Best Mass Participation Event
Best Mass Participation Event
British Canoeing – National Go Canoeing Week
National Go Canoeing Week is an annual initiative which breaks down the barriers to participation and raises awareness of the sport.
British Canoeing looked at the reasons preventing people from getting on the water for the first time or regularly and created a solution.
An engaging and all encompassing campaign, across multimedia channels, which both engages new participants and re-engages lapsed ones. It also provides the chance for experienced paddlers to showcase their abilities.
A unique feature of the week is for the ability for all participants to contribute towards a national mileage total.
A dedicated, interactive website enhances the appeal and ease of access for members of the public to the initiative. Providing listings of activities and events and the option for people to register their participation.
The campaign and depth of data collected has enabled communication with a previously unreached audience.
Year on year growth has proved that the week is a winning formula. With everyone from Olympic stars to complete beginners taking part, this initiative really does deliver accessibility to all.
Cancer Research UK – Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life Pretty Muddy
Race for Life started out as a trail blazer for women, for participation, for health and for sport. It has over the last 24 years continued to be so, whether it be the first TV advertising campaign of a participation event, the dynamic marketing campaigns or the experience people have on event day. In the last 5 years, innovation has picked up a pace – notably quickly owning the market place for accessible, friendly and women only mud and obstacle events – Pretty Muddy. Race for Life Pretty Muddy has grown from 4 events and 4000 participants to 65 events and over 200,000 women in the space of 4 years – a truly astonishing feat, with equally impressive targets for 2017. Not only has this enabled a combined 300,000 women take part have fun, it has also raised an incredible £30m for life-saving research into all 200 types of cancer. We are enormously proud of the impact we are having on the lives of participants, spectators and the public through Race for Life Pretty Muddy.
Human Race – Cancer Research UK London Winter Run
The Cancer Research UK London Winter Run was the largest ever inaugural 10k run in the world when launched in 2015 and is now the 2nd largest running event in London with 16,500 entries. The runners start in Trafalgar Square, and take in St Pauls, Bank of England, Whitehall and much more of London. The runners are treated with a winter extravagance, including polar bear hugs at the finish, husky high 5s, snow zones, ski chalet drink stations, and the best medal in running.
Alongside this amazing experience, the event has worked closely with key London stakeholders with a commitment to delivering a positive impact on London and Londoners. We have 20% of runners taking part in their 1st ever run, 60% are female, 1/3 are running with over 5 friends and colleagues.
Finally, we have partnered with Cancer Research UK from the start as the main event partner and have raised nearly £2million to help beat cancer sooner.
International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) – World Table Tennis Day
“TABLE TENNIS FOR EVERYONE, EVERWHERE” is the slogan promoted by the INTERNATIONAL TABLE TENNIS FEDERATION (ITTF) to share the joy of playing Table Tennis worldwide on APRIL 6. The WORLD TABLE TENNIS DAY (WTTD) forms part of the ITTF’s Table Tennis for ALL – Program and aims to reach most quantity of people and most quantity of different target groups and builds up on the 3 pillars POPULAR, UNIVERSAL & INCLUSIVE.
The focus of this event is on social outcomes presenting Table Tennis as a sport accessible for everyone. FEW MATERIALS AND SKILLS ARE NEEDED to play, have fun and spread positive messages among players. This is how EVENTS ARE EASILY SET UP ALL AROUND THE WORLD brining Table Tennis closer also to laypersons.
The ITTF firmly believe that table tennis is not only a matter of competition; it is also a vehicle for POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE, a HEALTHY WORTHWHILE USE OF LEISURE TIME and an opportunity to BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER, an excellent tool for SOCIAL INCLUSION. Table Tennis has a unique value where people from different ages, gender, skills or physical condition can play together. It is SPORT FOR LIFE and It´s FUN!
Royal Bank of Canada – RBC V Series
Cycling is the fastest growing participation sport in the UK. While new cyclists come into the sport each year there are tens of thousands of seasoned cyclists who are looking for new challenges. Many want to take part in professionally organised events and test themselves against other cyclists through extensive training and preparation leading up to the competition itself.
RBC wanted to partner with an event that was based in the heart of the City of London, making the brand very visible to the business community. It also needed an event that would link the values of teamwork in sport with those of business and provide networking access to different companies as well as offering opportunities for its employees to engage with the event. V Series provided all those opportunities and enabled many other brands to enter, train and compete in a professionally organised Italian pursuit cycling race through closed streets in Canary Wharf. RBC relies on its teams of employees working well together. Italian pursuit cycling is just the same – it is all about teamwork.
The most important element of the partnership for RBC was the link that V-Series provided between business and sport. The lessons and disciplines of Italian Pursuit Cycling were absolutely those that RBC wanted to instil in the way that its employees work.
Royal Parks Foundation – Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon
Since 2008 the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon has gone from strength to strength and is now one of the most successful mass participation events in the running calendar. Owned by a small charity, and managed in close partnership with Limelight Sports, the race has already proven to be extremely popular. Public places for runners are allocated by a ballot with only 1 person in 9 lucky enough to get a place.
The business model has fundraising for charity at its core and the race has already raised over £30million for more than 750 UK charities. It has also been sponsored by many household brands and has a strong corporate and international field.
In its first 9 years, the Royal Parks Half will have had an impact on many hundreds of thousands of people, from those motivated to take up running to those who have or will benefit from the charitable funds raised. It has also played a significant part in raising awareness of the Royal Parks and their value to London.
