* Hammersmith and fulham's sport organisation of the year 2022 *
The Cross-Over Sport for
Inclusivity, Opportunity, Community.
switch is the sport for everyone.
we are all about inclusivity, opportunity and community.
inclusivity: our sport can be played by mixed gender, mixed age and mixed ability teams. our goal is for olympic and Paralympic athletes to play switch on the same pitch at the olympic games. we welcome anyone who thinks switch is not for them to come and try it.
opportunity: we encourage young people to not only play switch, but also try many other new AND TRADITIONAL sports and activities, learn to take calculated risks, become trainee coaches, young ambassadors, volunteers and designers. we can help give YOUNG PEOPLE the skills to pursue THEIR dreams.
community: switch unites communities in a unique way. we bring together families of different ages and backgrounds, break down barriers, provide a caring environment where players look out for each other on and off the pitch, and create opportunities for different communities to safely mix with one another through our sport.
Switch was created in 2012 by
ex-professional football
coach and community officer,
Danny Hibbert, after being inspired by the London 2012 Olympics.
Danny started to teach switch at his local primary school, ARK Bentworth in White City, West London. word spread and switch started to be taught at various schools across london as both pe lessons and after school clubs.
Danny then started his holiday programmes which were started with the notion of keeping local young people engaged, active, trying new activities and socialising with children of different ages, backgrounds and areas during the holidays. Aside from this being a fun, active and safe place for children to be whilst they were off school, it was also designed to encourage social mobility and prevent children from being involved in gang culture and postcode wars.
when children became too old to be a participant of these programmes, they were invited to become a trainee coach so that they could still feel a part of our club and learn valuable life skills. they could then go on to become a paid coach when they turned 16.
Switch started to be played as a warm up game for Shepherd's Bush United Football Club, which Danny started in 2005. He noticed how Switch helped his players with teamwork, movement off the ball, concentration, ball control and pace. So, he told sports clubs about Switch and was subsequently invited to deliver sessions at Queens Park Rangers FC Academy, Watford Ladies FC and the Racer's Track Club in Kingston, Jamaica - Usain Bolt's home training ground. He and co-director, Lucy Wragg, worked with Team Jamaica to teach Switch to their young, aspiring athletes to provide them with a fun, team sport that could help the athletes with teamwork, coordination and agility.
Since then, switch has been played by community programmes which mixes abilities, ages and genders. it has been played by wheelchair users, partially sighted players and players with varying physical and mental disabilities. this encouraged us to continue to make switch available for everyone, and we continue to develop our game in order to be as inclusive as possible.
switch has now been played by over 10,000 people, providing a wide range of Switch sessions, consisting of P.E. lessons, after school clubs, festivals, tournaments and community programmes.
our next goal is to get sponsorship so that we can replicate our switch community model in different towns and cities around the uk and create a national switch league.
SWITCH iS an inclusive, fast-paced and high concentration game, WHICH has been reported tO HAVE a VERY positive effect on mental hEALTH and physical development.
SWITCH IS ONE OF THE FEW SPORTS THAT WAS CREATED TO BE PLAYED BY MIXED AGE, MIXED GENDER AND MIXED ABILITY TEAMS, MEANING IT IS suitable FOR BEGINNERS, COMMUNITIES, SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, people with disabilities or additional needs, and PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES.
IT CAN BE PLAYED AS A SPORT IN ITS OWN RIGHT, AS A WARM UP SPORT, as a gateway into other sports OR AS AN
OFF-SEASON TEAM GAME.
Switch is a CROSSOVER sport that combines FIVE Olympic sports; Football, Basketball, Netball, Volleyball and Handball.
teams:
minimum 3 v 3
maximum 7 v 7
PITCH layout:
3 ZONES
2 goals
2 Overload areas
END ZONES:
BASKETBALL, HANDBALL,
VOLLEYBALL, netBALL
MOVES.
MIDDLE ZONE:
FOOTBALL MOVES
(other than start/
restart of match
where 2 players
involved in tip off
can use palm for
initial contact)
how to score:
throw in to goal
1 point
palm volley smash
2 points
ANYONE CAN
SWITCH ZONES
AT ANY TIME.
play video for FULL RULES
