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As England continues to experience a period of sustained heat, the latest evidence suggests that spells of extended hot weather are becoming an increasingly important difficulty when trying to be active.

Following the June heatwave, our Activity Check-in has shown that 71% of adults said they had experienced extreme heat during the previous 12 months.

Among those who had to endure extreme heat, 73% said they had done less sport and physical activity as a result.

Our study also says that the proportion saying the weather in the previous seven days was not suitable for being active increased almost fivefold, from 5% in August 2025 to 24.5% in June 2026.

Cost, time and confidence have long been recognised as obstacles to being active. These findings suggest that prolonged periods of hot weather are becoming another.

Not that hot weather is anything new. But the frequency of occurrence and the new highs reached are challenging resilience, and can turn opportunities for taking part in sport and physical activity from merely uncomfortable to unattainable for many individuals and communities.

Extreme weather is often framed in long-term and global terms, but it is undoubtedly already shaping when and how people take part in sport and physical activity today.

A hotter climate is already here

The past two years have shown how quickly weather patterns are changing.

June 2025 was England's warmest June on record, with two heatwaves during the month and temperatures across parts of eastern and south-eastern England around 3°C above the long-term average.

That record was surpassed in just one year as June 2026 then became England's new warmest June on record with a mean temperature of 17.1°C and temperatures reaching 37.7°C during the heatwave towards the end of the month.

For the sport and physical activity sector this is no longer simply an environmental challenge. Heat is becoming a participation issue.

Previous research has already shown that climate change risks widening existing inequalities in sport and physical activity.

These latest findings build on that picture, suggesting that prolonged periods of hot weather are already affecting people's ability and willingness to be active.

What did we find?

We compared findings from two Activity Check-in surveys: one from August 2025, shortly after the June 2025 heatwaves; and one from June 2026, carried out immediately following that month's heatwave.

The proportion reporting exposure to extreme heat during the previous 12 months almost doubled, increasing from 37% in August 2025 to 71% in June 2026.

Among those who had experienced heatwaves, 73.2% said they had done less sport and physical activity because of them, compared with 63.1% in August 2025.

When asked about barriers to activity, there was also a marked increase in the number saying the weather was not suitable for being active during the previous seven days.

While both surveys followed record-breaking periods of hot weather, the latest findings suggest the June 2026 heatwave had an even greater impact on participation.

Why does heat affect participation?

There is still more to learn about exactly how prolonged heat affects participation in England, but there are several likely factors.

For some, particularly older adults and those living with long-term health conditions, exercising in high temperatures can become physically more demanding and may raise concerns about health and safety.

This means these groups, along with disabled people, may experience the greatest challenges during prolonged periods of heat - showing how the impact of extreme weather is unlikely to be felt equally.

Heat can also reduce opportunities to be active.

Outdoor spaces may become uncomfortable or unsafe to use, organised activities may be adapted or cancelled, and travel disruption can make it more difficult to reach facilities.

Even where opportunities remain available, motivation can change.

When daily life already feels harder because of heat, being active may feel less appealing or less manageable.

What does this mean for grassroots sport?

Let’s face it – the climate crisis is already affecting how sport is delivered.

Grassroots sport relies heavily on outdoor facilities, volunteers and community organisations.

Many clubs are already managing the impacts of flooding during winter only to face hard, dry pitches and prolonged periods of hot weather during the summer months.

Climate impacts already cost grassroots sport circa £320 million annually in repairs and lost income.

These effects are not distributed evenly, with more deprived communities often more exposed to climate hazards and with fewer resources to respond.

This reflects a broader picture emerging from our Horizon Scanning work: climate change is increasingly shaping when and where people engage in sport and physical activity.

More frequent extreme weather, alongside changing travel patterns and sustainability goals, is expected to influence participation over the coming years.

These findings suggest those longer-term trends are already beginning to play out.

The sector has adapted to changing patterns of participation before and high heat may become another long-term trend that influences how people choose to be active.

Understanding those changes early gives the sector the opportunity to adapt before they become embedded.

With action now, sport can become more resilient, inclusive and sustainable.

Building the evidence

Our data allows us to understand how people's experiences change as events unfold, rather than relying on reflection months later.

Capturing people's experiences immediately after periods of extreme heat has helped us to better understand who is most affected, how behaviours change and where adaptation may be needed.

If you'd like to explore the findings in more detail, our Activity Check-in interactive dashboard includes data on activity levels, motivation, attitudes and barriers to participation, alongside climate-related questions, for both adults and children and young people.

Looking ahead

Heatwaves are becoming a more familiar feature of life in England.

Climate change is no longer happening somewhere else or is an issue for the future. It is shaping experiences and behaviours today.

For the sport and physical activity sector, the challenge is understanding what this means for participation, who is most affected and how we respond.

By continuing to build our understanding of how weather influences participation, we can help the sector adapt to support everyone to be active safely, confidently and consistently in the years ahead.

If you'd like to share your experiences or explore the findings in more detail, we'd love to hear from you.

Four years ago I wrote an opinion piece as the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games reached its climax.

Some things have changed and Glasgow 2026 will be very different, but the allure of the Commonwealth Games and its unique place in the sporting ecosystem endures.

I’ll explain why.

Glasgow is also reported to be the largest ever Para-sport programme with a total of 47 medal events being contested.

Team England will field 60 para-athletes (or 24% of the Team England athlete delegation) in bowls, para-powerlifting, track cycling, athletics, swimming and wheelchair basketball 3x3.

All sports are presented as part of an integrated programme of competition and given equal billing, sharing the programme means that spectators get to enjoy the best sport and para-sport as a matter of course.

Team England is relentlessly focused on ensuring parity of support for all athletes, and on giving them the best possible experience and opportunity to fulfill their potential.

This has created an environment that’s genuinely special, as it demonstrates and reminds us of our common values and aspirations, not our differences – physical or otherwise.

In terms of women’s sport, the number of medals available is strikingly similar and Team England will have more women competing than men.

Amongst them is netball, which is a particularly high-profile event and the Commonwealth Games rivals the Netball World Cup for perceived importance and profile.

A representative team

At the preparation camp and ‘kitting out’ – where everyone goes to collect their kit, complete their preparations and receive their final training on aspects such as anti-doping and media – there is a map of England and athletes are invited to take a photo and place themselves on the map.

This is a visual representation of where athletes originate from and how they represent the full spread geographically of the nation.

Watching the map get populated as athletes come through the prep camp is fascinating.

Besides, the team has an age spread between 14 and 73 years of age and yet we come together as one Team England of 251 athletes and para-athletes, all with their unique stories and backgrounds – a truly inspiring and exciting prospect.

It all comes down to people

All the athletes started their journeys in grassroots sport, where volunteer coaches and officials provided fun and impactful opportunities for them to explore and develop their potential.

I can’t stress enough just how much that matters and how amazing a journey can be started with that important first step, plus all those accessible and inclusive first experiences.

Now the baton of supporting the athletes passes to the team behind them.

The commitment and passion from the team at Commonwealth Games England, plus the professionalism and dedication of the sport team leaders is genuinely inspiring – these roles are hard work and I hope very rewarding too.

However, these people won’t stand at the summit of the mountain.

Instead, they are the sherpas staying quietly in the background enabling athletes to focus on their experience, process and performance. I applaud every one of them.

If you want to watch the games and share some of the magic there are different TV options, including daily highlights on Channel 5 and live coverage throughout on TNT, and also on BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT.

If you love sports, you can’t miss it. For me, it’s the sports event of the summer!

As we work alongside partners in Uniting the Movement, we have been deeply inspired by the brilliant youth voice initiatives across the sector that are supporting young people to make themselves heard. 

At the Leadership Skills Foundation, our own youth-voice journey is about reinforcing a core belief: that every young person can lead change if given the opportunity to develop their skills and confidence.  

Overcoming obstacles through communication

As part of our role as a Sport England system partner, we’ve been building understanding of the barriers young people face to accessing leadership opportunities and progressing into the sector's workforce. 

Youth voice has been an important part of this process and we’ve been testing a new accredited learning programme to empower young people to lead the conversation. 

The Speak Up Challenge aims to build young people’s skills and confidence through creative, participatory activities in classrooms, sports halls and youth clubs. 

Based on the Lundy model for youth participation, it gives young people a platform to communicate their views to influential professionals and policy-makers – all while also receiving feedback to help them understand the potential impact of their insights. 

As part of our pilot, colleagues at Sport England kindly agreed to listen and to provide video feedback as young people shared their perspectives on the barriers into sports volunteering and worked together to reimagine pathways into employment. 

Their ideas spanned transport difficulties, prohibitive costs, lack of role models, low confidence and negative perceptions of careers in sport. 

We’ve taken all the insights and created a summary for everybody to access and this is available on the Challenge page too. 

Our journey so far  

Inspired by Sport England’s Youth Voice Innovation Storybook, we began by running co-design and consultation sessions in a variety of community and academic settings.

The young people we worked with were both energised by the opportunity to lead change and motivated by the potential to earn accredited recognition for their participation, but they also shared their concerns: 

• Lack of time to commit to ongoing youth-voice activities. 
• Worries about standing out amongst their peers or being visible online. 
• Concerns around lacking the skills and confidence to make a difference. 

These insights helped form our core design principles: prioritise confidence-building, avoid long-term commitments, foster peer collaboration, protect privacy and recognise skill development through accreditation. 

We planned a small, iterative pilot to test and adapt as we learned during the first phase, and we were blown away by the depth of insights shared and the level of creativity displayed.

However, some less confident participants, particularly those from special educational needs and disability (SEND) and neurodivergent backgrounds, felt overly vulnerable and struggled to express their views.

Delivery staff reflected that participants needed more time to build trust and grow into the activities. 

Our second iteration focused more on building this base of skills and team rapport.

By improving scaffolding for mixed abilities, we saw positive signs that the programme was becoming more accessible and inclusive.  

Overall, our internal evaluation showed that 87% of participants believed the pilot helped them build skills to speak up for change, and the same percentage said they are now more confident speaking in front of others. 

These results reinforced our belief that the ability to form a viewpoint and effectively share it is a leadership skill that can be practiced, improved and recognised.  

Encouraging impact 

This project has strengthened our understanding of young people’s lived experiences and is informing how we design and deliver programmes for underrepresented groups. 

Participation has also had a meaningful impact on those involved.

It was a real joy to witness a room of boisterous 15-year-olds fall silent and react with smiles as they watched their views being addressed by colleagues from Sport England.

When we surveyed how they felt about the feedback, the overwhelming majority indicated they “definitely felt heard”.  

They were proud that their insights were taken seriously and this validation has acted as a springboard into other opportunities.

Following the challenge, we’ve seen participants inspired to launch online petitions for their MPs, to create new youth-led school clubs and to seek out other youth advocacy initiatives. 

Looking ahead 

As we move into the next phase of our development, we know we’ve still got some way to go, but we are excited to collaborate with other system partners to build on our learning and to support other related work from across the sector.  

Together we can make sure that every young person – regardless of background or circumstance – is able to lead positive change, so if you’d like to discuss our findings or how we can work together to empower young leaders to speak up, please contact us.  

We’re excited about continuing to grow together.

The week our latest Active Lives survey results come out is always one I look forward to, because it’s a chance to step back, look at the data and really understand what’s happening with volunteering in our sector.

With Volunteers’ Week here, I wanted to share a few reflections on the latest adults release – what it tells us about the state of volunteering right now and what it might mean for those of us working across sport and physical activity.

Volunteering levels are recovering – but not fully

The headline figure is encouraging: 10.9 million adults in England gave their time to support sport and physical activity in the 12 months between November 2024 and 2025. That’s an increase of nearly 400,000 compared to the previous year.

This recovery matters, because volunteers are the backbone of our sector and they create opportunities for people to be active in communities that boost wellbeing.

Volunteering in sport and physical activity also generates an estimated £8.6 billion in social value annually, and much of this worth comes from the wellbeing benefits individuals gain through volunteering.  

But we shouldn’t get carried away, because whilst we’re seeing recovery since the pandemic, we’re still not back to pre-Covid levels.  

Volunteering was already in decline before the pandemic and so even though numbers are improving, many clubs and organisations won’t necessarily feel that recovery on the ground.

What does this mean for the volunteer experience?

Fewer volunteers can mean more pressure on existing volunteers, and we hear consistently from partners and volunteers that workloads remain high.

Sport volunteers are incredibly committed – they step up, take on extra responsibilities and keep things running.

But this resilience can mask an ongoing risk of burnout, which became apparent during and after the pandemic and hasn’t yet gone away. If anything, it’s become part of their day-to-day reality.

That’s why it’s critical to focus not just on bringing new people into volunteering, but on improving the experience for those already involved.

Inequalities remain stubborn

The data also reinforces something we’ve known for a long time: volunteering is not accessible to everyone.

People from lower socio-economic backgrounds, disabled adults and those with long-term health conditions remain underrepresented.

This mirrors patterns we see in participation more broadly and won’t change without deliberate action.

But if we’re serious about improving the diversity of our volunteer base then designing volunteer opportunities around lived experience, making them more flexible, inclusive and relevant is essential.  

A widening gender gap

One of the most striking trends this year is that men are driving the recent increases in volunteering.

Men now make up 62% of weekly volunteers – compared to 37% who are women – and the gap appears to be widening.

This raises an important question: are we genuinely reaching new audiences or are we relying on the same groups to do more?

This isn’t to take away from the positive recovery we’re seeing, but it does highlight that more needs to be done to ensure our volunteers are representative of the population.

What’s not working for women?

The gender imbalance is even more concerning alongside the wider context of women’s experiences in sport.

Women in Sport's research highlights issues such as misogyny and women feeling that their voices aren’t heard in coaching roles, and that practical factors like how voluntary roles are structured and whether they fit around people’s lives play a significant part in how accessible roles are to women.

Life stage matters too, as highlighted by our Life Cycles research, and Active Lives shows that while having children increases the likelihood of volunteering in sport overall, the effect is stronger for men.

This is because men with children are more likely to take on coaching or officiating roles while for women, caring responsibilities can be both an enabler and a barrier, particularly in leadership positions like refereeing and coaching.

So, what works?

To bring more women and other underrepresented groups into volunteering – and to deliver positive experiences  – we need to take a more intentional approach and be open to challenging the status quo.

This is a multi-layered challenge – it requires systemic and cultural change, tackling discrimination head-on and rethinking how roles are designed.

Flexibility, family-friendly approaches and clear pathways into leadership roles all make a difference and I can't recommend enough the wide breath of volunteering resources by Buddle, which provide support at every stage of the journey for sport and physical organisations – from help finding volunteers, to defining roles, ensuring wellbeing or building progression paths.

We must also remember that visibility matters – when people see relatable role models and examples of positive experiences, it helps them shift perceptions of who volunteering is for.

For instance, Black Girls Ruck demonstrate the power of community building and how, when done in an authentic way, it can challenge perceptions, give visibility and empower women currently underrepresented in a sport.

Women-led and targeted programmes, like those highlighted in the This Girl Can volunteering guide, show what’s possible when opportunities are designed with women in mind.

Where to next?

Volunteering is recovering, but we can’t rely on this recovery alone to solve the underlying challenges.

For a more sustainable and inclusive volunteer workforce, we need to focus on experience as much as numbers – supporting existing volunteers, reaching those currently underrepresented and creating environments where everyone can thrive.

And whilst acknowledging the scale of the challenge, we also want to take this moment in Volunteers’ Week to recognise and thank the millions of people who give up their time to help others.

Their contribution makes a huge difference to people and communities across the country, and we want to make that experience better for everyone.

If you’ve ever wondered whether a simple walk can really make a difference to someone’s life, the answer from our Somerset Health Walks community is a huge ‘yes’.

Over the past year, we’ve been gathering feedback from over 3,000 of our individual walkers and over 180 volunteers to better understand the impact that our Health Walks programme is having across Somerset.

But while the statistics are important, it’s the personal stories and comments that really bring everything to life – and honestly, they’ve been some incredibly moving tales to read.

One thing that shines through again and again is how welcoming and inclusive our walks feel.

Another lovely theme that emerged was people reconnecting with their local area.

Walkers told us they’d discovered footpaths, countryside routes and places they never knew existed.

Enjoying our local spaces

Others spoke about the joy of being outdoors in all seasons – being out in fresh air, nature, muddy boots and all – plus the recent study by Current Psychology confirms that walking in natural environments significantly improves mental wellbeing.

As always, we’ve also listened carefully to suggestions and feedback, and over the past year we’ve introduced more walks in different locations, added clearer meeting point information and improved details on our website to make walks easier to access.

Walking is a favourite activity for many people and why wouldn’t it be here in our beautiful county?

It’s important to us that Somerset Health Walks continues to grow and evolve with the needs of our community. That’s what working in Place is all about.

The investment from Sport England is important, but working in this way has only been made possible by our incredible volunteers and walk leaders.

The warmth, professionalism and care they bring every single week is what makes these walks so special.

And, of course, the walkers themselves. They are what make this community what it is and why we carry on working together in this way. See you on the next walk!

Ultimately, action can look different for everyone – for me, it is running. This is an activity that gets me in nature, helps me process emotions and to build my self-esteem.

For you, however, it might be reaching out to a friend, making time for a walk, joining a local activity, or creating spaces where people feel welcome, included and able to talk about how they’re really feeling.

Through our partnership with Sport England, we highlight how participating in physical activity, particularly with others, can be a powerful and practical action that people can take for their mental wellbeing and not just during MHAW, but all year round.

Connecting through physical activity 

Local sports clubs, physical activity providers and community organisations are often trusted spaces, rooted in relationships and shared experiences.

That also makes them uniquely placed to notice when someone is struggling, able to offer connection and help by providing opportunities for people to build routine, confidence and a sense of belonging.

We know that many people face barriers to being active.

These could be related to cost, disability, long-term health conditions, caring responsibilities or even experiences of exclusion and stigma.

But Sport England and its partner organisations are committed to inclusion and supporting people to overcome any challenges they face. 

This could be by offering flexible, free or inexpensive sessions, non-competitive options, welcoming environments and a focus on enjoyment rather than performance.

When movement is framed as something supportive and human, rather than something to be achieved or perfected, more people can take part and benefit.

The evidence is clear that being physically active can support mental health, helping to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, and to improve mood and sleep.

But what we hear from communities again and again is that it’s the combination of movement and connection that really matters.

Showing up together, being greeted by name, or sharing progress or challenges are small gestures that can turn into powerful remedies against loneliness and isolation.

MHAW is also an opportunity for organisations to take action internally.

Coaches, volunteers and session leaders often play an informal but important role in people’s lives, so supporting them with training, resources and confidence to have conversations about mental health can help build safer and more compassionate spaces.

But encouraging rest, balance and wellbeing within organisations is just as important as supporting participants.

Supporting long-term positive change

This year, we’re asking people to think about how action can be sustained beyond a single week.

Taking action for our mental health isn’t about doing everything at once – it’s about making realistic changes that fit into everyday life.

That might mean protecting time to move regularly, checking in on someone who hasn’t been around for a while, or advocating for inclusive opportunities in your local area, because small actions taken consistently, can create meaningful change.

As we celebrate MHAW, we’re inviting sports and physical activity organisations to get involved, share what they’re doing and be proud of the role they play.

By amplifying these stories, we can the help more people see that support for mental health exists in many different places, including those they already trust and enjoy.

For individuals there’s no expectation to push harder or do more, because taking action might simply mean doing something gentle, sociable or familiar, so choose whatever helps you feel a little steadier, calmer or more connected.

Looking ahead, we’re proud of what this partnership with Sport England has achieved so far, and we’re motivated by what’s still possible.

Mental health challenges remain widespread and many people continue to navigate pressure, uncertainty and inequality.

By working across sectors and communities, we can help ensure that action on mental health is practical, inclusive and rooted in everyday life.

Together, we’ll continue to champion movement as one of many actions that can help protect and improve mental health, because when we move together, support one another and take action collectively, we can build healthier and more connected communities for all.

At Get Doncaster Moving (GDM) we have a mission: to support the youngest in our society and their families to be as active as possible, because the benefits of moving are something that will accompany them for the rest of their lives.

It is with that mission in mind that across Doncaster, partners within our network are working together to create the conditions to help children, young people and their families build healthier, more active lives.

Through a place-based approach, the network is enabling innovative programmes, unlocking new partnerships and supporting communities to develop sustainable activity habits.

This is something we’ve undertaken as a long-term mission.

GDM is continuing its work with local Pokémon Go group ‘Raiding Doncaster and beyond’ to grow this welcoming, inter-generational walking and gaming community, and encouraging new players to engage in this family-friendly activity, and to move more – particularly within Doncaster’s parks and green spaces.  

Trying something new

In sport, the ‘Free Park Tennis’ initiative started a couple of years ago in a local park to expand opportunities for children and families.

Resident volunteers have been trained as Free Park Tennis Activators to deliver free, weekly sessions to the community in two Doncaster parks, which led to one park being awarded ‘Park Venue of the Year’ by Yorkshire Tennis.

Our most recent park venue to host Free Park Tennis sessions, Haslam Park, which started in May this year, has already seen 369 attendances, with four local volunteers upskilled to deliver the weekly sessions.

This has been a fantastic opportunity for people to come along and 'have a go' at tennis in a relaxed and social setting, and it has been very popular with both children and families.

Doncaster’s place-based model played a key role in connecting partners and enabling the Active Start initiative, a programme designed for staff working with children aged 2–5.

Active Start is led by Yorkshire Sport Foundation, working in partnership with, and funded by, the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board's Children and Young People’s Alliance. Their latest Impact Report: Giving children an Active Start is full of learnings and data.

This information is key to the training and resources they provide to early years professionals to help embed movement and active play throughout everyday learning.

This approach not only supports physical development but also communication efforts, social skills and school readiness, giving children the strongest start in life.

Doncaster’s Public Health and Early Years teams have trained as tutors, offering one-on-one support, continuing professional development opportunities and resources to nurseries, schools, childminders and all 12 family hubs, which are places for families to go within their communities to access groups and support.

Many settings have already taken part in centralised training and are now better equipped to encourage movement in class and at home.

But this is not all, because work will continue into the 2025/26 academic year as the programme develops further across South Yorkshire.          

Looking ahead, shifting the dial on children’s engagement in activity will require continued place-based collaboration.

Sustained shared learning, creativity and innovation – alongside a connected, empowered GDM network – will help Doncaster’s young people to move more, play more and thrive.