Sport facilities and activities are a great way to promote physical activity and healthy living in your community. However, not everyone has access to sports facilities. This can be due to a range of factors such as location, cost, and lack of awareness. In this blog post, we will discuss some ways to make sports facilities more accessible to your community.

Community outreach

One way to increase access to sports facilities is through community outreach. This can be done by reaching out to local schools, community centres, and other organisations to promote the facilities and activities that are available. This outreach can be done by phone, email, brochures, or just good old one-on-one meetings. Once the connection with the other party has been established, discuss options to promote your facilities via their newsletters, digital screens at their facilities, and posters/banners on their premises. And lastly, consider if there is anything you can do for them in return, as it’s a community effort after all!

Another strategy to consider is partnering with other organisations or businesses to co-host events or cross-promote each other’s offerings. By expanding your reach and building relationships with other like-minded individuals and organisations, you can create a more robust and sustainable path to increase participation at your sports facilities. This can also include hosting events and activities that are free or low-cost to encourage participation.

• Promote facilities to the local community entities by calling, emailing or arranging an in-person meeting 
• Advertisements via their newsletters, digital screens at their facilities, and posters/banners on their premises
• Host free or low-cost activities to encourage participation
• Co-host events with like-minded individuals and organisations

Online presence

One of the easiest ways to make sport facilities more accessible to your community is to create an online presence for your facilities. This can be done by creating a website or social media pages (on platforms like Facebook and Instagram) for your facilities. These platforms can be used to advertise the facilities and the activities that take place there. They can also be used to communicate with the community and keep them informed about any changes or events. 

If your facilities are in the UK or Ireland, consider listing your venue and facilities on Playfinder. As the most popular sport facility hire marketplace in the UK, it will give your facility the best possible presence online, and make it the simplest way for your community to find you!

• Create a profile for your facility on social media platforms
• Create a website for your facility
• Use these platforms to keep the community informed about your facility and activities
• List your sport facilities on Playfinder

Flexible hours and pricing

Finally, offering flexible hours and pricing options can help make sport facilities more accessible to the community. For example, offering early morning or late night hours can help accommodate those with busy schedules. Offering discounted rates for low-income families or seniors can also help make the facilities more affordable. 

If you want to offer flexible hours and pricing options, consider Bookteq’s booking software. With customisable booking calendars and payment plans, our facility booking software takes the admin burden off your staff’s shoulders while increasing your community’s access to sports facilities. While Lockteq, our digital smart access lock system, allows your facilities to be unlocked and locked by the facility users themselves. This makes your facilities accessible after hours, without the need for staff to be on site.

• Extend your facility opening hours to accommodate those with busy schedules
• Offer discounted rates for low-income families or seniors

In conclusion, increasing access to sports facilities for your community is essential to promote physical activity and overall wellbeing. By reaching out to the community, creating an online presence, and offering flexible hours and pricing options, we can make these facilities more accessible to everyone. Let’s work together to create a healthier and more active community!