Sporting Memories continues to adapt with sessions now held on Zoom

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and Sussex Cricket Foundation's popular Sporting Memories sessions being put on hold, the charity's staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to keep regular participants involved and engaged. 

As well as organisers sending weekly packs to those who regularly attend the sessions in Hove, Bexhill, Polegate, Worthing and Crawley, and volunteers making regular phone calls to participants in need of a chat or some company, Sporting Memories sessions across the county are now being held on Zoom. 

The virtual meeting platform, which has come into its own for companies across the country in recent weeks, has been adopted by the Foundation's volunteers and participants have taken to it really well, as Trevor Fuggle explains. 

"We expected a few teething problems at the first meeting but in fact, apart from the odd broadband connection issue, the meeting went swimmingly." said Fuggle, who is a dedicated Foundation volunteer. 

"As at our group meetings we passed the ball around and the members respected the individual describing their experiences joining in the discussion at suitable times."

"This first session was actually quite similar to our physical meetings with some great tales and much laughter. All the members who participated said how much they enjoyed the session and were looking forward to the next meeting.

"In future sessions, we are planning a personal spotlight where a members gives us a short, potted personal history of their life and also the alphabet game.

"Obviously, we are very conscious of those members who couldn't join us due to either a lack of the IT hardware or personal reasons.

"We have assured all the members that we will continue to prepare the weekly newsletter and puzzles, plus we will also still phone our members regularly to maintain contact with them all.

"During these telephone conversations, we will continue to ask our friends what else they would like to see during our online sessions to maintain their enthusiasm during this lockdown, which is likely to remain in force for quite a while with groups such as ours.

"So far, this little experiment has gone exceptionally well and ensures the connection between the volunteers and our friends remains strong until we can meet again."

You can listen to 5 Live Sport's report on the Foundation's virtual Sporting Memories sessions here, 45 minutes in.

About Sporting Memories

Using the rich history and heritage of sport, Sporting Memories clubs are open to any people over the age of 50 who enjoy reminiscing about their experiences of watching or playing it. The clubs take place each week and are a friendly, welcoming environment that is open to all.

Many of our members attend to enjoy the company of other older sports fans, some of our members live with dementia or have memory problems, some have experienced depression, they may have had a stroke or live with Parkinson's, all have one thing in common, a love for sport!

The clubs always have volunteers or staff present who have been trained by Sporting Memories to lead the sessions which use a wide range of Sporting Memories reminiscence resources developed specifically to help prompt conversation and discussion. There is always great fun and laughter in the sessions.

New friendships are forged and some remarkable sporting stories often emerge. Some of our clubs also incorporate fun physical activities such as New Age Kurling, Boccia & Darts and go on to forge links with other clubs such as Walking Football. 

The clubs are run with partner organisations and with a fantastic team of volunteers. Our academic partnerships have helped us develop a compelling evidence base of the impact the clubs have on the members (and often their carers/partners too).