West Wales Sports Partnership: Year in Review
WSA Member West Wales Sports Partnership have produced their Year in Review.
Find the full report and explore the below in full detail, here.
Where We’ve Come From
At the end of July 2025, we are able to look back and reflect on the achievement of one year of full operations of West Wales Sports Partnership.
This is a partnership created to bring greater clarity of purpose and a collective momentum to the sport and physical activity landscape across the four counties of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, and Neath Port Talbot. During this early phase we have seen our role as one which can connect people, organisations, and opportunities —collaboratively to create the conditions where being active is an easy, natural choice for more people. We have focused on building the foundations of the business: developing relationships, establishing trust, and understanding the unique context of our region. We’ve started to shape a shared direction of travel—one informed by listening, learning, and early action.
The Board and the Executive team would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners for the integral role they have played in our journey and we look forward to working with you over the coming months.
Jamie Rewbridge , CEO
Laying the Groundwork for Change
Understanding where we are starting from
Our initial focus has been on understanding the regional landscape—mapping existing approaches, challenges, and opportunities. We have tried to do this in a way which demonstrates our commitment to a partnership approach — emphasising collaboration and insight-led decision-making. Recognising that our success going forward will depend on the solid foundations we build now, we’ve prioritised building the relationships, trust, and shared understanding needed to ensure that our strategy is meaningful, grounded, and truly regional.
This has truly been a new organisation in all senses of the word. During our “start up” phase we have had to establish core systems and infrastructure, including banking, finance support, insurance, securing premises, and writing essential policies. This operational build phase, aligned with the Sport Wales governance framework, laid the foundations for a credible, compliant, and resilient regional body capable of supporting system-wide change.
We have:
- Recruited an Executive Team (CEO and Head of Strategic Partnerships)
- Built our organisation infrastructure through procurement of essential technical systems and establishing our physical office accommodation. We now have a dedicated Business Support Officer
- Strengthened our Board through the appointment of Non-Executive Directors with specialist skills in Marketing and Finance
- Built our networks, with connections made with over 130 organisations/stakeholders across sectors
- Invested in spending time as a Board to develop our culture, values and ways of working
Bringing early wins and learning into the Region
We took the decision to bid for Sport Wales Innovation Funding ahead of completion of our Regional Strategy. Our rationale was that there were likely some obvious themes where Innovation Funding could help us test new approaches, create learning opportunities and broaden engagement with the sector. This year marked the launch of the WWSP Innovation Fund—created to support bold, collaborative ideas that tackle local barriers to physical activity.
The WWSP Innovation Fund focused on funding a portfolio of work which targeted novel opportunities for improving participation in physical activity for Women and Girls throughout the Region. A collaborative approach was encouraged, as was a focus on building value through challenge and iterative learning throughout the project development process.
Hardwiring insight as the “ the way we do business”
A key piece of feedback which has consistently featured in our engagement with the sector is the need to embed evidence and insight in all we do. This means that insight doesn’t just inform our work, it drives all aspects of how we operate. The State of the Region report, currently in development with the Welsh Institute of Physical Activity, Health and Sport , will be published in the autumn. It will serve as a baseline for the region and will help shape our longer-term strategy. Crucially, it will also inform where investment should be directed, ensuring our efforts are focused on the communities and issues with the greatest need.
Thinking about change as part of a whole system
Our role as a partnership has been to support others in taking a systems thinking approach. We know that change in behaviours is only possible when all the positive enablers of change are activated and when barriers to change are minimised. We are committed to encouraging and supporting those we work with to step back, look beyond their own delivery, and consider the wider ecosystem of physical activity across West Wales. We’ve helped partners focus on the needs and voices of participants and communities, recognising that long-term change requires deeper collaboration and shared ownership of outcomes. While we’re still early in this work, the seeds of change are being planted: we are beginning to see new conversations emerge about how we design more joined-up, equitable, and sustainable systems of support.
Setting the Stage for the Years Ahead
We are at the beginning of a long term journey. This year has been about listening, experimenting, and laying the groundwork. Our governance has strengthened, our partnerships are deepening, and our role is becoming clearer. The next key milestone will be the development of our first regional strategy, which we aim to publish in early 2026. This process will involve reaching out to a wider group of partners who are part of the sport and physical activity system—across health, education, communities, and beyond.
Looking further ahead, we recognise the need to diversify our funding model and to increase our advocacy efforts—raising the profile of sport and physical activity across West Wales and at a national level. This is more than a sectoral issue. Physical activity is one of the most effective tools we have to improve health, reduce inequalities, and strengthen community wellbeing. Our role is to ensure that this message is heard, understood, and acted upon.
Next steps
- Strategy development underway with Affleck and Co, with publication expected in early 2026
- Brand and naming launch and new website in development
- Capacity-building work to support collaboration and regional alignment
- Diversification of funding on the horizon
- Advocacy role growing to raise profile of sport and physical activity as a driver of public health and prosperity
We are proud of what’s been achieved in our first year—and even more excited by what’s ahead. Together, we are shaping a more active, connected, and inclusive West Wales.
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