Category: News

Over the last 12 months OCRA has changed its back of house functions and personnel.

I have been added to the team and following my appointment and discussions with the Trustees my positon was changed to General Manager.

We are also now recruiting for a new Clerk to the Board and Administrator, so some new faces and impetus will be added to the charity.

Thank you for the kind welcome I have received since my appointment.

A Year in Review

• 36,388 Individual attendances to OCRA facilitated sessions, activities, bookings from April 19 to Jan 20.
• 17,768 of these are within the Sports Development and Community engagement remit of our SLA with
  Fusion Leisure.
• 18,620 attendances amount to our private hire of facilities and Pavilion based activities.

Diversifying OCRA

• Sporting Memories Launched: A weekly session for those who are experiencing loneliness, depression or dementia to chat sport and experiences, plus take part in the quizzes and varied activities
• Legs, Bums and Tums and Energise fitness classes: Geared towards those short on time, toddlers and babies
  welcome to play along side or take part!
• Fitness Pilates: Weekly session on Tuesday evenings.
• Confidence and Motivation workshops for 18-24 year olds: Boosting the confidence and work readiness for an age group where support is difficult to find.
• Art at the Pavilion: We are actively looking for artists to display their work
  around the Pavilion.
• We have added Computer Coding to our Holiday Activities in order to add broader appeal to our provision
• We have also started to offer holiday sessions at Meadowlands in Tavistock
• Work has started on adding sessions in Holsworthy in partnership with HASP

OCRA in Schools

OCRA holds the School Sports Co-ordinator (SSCO) role for Dartmoor MAT and Tavistock area schools and
our school sports calendars are looked on with envy by our neighbours for the number and diversity of events:

Multi-skills festivals twice a year; Dance festival; Swimming gala; Tag Rugby festival; Aquathlon; Castle Drogo and West Devon cross-country; Movement and Dance festival; Orienteering and Adventure festival; Cyclocross; Futsal; Tennis; Sports hall athletics; Cricket; Netball; and Football. Many of the schools we work with have achieved either gold or platinum awards in the School Games Accreditation

Our reach has increased with new primary schools accessing our services for the first time this year as well as a
change in our calendar to drive an increase in uptake from the schools.

Other news

• Our first Festive 5k took place in December and we’ll look to improve upon its success this year
• We allowed the Okehampton Flyers Gymnastic, Trampoline and DMT Club to separate from OCRA
  to allow its incredible growth and source additional funding opportunities.
• 2019 Sports Festival added to a summer of events that included Dartmoor High ground running
  festival; the centenary celebrations of the Hockey Club; Pony Club Tetrathlons;

OCRA in 2020 and beyond….

Funding has been sourced for our core charity funding from Okehampton United Charities and their continued support means that we can continue to prepare the charity for the years ahead

Funding for our target groups has been successful in support for those with long term health conditions, special needs, young people and those over 50 years old.

We are attempting to broaden our activities towards our recreational remit, this includes supporting the Fields in Trust national celebration of parks, outdoor cinema and a broader Sports and Fitness Festival