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Action Team Update – Q3 2022

BASKETBALL EQUITY ACTION TEAM (BEAT) – YOU GOT NEXT FESTIVALS A SUCCESS!

Earlier this summer, the Seattle Sports Commission (SSC) and King County Play Equity Coalition, alongside a dozen area partners, launched a youth basketball initiative designed to bring one of the region’s most popular sports to underserved communities.  Read more about the partnership here!

The results of this effort, the  Basketball Equity Action Team (BEAT),  just  wrapped two free basketball events in Kent and Tukwila. More than 800 youth showed up to participate across the two days!

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Thanks to the members of BEAT and to all the volunteers and staff who put time into making these events great! Thanks to Converge Media for a video summarizing BEAT’s work, view below.

The Advocacy Action Team is making a big push to have a bill during the 2023 state legislative session that mandates 45 minutes of recess for ALL elementary students. We are going to need all hands on deck, so each week you will find the latest advocacy needs in this space.
 
Below are some advocacy opportunities for you to potentially engage in!
 
    1. Let us know if your organization is willing to publicly support the bill. You can find details and provide a response HERE.
    2. Check out the newly launched recessforwa.org website!
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The Gender Equity Shared Learning Action Team is in the middle of the implementation phase of the project. Cohort organizations are also participating in various workshop sessions throughout the summer. July’s session was a “Best Practices for Girls Inclusion” workshop.

The September session focused on active recruitment, creating safe environments for girls, and shifting organizational power.

Organizations also received clothing and bras for girls and coaches from Oiselle and Bras for Girls.

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The Youth Action Team’s first year-long cohort completed their work in June 2022. Over the summer, the YAT took a break and began recruitment for the second year of work. 

The response and interest in being a part of the second year of YAT was overwhelming!  We are currently planning for our first meeting in November 2022. 

Planning for the Outdoor Recreation Action Team is underway! Members have been advising about the direction and goals of the group over the last couple months. 

We are currently planning a larger convening in October 2022 to bring together the larger outdoor recreation equity community in King County and plan for an official launch of the action team in early 2023!

In response to the Team’s policy & practice recommendations to improve equity of access to facilities, King County Parks property management team will be sharing a draft of their revised facility fee policy in July for feedback.

Team members from Burien, Tukwila, & King County Parks collaborated with Public-Health Seattle-King County to identify parks for the park observation pilot this summer.  Public Health hosted a request for applications from community members to conduct observations of parks to gather data on how parks are utilized for physical activity and by whom.  Four community members were selected to observe 10 parks in Tukwila, Federal Way, Burien, Des Moines, Seattle, & White Center. The team will collaborate with Public Health in September in reviewing findings and providing feedback on the report.  Learn more about the park observation tool, System for Observing Play & Recreation in Communities (SOPARC).