2011 - A Year In Review

2011 has been a landmark year for Level Playing Field, and we are already looking to build on the successes of the last twelve months.

Probably the biggest thing to happen to us in 2011 was the changing of our name. In March, NADS changed its trading name to Level Playing Field. The decision was made because it was felt that the name Level Playing Field better reflected the Social Model of Disability. Level Playing Field is a big advocate of the social model of disability and its guiding principles and objectives all reflect this. A lot of positive feedback was received from the members supporting the name change and 9 months the charity feels very much at home with its new name. You can now find us at our new home of http://www.levelplayingfield.org.uk

In January of this year Level Playing Field presented the conclusions to its Football for Everyone Project based in Wolverhampton. The project was managed by Miranda Walker and LPF worked with The Federation of Stadium Communities to deliver the project.

The project was part funded by Level Playing Field and the Big Lottery Fund. It involved local young people acting as investigative researchers, going out and interviewing newly disabled people (and some with existing disabilities). Their aim was to raise awareness around the benefits of both accessing and taking part in leisure activities for disabled groups and identifying any barriers faced. With the help of Miranda Walker the young investigators produced a ‘toolkit’ of posters, postcards, case studies and factsheets which were presented at the event on 20th January. The event also saw the launch of “Mean to You”, an audio play written by Miranda Walker based on the research undertaken. To find out more about this project and see the posters, case studies and hear the audio play please visit: http://www.levelplayingfield.org.uk/Wolverhampton-Football-for-Everyone-Project.aspx

In June, we held the Level Playing Field AGM in the stunning surroundings of the House of Lords in Westminster. The event was hosted by the late Alan Keen MP and the All Party Parliamentary Football Group, and included presentations and Q&A sessions about the treatment of disabled supporters in stadiums. The AGM is a crucial event in the calendar year and is essential for updating parties with a vested interest in the charity of our successes. To read more about the AGM, you can revisit our June 2011 newsletter at http://www.intouchcrm.co.uk/app/e/v/0-21094-0.aspx.

Also in June of this year Level Playing Field successfully secured grant funding from the Football Foundation Fans Fun to run two projects – Working Together (Clubs and Disabled Fans) and a Research Project to investigate the viability of running similar projects to the Never Watch Alone Initiative in other regions. Both projects are now under way with the former being a three year project and the latter lasting one year.

The additional funding enabled us to add two new members to the Level Playing Field team – Mike Rice joined us as our new Development Administrator back in October, and Kate Noble was recently appointed as our Researcher.

To find out more about both projects look out for updates on our website under the Activities pages.

The final great project of 2011 was to announce the winners of the Level Playing Field Fan Awards for the 2011/12 season. The Joseph Wratten award was won by Kev Monks, a Coventry City supporter; The Club Employee award was won by Julie Pidgeon of West Ham United; and the Volunteer Award was won by Albert Boseley, a Notts County supporter who volunteers for the Lifeline lottery scheme. Two of our management trustees, Janet Ireland and Gary Deards, were also nominated and received special recognition for their long-term commitment to Level Playing Field and work at club level with Sheffield United and Reading respectively.

We are extremely grateful for the nominations and humbled by the extraordinary work that so many of you are doing. To find out more about the awards and this year’s winners, please visit http://levelplayingfield.org.uk/news/Level-Playing-Field-Fan-Awards-2011.aspx.

We would like to end with a few words about the major success of our sister charity, the Centre for Access to Football in Europe. They held their first ever European conference in September at Wembley Stadium, and were joined by high-profile delegates from across the continent. The highlight of the event was the launch of the joint UEFA and CAFE Good Practice Guide – “Access For All”. This provides invaluable guidance regarding stadium accessibility, and has already proved to be extremely useful. You can see and download the guide by visiting http://www.cafefootball.eu/2011/09/24/blog/CAFE-UEFA-launch-good-practice-guide.aspx. Further conference materials can also be accessed at http://www.cafefootball.eu/Conference-2011.aspx.

Thank you all very much for your continued support during 2011. Plans are already in place to add to our successes during 2012, and we hope that you will continue to support Level Playing Field in promoting good access for all supporters.