The Importance of Supporting Grassroots Sport
Grassroots sport provides plenty of action, possibly on your doorstop. 1/1600s F2.8 300mm ISO 64.
At the weekend I tuned into the last fifteen minutes of the FA Cup Final and was blown away by the atmosphere that greeted me. For far too long teams have played in empty stadiums and we seem to have forgotten what it is like to watch sport with cheering (and jeering) crowds. Despite Wembley only being at around quarter capacity, you wouldn’t have known it by the volume, as fans made the most of being back to support their teams. As one of the commentators said after the match, the presence of fans had long been taken for granted but that won’t be the case going forward. The Euros will truly be a sight to behold if matches are able to be played in at-capacity grounds.
The Men’s 1st team are often the most photographed team, if a club has any recent photographs at all. 1/1000s F2.8 300mm ISO 64.
However, whilst elite sport has largely been able to carry on throughout the pandemic there is another, arguably more important, element that has always flown under the radar – Grassroots sport. Shuttered for a much longer period, clubs were finally able to open their doors in April, though for many the leagues they play in were cancelled and won’t resume until next season. It cannot be overstated how important this level of sport is as it sits at the very bottom of the sporting pyramid. This is where adults and children alike are further engaged in the activities they enjoy watching and supporting. It is where the next superstars are born, where communities are built and provide important outreach to get people fitter or in some cases keep young people off the streets.
It’s important to get photos of as many different teams as possible to show the full breadth of the club. 1/6400s F1.4 105mm ISO 64.
Despite its importance the funding as you can imagine at this level can be quite limited and much of the work that goes into it is done on a voluntary basis. Whether it is coaching, administration, officiating or just manning the kitchens at full time, these clubs simply wouldn’t run without a very dedicated set of volunteers who regularly give up their time. So, when the word was put out by my local hockey club that they were looking for a photographer, I saw this not just as a great opportunity for myself but to also be a part of the extensive network of support.
Getting close-ups of individuals will always go down well with said individuals. Everyone wants photos to show their friends and families. 1/1250s F2.8 300mm ISO 64.
Once upon a time the staff photographer was a core part of any newspaper or magazine publication. They simply had to be. In the days of film, cameras were in the hands of fewer people and even fewer had an SLR with the appropriate skill to use it to capture world events or the fast action of sports. Fast forward to today and you’d be hard pressed to find a staff photographer at all even at a lot of major newspapers. As the digital era rolled on and more and more people had a camera in their pocket in the form of their phone, we began to swim in a world of images that seemed to make having dedicated photographers on staff redundant, ultimately quite literally.
Getting the crowd in the shot works well to show off the support as well as club facilities. 1/1600s F2.8 300mm ISO 64.
What this has meant though is that many of the local newspapers who would have sent a photographer down to get shots for the sport pages no longer do so. The freelance work they hand out is few and far between so subsequently a lot is missed. Coupled with the situation that most clubs tend to focus only or mostly on their Men’s 1st team, and you have a situation where websites can be using very old photos that only represent a tiny proportion of the teams. Your mobile phone just can’t cut it for action shots, and it won’t do you much good if you are standing on the other side of a fence.
With leagues cancelled this season many clubs are playing friendlies including mixed men’s and women’s matches which promote camaraderie throughout the club. 1/640s F2.8 300mm ISO 80.
My hope with my photography is that I can steadily cover all the Men’s, Women’s, and perhaps even youth teams so that the club can more effectively promote itself to a wider cross section of society as well as give individual players a cool photo they can show to their mates (always of critical importance!). And soon I can hopefully take photos of the club house being used as it was intended, full of chatting and socialising members instead of the empty rooms as dictated by covid restrictions.
Whilst matches are often competitive, remember to capture the fun people are having as well. 1/640s F2.8 300mm ISO 64.
Even if you aren’t a photographic fanatic like I am there are still plenty of ways you can support your local club as I highlighted above. If you are keen to do a bit more socialising now that we are no longer trapped at home, it’s also a great way to meet new people and best of all it may even be the closest place to home that’ll serve you a pint of beer. What more incentive could you possibly need?
The fun doesn’t finish at the final whistle either. Showing the post-match socialising gives a more rounded view of the club to potential attendees. 1/500s F4.0 70mm ISO 100.
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