Littledown Juniors, one of Bournemouth’s pioneering all-inclusive football clubs for young people, is celebrating its thirtieth season.
Since launching in 1988, thousands of boys and girls, aged between 3-17 years old, have been part of the club, learning and developing their football skills and playing in leagues and tournaments. England player and premiership midfielder Adam Lallana even began his football journey with Littledown Juniors when he was a young boy.
To mark this anniversary, new player initiatives include an extra end of year tournament, awards and medals, and midweek coaching sessions.
Mike Lyons, BH Live’s Director for Sport and Leisure is proud of the club ethos that everyone gets to play and it’s all about enjoying the fundamentals of the game.
“The fact that Littledown Juniors continues to flourish is testament to its values and the continued support of the players and the hundreds of volunteers that make each season so enjoyable.
“Lifelong friends are made, habits to be more active are formed and positive attitudes about teamwork and sportsmanship are shaped on our pitches and we are honoured to be part of that developmental journey for so many.”
The club is also celebrating a five-year kit sponsorship deal with Play Football. This enables Littledown Juniors to continue offering its players value for money membership with additional benefits including team kit, club activities and events.
Catherine Ferma, Commercial Operations Director for Play Football adds,
“We’re proud to continue our sponsorship of a club that shares our passion for getting more people playing football. We’re both committed to increasing levels of participation, helping people stay active by playing football more often. We’re sure Littledown Juniors is on course for another great season.”
To find out more about Littledown Juniors visit bhliveactive.org.uk
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors:
Littledown Juniors in Bournemouth, started with 320 children on 6 September 1988. It has since doubled the amount of players with ages ranging from 3 to 17 years old enrolled for the thirtieth season.
Littledown Juniors Football Club timeline
Summer 1988
Rev. David Wiseman moves to Bournemouth to set up a football club for all at Littledown Centre – similar to clubs he had also founded in the North West.
6 Sept 1988
Littledown Juniors Football Club founded. 320 people arrive on first Saturday.
1997
Littledown Centre takes over running Littledown Juniors
1997
New outdoor all-weather pitches built and opened by Rev, David Wiseman and former Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty.
1997
Club continues to expand and includes Soccer Starters (3/4 year olds), Soccer Stars (4-6 year olds) and U8-17 leagues
2007
Six state of the art ‘rubber-crumb’ all-weather artificial training pitches create some of the finest artificial playing surfaces in Europe.
2016
Pitches refurbished.
2017
Club celebrates their thirtieth season with new initiatives. Teams will have an extra end of season tournament, penalty shootout awards and crossbar challenge medals. Midweek coaching sessions return for (6-14 age group) to practice before the weekend games.
For more information about BH Live please contact:
Elizabeth Symmons, PR & Corporate Communications Executive
E: press.office@bhlive.org.uk
T: (01202) 055562
About BH Live
BH Live is the south coast’s leading operator of leisure and event venues; a social enterprise that designs and builds engaging experiences to inspire people and enrich lives.
With 3.4 million visits a year and over £39 million turnover, the organisation is changing lives – placing it at the heart of the UK’s growing social economy.
In 2016/17 BH Live hosted more than 500 events, sold over half a million cultural, sporting and entertainment tickets. They had 2.9 million activity attendances in its leisure centres and welcomed 100,000 conference and exhibition delegates into its venues. This contributed an estimated £44 million to the local economy through business and cultural tourism. For more visit bhlive.org.uk
Get social with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter @BHLIVE_UK
About Littledown
Littledown is managed and operated by BH Live in partnership with Bournemouth Borough Council.
Set in 47 acres of parkland, Littledown has some of the finest leisure, swimming, football and gym facilities in the country.
It is ranked among the top performing leisure centres in the UK – crowned Local Authority/Leisure Trust Gym of the Year at the 2016 National Fitness Awards and accredited by quality scheme QUEST.
The centre attracts more than 1.2 million visits each year and is home to clubs including Bournemouth Swimming Academy, Swim Bournemouth, Littledown Juniors Football Club and Play Football.
It runs nearly 300 weekly fitness classes, has one of the largest gyms in the UK with personal training, an exercise referral and children’s activity programme. The BH Live Active team also works with local health authorities, trusts, education providers and organisations to encourage greater participation in physical activity.
Indoor facilities include a 25-metre swimming pool, 17-metre teaching pool, waterslides, splash pool, steam rooms, a sauna and sanarium. There is a large sports hall for events and multi-sports including trampolining, badminton, table tennis, football and gymnastics.
The centre also has on-site catering and an Ofsted registered crèche.
Outdoor facilities include leisure attraction, ALTITUDE High Ropes Adventure at Littledown Park (2017 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence), six floodlit 3G rubber crumb training pitches, grass football pitches, parkland for recreation and events, a cricket pitch and pavilion, lake, paddling pool, children’s playground, outdoor catering outlets, leisure orienteering course and parking.
For more visit bhliveactive.org.uk
Get social with us on Facebook and Twitter @BHLIVE_UK @bhliveactive