2012 PROFILE
Chris Hespe
Karen Maxwell talks to the head of sport, leisure and the 2012 Games at Kent County Council
What does your role entail?
I was the first leisure professional appointed to an urban development cor- poration and the first county director of sport in the country when I joined Kent County Council 20 years ago. Currently, I head a team that provides Kent’s strate- gic lead for sport, leisure and the London 2012 Games. Within this role I founded the County Sports Development Unit (KentSport) and the Kent Campaign for the 2012 Games, which I chair.
What sports services does Kent County Council offer?
Kent County Council takes great interest in sport, providing specialist services in facility development, strategic planning, coach and leadership development, dis- ability sport, major events, school sport, raising levels of sports performance and excellence, and securing funding for sport in the county. Kent County Council has achieved Bea-
con status for its work to secure a legacy from the London 2012 Games. One key element of our work has been the devel- oping of services to enhance the levels of sports performance and excellence. This has involved supporting 800 talented ath- letes over the last three years with sport science services, free access to facilities for their training, subsidised purchase of clothing and equipment, and mentoring and education services. We have upgraded many facilities into
specialist training areas and agreed to host a number of nations for their pre- Olympic and Paralympic Games Training. Already, since the beginning of 2007, we have constructed or upgraded 14 special- ist facilities, accommodated 89 national squads or teams training in Kent, staged 14 national or international sports events in the county and supported 20 coaches and officials to work at national level as well as within the county. Regarding school sport, the county
hosted the inaugural Kent Games in 2008, with 500 schools and 30,000 children
Issue 2 2010 © cybertrek 2010
Local authorities are well placed to deliver legacy, as they’re the biggest provider of facilities in the UK
taking part – and it promises to be even bigger this year. There may be plans to de- liver this model across the country as part of a national schools Olympic programme.
How is Kent working towards 2012 Olympic legacy?
Kent is the only Olympic borough that doesn’t have an Olympic or Paralympic venue, so the legacy process we’re going through is probably relevant to many lo- cal authorities up and down the country. Not only does this event offer the po-
tential to inspire the Kent community to be more physically active, but it also of- fers a platform for businesses, tourism and regeneration plans in the area. I produced a document with ISPAL and
the Local Government Association for use by local authorities, which defines what could be meant by the term ‘sports legacy’ and suggests actions that need to be taken to achieve it. This legacy agenda provides a menu of options and key ac- tions and states the support required from partner organisations to ensure delivery of a lasting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Why do you think local government has an important role to play in creating an Olympic legacy?
I believe legacy should be about more than increasing participation. It’s also about raising performance levels, supporting
talented performers, offering more spec- tating opportunities, developing club links and inspiring more volunteers. The role for local government in helping
to achieve this legacy has not been laid out in national policy, yet local authorities are well placed to deliver due to the fact that they are already the biggest single provider of sports facilities in the UK.
About Chris Hespe
A Loughborough-trained teacher, Hespe holds Masters degrees in interna- tional law and leisure management, a degree in sports science and diplomas in management and sport and recreation. He’s a fellow of the Chartered Man- agement Institute, a member of the Quest Industry Board and a company director and trustee of ISPAL (the Insti- tute for Sport, Parks and Leisure), for which he’s the industry representative for local government in the UK and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Hespe represent the South East on the Regional 2012 Partnership and has been a member of the London 2012 Sports Legacy Commission. He’s also worked for the Lon- don Docklands Development Corporation and three district councils, the British Olympic As- sociation and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
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