Who are Sporting Memories Clubs for? Expand Sporting Memories Clubs are for anyone over the age of 50 who enjoys talking about and remembering sport. Everyone is welcome to attend. Some – but not all – of our members are living with dementia or low mood, or are isolated; others simply enjoy the opportunity to get out of the house and meet other people.
Do I have to be referred to a Club? Expand No, you don't have to be referred. You can simply get in touch with us, using our contact form or using the details on our Club Finder pages. If you prefer, someone else can get in touch on your behalf.
Do I have to have had a diagnosis? Expand Some people who come to our Clubs have been referred by, for example, their GP, or are living with conditions such as dementia or low mood, or are isolated. However, all older sports fans are welcome! Many of our members simply enjoy the opportunity to get out of the house, meet people, enjoy good companionship, talk about the subject they love and do some gentle exercise.
Does it cost anything to attend? Expand Our Clubs are free of charge. Occasionally there may be a small charge for something extra, like hot food or an outing.
What happens at a Sporting Memories Club? Expand About 15 people attend each Club and each session lasts for between 1 and 2 hours, depending on the Club. Sessions often start with a Club song. At every session we use our Sporting Pink publication as a starting point for that week’s sporting conversations. We often have quizzes and competitions. We share and talk about items of sporting memorabilia. We also usually do some gentle exercises, or physical games such as New Age Kurling and Boccia. We always have a tea break!
Do I have to know a lot about every sport? Expand Although many of our Club members have a favourite sport, era or club, you don't need to know a lot about a particular sport. Everyone at our Clubs enjoys simply talking about and remembering sport in general.
Does it matter if I can’t come every week? Expand We would love everyone to attend every week, as we enjoy everyone's company! But there will never be any pressure to do so. We understand that there can be lots of reasons why it may not always be possible to come along.
Do you provide drinks and snacks? Expand Yes. We always have a break for tea, coffee, cold drinks and biscuits. Sometimes even cake!
Are your venues accessible? Expand Yes. All our venues are fully accessible and where possible are close to public transport links.
Are Sporting Memories Clubs dementia friendly? Expand Yes. All our sessions take into account that some members may be living with dementia and our sessions are designed to be enjoyable and rewarding for those members living with dementia. We have dementia friendly resources. Our volunteers and session facilitators have received Dementia Friends and Sporting Memories training.
Who leads the Clubs and are they trained and checked? Expand Our Clubs are lead by experienced Session Facilitators, who may be Sporting Memories staff or volunteers. Our staff and volunteers who are delivering sessions take part in Sporting Memories training and ongoing development and review. All our staff and volunteers have undergone PVG (Scotland) or DBS (England and Wales) disclosure checks for working with vulnerable groups.
What sort of exercises do you do and do I have to join in? Expand At every session we try to incorporate a relatively short period of gentle physical games or exercise. This will always be tailored so that you may do as much or as little as you like. It will always be your choice as to whether you join in - but we hope you do!
Do you have information about safeguarding? Expand The Sporting Memories Foundation is committed to ensuring that the vulnerable groups who use our services and our staff and volunteers are protected because there are effective procedures in place. We also aim to ensure that no staff member, or existing or prospective volunteer, is discriminated against, that our recruitment and selection practices are fair, and that they comply with current legislation and best practice. The Sporting Memories Foundation will undertake to: Require all relevant personnel engaged in the delivery of Sporting Memories Clubs, whether paid staff, volunteers or prospective volunteers, be registered with the relevant authorities. In England and Wales, all individuals will be required to register and have a check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS); in Scotland all individuals must become members of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. Maintain an up-to-date list of designated staff for each region who will be available to advise and assist with applications where necessary. Comply with the guidance issued by the DBS checking service provider and Disclosure Scotland in dealing with applications for the DBS /PVG Scheme in your home country. Ensure that the information obtained from the issuing authority will be stored securely. Be responsible for providing any guidance (or training) regarding safeguarding vulnerable adults for staff or volunteers. Where individuals are paid staff or volunteers under the management of one our delivery partner organisations, we will require the evidence of the relevant check and suitability of named individuals to deliver in any of our SMF clubs.