Through this project I have contacted basketball coaches, basketball players and students and teachers from schools and clubs in Scotland and in France.

​

Overall this has been a valuable experience for me and has allowed me to develop and improve many skills. I have been able to create a website from scratch, improve my research and language skills and it has also helped to boost my confidence levels.

​

It was especially useful for my understanding of French. I used my languages skills in a different context and carried out translation, writing questions in French and even research in French.

​

The main findings from my research are summarised below: 
 

• French clubs don't really need improvements to their facilities, but can struggle with time slots and a lack of equipment. 

• In Scotland on the other hand, there seem to be a need for more and better coaches, better equipment and resources, and access to better facilities.

• I was pleased to discover that all the clubs I contacted were able to get frequent matches and fixtures in leagues, but there seems to be more opportunities in France for league games with bigger and better structures for these leagues. 

• In schools, basketball is a more popular sport in France with football coming out top in Scotland. Interestingly, in Scotland school sessions were more often led by outside coaches compared to in France, where the majority were led by teachers. This may indicate a skills gap amongst Scottish teachers or that there is increased investment in basketball training in schools. 

• Overall, both Scotland and France share many similarities and both seem to have thriving and growing basketball communities for young people.

• The success of the French national team has seemed to boost the popularity of basketball in France and has even meant that clubs there have had to refuse requests to join due to the sheer number of people wanting to join a club. The recent Olympic Games held in France clearly had a huge affect on the sport's popularity. 

• In Scotland however, the lack of star players and role models means that the sport doesn't have the same popularity amongst young people and therefore, possibly doesn't get the same investment in nurturing young players. 

• In the surveys, it stood out to me that the number of people that chose to play basketball as an extracurricular activity was zero in France, whereas it was nine in Scotland.