used at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games have been awarded to 290 West Midlands community organisations.
As part of our work to create a lasting community impact from the Games and partnering with the Birmingham 2022 Organising Comittee and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, we invited organisations to apply for the items in August.
Now, following a rigorous assessment process, items such as bikes, wrestling and judo mats, cricket equipment, basketballs and boxing gloves have been distributed to community organisations that are helping people to get physically active.
The giveaway saw almost 2,500 applications received, highlighting the local need and demand for support.
As a result of this, our chief executive Tim Hollingsworth is pleased that we’ve allocated £100,000 from our overall £35 million investment into the Games to provide more equipment to local groups.
“The fact that within three months of the Games ending we are able to give away 16,000 pieces of kit and equipment means the Commonwealth Games is continuing to deliver real benefit to people of the West Midlands,” he said.
“This was a major ambition for Sport England’s £35 million investment into the Games, and it’s at the heart of our Uniting the Movement strategy too: that everyone, regardless of background, bank balance or where they live has the opportunity to get active.
“We’re also delighted to be able to continue to offer more opportunities to local groups through dedicating £100k to sports equipment in the West Midlands, alongside our Places and Spaces facilities fund and B2022 small grants programme.”
The 290 community groups to receive the equipment were chosen by a panel that included Games partners such as the Organising Committee, Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Combined Authority, Active Partnerships and Community Voices – ensuring the giveaway reflected the diversity of communities in the region.