A year on from the launch of the Energise Club, participation numbers have grown as the Hull FC Community Foundation seeks to engage more primary school children in fun, educational activities.
From the launch of the project last year where there were only a small group of participants attending each week, there are now over 30 regular attending children on a weekly basis.
It’s a sign of the engaging nature of the Energise Club, with children keen to come back for more each week.
Energise Club, an after-school club, was designed to improve children’s health and fitness through fun games and learning activities.
For children aged 5-11, it has provided vital motivation to lead healthier lifestyles in their own personal time.
Sessions are split into two sections – an active fitness section and a classroom-based learning activity section, for example an educational healthy eating activity.
Some of the fitness activities include playing a variety of sports games such as rugby, football, tennis and rounders, as well as gym style activities, fun circuits, and games that encourage team building and leadership skills.
Participants of the Energise Club got an exclusive matchday experience at the MKM Stadium earlier this month, getting to play some fun games on the pitch at half-time after a tour of the ground earlier in the day.
The brainchild of Energise Club, Maisie Malton, is the Community Foundation’s Health & Wellbeing Manager. She said: “We created Energise Club with the intention of increasing children’s’ knowledge of healthy lifestyles and getting them to be more active.
“We tailored Energise Club to be adaptable to all children with different preferences. We understand that not all children have a particular interest in sport, so Energise Club offers them the chance to do something different on a weekly basis.”
Thomas Britton, who has now been attending Energise Club for several months, said: “We learn a lot about healthy eating and we get a lot of exercise. I think it’s great!
“My favourite game to play is Shark Attack. You get into four teams and one person is picked to go into the middle. You have to run from different cones and as soon as somebody shouts ‘Shark Attack’ then the people in the middle have to come and try and tag you. It’s a really fun game.”
Such has been the popularity of Energise Club that the Hull FC Community Foundation has added the project to its upcoming summer camps for the school holidays. For more information, or to book onto the camps, please click here
In addition, the Community Foundation is looking to add more sessions at multiple venues across the city to its timetable from September 2022, once children return to school.
On top of this, Energise Club will be heading into a number of local schools, making the sessions easier to access for even more children!
Energise Club sessions take place every at the Bonus Youth Performance Centre Thursday evening (4.15-5.45pm), with children able to attend for free!
If you’d like more information on Energise Club, please email maisie.malton@hullfc.com.