Walking Netball has been brought to the East Coast thanks to Sport England’s Together Fund distributed by Active Lincolnshire. Working in partnership with Lincolnshire Netball and England Netball, the slower paced sport has introduced 60 ladies to the sport along the East Coast of Lincolnshire, and this number continues to grow.

Across the UK, levels of participation in walking netball are growing fast, with at least 321,200 people playing netball on a fortnightly basis, which has been helped by our popular and varied programmes such as Back to Netball, Walking Netball and Bee Netball.

The Sport England Together Fund grant has enabled the delivery of an inclusive activity to an underserved community. It has brought ladies together in a safe and supportive environment on their doorstep, reducing the barriers and logistics of living in a remote area. The physical and mental health impacts of participation have been notable, seeing participants grow in confidence, creating friendships and reducing loneliness.

The project aimed to deliver Walking Netball taster sessions in community venues in and around Mablethorpe, to then be followed by a ten-week programme at a central accessible location. The aim was to encourage 20 people who were over the age of 45, currently living with a disability or a long-term health condition, to get involved to improve their physical and mental wellbeing.

Taster sessions were delivered at Station Leisure Centre in Mablethorpe, Trusthorpe Village Hall, Trusthorpe and the Merdale Youth and Community Centre in Sutton-on-Sea, and two of the venues continue to host sessions.

Participants of the sessions told us the benefits they have discovered by attending:

‘’So glad I made the decision to give it a go. I always feel energised after I've been and we have a great laugh too. I've met some lovely, friendly and very funny women! My joints are feeling the benefit too.’’

‘’Don't be nervous about just coming along to join in. You'll be made very welcome and you'll have loads of fun! Some days I potter around in my pyjamas till 11am. Going to walking netball makes me get up earlier, get ready and get going!’’

Throughout the project, it was identified that 88% of participants lived in IMD1-3 (Index of Multiple Deprivation), the most deprived areas along the East Coast and there were a variety of long-term health conditions identified among participants such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and fibromyalgia; as well as several with hearing aids and an amputee.

As the Walking Netball sessions across the East Coast continue to grow, England Netball have plans to ensure that they continues to reach as many people as possible. With the area having a high visitor population, they have often welcomed new people who are on holiday in the area to their classes, encouraging them to investigate classes back home. This also develops the long-term plan to work with holiday parks and encourage investment to upskill their teams to deliver Walking Netball classes to their customers during their stay.

Further funding has now been allocated for Walking Netball in this area to continue in 2024, and England Netball will be putting on a course in Lincolnshire to make it more accessible and sustainable. As part of the funding, two people have been upskilled and trained on how to deliver the Walking Netball sessions, and have been provided with the correct equipment.

There continues to be challenges ahead, especially with a lack of facilities in the local area, but all involved are keen to see Walking Netball sessions continue and every barrier that they have already faced has been overcome.

Louise Key, England Netball Development Officer for Lincolnshire told us:

‘’I love supporting the Walking Netball members to be more active, but more importantly, the friendships formed on court and the support the group give each other are carried on away from the sessions. The belly laughs we have on the day are a tonic for anyone. Everyone should have an hour of ‘ME’ time with Walking Netball.’’

If people are interested in getting involved, they can search for their nearest session on the England Netball session finder

Sport England’s Together Fund existed to help reduce the negative impact of coronavirus and help community groups working with target audiences to grow and help more people. The Fund was a continuation of the Tackling Inequalities Fund that was set up in April 2020, as part of the support package to help the sport and physical activity sector through the Covid-19 crisis. £20 million of National Lottery funding committed to helping groups that were being disproportionally affected by the pandemic and was significantly impacting their ability to physically active. This included lower socio-economic groups, culturally diverse communities, disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. You can find out more about clubs that benefitted from the funding here.

Discover Funding Opportunities for your club on our funding pages.