SHOW REVIEW
The European Sports Development Network (ESDN)
Chris Mackintosh, Spencer Harris and Chris Cutforth explain how the network is building bridges between academics and practitioners in sports development
ingly closely intertwined. However, in much of Europe, sports development is a little understood and rarely used term. This is not to say, however, that the inherent issues are of little interest to Eu- ropean governments, or that public and voluntary sector agencies in those coun- tries are not involved in similar kinds of work, along with a growing interest and involvement from academic institutions.
S
SHARING IDEAS In response to these issues, academics from a range of UK and European universities, along with some industry partners and practitioners, are now engaged in an informal European Sports Development Network (ESDN). Founded in 2008, the network was
created by Chris Mackintosh, an ex-sport development practitioner and now lec- turer at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), who felt that there was a need for a forum where sport development
ports management and sports development are two areas of professional practice and policy development that are increas-
teachers and practitioners could share ideas, problems and solutions.
NETWORK OBJECTIVES: 1 To encourage collaboration and part- nerships in Europe and beyond
2 To share theoretical and conceptual developments
3 To set up symposiums, seminars and events to share discourse, debate and to challenge the traditional boundaries
4 To develop a longer-term, sustainable network of members in the field
5 To share good practice between prac- titioners and academics to enhance learning in the profession
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS This year, it was the University of Hert- fordshire’s turn to host the September event, jointly organised with the Leisure Studies Association (LSA) and supported by Street Games. The aspiration was to build on last year’s event at the NTU, by bringing together academics and practi- tioners to share research that aids sports development practice and/or supports teaching and learning.
The symposium had three keynote
speakers — Dr Kevin Hylton from Leeds Metropolitan University, Dr Vassil Girgi- nov from Brunel University and Professor Fred Coalter from the University of Stirling. Entitled: Sports development – a profession in waiting, Dr Hylton asked if sports development has a ‘professional’ status and whether the new Chartered Institute of Sport may look to address this issue as part of its remit in the future. Professor Coalter asked: What is Sport, What is Development?, underlining the need to move away from assumptions and generalisations to a more genuine approach where questions about what conditions are necessary for sport to have beneficial outcomes are asked more frequently. Dr Girginov used the event to discuss what is meant by ‘sustainable sports de- velopment’ – using examples from the 2012 Olympic Games’ legacy plan.
RESEARCH INTO SPORTING LEGACY Given its European appeal, one of the research themes highlighted the lessons to be learned from alternative, interna- tional perspectives on sport management and sport development. One example ad- dressed the importance of public sports development policies by presenting a case study of municipal sport in Porto, Portugal. This study suggested that there was a strong streak of autonomy in mu- nicipal politics in relation to sport and that these interventions were negoti- ated within four key areas: the municipal sports programmes; informal infrastruc- tures; parks and recreation; and sporting events organised for worthy causes. Women’s leadership through football
was also highlighted. In this case study, involving a coaching project in South Africa, female empowerment, local cultural sensitivities and leadership development were brought to the fore. The session also examined the
50 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital Issue 4 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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