Monday, 20 November 2006

Jim Hodge was nominated by appreciative members of the community in Kilwinning for playing a leading role in transforming the provision and development of sporting facilities in the town.

Along with a few of his old football buddies, he has increased sporting participation and development at all levels in Kilwinning, irrespective of social background, age, race or religion. After a promising football career was cut short due to injury, Jim began working with the local children in his neighbourhood to set up a football team and enter the local league, but became disillusioned with the quality of the facilities, pitches and changing rooms that were available.

He felt that if all the teams in the area could get together and approach the local authority with one voice, there would be more chance of a successful and pragmatic outcome.

He coordinated an approach to the council, and also approached the SFA, who were looking to support clubs run by the community. Through his persistence and dogged determination, the Kilwinning Community Sports Club was born. Before the transformation, which was led by Jim, the sports pitches in the deprived Pennyburn area were poorly drained and consisted of 2 x 11 a side and 2 Seven a side pitches and changing rooms for four teams. Six years on from the start of Jim's campaign the picture has changed completely. There are:
10 full-time employees, a new drainage, 7x11 a side pitches, 8 x seven a side pitches, changing for 12 teams, disabled and girls changing, 40 member football teams, three girls teams, golf practice range, weightlifting section, netball section. There is also a sports development programme in local primary schools, delivered by Kilwinning Community Sports Club, floodlit synthetic pictures and premier quality grass pitches, equivalent to the standard at SPL grounds.

Jim has raised through fundraising, grants and donations over £750,000 for the area.

He said: "I'm excited about the chance of going down to the BBC Sports Personality of the The year, and I'm delighted that I have been selected as the unsung hero for Scotland.

"When I first started looking at fundraising for the facilities, everybody was asking for improvements, and I felt it would be better to pull them all together as one voice."The approach broke down a lot of the local rivalries that existed for a number of years. The result was that guys who had previously been fighting or arguing were now sitting together in a meeting trying to get things done." The organisations which the club has targeted successfully includes Sports Scotland, The Lottery, Communities Scotland and North Ayrshire Council.