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Beyond Sport and Under Armour brought young people from the UK’s BIGKID Foundation to a UA Next training facility for a day of movement, new experiences and connection.
For a group of 20 teens and young adults from BIGKID Foundation, a recent visit to Under Armour’s Battersea Power Station store came with an added challenge: the chance to put themselves to the test.
On July 27, BIGKID joined Under Armour team members and Beyond Sport at the UA Next facility, a high-tech athletic testing and training center inside the store. Once there, the group took on a series of physical challenges using specialized training equipment, testing everything from reaction time to athletic performance. The UA Next facility in Battersea is located inside the Under Armour flagship store at the Battersea Power Station in London.
But scores quickly became secondary.
For BIGKID participants Anna Rue and Angelica, the sense of community around them was a big part of the experience.
“BIGKID is the best,” they shared during the day. “Honestly, it’s just a big family and everybody’s just so supportive. We’re always cheering each other on, pushing each other, being competitive. And yeah, I just love everybody in the community.”
That same spirit carried through the day. Jonathan Cobham from BIGKID reflected on seeing the young people encouraging each other throughout the different tests, while the Under Armour team saw participants embrace the experience whether they immediately excelled at a challenge or simply kept trying.
Accessing new, elite spaces
The activation was part of Beyond Sport and Under Armour’s wider retail donation campaign supporting nonprofit community organizations across the UK and Europe that use sport and physical activity to positively impact young people.
Alongside receiving Under Armour apparel, the BIGKID group had the opportunity to spend time in a performance environment and use equipment that many community organizations would not ordinarily have access to.
“It gives kids and young adults opportunities to use equipment and facilities that they’re not really yet to use,” a member of the UA Next team explained. “It gives them a chance to test themselves…in an environment that is considered elite.”
Anna Rue and Angelica were both enthusiastic about getting to try something different. Reflecting on the activities, they described the day as “really fun” and highlighted trying new exercises and testing their reaction time among the things that stood out.
“We’ve tried lots of new exercises,” they shared, adding that they were “looking forward to more collaborations together.”
For BIGKID, that kind of exposure matters. The organization works with young people across London, using sport, mentoring and youth engagement to create opportunities, strengthen relationships and help young people thrive.
Jonathan described experiences like the Battersea visit as a chance to introduce young people to things they may not encounter in their everyday lives, while creating another setting for them to come together and support one another. As he put it, the partnership helps “expose our young people to different experiences that [they] never would have got before.”
Belonging beyond the day
BIGKID later reflected that the value stretched beyond the activities themselves.
Experiences like these, the organization shared, can help young people build confidence, make lasting memories and, importantly, recognize that they belong in spaces like UA Next.
What came through most clearly from Anna Rue and Angelica was how closely the experience of the day was tied to the community they already have through BIGKID: trying something unfamiliar, competing with one another and cheering each other on as they did it.
“Everybody’s just so supportive,” they shared. “We’re always cheering each other on, pushing each other, being competitive.”
Learn more about Beyond Sport and Under Armour’s retail donation campaign.
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