Grassroot sport springs into the post-pandemic world
While newspapers may have celebrated the return of elite sport nearly a year ago, thousands of local sports clubs across the country have only just begun to properly reopen their doors after a tumultuous year and a half.
Millions across the country were forced to drop their rackets, bats, and balls when the coronavirus pandemic forced courts, pitches and arenas to fall silent.
But now a new challenge awaits local, grassroots sports and fans.
The consequences of the pandemic for British grassroots sport are both financial and cultural.
There is at least a “£700 million black-hole” in lost revenue and Sport England has said there has been “unprecedented decreases in activity levels” due to the pandemic, raising questions about whether people will return to playing the sports they did before.
Yet among the professionals, volunteers and fans which keep grassroots sport going, there is some apprehensive optimism about the future as well as reflective relief that and 1233 worst days of the pandemic seem behind them.
The Professional
James Salt is the Club Pro at Ringway Golf Club. He runs the club shop, coaches, and competes in the occasional tournament.
He revealed that the pandemic has not been easy on the golf club financially.
“We lost the revenue through green fees and visitors that would come play,” James said.
“But the biggest loss was the clubhouse; not being able to go inside and host functions was a big loss.”
But it had not been all doom and gloom.
James was keen to point out that some of the changes lockdown had brought about had been beneficial to the golf club.
“We got the shop up to date,” James explains.
“We used the time to sit back and plan rather than having to think on our feet all the time.
“I also did quite a few training courses and we launched a new academy after the first lockdown, that was a great success.”
Notably, James says that after the first lockdown there was a huge boost in membership and demand for playing time as people were desperate to get back out and play something.
“It blew us away,” James said.
“It was the biggest boom in golf we’ve ever seen and will ever see.”
“It was unlike anything we had never seen.”
James also explained how lockdown had made him fall back in love with playing Golf, which he said had become more of a chore rather than a passion for him in recent years.
“My golf over the last 7–8 years has been infrequent, playing because I had to,” he explained.
“But because of lockdown I couldn’t play and as soon as I got the chance to, I wanted to.
“Being more organised I had discovered more free time and I fell in love with it all over again.”
The Volunteer
Cengiz Ilhan became the coordinator of the Junior Girls teams at the Timperley Lacrosse Club, part of the wider Timperley Sports Club, after his daughter began playing there. He soon fell in love with the sport and plays himself occasionally.
After joking about his ambitions to play for the Turkish national team, he explained the financial impact the pandemic had on the club which, just like at the Golf Club, centred around the loss of income from the function rooms.
“The income which the clubhouse generates or the pitch hire, which attracts money to the club, has been lost,” Cengiz said.
“The bar area is important and generates quite a big income.”
Cengiz was keen to point out his club were better off than other lacrosse teams in the Northwest and that everyone had pulled together to help.
“We recently had a new Astro turf done so we were encouraging members to buy a square of it, we also had a 300 club as well,” he explained.
“It’s also been our 50th anniversary and we had planned to run 50 marathons to raise money for it, but such was the support it’s now 150.”
But Cengiz said the non-financial losses have potentially hurt more.
“The social aspect suffered for everyone. We tried to do things, but not knowing how long the lockdowns were, it was difficult to plan.” He explained.
“What happens during this period is new parents come in as a team manager, support worker or some kind of volunteer.”
But the lack of new players due to Covid means that that simply has not happened.
“What we were trying to do is get new volunteers in because I’ve been doing this for maybe 8 years and other people have been involved for a few years or so,” Cengiz said.
“Our daughters are getting older and suddenly we’ll be gone.”
The Fans
Another aspect to sport stopping during the pandemic was the impact on who have been unable to enjoy what was a vital part of their lives.
Aidan Tinsley and Paul Chiras are both avid followers of football, watching games on TV several times a week and regularly attending game at both clubs of all sizes.
When restrictions were imposed, they suddenly found themselves without a major part of their lies and found it difficult to adjust.
“We’ve been separated from football,” Aidan explains.
“It’s really all about going to the games, and we’ve found ourselves missing that sense of community and talking to people we’ve never spoken to before.”
But, once again, Aidan and Paul also felt like there have been some benefits. Both said that football had become even more important for them due to a lack of alternative forms of entertainment and past times.
They had both said they had begun to enjoy the sport even more, and Aidan in particular said he felt like his relationship with the sport had become healthier.
“Because of everything that’s been going on I’ve been more into football and overall, I’ve been enjoying it more.” Aidan said.
“I find I’m dealing with losses better; I don’t care as much because I’m viewing it as entertainment, and I enjoy it for what it is.”
Paul agreed.
“I feel more invested in it,” he said.
“While we are all in lockdown, football is one of the very few things that is still going. It is the only form of entertainment really.
“I’m a lot more into strategy, tactics and positioning. I’ve watched more football and more clubs than ever.”
Paul also expressed that whilst he went into the first lockdown with the view of working out more but that he struggled as time went on and soon lost motivation.
“I think part of it is that the first lockdown had this rhetoric around it about using the time productively.”
“But then I was struggling to motivate myself after I finished work from home at 5pm.”
The Future
Everyone felt as if plenty of the changes lockdown had brought about were not going away soon and that the pandemic’s consequences were far reaching for sport, whether for better or worse.
James said that his industry had changed forever.
“During lockdown, all the new products were released,” James explained.
“Where normally someone would come round and show them to you, the manufacturers did it all on zoom and did really good presentations that allowed you to actually understand them.
“Everything is going to go online. Face to face isn’t going to happen; for the companies, it just makes it easier.”
While James’ golf club and Cengiz’s lacrosse club look to be getting out of the pandemic in a financially stable position, they relied on members continuing to pay fees despite not playing.
Plenty of other clubs throughout the country, espescially those at a semi-professional level who straddle the high costs needed to compete with the little income they generate, may not be so lucky.
It’s estimated that 250,000 jobs in the sports sector could be lost as a result of the pandemic and that the UK’s sport scene will be one of the hardest hit in Europe.
The future is unclear, and the fate of players, professionals and volunteers involved in the industry will not be identical across all sports and roles.
Either way, fans are desperate to return.
“I’m dying to get back in stadiums,” Paul said.
“It just isn’t the same.”
