University of Wolverhampton Sports Guide

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Thank you for your interest in the University of Wolverhampton, and in particular the activity of our School of Sport.

Participating in sport, at any level, develops your leadership and communication skills in a way that very few other subjects can claim.

We’re really proud to be part of the University of Opportunity, with a history of profession orientated sports Courses in our world-class facilities.

Our courses are all taught in partnership with relevant sector bodies and all of the major sporting organisations of the Black Country and West Midlands.

Studying a sports related subject is a great investment in your future, and we believe we offer a great place to take your first steps into a graduate career in sport.

Who will you become?

We know that studying for a degree can help launch your career in the sports industry. Whether you’re interested in exercise science, football coaching and performance, physical education, business management, strength and conditioning or sports therapy, a degree can provide the platform for and exciting career in a sector which has great demand for highly-skilled graduates.

This guide will give you a sense of what it might be like to study or play sport at the University of Wolverhampton.

We have invested heavily in a stateof-the-art teaching spaces, and our academic experts are always happy to speak with prospective students.

To find out more visit our sports pages: wlv.ac.uk/sport or come and see us at one of our upcoming Open Days https://www.wlv.ac.uk/news-and-events/open-day/

ER1320 - Study Sports Guide (August) (v3).indd 18-19

TAKE YOUR OPPORTUNITY

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Where do we start..?!

At the University of Wolverhampton, we’ve got masses to offer our students – whether they’re based at our city centre campus in the heart of Wolverhampton, in Walsall, Telford, or across the world!

Sports employability

Student support

We’re commended!

Great transport links

Our Sports Workforce Hub provides current students and recent graduates with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience and develop skills for employment after you graduate.

The central pillar of our over-arching strategy is: Students First. We’ve been committed to providing our students with the opportunities presented by a first-class education from our earliest days, and continue to make you our priority.

We’ve been awarded a commendation – the highest accolade – in our most recent assessment by the Quality Assurance Agency.

Travel the UK easily thanks to our central location.

Biggest ever investment!

World-leading research

Low cost of living

£250 Million of investment generation making a real impact for our students, with new buildings, courses, skills and training.

All Research Centres submitted in the most recent Research Excellence Framework exercise had world-leading elements.

Make your money go further Compared to other cities in the UK.

Long and successful history

Accreditations

We’ve been providing opportunity and academic excellence for 190 years.

The School of Sport has been awarded an Athena SWAN Bronze Department Award in recognition of the departments work to support gender equality. All of our courses are mapped to the professional standards of a relevant professional body. We’re also a higher educational partner of CIMSPA.

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Undergraduate

BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Therapy

Foundation courses available for all of our undergraduate courses. Starting degree-level study can be a daunting prospect, so the foundation year is designed to help you develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to succeed in your studies at degree level and beyond. During your foundation year, you will develop skills such as finding and using information, working collaboratively with others, challenging and debating ideas while expressing yourself with greater confidence. You will also be introduced to a range of key concepts and skills that underpin the study of sport in higher education.

This innovative, hands-on sport and exercise therapy course is accredited by the Society of Sports Therapists. The course involves the prevention of injury and rehabilitation back to optimum levels of functional, occupational, and sports-specific fitness for a wide range of patients. The course uses the principles of sport and exercise sciences, and the study of health, injury,and disease, to prepare patients for training, competition, or work. The course is also endorsed by the Charted Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMPSA) through mapping against the employer-set professional standards of a gym instructor.

BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science This exciting and applied course has been endorsed through the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences Undergraduate Endorsement Scheme (BUES), which awards endorsement to sport and exercise science degree courses that provide undergraduates with the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills essential to enter into the profession.

The course is endorsed by the Charted Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMPSA), ensuring that you meet the requirements of potential employers. Course content aligns with the employer-set professional standards of a gym instructor and will equip you with all the skills and competencies you'll need to stand out from the crowd. This course is therefore ideal if you wish to work in applied settings such as professional sport, exercise referral schemes, community physical activity programmes, and professional environments that promote active lifestyles and well-being.

BA (Hons) Physical Education and School Sport This innovative course is designed to provide you with rich learning experiences to equip you with the tools to teach and coach. These experiences will provide you with planning, leading, and reflection skills that form the basis of fulfilling the role of a teacher and coach. Placement modules are a leading feature of the course, allowing you to gain hands-on experience and mentoring. You will develop your ability to work within professional settings to facilitate a future career within Physical Education and School Sport. The course has been approved by the Association for Physical Education in recognition of the high-quality professional development.

BA (Hons) Sport Business Management This exciting Sport Business Management degree provides opportunities to explore different strands of sport business management including marketing, strategy, policy, finance, economics, and sport event management. Studying these key areas will prepare you to enter a range of careers including sport development management, governing body management, insight and data management, facility management, and business management. The programme has been developed alongside industry partners and endorsed by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) through mapping against the Professional Standards of a General Manager, meaning that you will be equipped with the competencies and skills needed to meet the requirements of potential employers.

BSc (Hons) Football Coaching and Performance This unique course been developed alongside industry partners and covers aspects of football coaching such as pedagogy, coaching science, and performance analysis in combination with opportunities to apply your knowledge in industry.

Placement modules are a leading feature of the course, allowing you to gain hands-on experience and mentoring in an applied setting. These settings include the option to work with our partner clubs such as Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion, Walsall FC, AFC Telford and our University team, WLV Sport FC. The course is also endorsed by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) through mapping against the Coach Professional Standard, meaning that you will be equipped with the competencies and skills needed to meet the requirements of potential employers.

Postgraduate MSc Strength and Conditioning This course will allow you the opportunity to develop key competencies in Strength and Conditioning coaching, and challenge you to develop your theoretical knowledge, applied experiences and research skills towards becoming an evidence-based S&C practitioner. This course has been developed in consultation with The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity and aligned to the professional standards developed by CIMSPA in collaboration with the UK Strength and Conditioning Association. Graduates of this course will have met the professional standards for the Strength and Conditioning Trainer and the Graduate Strength and Conditioning Coach roles. We have long standing partnerships with a number of sporting organisations which add value to our educational programmes, including guest lectures from experienced applied practitioners and opportunities for students to gain applied experience.

MRes Sport and Exercise The MRes Sport and Exercise course aims to develop you as a researcher and reflective, evidence-based practitioner within your specialist area of sport, exercise,or coaching. There is an emphasis on student-led research and modules focused on the application of research within both laboratory and applied settings. You will develop advanced research skills including laboratory and applied techniques, problem-solving, reflective practice, and the ability to critically analyse, interpret, and apply evidence. You will be supported by a supervisor throughout your studies to develop your research skills and their application, and in identifying how your professional profile can be best applied within a changing vocational market.

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CAREERS IN SPORTS AND LEISURE

Leisure centre managers look after the day-to-day running of sports and leisure centres.

£18,000 Starter to £37,000 Experienced

39 to 41 a week Our Sports Workforce Hub provides current students and recent graduates with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience and develop skills for employment after graduation. With world-class facilities and a dedicated sports development team, you’ll have the greatest platform to get involved and make sport happen!

Opportunities are open to all, regardless of what course you are studying or at which campus you are based.

Search for “Workforce Hub” at wlv.ac.uk to find out more.

£25,000 Starter to £60,000 Experienced 38 to 40 a week

You could work evenings attending events or appointments.

Sports development officers organise projects and training to encourage people to take part in sport and have a healthier lifestyle. £18,000 Starter to £30,000 Experienced 36 to 38 a week

You could work evenings/ weekends attending events or appointments.

PE Teacher

Business Development Manager Business development managers find new customers, and persuade existing ones to buy extra services.

You could work evenings/ weekends/ bank holidays/ flexibly.

Sports Development Officer

Fitness Instructor

Fitness instructors organise exercise programmes to improve people’s health and fitness.

£14,000 Starter to £25,000 Experienced 32 to 34 a week

Physical education (PE) teachers work in schools and colleges, teaching sport and fitness to young people. £25,714 Starter to £41,604 Experienced 37 to 44 a week (term time)

You could work evenings/ weekends attending events or appointments.

You could work as a contractor/ selfemployed as customers demand.

Performance Sports Scientist

Sports scientists use knowledge of how the body works to help people improve their health or sporting ability. £20,000 Starter to £60,000 Experienced 37 to 39 a week You could work evenings/ weekends attending events or appointments.

Sports Therapist

Sports therapists diagnose and treat sports injuries.

Health Trainer

Football Coach

Health trainers promote healthy living and help people make healthier lifestyle choices.

Football coaches develop the skills and motivation of football players and teams.

£18,700 Starter to £28,500 Experienced

£18,000 Starter to £28,000 Experienced

37 to 39 a week

36 to 38 a week

You could work evenings/ weekends attending events or appointments.

You could work evenings/ weekends/ bank holidays/ flexibly.

£17,000 Starter to £55,000 Experienced

Sports Coach

37 a week - Irregular

Sports coaches teach sports skills to individuals and teams of all abilities.

You could work evening and weekends.

Although the hours are often irregular.

If you work with a sports team, you need to be available for weekend fixtures and seven-days-a-week during the season.

£18,000 Starter to £28,000 Experienced 36 to 38 a week

You could work evenings/ weekends/ bank holidays/ away from home.

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To provide our students with learning experiences we have created a £250,000 specialist training facility at the Walsall Campus.

The state-of-the-art facilities provide students with opportunities to work with some of our key partners such as British Judo, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Walsall FC, and university sports teams, to develop industry skills relevant to a career in sport and exercise. As well as the outdoor 3G football pitch, six-lane floodlit athletics track, and netball courts, Walsall Campus offers the following excellent facilities:

The William Penny Brookes Building This dedicated sports building is home to: human performance and human movement labs with a new environmental chamber and 3D motion capture facilities; physiotherapy and sports therapy suites; a sports performance clinic; and our HealthScan bone density clinic.

Human Movement Laboratory This is where we answer questions such as, how far, how high, and how fast an athlete is moving or how pathology is associated with a person’s movement. Much of what we do in the human movement laboratory explores the biomechanics of the human body using the latest technology.

Human Performance Laboratory The human performance laboratory is a purpose-built state-of-the-art teaching and research facility, which contains an extensive range of biomechanical and physiological equipment including a portable and static online gas analysis systems for breath-by-breath cardiopulmonary exercise testing, including VO2 max tests, Wingate cycle ergometers to test anaerobic capacity and power plus field lab-based blood analysers, which are used to test professional athletes as part of our partnerships.

Environmental Chamber With the environmental chamber we are aim to better understand human physiology in environmental extremes during work and physical activity. Replicating the altitude at some of the world's highest points as well as the heat and humidity of the toughest terrains.

Sports Therapy Suite Our BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Therapy is accredited by the professional body the Society of Sports Therapists and provides facilities including: massage and treatment stations with hydraulic couches for sports massage and other manual therapy techniques, and the latest audio visual lecture capture technology that enables teaching demonstrations to be viewed on the interactive screens at each of the massage and treatment stations.

HealthScan HealthScan is the home of the dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanner, providing detailed analysis of body composition and bone mineral density. The facility supports elite sports, local healthcare providers, and research projects.

Sport Centre The multi-million-pound Sports Centre features sports halls; badminton, basketball, netball and volleyball courts; fitness suite and weight rooms; futsal pitches; and an elite strength and conditioning suite.

British Judo Centre of Excellence The campus’s British Judo Centre of Excellence is the national base for the British Judo Association whose members live, train and compete right here on campus.

Sandwell Council Starting in 2023, a strategic partnership alliance with Sandwell Council will begin. The partnership is centred on the Sandwell Aquatics Centre and will provide a world-class facility to University of Wolverhampton Sports students, who will study and train there as part of their curriculum.

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INSPIRATIONAL TEACHING Martin Harrison

Dr Alison Forbes Ally is programme leader for Sport Business Management with a keen interest in equality and employability. She has been involved in workplace equality and diversity work with national and local sports organisations and is leading the Athena SWAN project in the School of Sport supporting and developing inclusive working practices. In her spare time Ally plays football for Sutton Coldfield Town FC Women.

Katie Davies Katie is a senior lecturer in Sport and Exercise Therapy and outside of academia is a practising sports therapist. She has previously worked within ice hockey at an international and semi-professional level and now runs her own clinical practice.

Her breadth of experience shared with students provides a realistic insight into their future profession within sport and exercise therapy.

Ronnie Richards In 2011 Ronnie began the undertaking of a career lecturing in higher education. Previously, Ronnie taught in a number of educational settings including pupil referral centres, further education colleges, and mainstream high schools. Lecturer for the University’s Sport Business Management provision, his roles at Wolverhampton also include being a faculty enabling tutor and joint lead on the implementation of the inclusivity framework across the School of Sport. Ronnie’s love of all combat sports has seen him travel extensively to counties including Canada, Japan, and Thailand. As a former semi-professional Thai boxer, he has also trained extensively in Thailand. Since retiring from active Thai boxing participation Ronnie continues to train in the art of traditional western boxing, functional fitness sessions, and Pilates.

Mark Niemz Mark is an experienced strength and conditioning coach with a background of working within high performance sport, including supporting Olympic sports programmes such as GB triathlon, GB canoeing, GB cycling and GB water polo. Mark is a senior lecturer in strength and conditioning and programme leader for MSc Strength and Conditioning.

Martin is the newest member of the Football Coaching and Performance course team with extensive experience in performance football in England and abroad. He joined us from Manchester City where he was technical director for the women’s programme. Whilst working as a lecturer Martin is also employed by the FA as a coach mentor for female coaches in the West Midlands. Martin is renowned for using his contacts to support students in reaching their full potential.

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Ikhlaq Hussain Head of Futsal |khlaq currently leads the University futsal programme and is the team manager for BirminghamWLV who compete in the National Futsal Series Tier One competition. Ikhlaq has been successful in developing and implementing a futsal structure that has grown and now sees both a BUCS and regional/ national league offering for both male and female futsal players at the University.

Ben Quilter Head of Judo Ben is a double Paralympian and achieved a Paralympic bronze medal at the London 2012 Paralympics. Ben is also a double world champion and multiple European champion in Judo.

Ben first started judo at the age of 7 and by the age of 10 had been diagnosed with a degenerative sight condition that resulted in him having no central vision and only being able to see peripherally. Ben takes his personal setbacks and turns them into positives, as seen with his Olympic success. Ben leads the judo programme, delivering sessions for TASS, DiSE and University student athletes with the support of his performance coaches, Fitzroy Davies and James Austin.

Dave Lawrence

Ikhlaq is also a key contact within the futsal community and has assisted the University in developing a relationship with the National Futsal Series, which has seen us host fixtures at the Walsall Campus, live-streamed on BT Sport. Ikhlaq is also the first coach to achieve premier status within the BUCS leagues for men’s futsal in the University’s sporting history.

Sally Bromley Head of Netball Sally is an experienced netball coach who has experience of working across all levels of the participation and performance pyramid.

Sally is the current the head coach for Invictus Netball Academy and assistant coach at the Severn Stars Wrekin Nova alongside being the assistant coach for the Severn Stars pathway under 17s squad. Sally has also recently set up a core inclusive para netball club based in the Black Country, for young people with learning disabilities and hearing impairments. Sally was also voted in the top 3 for the BBC Midlands Unsung Hero award for her support and commitment to netball.

Clive Allen

Head of Football

Head of Basketball

Dave is the current lead for the football programme at the University and oversees the pathway for both men’s and women’s football. Dave is currently undertaking his UEFA A licence and has previously worked as an FA coach educator and mentor.

Dave is also Director for Women’s Football at West Bromwich Albion Women’s FC and brings a wealth of experience across the football programme. Dave has worked with professional football players and coached across the world.

Clive has played professional basketball for Birmingham Bullets and represented England. He has coached at the highest level in basketball with Milton Keynes Lions and Birmingham Panthers, who are both part of the National BBL league. Clive currently heads up the partnership between WLV Sport and WLV Albion which sees players compete in BUCS and the National Basketball League.

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Reece Roberts Strength and Conditioning coach at Black Country Therapy and Conditioning Reece started BCT&C whilst studying for his MRes, going from strength to strength, developing a well-rounded service (1-1 training, testing battery, online training, and sports massage) for combat sport athletes and working in partnership with a local boxing club.

Reece is most proud of BCT&C’s philosophy to provide of simple and effective coaching within a caring, comfortable, and energetic environment, with the approach of ‘train them so well they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to’, aiming to provide the best possible environment for applying training intent, focus, and consistency with each athlete’s wellbeing at the forefront.

Ashley Richards Community engagement manager at Birmingham Commonwealth Games

Kerys Julia Harrop Footballer, Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women English footballer and Champions League semi-fianlist.

Kerys studied on the postgraduate MRes Sport and Exercise course where she gained vital skills in leadership, communication and team work.

The current Tottenham Hotspur F.C defender, who was part of the Great Britain team to win Gold in Kazan at the 2013 World University Games, completed an internship at one of our partner professional football clubs.

Ashley has always been keen to engage and support children and young people in sport and physical activity. After graduating from the University with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Coaching he has gone on to work with children in primary and secondary schools. He returned to complete a PGCE and got a teaching job at Sandwell College. His experiences had also inspired him to set up his own business, Sporting Spirit, with a friendand fellow WLV alumnus Michael Sinclair. Ashley is currently working as community engagement officer for Birmingham 2022.

Mimi-Isabella Cesar BA Sports Studies Rhythmic gymnast & ambassador, Team England Gymnastics “Rhythmic gymnastics is completely self-funded so the sports scholarship really helped me, and my tutors were also supportive.”

Kristian Thomas BSc Strength and Conditioning Former Team GB Artistic Gymnast- Olympic, World, European & Commonwealth Medallist Engagement officer for British Athletes Commission “I’ve benefited from the great facilities and inspirational teaching that has boosted my experience as a student at the University of Wolverhampton.”

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Providing the perfect environment

On board with industry

You’ll study in a dynamic learning environment with experienced and accredited staff who work with elite athletes (eg. Olympic judo players; academy players from professional football clubs), NHS patients, community based sports organisations and school groups.

We have partnerships with organisations including West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Walsall football clubs, West Midlands and Worcester Warriors Rugby Club, Action Heart at Russell’s Hall Hospital, British Judo, Streetgames, Sport4Life, Black Country Consortium County Sport Partnership, and a wide range of schools and colleges.

Our excellent sporting, teaching and research facilities include.

• state-of-the-art ood-lit 3G pitch • redeveloped and well-equipped sports centre • strength and conditioning weight training facility used by Olympians and students • specialised laboratories; monitoring; body composition, lung function and gait assessment; performance analysis and video editing; EMG muscle activity monitoring • bone density and body composition suite used by elite sports and health organisations.

We have hosted international sports events and Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Our body composition and bone density suite is used by British Gymnastics, British Judo, Aston Villa Football Club and Birmingham City Football Club.

These organisations input to our teaching, offer placements, internships and projects for students to engage in. Our courses have been developed with, and are endorsed by, professional bodies such as The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences and The Register of Exercise Professionals. Our BSc Sports Coaching Practice (Football) course is endorsed by both Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and West Bromwich Albion FC.

TASS delivery site and dual career accreditation The University of Wolverhampton is an accredited dual-career Talented Athlete Sports Scholarship (TASS) delivery site.

This accreditation means that the University supports students who are high-level athletes to study alongside their national and international competitions.

The University successfully became a delivery site in the summer of 2021, and student athletes can now receive their performance sport services (physiotherapy, nutrition, sports psychology, lifestyle support, and strength and conditioning) at Walsall Campus.

The model also aims to give students academic flexibility within their studies to enable them to further their career both academically and within their chosen sporting discipline.

Play with your peers in a social setting, by getting involved with our exciting social sport programme. Expanding each year you can try your hand at something new – from netball and ultimate frisbee to judo, you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Represent Team Wolves

Sports Workforce - Employability, Volunteering, and Qualifications

If you’re looking for something more challenging, you can compete for your University in a chosen sport. We have a number of teams competing in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) leagues and invite you to Welcome Week to represent your University in sports including·. badminton, basketball, football, futsal, netball, and Rugby union.

While these are our focus sports, we also support our students to represent #TeamWolves at individual competitions within their chosen discipline where there is a competition available through the BUCS framework. We will offer support, where applicable, with training, entry fees, and expenses to attend individual events.

Recent examples include athletics, archery, karate, and boxing.

Here at #TeamWolves we’re keen to develop students from all courses to have the opportunity to work in sport should they choose to do so. We have opportunities to volunteer at national and international events,coaching within the teams or as match analysts for a focus sport. Through our newly launched Sports Workforce Hub, we also provide opportunities for students to gain additional qualifications that lead to industry-led experience and paid opportunities alongside your studies. An example includes a Basketball England Table Official course where students become qualified to become the table official for our BUCS matches. We also have several work placement opportunities through the sports centre or a host of local partners, where students can gain further experience in their chosen field.

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The WLV Sport Scholarship Scheme is intrinsically linked to our focus sports (football, basketball, judo, futsal, and netball).

Athletes outside of these sports are still considered and more favourably if their sport is recognised within the BUCS competitive framework.

WLV Sport Scholars can receive support up to a value of £4,500 over three years* WLV Sport Scholarship Complimentary Package (which is in addition to any financial reward) includes: • • • • •

Physiotherapy Strength and conditioning Teamwear tracksuit Funding towards elite coaching, competitions, training costs, and equipment Annual WLV gym membership

Mentoring support

The Scholarship Scheme

Each scholar will be assigned a mentor with relevant experience/interest in the sport where possible. Mentors will meet with their scholars on a monthly basis. Mentors are volunteers and will receive mentoring training.

The Scholarship Scheme is reviewed annually, although the panel reserves the right to make changes and / or amendments at any time.

The panel also reserves the right to withdraw a scholarship offer at any time. * All current scholars are required to re-apply each academic year.

Our vibrant student community is supported by the Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre (SPARC).

Students benefit from lectures provided by experienced and internationally recognised researchers, and a curriculum featuring our published research. This allows clear insight into the challenges of setting up and completing research projects, and strategies for overcoming these. Our research is broadly organised around three themes: Performance Enhancement, Physical Activity and Health, and Sport Cultures; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Research undertaken around the theme Performance Enhancement aims to understand and improve performance from a range of perspectives (e.g., physiological, biomechanical, psychological, ergogenic).

Our research has informed football clubs’ academies on aspects of performance- such as how relative age effect influences talent identification and retention, how pressure effects decision-making and the beneficial effect of a pressure training programme. We also work closely with British Judo who are based at the Walsall campus examining nutritional, training, and psychological practices related to performance.

The research theme Physical Activity and Health aims to understand the role of physical activity in the prevention and treatment of disease and the promotion of mental and physical health· For example, we have worked with Europe’s leading organisations for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis to inform their guidelines for the use of exercise in treating and managing arthritis· Our research examining the use of physical activity in the promotion of health has featured on the BBC programme ‘Trust me, I’m a Doctor’.

Sport Cultures; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion research aims to understand the socio-cultural dimensions of sports and exercise participation and also explores learning in a range of contexts· For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic we have worked with ‘Move It or Lose It!’, an organisation providing exercise classes for elderly people· We evaluated the effectiveness and reach of their online activities developed to replace face-to-face classes during COVID-19 enforced lockdowns· Our findings helped identify what worked well and offered recommendations to further improve the resources and activities provided·