Sport Birmingham: Coronavirus Update

Following the Government's recent advice on Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Sport Birmingham team is working remotely with immediate effect.

Individual team members can be contacted via work mobiles and email, click here to contact them.

Like so many others, the sport and physical activity sector has already been significantly challenged by Coronavirus and this is only likely to accelerate in the weeks and months ahead.

More importantly than ever, we need to work together to ensure our people, communities and organisations stay safe and as strong as possible. Our 'virtual' door remains open! If you have any questions then please don't hesitate to ask.

How can we help you?

We appreciate you'll have many questions at this time. More importantly than ever, we need to work together to ensure our people, communities and organisations stay safe and as strong as possible.

We're conducting this short survey to understand the landscape, inform our priorities, and feedback to our main funders and the wider network. Click here to complete the survey

Physical activity

Following Government's announcement on Sunday 10th May from Wednesday 13th May, people will be able to:

• Spend more time outdoors – for example sitting and enjoying the fresh air, picnicking or sunbathing
• Meet one other person from a different household outdoors, as long as they follow social distancing guidelines and stay a minimum of two metres apart
• Exercise outdoors as often as they wish, again following social distancing guidelines
• Use outdoor sports courts or facilities, such as a tennis or basketball court, or a golf course. This can be done with members of their own household, or one other person as long as they stay two metres apart.

However, people will still be unable to:

• Visit friends and family in their homes
• Exercise in an indoor sports court, gym or leisure centre, or go swimming in a public pool
• Use an outdoor gym or playground
• Visit a private or ticketed attraction
• Gather in a group of more than two (excluding members of their own household), except for a few specific exceptions such as funerals, house moves or in emergencies.

These changes represent significant steps forward for many sports and activities and it will be great to see sports like golf, tennis and watersports resume in some form. Sport England have gathered some guidelines together - please read here

Click here to read:

Sport England is running a national campaign called 'Join the Movement' which seeks to bring greater attention to #StayInWorkOut - and inspire and inform the public about the many fun, and creative ways they can keep moving, Click here to see the national campaign.

For local ideas, how about you research the local walks you want to do, plan a new cycle route, or get the kids to make a list of new activities they'd like to try? Our friends at Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) have provided basic information about social distancing, local walking and cycling routes, bike safety and maintenance. You can explore this here.

Guidance on accessing green spaces safely can be read here.

For more ideas, such as staying active at home, please visit our Supporting you to stay active page or search for virtual activities on our new activity finder, on our Activity Finder page!

Mental health

We know that many of us are worrying about the current situation around coronavirus and how it might affect our lives.

Mental health charity Mind has put together detailed advice and information on coronavirus and wellbeing.

Additional Resources & Help:

BVSC
The Birmingham Voluntary Services Centre has joined forces with Birmingham City council to create the C19 Support Brum partnership, an initiative that will work through existing local neighbourhood structures, voluntary groups, and local elected members to ensure that all parts of the city have access to support, advice, and practical help.

Sane Charity
Helpline: Available on 0300 304 7000 from 6pm - 11pm every evening. SANE provides emotional support and information to anyone affected by mental illness, including families, friends and carers.

Big White Wall
A safe online community of people who are anxious, down or not coping who support and help each other by sharing what's troubling them, guided by trained professionals.

Samaritans
Samaritans is available for anyone struggling to cope and provide a safe place to talk 24 hours a day.

Shout
Shout is a 24/7 text service, free on all major mobile networks, for anyone struggling to cope and in need of immediate help.

If you are an individual or organisation delivering sport and physical activity, please visit the Sport Birmingham dedicated Mental Health page to find out how you can look after your mental health, and become more involved in our work that focuses on this important topic.

Children and Young People/Education

The health and wellbeing of children remains vitally important in current circumstances – the Chief Medical Officer recommends that children participate in 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day.

To help families stay on track during the Covid-19 UK lockdown, we have created a free resource that links to the curriculum and enables families to earn sports equipment for their primary school by being active at home. Click here to find out more

Here are some FREE Online Physical Activities to do with Children:

Clubs and Community organisations

COVID-19 Funding support for Clubs & Organisations

Sport England have launched a Community Emergency Fund to help the sport and physical activity sector through the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. The fund will be opened immediately for clubs and community organisations to bid into, with grants between £300 and £10,000 available.

Are you funded by Sport Birmingham to deliver programmes such as Satellite Clubs?

General guidance across the Sector:

Workforce, Coaching and Volunteering

CIMSPA are working with partners to provide offers of free resources to help you to keep working and learning during this difficult time. Due to the rapidly evolving situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, CIMSPA have been tasked by Sport England to fully understand the impact that this situation is having on our sector and ultimately our ability to keep people fit, healthy and active.

If you are a coach or employer of coaches, please take just a few minutes to complete the survey and help us better understand how the current situation is affecting you, your business and your future.

COMPLETE SURVEY

General guidance can be found here:

  • NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) has useful information for those organisations who are working with volunteers - click here
  • BVSC (Birmingham Voluntary Service Council) provides support to volunteers, voluntary groups and civil society in the City of Birmingham - click here
  • UK Coaching are providing useful tips and ideas for coaches to engage with their participants - click here

Organisational Support

The Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce team have produced an easy to use guide to help you make sense of business support in the current climate. The following document should help you to navigate some of the confusing information that is coming out and will support you to understand what you can apply for to support your business.

Click here to download PDF

Useful Resources

Phone number: 0121 296 5190 Email address: info@sportbirmingham.org
Postal address: Sport Birmingham, 11th Floor, Cobalt Square, 83-85 Hagley Road, Birmingham, B16 8QG

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