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National Sporting Heritage Day
Get Involved!
Dr Justine Reilly
Sporting Heritage CIC
June 2015
June 2015
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Why do we need a
National Sporting Heritage Day?
The National Sporting Heritage Day will celebrate the power
of sporting heritage by helping people and communities
learn more about the past, themselves, and each other.
Evidence is clear that sporting heritage engages nontraditional audiences with both culture and sport, reengages children, young people and adults with learning, and supports new and exciting community
partnerships in the long-term. To date, however, sporting heritage has often been underdeveloped
and underfunded leading to a loss of important collections and stories, and with it, a loss of
opportunities to engage people in a range of new opportunities. The National Sporting Heritage Day
aims to redress this balance and place sporting heritage at the forefront of the nation’s heritage
collections and learning provision.
National Sporting Heritage Day aims to:

encourage organisations across the country to take part – take a look below for ideas about
what you could do

give clear messages about how sporting heritage provides benefits to learners across a range
of ages and backgrounds

demonstrate the impact of sporting heritage for organisations such as museums, schools,
community groups, and sports clubs

support education providers to understand how to embed
sporting heritage within their provision, and which settings can
support their work

work with sports clubs, governing bodies and associated
organisations to increase the understanding of the power of
sporting heritage and their role in this field

encourage investment to support more involvement in the
National Sporting Heritage Day and the activities which
contribute to the event
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What is Sporting Heritage?
Sporting heritage tells the story of the history
of sport and how it links to the development of
our society. It is weaved in with the nations’
social history – the development of the
railways, Victorian society, advances
in
science, women’s rights, and sport and the
armed services.
Sporting heritage is made up of objects and archives, but also oral history stories about experiences
relating to sport, video of past events and teams, and photographic evidence.
Sporting heritage connects communities and is fundamentally important to many as part of their own
identity. It is present in all of our societies, whether in formal establishments such as museums and
archives, or through individual collectors and sports clubs. Sporting heritage has the power to inspire
the next generation of athletes. It could be claimed that Sporting heritage is the people’s collection!
Why should my organisation get involved?
Sporting heritage sparks the imagination of
people across class, gender and cultural
backgrounds. By developing programmes that
involve sporting heritage, organisations can
appeal to new audiences, develop a greater
knowledge and understanding of sporting
collections, develop new partnerships with
local communities and organisations, and
increase interest in sport and heritage.
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Opportunities to get involved include:
Inspiring pupils to learn: Sporting heritage inspires children in
their learning, making a particular difference to under-achieving
children. Its many links to social history, combined with the
scientific, aesthetic and numerical aspects of sport, lend
themselves to cross-curricular learning.
Intergenerational opportunities: Sporting heritage bridges the
generation gap. The subject often allows children and young people to understand more about older
generations and vice versa for the first time.
Community development: Sporting heritage supports a greater understanding of different
communities and cultures through the universal language of sport, often through increasing
knowledge and understanding of local communities.
The next generation of sports participants and fans: By encouraging a greater understanding of the
sporting past and the centrality of sporting heritage to local communities, the theme of sporting
heritage can inspire the next generation of sports fans, and encourage increased active participation
in sport.
Collecting
and
preserving
sporting
heritage:
Many
organisations and community groups have sporting heritage
collections. However, often they are at-risk of loss or
destruction, hidden within larger collections and not used, or
owned by private individuals unable to provide access to the
objects. National Sporting Heritage Day will help to raise
awareness of these collections, bring new objects and stories to
light, and support a growth in collections knowledge and
preservation care for existing collections.
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What type of organisations should get involved?
National Sporting Heritage Day is relevant for any organisation
that works with audiences and / or preserves the heritage of the
nation. The following gives an example of the types of
organisations we think would benefit from being involved:

Museums

Sports clubs or foundations

Archives

Sport governing bodies

Historic houses

Arts organisations

Schools

Adult learning providers

Universities

Home school groups

Local history Groups

Community groups or organisations
What type of activity could I deliver for National Sporting Heritage Day?
Although National Sporting Heritage Day takes place on the 30thSeptember 2014, you do not need to
limit your activity to this day alone. You will probably want to spend time developing your project, and
perhaps use the day itself as an opportunity to share your
programme with others, or involve new people in your work.
The following gives a few ideas of the type of activities you
could deliver and are just as suitable for small local sports
clubs as they are for large museums and historical
institutions. The key is to find the story that links your
organisation to sport and WW1 and use this to explore wider
issues as a result. Whether you chose to do this through an
exhibition, themed workshops, craft sessions, theatrical
plays, skills development sessions, re-enactments, a tea-party or a street party, a call for relevant
objects, or an oral history project is up to you!
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Themes
Sporting people
sporting heroes
Activity ideas
and






The relevance of Sport
linked to a theme, for
example WW1


Sport then and now in
your community



Create an exhibition based on objects and stories
Compare and contrast what would happen if a sports man or
woman went to war today
Create a role-play about the individual and their experiences
Link to the national curriculum using this person as inspiration
(see our separate fact sheet for schools for more information)
Develop workshops for different audiences to empathise with
the feelings of the soldier. For example, a poetry workshop
that encourages participants to write a poem from the
perspective of the sports man
If you find photographs of the sports man, use these to
compare and contrast with the present day. For example,
clothing worn, things in the background of the image such as
shops and transport. Use this to draw out wider social changes
and differences
Use objects or information relevant to your organisation that
demonstrate the importance of sport to WW1 - for example,
the game of darts was created in the trenches using old shells.
Create workshops and opportunities for audience
involvement based on these objects and stories
Use the Christmas Day Truce between England and Germany
where the troops played football in no-man’s land as an
example of the power of sport to communicate across
boundaries of difference. Then relate back to a local story
which demonstrates the same cause and effect. Explore why
these events are at the same time every day and extraordinary
What activities and sport were fashionable on a local, national
and international stage during a particular time period?
Perhaps linking this to school sport if you wish to work with a
school. How does this compare with today? Perhaps develop
a locally themed sports event that demonstrates the
difference between sport in the past and sport today, and use
this to involve the whole community, increasing involvement
in sporting activity at the same time
Ow has sport changed over time? For example scientific
discovery and advancement. Use this to develop workshops
which explore these changes
What are the differences in terms of gender roles between
sport in the past and today? What were the major changing
points?
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Sports Day.
Nicholas Stephenson. 1993.
Shetland Museum and Archives.
Contact information
For further information about the National Sporting Heritage Day:
Mobile: Justine Reilly 07971 008037
Email: sportingheritage@outlook.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nationalsportingheritageday
Twitter: @sportinghistory
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Links and further information
Sporting Heritage
National Sports
Museum Online
The website aims to establish a
database of sporting heritage
collections across the UK, to create
an online sports museum
A not-for-profit community
interest company which organises
the National Sporting Heritage Day
Link address coming soon
Supporting a range of learning
providers to use sporting heritage
in their teaching and learning.
Working closely with the Sports
Heritage Network (organisation for
sport and museums in the UK)
Provides publications which links
sports clubs to formal learning
providers
http://shlg.wordpress.com/2013/07/2
6/welcome/
A ground breaking project working
with care homes and other health
providers. Uses sporting heritage
to improve the experiences of
those suffering from dementia
http://www.sportingmemoriesnetwor
k.com/
Henley, D. Cultural
Education in
England. 2011.
Review into cultural education
published in 2011. The document
outlines what every child should
have access to in terms of cultural
learning
https://www.gov.uk/government/upl
oads/system/uploads/attachment_dat
a/file/260726/Cultural_Education_rep
ort.pdf
MyLearning
National website that links schools
and teachers to museums,
archives, and other heritage
organisations. Online resources
available
http://www.mylearning.org/
Sporting Heritage
The Sporting
Heritage Learning
Group
SportsInspire
Sporting Memories
Network
http://nationalsportingheritageday.co.
uk
sportsinspire@talktalk.net
Formal Learning
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Heritage
Culture 24
Arts Council
England
The National
Archives
West Yorkshire
Archive Service
Community
Accreditation
Scheme
Online database of cultural
organisations, events and activities
in the UK
Supporting arts and heritage
organisations across the country.
Opportunities for partnerships and
funding
Representing the archive sector
nationally. Each locality also has
access to its own archive service.
To find your nearest Record Office
(or archive), the best method is to
use your search engine!
A community based tool-kit to
support organisations, clubs, local
collections preserve and provide
access to their collections
http://www.culture24.org.uk
The over-arching information
about the formal commemoration
of WW1 led by the government
The partnership will present a
global programme of cultural
events and educational activities
from 2014 – 2018 to
commemorate the centenary of
World War 1
The HLF provide grants of between
£3,000 and £10,000 on
programmes to support the
understanding of WW1
Ensuring those who died during the
two world wars are never
forgotten
https://www.gov.uk/government/topi
cal-events/first-world-war-centenary
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
http://nowthen.org/accreditation
World War 1
Government WW1
plans
First World War
Partnership led by
the Imperial War
Museum
Heritage Lottery
Fund
Commonwealth
War Graves
Commission
http://www.iwm.org.uk/centenary/pa
rtnership
http://www.hlf.org.uk/HowToApply/p
rogrammes/Pages/FirstWorldWarThe
nandNow.aspx#.UtO-vvRdVqU
http://www.cwgc.org/
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Sports
Sports and
Recreation
Alliance
The Sport and Recreation Alliance
is the umbrella organisation for the
governing and representative
bodies of sport and recreation in
the UK and represents more than
320 members – organisations
like The FA, the Rugby Football
Union, UK Athletics, the
Ramblers, British Rowing and the
Royal Academy of Dance
http://www.sportandrecreation.org.u
k/
Local sports clubs
and organisations
The Local Sports Club website is
still in development, but aims to
provide a database of all local
sports clubs and organisations, and
similarly, sports-clubs net. If you’re
a sports club, it’s worthwhile listing
your information on here, and if
you want to develop a partnership
with a sports club, it’s work while
searching the databases
http://www.localsportsclubs.co.uk
http://www.sports-clubs.net/
Academic Institutions
There are many universities and other academic providers in the UK which have departments
with research and teaching interests in the sporting past. These organisations are often
interested in partnering with community bodies to support their impact activity outside of the
academic field. Those listed below are just a few which have a well-developed understanding of
sporting heritage, but you may wish to contact a more locally based provider.
International
Centre for Sport
History and
Culture,
DeMontfort
University,
Leicester
The International
Football Institute,
UCLAN, Preston
Widely acknowledged as the
leading centre for sports history in
the world. Lots of experience in
researching the sporting past and
understanding sports heritage
http://www.dmu.ac.uk/research/rese
arch-faculties-and-institutes/artdesignhumanities/icshc/internationalcentre-for-sports-history-andculture.aspx
Extensive experience of developing
sporting heritage research and
partnerships with sports museums
http://www.uclan.ac.uk/research/envi
ronment/groups/international_footba
ll_institute_ifi.php
June 2015