Latest news with #grassroots
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Frances Tiafoe backs efforts to expand grassroots tennis in UK
US tennis star Frances Tiafoe believes the game in the UK can set a global example as the sport attempts to break free from its elitist reputation and open up at grassroots level. Lack of access to facilities has typically led to far smaller participation levels than in more popular sports in Britain and, though an LTA report in 2024 revealed that around 3.6million UK children play at least once a year, barriers remain to its regular uptake amongst young people, both in Britain and abroad. Advertisement Much of that is down to the expense of equipment and limited access to properly maintained courts and coaching, in practice fencing the game off from some demographics. Frances Tiafoe was speaking alongside Ian Wright and Clare Balding at an event to mark one year of Barclays Free Park Tennis scheme (PA) Current world number 12 Tiafoe, whose family immigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone during the 90s, cites his early introduction to the game as an outlier. Had his father not worked as janitor at a tennis centre in Tiafoe's hometown Maryland, he believes he would never have taken up a game which was seen as off limits to people from less affluent backgrounds. 'You give a chance to people in inner cities, people who wouldn't be able to do a particular sport,' said Tiafoe, who was speaking at an event in London to mark one year of Barclays Free Park tennis scheme, which provides facilities and coaching with the aim of removing barriers between children and grassroots sport. Advertisement 'In America, that's why everyone's so quick to play basketball. All you need is a ball and a hoop. Same as (football) over here (in the UK).' He believes that initiatives like Free Park Tennis – billed as the sport's answer to Park Run and which provides for free the coaches and equipment many would otherwise be unable to afford – will provide the stimulus in the UK for barriers to fall away. 'Tennis you need rackets and strings and shoes, it becomes very upper echelon,' he said. 'This way everyone will be able to it. That's what means a lot to me.' Tiafoe, a two-time US Open semi-finalist in 2022 and 2024, will be aiming to improve upon his Wimbledon record – where he has never progressed beyond the fourth round – when play begins on Monday. Advertisement The 27-year-old is drawn to face the Dane Elmer Moller in the first round with a possible second-round meeting with Brit Cameron Norrie. He believes that more players from his background will in future feel they can follow in his footsteps, with the UK leading the way in breaking down barriers. 'There'd be three or four of me sitting here if we had these schemes (in the US),' he said. 'That's why I'm so passionate about these type of things.' Tiafoe was knocked out of last year's Wimbledon by Carlos Alcaraz (Zac Goodwin/PA) BBC Sport presenter Ian Wight, also speaking at the event, said his own experience of growing up on a council estate in south London pushed him and his peers towards football because sports like tennis appeared closed off. Advertisement 'When we were younger, you go the tennis court where I lived in Brockley, it was always empty,' he said. 'I didn't see anybody on there – white, black, nobody. 'There were people who played football with us just because it's easy to get a football and all of you can play. I'm sure some of those guys, if they had the facilities from this kind of initiative, they would have done it. '
The Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Frances Tiafoe backs efforts to expand grassroots tennis in UK
US tennis star Frances Tiafoe believes the game in the UK can set a global example as the sport attempts to break free from its elitist reputation and open up at grassroots level. Lack of access to facilities has typically led to far smaller participation levels than in more popular sports in Britain and, though an LTA report in 2024 revealed that around 3.6million UK children play at least once a year, barriers remain to its regular uptake amongst young people, both in Britain and abroad. Much of that is down to the expense of equipment and limited access to properly maintained courts and coaching, in practice fencing the game off from some demographics. Current world number 12 Tiafoe, whose family immigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone during the 90s, cites his early introduction to the game as an outlier. Had his father not worked as janitor at a tennis centre in Tiafoe's hometown Maryland, he believes he would never have taken up a game which was seen as off limits to people from less affluent backgrounds. 'You give a chance to people in inner cities, people who wouldn't be able to do a particular sport,' said Tiafoe, who was speaking at an event in London to mark one year of Barclays Free Park tennis scheme, which provides facilities and coaching with the aim of removing barriers between children and grassroots sport. 'In America, that's why everyone's so quick to play basketball. All you need is a ball and a hoop. Same as (football) over here (in the UK).' He believes that initiatives like Free Park Tennis – billed as the sport's answer to Park Run and which provides for free the coaches and equipment many would otherwise be unable to afford – will provide the stimulus in the UK for barriers to fall away. 'Tennis you need rackets and strings and shoes, it becomes very upper echelon,' he said. 'This way everyone will be able to it. That's what means a lot to me.' Tiafoe, a two-time US Open semi-finalist in 2022 and 2024, will be aiming to improve upon his Wimbledon record – where he has never progressed beyond the fourth round – when play begins on Monday. The 27-year-old is drawn to face the Dane Elmer Moller in the first round with a possible second-round meeting with Brit Cameron Norrie. He believes that more players from his background will in future feel they can follow in his footsteps, with the UK leading the way in breaking down barriers. 'There'd be three or four of me sitting here if we had these schemes (in the US),' he said. 'That's why I'm so passionate about these type of things.' BBC Sport presenter Ian Wight, also speaking at the event, said his own experience of growing up on a council estate in south London pushed him and his peers towards football because sports like tennis appeared closed off. 'When we were younger, you go the tennis court where I lived in Brockley, it was always empty,' he said. 'I didn't see anybody on there – white, black, nobody. 'There were people who played football with us just because it's easy to get a football and all of you can play. I'm sure some of those guys, if they had the facilities from this kind of initiative, they would have done it. '
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Small charities are 'lifeblood of community', says funder
Small charities are "the lifeblood of our communities", a foundation that provides grants for grassroots organisations has & Isle of Wight Community Foundation supports charities tackling poverty, isolation, mental health and unemployment across the two Scott, chief executive of the group, said small philanthropic organisations "know their clients and the people they work with incredibly well, and provide them with huge amounts of support".Her comments come during Small Charity Week in the UK - a national campaign highlighting the important, but often unsung, impact of small charities. Since 2002, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation has awarded more than £16.5m of funding to local groups, distributing a share of 1 to 2 million pounds a year."We match their passion and what they want to achieve with their funding in the local community," Ms Scott said. Matt Foster, who started the Parenting Network in Portsmouth, is one of those to have benefited from grant organisation offers a range of free services and support to parents in Hampshire."Small bits of funding have big ripples and make big impacts for the families here," he admitted the group would not exist without that support and said being the founder of a small charity could come with financial pressure."You feel that weight on your shoulders," he said 'Lost without it' Mr Foster said the Parenting Network supported more than 12,500 families last said: "It's mixed feelings. It's really sad the stories that we hear but we are so, so lucky that we are here and we are the people that they are choosing to come to."A parent who spoke from one of the charity's sessions said: "Without it, without the support, without the groups, without the one-to-one chat that you can have, without anything, I think we'd all be lost."Another said the parents also enjoyed making friends and having a break. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Mamdani may join a global trend of mayors standing up to nationalists
You're reading an excerpt from the WorldView newsletter. Sign up to get the rest, including news from around the globe and interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In his victory speech, Zohran Mamdani didn't pull punches. The upstart 33-year-old socialist had carried out a remarkable feat, leading a stunning grassroots campaign that came from obscurity to defeat New York City's entrenched Democratic establishment in Tuesday's primary election. He is poised to clinch the party's nomination for city mayor. On the precipice of running the greatest metropolis in the United States, Mamdani said that the Democrats under his watch would be 'a party where we fight for working people with no apology' and that he would use his mayoral power to 'reject [President] Donald Trump's fascism.'
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Will the Democrats learn from Zohran Mamdani's victory?
The Democratic party is at a crossroads. It can continue to push policies that maintain a broken and rigged economic and political system and ignore the pain of the 60% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. It can turn its back on the dreams of a younger generation which, if we don't change that system, will likely be worse off than their parents. It can continue to depend upon billionaire donors and out-of-touch campaign consultants and spend huge amounts of money on dumb 30-second ads that fewer and fewer people respond to. It can ignore the tragic reality that tens of millions of Americans are giving up on democracy because they don't see their government understanding their struggles and the realities of their lives or doing anything about it. Or it can learn the lesson that the Zohran Mamdani campaign taught us on Tuesday. And that is: Have the courage to address the real economic and moral issues that face the majority of our people, take on the greed and power of the oligarchy and fight for an agenda that can improve life for working families. Some may claim that Mamdani's victory was just about style and the fact that he is a charismatic candidate. Yes. He is. But you don't get a Mamdani victory without the extraordinary grassroots movement that rallied around him. And you don't get that movement and thousands of enthusiastic people knocking on doors without an economic agenda that speaks to the needs of working people. The people of New York and all Americans understand that, in the richest country on earth, they should not have to struggle every day just to put food on the table, pay their rent or pay their medical bills. These are the people the Democratic consultants don't know exist. Mamdani has been criticized for his 'radical' and 'unrealistic' economic policies: Demanding that, at a time of unprecedented income and wealth inequality, the rich and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes. Demanding that, when many New Yorkers are no longer able to find affordable housing, there should be a freeze on rent hikes. Demanding that, when commuting to a job takes a big toll out of a worker's paycheck, public transportation should be free. Demanding that, when many low-income and working people are unable to access good-quality food for themselves and their kids, publicly owned neighborhood grocery stores should be created. These ideas, and more, are not radical. They may not be what billionaires, wealthy campaign contributors and real estate speculators want, but they are what working people want. And maybe, just maybe, it's time to listen to them. Mamdani's victory was not about 'star power'. It was very much about people power, about revitalizing democracy and opening the door for ordinary people to gain control over the decisions that impact their lives. Importantly, he did not run away from the moral issue that is troubling millions in New York and around the country: the need to end US military support for a rightwing extremist Benjamin Netanyahu government in Israel that is obliterating the people of Gaza and starving their children. Mamdani understands that antisemitism is a disgusting and dangerous ideology, but that it is not antisemitic to be critical of the inhumane policies of the Netanyahu government. The lesson of Mamdani's campaign is that it is not good enough just to be critical of Trump and his destructive policies. We have to bring forth a positive vision and an analysis of why things are the way they are. It is not good enough to maintain a status quo that is failing most Americans. At a time when hope is in increasingly short supply, people must have the sense that if we work together, if we have the courage to take on powerful special interests, we can create a better world – a world of economic, social, racial and environmental justice. Will the current Democratic party leadership learn the lessons of the Mamdani campaign? Probably not. Too many of them would rather be the captains on a sinking Titanic, rather than change course. Then again, it doesn't matter what they think. The establishment threw everything they had against Mamdani – millions in Super Pac money, endorsements from 'important people', a hostile media – and they still lost. The future of the Democratic party will not be determined by its current leadership. It will be decided by the working class of this country. Increasingly, people understand that our political system is corrupt and that billionaires should not be able to buy elections. They understand that we should not have an unprecedented level of income and wealth inequality; that we should not be the only wealthy country not to guarantee healthcare for all; that we should not deny young people the right to a higher education because of their income; that we should not have a major crisis in affordable housing; that we should not have a minimum wage that is a starvation wage; that we should not allow corporations to illegally prevent union organization – and much, much more. The American people are beginning to stand up and fight back. We have seen that in the many Fighting Oligarchy events that we've done around the country that have drawn huge turnouts. We have seen that in the millions of people who came out for the No Kings rallies that took place this month in almost every state. And yesterday, we saw that in the Democratic primary in New York City. We're going forward. And no one is going to stop us. Bernie Sanders is a US senator, and ranking member of the health, education, labor and pensions committee. He represents the state of Vermont and is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress
