Sep 1 2022
The Golf Foundation was delighted to help deliver golf sessions to over 100 youngsters last week, as part of the Bring It On Brum festival in Cannon Hill Park. The festival is a government-funded multi-activity programme which provides free lunches to kids, and has been backed by Manchester United and England star Marcus Rashford in the past. StreetGames help deliver the Bring It On Brum programme to over 300 organisations in Birmingham, with this festival just part of the successful offering.
Golf was one of the sports selected for the attendees to take part in, and the Golf Foundation were proud to deliver sessions throughout the day on 24th August in Cannon Hill Park, Edgbaston. 18 youth organisations have been delivering golf over the whole summer holidays as part of Bring It On Brum, and six came to the festival as a culmination of the golf programme. Thanks to support from The R&A and HSBC, the Golf Foundation has been able to offer a golf experience to a whole new audience of young people in Birmingham via its HSBC Golf Roots programme, and the chance to deliver sessions to a host of new audiences was a fantastic opportunity.
The Golf Foundation joined the Birmingham project to encourage children from all backgrounds and get them energised through golf, supporting Birmingham City Council. This is another key step in the Junior Golf Strategy that England Golf and Golf Foundation co-authored, which saw a commitment to growing the profile of golf in schools and communities.
110 participants between the ages of four and 15, from six youth organisations across Birmingham, took part on the day, with 50% of them female and 90% from an ethnically diverse community.
With PGA coach Nicola Bennett and former Australian Rugby World Cup captain and HSBC ambassador George Gregan helping to deliver the sessions, the kids had a great day testing their golf skills and rugby kicking abilities, and left with huge smiles on their faces.
“The Golf Foundation delivered a fantastic, fun golf festival,” said Matt James, Area Lead for StreetGames. “It’s a great opportunity which was really embraced by those attending and we really hope they continue to play golf and enjoy the fantastic equipment provided. The Golf Foundation have supported this programme for the second year running and we are so grateful for the opportunity this support provides the young people involved in the HAF programme.”
Following the programme throughout the summer, and the festival in Edgbaston, the Golf Foundation are also looking forward to offering ongoing support that the organisations are going to receive. This includes in-person and digital training, provision of Golfway equipment, and ongoing support to continue offering golf to their groups in the future
Making golf more inclusive and introducing the game to all children is a cornerstone of the Golf Foundation’s HSBC Golf Roots programme that aims to bring golf to 2 million youngsters over the next five years, and in 7,500 schools.