The Company

Pride Sports was constituted as a Company Limited by Guarantee on 24th April 2006 with Trevor Burchick MBE and Louise Englefield as directors. Between them, they brought over 25 years experience of project management and development in voluntary, public and private spheres. Since then, the founding Directors have been joined by a third director, Sally Carr who brings substantial strategic experience both in LGBT and mainstream youth work. Since the company’s inception, its directors have served as Board members of International LGBT sports organisations such as GLISA (international Gay and Lesbian Sports Association) and the company is currently represented on the Board of the EGLSF (European Gay and Lesbian Sports Organisation). Pride Sports is also a member of the Federation of Gay Games, the longest standing International LGBT sports association.

Last year Pride Sports successfully delivered the sixth annual Pride Games, the UK’s annual ultisport festival, originally conceived by a group of volunteers and regularly attended by participants from throughout Europe. Over a five year period, Pride Games has seen in excess of 8,000 participants and has delivered the first LGBT Youth Games in the world, now in its third year.

Pride Sports has used its annual multisport festival as a springboard for the development of year round LGBT sports activity in the North West, having supported the launch of a number of LGBT sports groups and helped support the further growth of established groups. In 2008, Pride Sports launched the first ever National LGBT Sports Summit, an event designed to bring together the more than 100 LGBT sports organisations in the UK with National Governing Bodies of Sport and representatives from Sports Councils, to begin to develop an inclusive strategy for LGBT sport in the UK. From this event, Pride Sports launched the National LGBT Sports Network, which constituted itself during 2009, and whose Steering Group includes representatives of eight UK LGBT sports groups and associations.

Pride Sports is also a Proud City accredited satelite centre for City and Guilds, and Institute of Leadership and Management qualifications, primarily to enable routes of progression for our volunteers' development, whether it be to enable further community enagement, continuing professional development.