From five children on a York school field to 500 a day across Yorkshire, the sports and holiday club business marks two decades in business

Two decades ago, Total Sports opened its very first holiday club in York to just five children. Today, on a typical day during the school holidays, around 500 children are through its doors across venues spanning the length and breadth of Yorkshire — a scale its founder admits he could scarcely have imagined at the outset.

The company was founded by York-born Ollie Holliday, who returned to his home city after a teaching career spent in both state and private schools in Surrey, bringing with him a vision for a sports-based holiday club business built around what children actually enjoy rather than what adults think is good for them.

That first summer was a modest affair. Word of mouth did much of the early work, alongside hard work and, Holliday insists, a clear focus on keeping the fun front and centre. Twenty years on, Total Sports now runs holiday clubs stretching from Tranby in the East Riding through Pocklington, York, Knaresborough and Harrogate to Wakefield and Leeds, alongside term-time PE, PPA, CPD, wraparound care and school club provision delivered in partnership with more than 35 schools across the region.

The philosophy, however, has barely shifted since day one.

"The idea was always to create somewhere children genuinely wanted to come during the school holidays," says Ollie Holliday, founder and managing director of Total Sports. "That means sport, of course, but it is also about fun games with friends, arts and crafts, adventure and, importantly, the sheer variety of things children can do.

"Where else would you find a 40-foot inflatable sausage dog, bubble machines, silent discos and a Nerf arena alongside football, swimming, tennis, arts and crafts and all the traditional games children love? We want children to have the freedom to try something different every hour, to find activities they love and, quite simply, have a brilliant day with their friends."

Despite the name, sport has never been the whole story. Rather than herding every child through an identical timetable, Total Sports typically offers two activity choices each hour — usually one more active, one more creative — leaving children to decide for themselves how they spend their day. Across its holiday clubs, more than 50 different activities are now on offer each week, from football, swimming, tennis and cricket to arts and crafts, tag games, treasure hunts and a rotating cast of "WOW" equipment: inflatable assault courses, bouncy castles, soft archery, water activities and scooters among them.

"Children are different," Holliday explains. "Some love football and want to be running around all day, while others would much rather make something, get creative or take part in an adventure activity. Some want a bit of everything. That is why we give them the choice. Arty, crafty, sporty, adventure and fun — that's what Total Sports is all about."

Catering for children aged five to 13, the business has leaned heavily on its relationships with schools, using their facilities to bring holiday provision directly into local communities. It is a model Holliday is keen to expand.

"We know that schools have fantastic facilities which can be used to benefit their own communities during the holidays," he says. "We can provide the staff, activities, organisation and experience needed to run a high-quality holiday club, while the school provides a fantastic venue for local families. We are particularly keen to speak to schools that are interested in developing a long-term relationship with us."

Much of the growth has come through returning families, with many children attending Total Sports clubs throughout their entire primary school years — a loyalty Holliday puts down to consistency rather than novelty.

Even after twenty years, he is reluctant to call the job done.

"We don't feel like we are finished," he says. "There are still more children to reach, more schools we can work with and more ways we can make sport, creativity, adventure and fun part of children's lives. Twenty years is a milestone, but we are very much looking forward to the next twenty."

Further information about Total Sports' holiday clubs, school services and partnership opportunities is available at www.totalsportslimited.co.uk.