Pride Sports

Pride Sports is the LGBT sporting infrastructure organisation for North West England and is the culmination of almost ten years sports development and activity within Manchester's LGBT community. Our experienced board is made up of Trevor Burchick MBE, Louise Englefield and Sally Carr, bringing together over 35 years experience of community sports and activity capacity building, youth project work, active citizenship development and development in voluntary, public and private spheres.

Pride Sports is a unique community engagement company. Improving support services to LGBT groups, our work reaches over 30 LGBT groups in hard to reach communities. Pride Sports brings groups together, encouraging networking, participation and raising awareness that attracts an enthusiastic third sector, service supply and helps break down barriers across wider communities.
Mission

Pride Sports is a dynamic entrepreneurial community driven organisation, with a focus on annual LGBT multi sports events, leisure activities and year round capacity building for LGBT groups and facilities. Pride Sports aims to increase participation in sports by lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transsexuals along with the wider community.
Our Vision

By 2018 we will have created an open and equal LGBT sporting community that interacts and delivers in partnership with national sports organisations and mainstream sports and leisure bodies. It offers healthy alternatives to the ‘gay scene' and promotes participation and new opportunities in safe environments.

LGBT sports and leisure activity is included in regional and national action plans. Support for new start ups is available for all and cohesive communities the norm. Positive role models from elite sports inspire participation for all with pride and without fear of terminating their career.

Our approach overcomes social exclusion giving inspiration to groups and ensuring local and regional community activity plans more fully consider all by accepting equal accessibility to services is an equal right, encouraging and improving the mainstream support for LGBT excluded groups.
Collaboration

The Pride Sports works with people who share our values, ambitions and who support the aims and goals of Pride Sports. Pride Sports regularly consults its growing network of specialist advisers and operates a process for continuous improvement.

Raising awareness of and challenging homophobia in sport, Pride Sports will encourage enthusiastic involvement from volunteers and key supporting partners enabling access to a wide complementary range of skills and influence to achieve these aims. Key supporting partners will be involved in a sponsorship style role, with their involvement openly acknowledged and recognised.

Wider community empowerment and involvement in Pride Sports activities and direction will be enabled through associate membership and participation in ‘Team Manchester’, a voluntary association of LGBT sports, leisure and activity groups. Breadth of membership continues to enable support and expansion for the all important cultural aspects of Pride Sports events.
Founding Partners

A not for profit organisation founded in 2006, Pride Sports is the LGBT sports infrastructure organisation, providing sector skill support through action learning and leadership. Founded by Louise Englefield, awarded Manchester City Council’s Woman of Culture 2007 and Trevor Burchick MBE.

Louise’s experience includes promoting sports and physical activities as a means to healthy wellbeing of the community, following several years as the Director of a regional health charity. Honoured with an MBE for services to communities, Trevor’s experience includes Corporate Membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Honorary Member of City and Guilds and has years of involvement in active citizenship skills development at high level authority.
Learning & Development

Pride Sports offers the iPAC (Individual Profile in Active Citizenship) with City & Guilds accreditation - It is about growing community engagement and is ideal for recognising and motivating volunteers. It is a very personal qualification that focuses on the individual and their aspirations. It has no levels or exams. It come with a nationally recognised certificate from City and Guilds. It is a mentor supported programme with community empowerment and social cohesion at its core.

Pride Sports is a Proud City accredited centre for City and Guilds, and Institute of Leadership and Management qualifications, primarily to enable routes of progression for our volunteers' development, whether it be to enable further community engagement, continuing professional development or, preparation for a return to work.