Basketball plus education equals Creative Crossover

Creative Crossover CIC is a Plymouth-based community interest company that combines basketball with education (arts and mathematics) to help empower and improve both the cognitive and physical well-being of the local community.

It does this through creative workshops and online learning worksheets, concentrating on:

• running free creative workshops teaching children how to design and create a basketball brand
• using art and design to regenerate abandoned basketball courts
• helping to improve cognitive skills through art, maths and basketball

The company is made up of graphic designers, qualified tutors and massive basketball enthusiasts. The team includes Managing Director Troy Woodhouse, Director of Physical Education Glenn Woodall and Sports Events Planner Louise Mills.

By utilising their wealth of skills, experience and enthusiasm, they aim to help get the Plymouth community to uplift the community through social art/basketball workshops, building a sense of pride, ownership and community spirit where people live.

Inspiring young people to be better

To date, Creative Crossover has created three initiatives to engage children and young people:

• court painting, where it invites the local community to help design a basketball-inspired mural to be painted on an outdoor court
• design your school’s basketball kit project, which was run in partnership with Eggbuckland Vale Primary School and Holy Cross Primary School in Plymouth
  • The project was also opened to the public and the response was phenomenal. Three winners had their designs worked up to a professional level and then printed by a local sports clothing company
• and ‘Baller-Matics’ – mathematical, basketball-themed posters that help children aged 2-10 learn the basics

Managing Director Troy Woodhouse said:

“As experienced designers, it's easy for us to respond to a brief and create a design ourselves, this is something we've been doing for years, but, where would be the fun in that? We felt that engaging with the community through social media platforms and word of mouth to participate in our initiatives was far more in keeping with our values.

"We invite people to come and join us, chat informally about the mission and allow their creativity and design ideas to flow organically. This gives a sense of individual and community ownership and pride to the final product. Just imagine seeing your design, or a collaboration of your teammates' ideas come to life on the very floor of the basketball court you are playing on!

"As qualified tutors, we know what's involved in inspiring young people to become better. We meet with children and young people regularly, who may not have had the easiest starts, or smoothest education history, and we help, through art and design, to develop them into the human beings they want, and have the potential, to be."

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