BEST SPORTS GOVERNING BODY INITIATIVE
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) – The Hundred
The Hundred’s innovation in cricket is now the yardstick by which other sporting innovations are being measured. The England and Wales Cricket Board assessed the barriers which were preventing people from getting involved in cricket and looked at ways of redesigning one format of the game for a brand new, young, diverse, online and increasingly urban audience, with each decision based on deep insight.
Every aspect of the game was reimagined, putting the audience first. In-depth research was carried out, canvassing all areas of the sport and society and with comprehensive use of focus groups to understand what the audience wanted to see from a new format of cricket.
The Hundred offered the chance to deliver a world-class combination of sport and entertainment, with an equal platform for men and women, brought through a new, digital-first approach that would excite new audiences.
Year one of The Hundred encouraged millions of new fans to watch live in stadia and on TV, as well as engaging with the competition online. This delivered significant value for the whole cricketing ecosystem, from grassroots participation through to players, venues, domestic cricket and commercial partners, providing the base of further growth of the sport in future.
England Hockey – AGM Resolution (Governance review)
In 2017, clubs put a resolution to the England Hockey Board to address the challenges that the current structure presented; consistency of policies, rules and regulations, efficiency, governance transparency, accountability, and modernisation i.e., digital/electronic administration.
Over a three-year period, a board led working group undertook consultation, researched, engaged stakeholders and developed a proposal to overhaul the outdated domestic hockey system.
At the 2020 AGM 86% members voted in favour of the resolution. At the 2021 AGM 97% voted through the changes to the Articles, regulations and new rules.
A massive amount of work has subsequently been undertaken by staff and volunteers to establish the eight areas that replace the previous five regions. The areas are constituted, limited companies and have been set up with responsibility for hockey delivery in their geographical remit including adult leagues, masters, junior centralised calendars, officiating and discipline.Recruitment was open and transparent, resulting in the appointment of more diverse, high-quality candidates.
Governance and adoption of policies is consistent and whilst each area has the delegated authority to make local decisions, the overarching principles that govern the sport, are safeguarded by anArea Standing Committee which leads the game collaboratively, cascades good governance and reports to the EH Board.
English Football League – Football’s Response to Covid-19
In March 2020 the global pandemic hit shutting down all aspects of society, including forcing football to stop en masse for the first time since the Second World War. During these unprecedented and challenging circumstances, all 72 EFL Clubs came together as a force for good, being among the first to respond to the needs of local communities across England and Wales. And despite having no income, EFL clubs adapted to help front line services, showing that football ‘never went away’ in the early months of lockdown.
Existing community programmes delivered by EFL Clubs and their CCOs were adapted to ensure the safe continuation of this good work which has provided a lifeline for so many in helping to keep people healthy, active and connected.
The support delivered by EFL Clubs has been pivotal in helping to address the serious issues facing communities as a consequence of COVID-19, including mental health, unemployment and food poverty.
The EFL’s community response to COVID-19 was rapid, vital and continues to make a huge impact on people’s lives.
LTA – LTA Youth
LTA Youth is a new and innovative junior tennis programme, created to connect all tennis activity for juniors, building on the success of previous tennis initiatives, to provide an offer that looks and feels the same, regardless of whether a child is playing in a school, park or club.
Aimed at kids aged 4-18, LTA Youth aims to help more children enjoy the benefits of playing and staying in tennis, whatever their age, gender, ability, disability or background.
At its heart is an innovative coaching curriculum for LTA Accredited Coaches and schools. The first national curriculum for tennis ever written, this is based on world leading expertise, research and science, and draws on insight from parents and kids.
With the pandemic restricting delivery of our coach and teacher training and delaying the launch of sessions, we pivoted our LTA Youth Schools programme, quickly making our educational content, available to help teachers and parents support children’s education whilst at home during lockdown.
We transitioned our LTA Youth content to launch an ‘At Home’ series, providing free online fitness content and virtual live inclusive coaching sessions to support families with fun ways to keep active, healthy and entertained whilst at home.
Premiership Rugby – Response to Lockdown
Premiership Rugby is an organisation which cares about the communities in which it operates. It believes that rugby has the power to change lives and has created, and delivers with its partner clubs, players, sponsors, and third sector partners, a range of community programmes which impact positively on society; improving sports participation, physical and mental health, educational attainment, employability and community cohesion.
With a focus on working with, engaging and inspiring people from diverse backgrounds, and with varying support needs, consistency of delivery and contact with participants is vital for successful outcomes. This consistency has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Premiership Rugby responded quickly, innovating and adapting its programmes to ensure continued support to young people and disadvantaged groups during the pandemic.
We are proud to have supported those in need, inspiring participants to help themselves and others, and instil in everyone a sense of community. #rugbychanginglives
World Netball – Campaign to Launch World Netball Strategic Plan & Brand
Netball has a huge participation base of over 20 million women and girls (and increasingly men and boys) but with limited commercial income World Netball (formerly known as the International Netball Federation) has to be innovative in its approach to increase its share of voice.
To launch the new name for the Federation and its new brand, World Netball devised a creative campaign to capture the essence of its new positioning and strategic plan ‘to Grow, to Play, to Inspire’ and underscore the World Netball purpose of creating a better world through netball.
The campaign maximised its impact by amplifying the message through the membership structure. The launch was particularly challenging as the Covid-19 pandemic meant that World Netball did not have the opportunity to launch at a face-to-face Congress or major netball event.
Core elements of the #YourNetballWorld campaign were World Netball Virtual Mosaic and Search for a Courage Ambassador. The campaign utilised and extended World Netball’s existing first party databases and social media followers.
World Netball is thrilled with the support for the campaign and the endorsements received from key stakeholders and see this is a strong foundation from which to Grow, to Play and Inspire.”
