Sports Development

The Oxford Sports Development team work to develop and promote sporting and physical activities for all residents across the city.

Our vision is: "To provide world class leisure opportunities to enhance the quality of life of everyone living, visiting or working in Oxford."

The key priorities and development work for the service area can be viewed in the following documents:

Leisure Facilities Review - May 2009 (771kB PDF)
Sport and Physical Activity Review 2009-14 (409kB PDF)
Tennis Review and Action Plan 2010 (377kB PDF)
Tennis Review Appendices (2.1MB PDF)

Quest Assessment

The Sports Development Team undertook a Quest assessment in August 2011 and scored 77 per cent in the assessment. When comparing this against the other Sports Development teams in the country for first time assessments, Oxford was placed in the top quartile of high scoring teams.

Quest is a continuous improvement tool and a framework for managing teams involved in development activities, which encourage increased participation in physical activity, sport, recreation, play and other cultural activity. It assists teams to manage more effectively and efficiently, and move towards meeting and exceeding customers' needs.

The Sports Development Team within the City deliver a wide range of projects and activities to get the residents of Oxford involved in sports, physical activity and to improve their health and well-being. These include Get Oxfordshire Active (GO Active), Active Women and Street Sports.

For more information please visit the Quest website.

Oxford City Council Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sports Strategy (2012 – 2026)

The Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sport Strategy (2012 – 2026) assess the current and future demand for sports pitches and other outdoor sports facilities over the next 14 years. The strategy also provides a robust framework for resource prioritisation and informed planning decisions.

The Executive Summary of the strategy is available to download below:

Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sport Strategy (2012 – 2026) - Executive Summary (91kB PDF)

A full version of the strategy and its appendices are available to download below:

Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sport Strategy (2012 – 2026) (91kB PDF)
Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sport Strategy (2012 – 2026) - Appendices (91kB PDF)

Leisure Facilities Review (2009)

The Leisure Facilities Review has been developed following the commencement of a ten-year contract with Fusion Lifestyle to manage the Council's Leisure Facilities. The overriding objectives of the contract are; to develop world-class leisure facilities, improve the value for money they offer and to ensure transferring employees are treated equitably.

The strategy has utilised a wealth of research, which has consistently highlighted several issues; many of which are now being addressed through the contract with Fusion Lifestyle.

The main outstanding issue is the need to agree a way forward for the Council's leisure facilities in the South of the City, two of which are seen to be in very poor condition with a limited lifespan.

The Oxford City Leisure Annual Transformational Plan is the delivery plan for the strategy. The review suggests the future direction for leisure detailing the reasons for this direction. Each development referred to in the review will be evaluated through a detailed business case and will be subject to consultation with stakeholders.

The purpose of the review is to:

• Establish a long-term plan for each leisure facility.
• Crystallise the Council's role in developing the City Leisure offer.
• Articulating what a world-class leisure service for Oxford will look like and how it will be achieved

Sports and Physical Activity Review (2009 - 2014)

The review takes an approach of looking at the current Sport and Physical Activity picture within the City, the desired future and local agendas, ensuring that it compliments the existing Leisure Facilities Review and emerging Cultural Strategy within the City.

The purpose of the review is to:

• Crystallise the Council's role in providing a Sport and Physical Activity Offer
• To show how the council links into the Sport and Physical Activity national & local priorities and agenda.
• To identify and evidence the key Focus & Priority Sports for the Council (below)
• To identify key challenging sporting projects within the City Leisure service area and prioritise them accordingly.

Focus and Priority Sports

Stemming from the Sports and Physical Activity Review (2009), 'Focus' and 'Priority' Sports are those sports that are given support from the sports development team. Examples of the support provided includes; assistance with producing funding bids and development plans, and increasing participation/access.

Each of the Focus and Priority sports will be reviewed annually and the model (pictured below) will evolve.

Management of our Leisure Centres

Oxford City Council work with Fusion Lifestyle (a not-for-profit leisure trust) to improve and develop our leisure centres and swimming pools.

We have signed a 10-year management contract with Fusion which will deliver improvements to the centres and reduce the overall cost of the service, resulting in better value for money for the people of Oxford.

For more information on Oxford-s leisure centres and swimming pools, please visit our Leisure and Swimming Pools page.

Partnership Working

To ensure that we deliver an effective sports development service and meet our priorities and objectives, the sports development team work with a variety of key partners and stakeholders including:

• Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust
• Oxfordshire Sports Partnership
• Fusion Lifestyle
• Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action

Contact Us

You can contact the Sports Development team by emailing sportdevelopment@oxford.gov.uk or calling 01865 252727.

Page last reviewed 3 May 2012