Background

In the United States, access to quality sports remains unevenly skewed and unfairly restricted. In many of the country’s neighbourhoods, these limits to infrastructural support prevent a large number of students from participating in physical activity and organised sports. The effects of this are manifold: it denies them access to healthy growth, opportunities for social connection, and paths for building skills and confidence.

Children from low-income families are significantly less likely to participate in organised sports, and studies have shown that the main causes are a lack of financial resources and institutional support. According to the Aspen Institute’s State of Play 2024 report, only about 53.8 per cent of American youth aged 6 to 17 participated in team or organised sports in 2022, with participation dropping sharply among lower-income households. The National Youth Sports Strategy (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2020) further highlights that financial barriers, lack of nearby facilities, and limited opportunities in public schools remain key restricting factors.

Research by the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition (2020) shows that participation in youth sports contributes directly to improved mental health, higher self-esteem, stronger academic outcomes, and lifelong physical activity. Adolescents who play sports are eight times more likely to remain active into adulthood. Early access to sport can yield enduring personal and community benefits.

Remedying this imbalance would require combined innovative and subsidised access to infrastructure, and support in participating in learning and wellbeing programmes. Team Huddle NYC aims to foster precisely this. It is established to create equal space for underserved communities in sports activities, for necessary recreation, as well as community health and wellbeing, social connection, educational, and skill-building opportunities.