Themed funding rounds

Sport England’s themed rounds are competitive, targeted National Lottery investment programmes that address specific challenges to community sport and opportunities to increase participation.

By tackling identified gaps in sporting participation the themed rounds complement the rest of our investment in growing and sustaining participation and creating opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport.

We launched the following themes in 2009/10:

• Rural Communities – we made 11 awards worth a combined total of £4.7m into projects that make it easier for people living in rural areas to take part in sport. Final decisions on 19 remaining applications will be made this summer.
• Active Women – aimed at helping women in disadvantaged communities and women caring for children under 16. We encouraged 32 applications worth a total of £12.8m to go forward to Stage 2.
• Active Universities – launched in March 2010, this programme aims to get 100,000 students doing three or more thirty minute sessions of sport a week. Final awards will be made by March 2011.