Sporting Heritage

📬 Stay connected to the world of Sporting Heritage!

Want to be the first to hear about awards, funding, event updates and new podcasts? Our newsletter is the best way to stay up to date with everything happening across the sector.

From blog features and inspiring collections to National Sporting Heritage Day activity and beyond, it's all just one click away.

👉 Sign up for free and never miss a moment: https://tinyurl.com/5e2bwm48

Be sure to share your sporting heritage for today's theme of . You never know what connections you might make!

You may remember one of our highlights from last year about the 1908 Reading marathon race that almost didn't happen due to an old byelaw which prohibited running on Berkshire roads. The race went ahead and was won by Lewis Southwell. His granddaughter has recently been in touch with us and shared this lovely photograph of him which has now been added to the article. Give it a read here: https://bit.ly/4eKhJqe

Loving today's theme of ! A great opportunity to share your sporting heritage, and explore so many fascinating stories too!

Get your trainers on and do some stretching its time for some

Sport & Fashion Month is back! Join us throughout June in shining a light on the UK's sportswear heritage.

What role has sportswear played in the story of UK sport? Share your collections, memories, research, and activity using

Learn more: https://bit.ly/SportAndFashion26

👉 Just as likely to be at risk as any other sporting heritage object, sportswear can evoke memories of our favourite teams, athletes, and sporting moments. It can inspire passion and wonder in sporting enthusiasts and heritage professionals alike, is deeply treasured and sought after within and by the sporting communities it helps identify. The heritage of sportswear can help map the evolution and development of our sports, being central to advances in performance, inclusion, representation, and belonging. From the field of sport to the catwalk, and as everyday fashion, sportswear and it’s changing designs, whether its divisive or iconic, has always been part of the fabric of our sporting lives.

You can get involved throughout June by sharing your collections, stories, and events with us on social media using . Follow us to keep across our planned activity and resources.

If you have any articles, research, upcoming activity, or ideas you’d like to discuss further then please DM or contact us (details on the website)

What puts sporting collections at risk, and why do they matter?

Following last year’s National Sporting Heritage Day, we hosted a Collections at Risk webinar and network discussion exploring the challenges facing sporting archives across the UK and how we can support them.

In the second half of the session, Fran Stovold facilitated a sector-wide conversation with our panellists and attendees, reflecting on what’s needed to safeguard sporting stories for future generations.

One key takeaway came from Philip Gale, Head of Standards & Improvements at The The National Archives summed up why sporting heritage is vital to the wider heritage record:

“Sports are a mirror to society and sporting archives tell us about social attitudes, class division and economic realities... If we did not have sporting heritage records, we'd have an incomplete landscape of society.”

"Sporting archives are more than records of play, they’re records of people, communities and social change. Ensuring their survival is essential to keeping our shared history pluralistic, inclusive and representative.

🎥 Find out more and watch the discussion linked in our blog post: https://tinyurl.com/mrybax3s

Preserving sporting heritage takes more than good intentions.

Collections can be at risk for many reasons: limited storage, environmental pressures, unclear documentation, or simply a lack of capacity. Without structured care, valuable records and artefacts can deteriorate or become inaccessible.

The Benchmarks in Collections Care self-assessment is a practical tool to help organisations evaluate how well their collections are protected and where improvements may be needed.

Structured across three levels: Basic, Good and Best, it enables organisations to:

▪️Identify risks within current collections care
▪️Strengthen preservation and documentation practices
▪️ Measure progress over time
▪️ Build clear, achievable action plans
▪️ Align with Accreditation requirements

Reducing heritage at risk starts with understanding the condition and management of what you hold.

Benchmarks provide a recognised framework to support that process, helping ensure sporting collections are not only safeguarded, but sustainable for the long term.

Find out more: https://tinyurl.com/2ux622sb.

Protecting sporting heritage starts with knowing what exists.

Our Collections Database maps sporting-related collections across the UK, from club archives and museum stores to community-held memorabilia.

If your organisation holds sporting records, artefacts, photographs or other material, adding your collection helps strengthen the national picture and reduce heritage at risk.

The form is straightforward and takes just a few minutes to complete.

If we don’t know your collection exists, we can’t advocate for it.
Add your collection via our website: https://tinyurl.com/3sy2p8j9

Protecting sporting heritage starts with reducing risk. Across the UK, we support communities to safeguard collections, strengthen knowledge and ensure stories endure.

Shining a light on the British Deaf History Society (Manchester). British Deaf History Society

2024 marked 100 years of the International Games for the Deaf, now known as the Deaflympics. The British Deaf History Society holds a remarkable collection of rare photographs and artefacts, many of which have never been publicly displayed due to limited space.

With support from a Sporting Heritage grant, a dedicated centenary exhibition was created at the Deaf History Museum in Manchester.

🔵 Rare and unique Deaf sporting artefacts were brought into public display.

🔵 The exhibition celebrated 100 years of Deaf sporting achievement.

🔵 The display travelled beyond Manchester, including to the Deaf Sports Personality of the Year event in Glasgow, reaching 400 attendees.

🔵 The project aimed to inspire young Deaf people and strengthen Deaf Pride.

By making this collection visible, the project helped challenge assumptions, celebrate Deaf excellence, and open pathways for future participation in sport, including the next Deaflympics in Taiwan in 2025.

“Through the project, we managed to attract and inspire young Deaf attendees, opening options they had not been previously exposed to.”

Plans are in place to continue sharing the exhibition more widely across the UK.

Find out more: www.bdhs.org.uk

Image credit: British Deaf History Society