Ambassador: Yvonne Murray MBE Yvonne Murray is an Ambassador of the Sporting Memories Foundation. Expand Scotland's Yvonne Murray MBE is a former long-distance runner who has Olympic bronze, Commonwealth gold, European and World titles. Yvonne won an Olympic bronze medal in 1988 at 3000m, with bronze, silver and gold European Championship medals over the same distance indoor and outdoor. At the Commonwealth Games she won bronze in Edinburgh in 1986 and silver in 1990 (both at 3000m), followed by gold at 10,000m in 1994. Yvonne was awarded an MBE in 1990 and in 1994 became BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year. We were delighted when Yvonne agreed to become a Sporting Memories Ambassador and we thank her for her ongoing support of our work.
Michael Romyn Project Coordinator (Kent) Expand I coordinate the Heritage Lottery-funded "Kent's Sporting Memories" project. Email [email protected] Telephone 07423 284045
Nikki Foster Project Coordinator (Wales) Expand I work alongside my colleague Julie Williams to develop new Clubs across Wales funded by the Health and Active Fund. I establish new partnerships and recruit volunteers to set up new Clubs and provide ongoing support. Email [email protected] Telephone 07515 916305
Who runs the sessions and are they trained? Expand Our Clubs (including our online sessions) are led by experienced Session Facilitators, who may be Sporting Memories staff or volunteers. Our staff and volunteers who are delivering sessions take part in comprehensive 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.
How do Sporting Memories Clubs help with conditions such as dementia? Expand At our Clubs (including during our online sessions) we use various prompts relating to sport to stimulate conversation and positive memories. Our ‘One-to-one reminiscence’ video tells you more about this and demonstrates some of the techniques we use, which can also be used at home. We have also produced a video about reminiscence by telephone, for those occasions when being together may not be possible. To watch the videos, visit our One-to-one reminiscence page.
What level of care are you able to offer during a session? Expand When we meet in person, we provide a safe environment that is welcoming and accessible to everyone. We are unable to provide personal care but you are welcome to stay to provide this support.
I would like to stay but not take part. Is that OK? Expand Yes, you are more than welcome to stay (and this includes joining us for our online sessions). You might like to do this if the person you care for does not at first feel confident or comfortable taking part on their own.
Do I need to stay? Expand If you feel comfortable leaving the person you care for, you don’t need to stay. In fact carers often tell us they welcome the opportunity when possible to go out for a coffee, shop, socialise with friends or share their stories with each other.
Will the venue be accessible and dementia friendly? Expand Yes, all our venues are fully accessible. Our staff and volunteers are dementia friends trained and will be there to meet you on arrival.
Do you provide transport? Expand Unfortunately we are unable to provide transport to and from our sessions. Our venues have parking and are close to public transport links.
What if there are no Sporting Memories Clubs near me? Expand We are working hard to open more Clubs across the UK. We also offer online Sporting Memories sessions that everyone is welcome to join, no matter where you live. If you would like to receive our latest news, you can sign up to our newsletter by following the link at the bottom of this page, or follow us on Facebook.
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, including our online Clubs. Some – but not all – of our members are living with dementia or low mood, or are isolated; others simply enjoy the opportunity to 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 join in our sessions 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 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 session and each session lasts for between 1 and 2 hours, depending on the Club. We also offer online sessions – which follow a similar format – and we are able to offer advice on how to join our online groups. 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, even when we are online! And when we meet we may play 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 When we are able to meet in person, yes. We always have a break for tea, coffee, cold drinks and biscuits. Sometimes even cake! Unfortunately we can't provide quite the same service when we meet online! But many of us put the kettle on before the start and we enjoy a cuppa together.
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 (whether they are online or we are meeting in person) 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 (including our online Clubs) are led 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 undergo PVG (Scotland) or DBS (England and Wales) disclosure checks for working with vulnerable groups.