Making Sports Accessible
Creativity is...making sports accessible.
Over the next three week’s we’ll be introducing you to 64 Million Artists newest board members.
We are a not-for-profit social enterprise and we have a board to support us in three main ways:
- Share our vision and values and be the guardians of these, helping us to stay on track with them if we are in the weeds of delivering our work
- Broaden our community and bring in new voices, making sure we're thinking about things from different perspectives
- Keep us accountable on our spending, decision making and processes, ensuring we are being transparent and open in the way we work
“We are very lucky to have an amazing set of people to collaborate with on the board and they are always bringing new ideas and ways of thinking. We make sure that it's a two way street, by also giving them time to get creative, learn from each other and have some fun!” - Jo Hunter, CEO of 64 Million Artists
Let’s discover what creativity means to our newest members through the prompts they set us!
First up is Henry Hughes.
“I am a Deaflympian and former decorated Australia Deaf Swimming Team Captain, now representing GB! I am in various roles for many charities and causes including 64 Million Artists where I will be a Board Member. I love watching Chelsea FC and F1!
Creativity for me came from my mother who was a performing artist, so when I was home-educated, her philosophy about adversity, triumphs and tribulations was nurtured to me in many creative ways. It was watching the Sound of Music with Julie Andrews or My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn and understanding who Shakespeare was and falling in love with history as a hobby. As an elite swimmer, my mindset is how to swim fast in a romantically artistic way like if I was to conjure water as a power like Poseidon, God of the Sea.”
Do
Create a new sport!
First - think about how you like to spend your time . From cooking, to writing, to sports you currently do (or would like to try) - take inspiration from the activities you enjoy, and use that inspiration to design a new sport.
Now - think about how you could design that sport in a way so that as many people as possible can participate. How would you design or adapt that sport so that it is accessible to you, your friends and to your wider community?
Then - if you have more time, test your ideas on up to 5 different people. Choose people you know, people you work with, and people you don’t know yet (you can say hello in our friendly Facebook group). What do they like? What would they add?
You could bring your new sport to life by writing down the instructions, illustrate your ideas…or by playing it!
Think
How can we make activities or sports more inclusive to people of all abilities?
"Take inspiration from how new sports with creative and accessible twists have emerged to be mainstream sports for the community. For example Padel, unlike Tennis, has a smaller court size and easier rules makes it more accessible for beginners. Or you can look at the magical world of Harry Potter and how Quidditch is now such a loved sport in pop culture."
Share
Once you share your new sport, post it on social media or share it with friends, family and colleagues! If you want to go further with it, create a social media campaign and drum up local support for your new sport, it might end up being a village tradition or an annual neighbourhood event!
“I am a huge proponent of how sports can inspire, motivate and bring a community together, ensuring that we are creating more games as a community, no matter how competitive or silly they are, we all enjoy sports in different ways. As a Deaf person, sports can often feel like a lonely place if communication is a barrier, which is why I love swimming, because I do not need to rely on communication to swim a race, I only need to be fast to win!”
Share your creations on social media with #64MillionArtists
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