The focus on professional sport has long been on competition, show and profit.

Whilst grassroots sports tend be the bedrock of the community, offering much more than just the sport being played. Research shows the huge mental and physical health benefits and opportunities grassroots sports can provide through generating opportunities to meet new people, share talent, learn new skills, and strengthen community ties.

But like all of us, these community powerhouses need to be responsible, and take their time to protect, and invest in our Earth’s future. Market Harborough Youth Netball (MHYN) has taken its first bold steps towards a more sustainable way of operating and becoming conscious of its effects on the environment. This journey will not only reduce our negative impact but raise awareness and promote positive action for sport in our region, helping our planet and future generations to come.

It is inevitable that all sport produces some waste. Thankfully netball is relatively light on equipment and gear, but still, we have identified several areas that we can begin to address, through collaboration and support from our netball family.

In collaboration with MDH, the Club’s longstanding kit, equipment and trophy partner, club kit is now actively being kept from landfill. Names and initials will be blanked out by MDH, ensuring preloved kit is ready for new owners.

With the help of Everyone Active and our coaches, kit will be made available through an ‘in-house’ preloved scheme. A donation/sale box will be made available during the first week of every month of the netball season from October to May.

All donations for pre-loved kit will be sent to Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, a leading conservation charity working to enhance wildlife and wild places of Leicestershire and Rutland.

Trainers are also being kept from landfill with the ‘Jog On’ scheme, facilitated by Everyone Active Market Harborough. By working with Everyone Active MHYN will ensure unwanted netball equipment such as posts, can be donated to local schools and clubs in need and do not get wasted.

The average ‘life span’ of a netball in Market Harborough is reduced by the rough, hard and unforgiving court surface in the netball/tennis dome.  However, responsible disposal of netballs appears to be a rare thing! Worn balls can be donated to a local schools, or to players within our netball family for practicing at home, after this, in Leicestershire, they can only be sent to landfill for disposal! Whilst MHYN work with partners to develop a better option, worn netballs will be kept in circulation for as long as possible, and stored once they become too worn. Training with a worn ball is easier than playing a match with a ball that has lost most of its traction.

MHYN continue to work with our amazingly supportive netball community to promote car sharing where possible, helping to keep fossil fuel use to a minimum.

The next steps on the journey will be to work with our regional branch of England Netball to share our story, and hopefully cascade our learning to other clubs in the county and beyond, so they too can start or continue their own sustainability journey.

If you like to learn more about our journey or help us develop the processes, please contact us at mhyouthnetball@gmail.com