Focussed resources on children at an early age may secure long-term out- comes in participation
RICHARD MOORE, a researcher at SIRC, presented a series of case studies on al- ternative activities developed as part of the Sport Unlimited programme. All of these projects were designed
to be more appealing and engaging to young people. The key messages to emerge from these case studies included: the importance of consultation; effec- tive marketing; the value of rewards and incentives; establishing links to exist- ing sports clubs or creating new clubs to sustain regular participation; suit- able opportunities for competition and progression, including leadership opportunities; and the influence of posi- tive role models in encouraging young people to participate in sport.
LAURA GREEN, a part-time lecturer and PhD student at Brunel University and part-time youth worker, described a small scale, action research project concerned with engaging 25 non-sporty young women in sport and physical activity. The project involved securing the
commitment of the young women to participate, then worked with the group to design a programme of activities based on their needs and preferences. Key learning points included: the need
for providers to understand the complex and multi-faceted reasons for disengage- ment by young women from sport and physical activity as a basis for re-engage- ment; the significance of language, in
Issue 2 2011 © cybertrek 2011 Does it make sense to focus resources on those
sports that are in decline or those sports showing signs of continued and increased popularity?
particular the use of the terms ‘sport’ and ‘exercise’ which, for most of the women, had negative connotations; and the need to work at their own pace, which some- times meant taking a step backwards, to enable the young women to deal with cur- rent issues which were more important in their own lives than taking part in sport.
SESSION DEBATES During the day, delegates debated a wide range of issues. The notion of the ‘deteriorating service environment’ was mentioned, meaning that with recession and the unprecedented public expen- diture cuts, it might be considered a success to stop the drop-out in participa- tion from getting any bigger. Several significant policy dilemmas were
identified – most notably, which sports/ activities to focus on and for what age groups? Does it make sense to focus re- sources on those sports that are in decline (and arguably need the support) or those sports showing signs of continued and in- creased popularity? Sport perhaps needs to learn from other areas of social policy (education, health and social services) which have focussed resources on children at an early age to secure long-term out- comes, albeit with limited success.
The quality and styles of leadership
were viewed as essential to engaging and retaining young people’s involve- ment in sport. Linked to this was the need to build an ‘experience package’ rather than simply focussing on the activ- ity itself. Research suggests this is vital to engaging many young people in sport. It was thought that PE should be the
foundation for participation in sport and physical activity in later life, but in reality this is often not the case. Concerns were also raised about reductions and reshaping of the professional infrastructure of school sport co-ordinators, primary link teachers, competition managers and further educa- tion sports co-ordinators, which delegates believed was vital in ensuring the contin- ued provision of quality opportunities. In this era of localism the future of this
infrastructure will largely be determined locally. The question of strategic leader- ship and advocacy with government for PE and school sport was also raised and del- egates expressed substantial uncertainty about who will play this important role in the future.
Chris Cutforth is senior lecturer in sport development, policy and management at Sheffield Hallam University
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