Working to be London’s Borough of Sport

Sport has an incredible power to bring people together. It offers immense benefits, such as improving well-being, clearing the mind, and focusing on what's truly important. These benefits are priceless. We should open up the borough, invite people in, and really push the sporting agenda.

Exercise provides a release; it makes you feel better, keeps you motivated, and offers opportunities for socializing and making friends. We supported the Big Sports Day organized by Merton this year, and it was inspiring to see the impact it had and the number of people who participated. The variety of sports represented and the unity it fostered were truly remarkable.

Sport unites people by providing common ground, bringing out the best in everyone. Being involved in improving people's lives is one of the most rewarding things we can do.

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"We are the Wildcats! I love how girls can play football now because it changes the world. My mum told me girls didn't play football when she was young, and I thought that was unfair. I've always loved football, and now I have the opportunity to play with Wildcats. We're all good friends and enjoy playing together."

The Wildcats programme encourages more girls to get active and inspires them to pursue opportunities in football. In the past, it was challenging for women to find pathways in football, but now we're showing them that there are many opportunities available, whether as professional players, coaches, volunteers, or mentors.

In every corner of the borough, there's something happening in sport. We are great at promoting and encouraging people to take advantage of what's available right on their doorstep. For example, we've introduced free swimming for under-16s and over-65s to remove financial barriers, especially during a cost-of-living crisis. Our aim is to make it easier for people to get active, whether in parks or green spaces.

There's a lot happening in our borough, and this is just the beginning. Our libraries play a fundamental role in promoting sports, along with our green and open spaces. The Merton Libraries Partnership, when it started, was a pioneering initiative. We provide expertise in exercise and health, which has been beneficial for many, including those with specific health issues.

For example, exercise programmes at the library have helped individuals with bad knees and feet, offering not only physical benefits but also fun and motivation. At 78 and 89, respectively, participants feel that exercise helps them maintain mobility and a positive outlook on life.

I got very very bad feet and bad knees and I find that this really does help me an awful lot it definitely works plus it's fun.

Doing this exercise motivates me to keep on going I'm 78 now and I have a feeling I'll still got a long way to go I love exercise because it helps all the movement of the body I'm 89 and exercise helps me to move.

Exercise is a human right to be able to do it, So we're really happy to be able to come into the community and provide that. it's been an amazing experience because um that that age group is like the the missing missing Gap and you will go to most gyms and centres and not find these kind of things going on, so the fact that we've got it is amazing, amazing.

I've got a passion for sport a passion to help people for us to be doing this in Merton. I was so excited when I heard about it and I said can I please help.

Lorna's involvement encapsulates our mission: to unite passionate people, leverage their skills, and work together for the benefit of everyone in the borough. My goal is to help athletes achieve their potential and feel proud of their accomplishments.

She grew up in Mitcham. She is a former Commonwealth athlete who has been all around the world competing for Team GB, uh, and has come back to Mitcham to live and to carry on. And actually, it's finding those people in our borough that are passionate, bringing them all to the front to say, "We're serious about this, we want to help." Let's work together, let's see what you can bring to the table, and let's see what we can bring to the table for the benefit of everybody in our borough.

All I want to do is, and is to, give back so that the athletes that I help and bring through can hold their head up high and, and feel as if they've achieved something. I'm extremely proud that the, the council is really throwing its weight behind, being London's Borough of Sport. And we can only do that through partnership, so we would really encourage and welcome, uh, everybody to, uh, think about how they can be part of this fantastic journey around putting sport high up on the agenda.

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The power of sport is phenomenal; there is just so much good that can come from us really embracing this ambition. There's nothing quite like getting in and participating in something to make that difference because every time you do, you're improving the lot for somebody somewhere along the line, and that is a wonderful thing, never mind what it does for yourself. We have the infrastructure; we have the facilities; we've got the heritage. It's now making sure that all of our residents can benefit from the power of sport.

I've always thought Merton is the borough of sport. Really and truthfully, I genuinely believe that is the truth. We are the London borough of sport.